Day 5 McGill's Go Up North - Quebec City

Day 5! Woke up early, cleaned up the Airbnb, packed up and made a plan on how to get the car back out of the courtyard without scratching it up anymore haha. Luckily two of the neighbors already left and that gave us a little more room to get the car out.

The video below is after we turned the car around inch by inch inside the courtyard... all that was left is to drive through this walkway. Sorry for the poor quality, Scot and I were more concerned with getting the car out then video taping. But we did it! This time no scratches either!

Today we would be driving up the St Lawrence River, over the Saguenay Fyord and to Les Bergeronnes where we were camping at Mer et Monde.

First stop outside of Quebec is the grocery store and stocked up on camping food, water and snacks.

The drive along the St. Lawrence River is just absolutely gorgeous and even the kids put the Kindles down to look out of the windows. The river turns into the Gulf of St. Lawrence along the way.

The last picture above is looking up into the Fjord. And on the other side of the Fjord is Tadoussac. A beautiful little town about 25 minutes from our destination! We are almost there!

We were lucky and didn't have to wait for the ferry at all. But even if, I don't think we would have to wait long as there are three ferry's operating at the same time. As soon as we parked the car on the ferry, we got out and started looking for Beluga whales. Unfortunately we didn't see any but the kids still thought the ferry ride was very exciting.

We arrived at our campsite at Mer et Monde and the first thing we did was explore. The campsite sits on a rocky cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence. There are small little tidal pools everywhere and just jumping from rock to rock was a lot of fun (and extremely dangerous as we found out THREE times later!)

Soon after we sat up our campsite we spotted our first Minke Whale. It was pretty awesome seeing AND hearing them for the first time.

Scot and I started dinner. The kids ate Tortellini and Cucumber Salad and we had these amazing Beef Rouladen which we picked up earlier that day at the grocery store. Finn and Jake finished their dinner before we did and left to explore some more while we finished. We didn't even finish eating when we heard this blood curdling scream, followed with a French lady trying to get our attention. We ran over the rocks (which wasn't the easiest) and found Finn in the water. The water up here is about 40 degrees. He was obviously cold and shocked but he screamed his head off because he thought the whales are coming to eat him. It was funny after we pulled him out, dried him off and warmed him by the fire. This was accident #1.

I wish I could remember the story Jake is telling us in the pictures above but he is a great story teller and I love how animated he is in these pictures.

We all decided it would be best to only explore from now on with an adult and stay close to the campsite for the rest of the evening. We made a fire to warm up Finn and we just loved sitting around it and watch for more whales. Jake did a little whittling with a stick he found and Finn "helped" Daddy with the fire.

This place is just so amazingly beautiful. I could sit forever in my little camp chair and look for whales. Unfortunately the mosquitos can be a bit much in the evening up there and we were all tired and decided to go to bed early.

The view from our tent was just incredible and worth driving almost 20 hours north east from Cincinnati!

Day 4 McGill's Go Up North - Quebec City

We slept in a little, got up and made breakfast for all of us. That's the great thing about airbnb's, they usually cut down the cost on eating out significantly. I don't remember what exactly happened in the picture below, but I know Finn was mad about something and Jake sat next to him and tried talking him out of it.

This will be the first day on the trip without driving!

Day 4 started with a short walk up near the Citadel (our airbnb was in an amazing location just a block away from the Citadel). You can see the amazing Frontenac Hotel in the background in the picture below. From up there we had an amazing view over Old Quebec and the St. Lawrence River.

Can you guess what is happening in the two pictures below? Answer will be at the end of the post.

The boys decided to run down the hill instead of taking the steps.

We took our time walking through the city. Stopping a lot and taking it all in. I love this picture of Jake below.

We walked down into the lower part of Old Quebec (mommy got a ride back up with the incline and the boys had to walk up the steps haha), we bought a few postcards for friends and family and started our quest to hunt for a souvenir for Jake. He got $20 from his Oma and wanted to buy one of the following: an umbrella, sunglasses or a zippo lighter. The zippo lighter was a NO from us and still not sure why he decided an umbrella or sunglasses would be a great souvenir. We never found anything on this trip he really wanted and he came home with the $20.

