During the past week we made our way through Quebec along the St. Lawrence River. What a beautiful part of North America—the scenery, the history, the food!
After our time in Montreal, we towed the RV on Friday to a campground near Quebec City on the far northeast end of Ile d’Orleans. The island is known as the Garden of Quebec. It is quilted with vineyards and farms growing strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, and corn. We sampled the local produce, including Tomme cheese and the best sweet corn I’ve ever eaten. Our friends Andre and Letha du Plessis camped on the island years ago with their children and expressed their love of the place.
On Saturday, we drove into Quebec City and found a parking spot near the city center. We loved walking the cobblestone streets of the old upper and lower towns. We drank coffee on the terrace outside the famous Hotel Frontenac overlooking the river below. We took a ferry from the lower town over to the south side of the river and back. (I’d post more photos but we continue have trouble with internet connections.)
From the hotel we walked along the promenade above the cliffs overlooking the river, alongside the walls of the Citadel, and onto the Plains of Abraham. The rolling expanse of green space was not named after the Old Testament patriarch but after Abraham Martin, the original owner of the land. On September 13, 1759, British forces led by Gen. James Wolfe scaled the cliffs in the pre-dawn darkness, surprising the French defenders. After an hour’s fighting, they occupied the city, winning a key battle in the Seven Years War with France. The battle basically won Canada for the British.
On Monday we drove along the north side of the river to Charlevoix, a region of striking scenery where the southern edge of the Canadian Shield rises above a widening river. Highlights were a free round-trip ferry ride across a section of the river to dock on the Isle-aux-Coudres, a bit of pottery shopping, wading into the river at the beach at Saint Irenee, and an afternoon tea on the veranda of the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, near Le Malbaie. As we looked out on the river there in perfect summer weather, we could see two passing freighters and the southern bank of the river more than 10 miles across.
After a week in the province of Quebec, we hitched up the trailer on Tuesday morning, crossed the river, and drove on to New Brunswick and a one-night camping spot in Grand Falls and today on to Moncton in a steady rain. Lord willing, we’ll spend the next four weeks in the Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland.
[Dear readers: I may not be able to post regularly on this blog for the rest of this RV trip. Poor or non-existent internet connection has made it a real challenge to upload the text and especially the photos. I will continue to post photos and comments on FaceBook.]
Daniel Griswold's Blog 
Very nice