Day 6

	I pretty much followed my proposed route. I had a wonderful (long) day traveling from Québec to Matane. Return to Main Page
	My theory... ask people who actually know. This is Pierre who works for the Best Western in Quebec. From him I learned which parking lot was the safest for Thor last night. He also was the one who directed me to a great walk through Old Quebec. Thanks Pierre!
	I had to find a post office to mail my Aunt Becky's birthday present. (Again I asked who would really know... the postman...) Anyways, there was a post office outlet at a pharmacy on Saint-Joseph, a nice cobblestone street with buildings much like Winnipeg's exchange district but more colorful.
	Time to catch the ferry... a trip through Old Quebec towards the old port of Quebec.
	As I drove to the ferry, I passed the Gare du Palais... the train station and bus terminal.
	Since I didn't stop to look inside, I'm unsure which building is which OR if one or the other is no longer used in that capacity... however... I would assume that the older building would have been built in the glory days of trains by either CP or CN. The newer building would have been built to reflect the glory of the older one. Regardless, the are both GORGEOUS!
	Since shops are built on an extreme slope, at certain intervals between buildings, there are stairways which lead you to the next street.
	I had NO idea that my GPS would lead me to the same district as I'd walked through the night before. The ferry docked at the foot of the hill where the Chateau Frontenac is located.
	This is Robert from Quebec City. He was taking the ferry over to Levis so that he could take advantage of a bike path which follows the St. Lawrence.
	I had never been on a ferry where you enter from the side and do a "U" turn to arrive facing forward. I got to park with the bicycles!
	What a view from the bowels of the ferry!
	TaDaaah!
	Pulling away from Quebec City.
	As we pulled away from the dock, I congratulated myself on choosing the ferry as a means of crossing the St. Lawrence.
	A bridge is so much more convenient... you don't have to follow any schedule to cross one.
	BUT... Things look SO much different from a river view. I think of Winnipeg and its river cruises. Not only tourists but residents of my city should take the time to cruise the river.
	You see things at such a different and beautiful perspective!
	Once across the river, I headed for the Levis Fort.
	I'm glad Canada has chosen to preserve its history by maintaining these National Historical Sites.
	Even deserted, you can imagine the hustle and bustle which must have existed in times past.
	What would it have been like to live in this bastion?
	My imagination stimulated, I wondered what it would be like to walk these ramparts, gun in hand, ready to defend my home.
	I could certainly have seen the enemy coming from a great distance, even above the nearby treetops.
	Would the strong stone walls be high enough to keep out unwanted visitors?
	What would it have been like in the heat of battle, to man the cannon?
	Cannon ball... powder... take aim... FIIIIR... errrr... ooops! 21st century... Somebody's house... sorry about that! Back to reality...
	This is Jane and Bob from Ontario. We had a nice conversation about maintaining historical sites such as this one.
	Bob wanted to make sure I read the inscription on this stone: "They will never know the beauty of this place, see the seasons change, enjoy nature's chorus. All we enjoy we owe to them, the men and women who lie buried in the earth of foreign lands and in the seven seas. Dedicated to the memory of Canadians who died overseas in service of their country and so preserved our heritage."
	It was time to say goodbye to the Levis Fort.
	Power is as big an industry in Quebec as it is in Manitoba. Although I didn't realize it at the time, these power lines probably span the St. Lawrence twice. The land mass in the picture is Iles D'Orleans. The power lines likely cross the St. Lawrence again on the north side of the island.
	As I rode along, a group of red buildings caught my eye. I actually drove by but turned around and came back to investigate.
	It was "Le Moulin de Beaumont" or the Beaumont Mill.
	Of course there needed to be falling water to power the mill...
	... but the extra bonus was the view.
	The owners of the mill obviously lived on site...
	... and ran a "boulangerie" (bakery)...
	... complete with outdoor ovens!
	The bread from the mill (Pain du Moulin) was excellent.
	I enjoyed one of my least expensive but most enjoyable meals there.
	The owner. Although the lady's family was not the original owner of the mill and bakery, her family HAD owned it for 28 years.
	At Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse I encountered a lovely marina...
	... a great view of Ile D'Orleans from a yard...
	... and an impressive religious statue in front of its church.
	Up the road, another view out to the St. Lawrence River and Ile D'Orleans.
	You can lodge or eat at the Manoir des Erables in Montmagny OR you can ride up its driveway to check out the "nice house" like I did! :)
	Also in Montmagny. If I ever own a house near greenery and water, it will also have a red roof.
	Along the Avenue de Gaspe.
	In Riviere-Du-Loup there's a place called "Christmas at the Castle"...
	... complete with Nutcracker...
	... and gingerbread house.
	Inside the gift shop, they sell (of course) Christmas stuff. I liked THIS one...
	... and this one!! If I'd had room on my bike, this might have been my "trip souvenir".
	The views from the grounds of Christmas at the Castle were also nice.
	You're actually looking at part of Riviere-Du-Loup situated on the other side of the bay.
	I suppose my visit was at low tide? I never thought to check "general" tide information. I'm thinking that a lot of pictures I took around and at the water could potentially look a heck of lot different depending on tides.
	Next stop... Parc du Bic. I thought it was a National Park (and thus I could use my Parks Pass) but the girl said it wasn't. Since it was late in the day and I was just going to drive on through, she let me in anyway.
	A lady was in the field taking pictures so she took mine!
	The fields contained pretty "this and thats".
	Down the road on the west side of the park, was a private camp.
	Since I only wanted to see the sites and snap a few photos, the camp workers let me stay awhile.
	There were plenty of interesting things to take pictures of.
	These are the camp counsellors/workers.
	They directed me to other pretty areas in the east side of Park du Bic.
	I often find myself taking pictures of things with interesting colour combinations.
	Even "weeds" can be very attractive because of the colours they add to the landscape.
	When is a river not quite a river?
	My last stop of the evening (the sun was starting to set as I got there) was the Pointe-Au-Pere Lighthouse and Museum in Rimouski.
	I was surprised to see a "docked" submarine until I realized it was TRULY docked (dry dock) and that it was a museum display.
	A view from the submarine towards the lighthouse and museum. The museum definitely had a unique shape...
	... as did the lighthouse.
	The whole structure seemed to be made of concrete and I would guess that it is a lot more modern in era than any of the other lighthouses I'd seen that day.
	As the sun set, I took this and the next two pictures to see what kind of effects I could achieve with my SLR.
	I like this picture, but if I had it to do over, I'd change the angle I shot the flower at so that the buildings would be to one side and the flowers to the other.
	All in all, I liked the effect in this shot the best. Next Day Return to Main Page