We watched how they made maple taffy and bought two to split between us. Glad we didn't buy more, because the kids both didn't like it. Half of mine ended in my hair... yeah which wasn't the easiest to get back out.

We decided to give the "Lapin Saute" a try. "The Running Rabbit" I... you guessed it, a restaurant offering rabbit meat.

The food was amazing and we all loved what we got. Finn got the pasta from the kids menu that came with cookies (in little bunny shapes) and chocolate milk. Jake had the poutine with rabbit. He really loved the poutine but was more into Scot's French Onion Soup, which was all of our favorite. I enjoyed a Rabbit Pate, that was really good and a small side of potatoes.

After lunch we walked around for a little longer. We ended up on the Plaza of the Frontenac where street performers are performing all day. It is really fun watching them as they are hilarious. This particulat street performer pulled me out and just made me jump up and down... that's it... only up and down and it was actually hilarious. I was very happy that the above picture wasn't with Finn or Jake because he washed the kids hands with water from his mouth... haha it was funny but all I could think was that I hope the parents have hand sanitizer with them.

Quebec is just gorgeous and the boys really didn't complain at all walking so much around. Above they are cooling off in the fountain for horses!

Finn decided that he will roll down the hill from the fortress wall and was upset with ME because he got dirty from it.

He later washed himself off in a fountain and was back to being happy again. I have a feeling these cannons have something to do with his change in mood. Jake and Finn both loved playing with them and pretending they are protecting the city from the British.

We all loved listening to the musical spoon instruments and the boys got to try them too. It was pretty cool and Jake thought about spending his $20 towards one of them but we then realized that the cheapest spoons were over $45. Yikes!

We all got to touch the famous "cannon ball" in the tree.

Later in the evening, Scot and Finn decided to go back to the music festival and listen to some concerts. Jake and I are really not that into big crowds and preferred to see a few more street performers. I remembered seeing this couple 3 years ago with Scot in Quebec and they are really great.

The performer jumped through this hoop on fire with knives. I was really glad Finn wasn't with us and got any ideas.

Jake and I strolled around the Frontenac for a little bit and watched the sunset.

Came home and met up with the other two at our Airbnb. The picture below is the entrance to the courtyard we had to drive through with our car.

Day 4 was great but we all couldn't wait for Day 5!

ANSWER! the boys caught their first Pokémon on Pokémon Go. They mainly walked around all over Quebec without whining because of Pokémon Go!!! I would call that a win - win!

Day 3 McGill's Go Up North - Battersea, Montreal & Quebec City

Woke up early to enjoy the cabin as long as possible. Unfortunately we only booked it for a night. It was only meant to be a stop over on our way to Quebec and never did we imagine loving it that much. Next time (and there will be a next time) we are staying much longer. So, got up early, made us coffee and waited for the boys to wake up.

As soon as Finn woke up, he got dressed and back outside to fish some more!

Like I said we had to leave early.... today's driving time was 8 hours with a stop in Montreal for a few hours. We had a long day ahead of us with a lot of driving and lots and lots of rain! I bought the first two books of Narnia on CD's for the boys (well and us) and we listened to it most of our way to Montreal and then Quebec.

We arrived in Montreal around noon. It was still raining and we quickly began the search for a restaurant with poutine. Which is hilarious because I think it would have been harder to find a restaurant that does not serve poutine. haha So, this was our first poutine experience and we all loved it. But how can you go wrong with French Fries, Gravy and Cheese?

A few years ago Scot and I have been to Montreal and I had an amazing Pistachio (if there is Pistachio on the menu, I will always order Pistachio!), I couldn't wait to have another one. Found a cute little Gelato place and we all had Gelato in the rain!

We walked around Montreal for a few hours and took in some of the sights of the city but we really were all eager to get to Quebec City. We spent most of our time at the fountain in front of the Notre Dame Basilica, did some people watching and let Finn get his energy out chasing pigeons.

It's just amazing how different these boys are. Jake was happily content sitting around with me and Finn was non stop in action.

We left Montreal, drove by McGill University to show the boys and stop by at the bookstore but the traffic around the university was so bad we decided to keep going. Stopped at McDonald's for some drinks and continued driving to Quebec City.

