the turquoise trail

Week 2: My favourite part.. Going lobster fishing! Total miles.. 880 Day 5: Richmond, QC to  Rivière-du-Loup, QC 274 miles It was an early start for some this morning, as a water pipe was leaking from upstairs. I, however, managed to sleep right through it. Breakfas t at 7:30 included an interesting but surprisingly edible combination of porridge, peanut butter and bacon. Our Sunday church meeting was half English and half French, and proved to test just how rusty my French has gotten.  After a delicious lunch of spaghetti and caesar salad, I headed out towards Quebec City. It was a gorgeous day to be on the road, a sentiment echoed by the sheer number of bikes on the road (I counted 227). I arrived on Ile D'Orleans shortly before 4, where I had the opportunity to pull over for a minute. Unfortunately, that led to the discovery that the front straps holding my box on had broken. I decided I had best find a  hardware store before they all closed,...

Week 1: My favourite part.. Getting to see old friends! Total miles.. 607 Day 1: Lynden, ON to Oshawa, ON 102 miles   It's finally starting to feel real!! I said my goodbyes and left home at 9:30 this morning... Stomach full of butterflies and a huge grin plastered on my face. From Hamilton I headed into Toronto to meet my roommate from college for lunch. I just barely got seated in the restaurant when the torrential downpour started. We had a delicious lunch and had much to get caught up on; by the time we finished up the rain had cleared! Impeccable timing if I do say so myself. I still had a bit of time, so we went for a walk along the harbour front before I headed out for my cousins place in Oshawa. In my wisdom I thought I would avoid the highway, but that backfired on me in the form of closed roads and plenty of traffic. It took me a solid hour to get myself out of that mess, but I finally arrived in Oshawa shortly before 6. Enjoyed a wonderful evening with the...

{Monday October 6th} Got up shortly before 8a this morning to have a shower and get ready for the day.   We left the house shortly before 9a and headed into New Ross. Our first stop was at the Dunbrody Emigrant Ship.  Since the first tour was going to be in German, the guy gave us a discounted entrance fee.   We headed out to the ship and met up with another tour guide and couple doing an English tour, so we joined them and got a tour after all.  The emigrant ship was built in Quebec to carry cargo, but carried many people during the Irish potato famine. 95 percent of passengers were second class and would have spent all day - with the exception of half an hour - below deck with absolutely no light.  25 to 50 percent of passengers died on route, hence why the ships became known as coffin ships.  They had two actresses playing the parts of a first class passenger and a second class passenger, who did a great job of showing what life on the ship w...