Saint John - finally!

Tuesday 15th September
Phone discussions with André our friendly tow truck driver and now the guy who’s going to fix the Subaru’s transmission, inform us that reconditioned transmissions are hard to find but a used one with a year’s warranty is easily available. More phone calls to the warranty company, a trip back to the garage in John and Réjeanne’s car and the mechanic has the go-ahead and all we have to do is wait.

Wednesday 16th September
It was a beautiful day and John and Réjeanne were eager to take us into the city. By the time we got there it was time for lunch at L’Antiquaire, a very popular spot with down to earth Quebec cuisine.


Afterwards we took a look at where they kept their sailboat Bilbo (at an amazingly low cost) in a marina right downtown in Quebec City.

We took a walk along the boardwalk

by the Chateau Frontenac

With a spectacular view over the lower town and river.

We ended the day trip with a drive back along the river and a stop-in at a beer store with more kinds of beer than you could imagine. This is just one isle of many.

Thursday 17th to Saturday 19th September
We worked on sorting the RV and finances while John and Réjeanne worked on their house, specifically their kitchen which they were feverishly remodeling. Evenings were spent eating and drinking wine together, watching movies and old Dick Cavett shows with the likes of Janis Joplin.

Sunday 20th September
After a couple of days of rain, good weather was forecast for the Sunday so off we went in John and Réjeanne’s car to visit one of their favourite places on the North Shore. This is one of several (very shallow) inlets.

They have been to Cap-à-l'Aigle many times both on the boat and also camping near this little gem of a marina (one of very few).

Wherever there are rocks to rest a camera on you must have a group photo.

Monday 21st September
It was a week now since dropping the car off for repair and we did hope it might be ready – not yet!

Tuesday 22nd September
Another anxious day waiting for a call about the car but no it was still a work in progress. I was getting worried. It wasn’t at a Subaru dealer, just a small garage and we were wondering how competent the guy was to work on what is rather a unique automatic car transmission.

Wednesday 23rd September
Around 9 in the morning we got a call to say the car was ready so John drove us the hour or so back towards Montreal to pick it up.

Thankfully it was fixed just fine and the majority of the cost was covered by the insurance we took out when we bought the car.

One last night of merriment at John and Réjeanne’s.

Thursday 24th September.
We finally said our goodbyes (we will see them again in Indiantown, Florida in December) and struggled out of there close to noon. After filling up with gas and dropping by a free dump station we were on our way, finally, to New Brunswick.

To celebrate our wedding anniversary we dropped into the Cap Martin restaurant

for our favourite pizza. We’ve dropped in just about every time we’ve driven past, since Carol’s sister and her son discovered it in a snow storm one winter.
Using our Passport America membership we booked into the campsite in Notre-Dame-Du-Lac just before you leave Quebec for New Brunswick.

We got a spot right by the lake just before the sun went down. Lake Témiscouata is quite large (enough to have a ferry across it) and is quite beautiful.

Friday 25th September
Part of the reason of our timing in going to New Brunswick when we did is because Carol’s nephew and his wife were due to have a baby around the middle of September. Of course it was bound to happen before we got there with our week’s delay. When I logged on to the net there was an email from Tim, my brother-in-law, announcing the birth of his grandson the previous evening. Nathan James Place came into this world at 9lbs 15oz - whew!

After a beautiful sunny drive alongside the Saint John River we met Jean and Tim in downtown Saint John and they drive to the hospital to see mother Kim, proud father Teddy and baby.

Grand Aunty Carol was very pleased to hold the little (?) fella.

Afterwards, it was back to the Place’s driveway and The Big Easy’s resting place for a month or so.