Quebec City is one of my favorite North American cities, mainly because it reminds me so much of home! We rented a sweet little Airbnb in the heart of the city. We were told that the Airbnb has parking in the courtyard but it is really tight for a small car but there is street parking available. Too bad that the day we arrive there was a large festival going on and there was NO street parking available. Dum dum dum... so we had to park in the courtyard with our SUV. Things went downhill when the older French neighbor later started yelling at us not to park in there, she didn't realize we had rented the space from her neighbor and our French is basically non existence to get that point across and then.... the side of my car got all scratched up because it is a parking space for a small car. So yeah no photos from that minor nightmare.

But we did make it to Quebec City. Just in time to enjoy a few hours in the evening walking around and taking everything in.

Jake and I went back to the Airbnb and Scot and Finn went to a concert at the festival nearby. We went to bad very, very exhausted but excited for the coming days!

Mom's Highlight of the Day: Pistachio Gelato

Jake's Highlight of the Day: arriving in Old Quebec.

Finn's Highlight of the Day: Quebec

Dad's Highlight of the Day: going to the festival at night with Finn

Day 2 McGill's Go Up North - London, Battersea Ontario

Day two, we woke up to some yummy pancakes from Oma and a cooler full of food for our trip! It was so nice not to have to worry about the food for the first few days of this road trip.

We didn't waste much time at Oma's and left soon after breakfast for our first adventure on this trip. I booked a little cabin, situated on a farm by a lake near Kingston Ontario.

We arrived at the Dog Lake Cabin early afternoon and loved everything about it immediately! The setting was perfect. The cabin was small and simple but super cute and had everything we needed!

We were greeted with a cute little sign on the door and Scot had to laugh when I said "Don't let the boys in yet, I want to take pictures of it while it's still clean". I want these twin beds for the boys room.

The cabin had it's own little dock and canoes. The boys immediately went out to fish. Unfortunately Jake's fishing pole was broken beyond repair, even though I reminded him to get his fishing stuff in order before we left. Oh well, he had a fishing net with him and actually managed to catch a few fish with it.

Again, this was a great little cabin. I love the décor, even though simple it was all well done. I am a huge fan of maps and was pretty excited to see a map of the lake on the wall. My favorite part was the view though. Just sitting on the porch and watching the kids play on the dock was pretty special.

The farm itself was pretty cool and we took a small walk around. Lot's of animals to pet and a sweet dog named, Ditch. The owner of the farm at this point walked over, welcomed us and handed us two bags of fresh greens and sprouts for a salad (good thing that salad is one of Jake and Finn's favorite food) and a basket full of firewood.

We decided to take a little canoe trip. Across the lake from the cabin, about a 15 minute paddle, is a little beach with a swimming dock and the kids really wanted to go there. We left with perfect sunshine. Once there the kids jumped out of the canoe and swam a bit and that's when I noticed the black clouds. Aaaaand about 5 minutes later it began to rain. It rained HARD. Kids climbed back into the canoe and Scot and I paddled hard, because now it's also lightning and lightning + water + canoe don't mix. We paddled hard and we all go from being scared to OMG can you believe this is happening to laughing hysterically because now Scot and I are drenched. And I kid you not, we step on the dock and the sun is shining again. Hahaha

After getting all dried up and changed, Jake made Mac 'n Cheese for Finn and him and Scot started building outside a fire with wet logs and newspaper. It took him a little longer than usual but we soon all enjoyed a big campfire.

Being at the lake house was absolutely relaxing and I just loved sitting on the dock with my new camping chair . It really was MY highlight of the day... probably not the boys highlight but mine!

After a while of sitting on the dock, I noticed a family coming back to the cabin... and after a few more minutes I realized that this was a German family with two boys Jake and Finn's age. I took the boys over, introduced ourselves and within a minute all 4 boys were playing Hide and Seek or "Verstecke" in German. This occupied them until late into the night. All 4 of them went fishing, turtle catching and just had a great time exploring the farm together.

I spent the evening untangling Finn's fishing pole, which will seem later in the trip like a daily ritual, and Scot and I sat on the porch for a while. The kids took late night showers and we all went to bed happy and relaxed! Day two was perfect!

Day 1 McGill's Go Up North - Cincinnati to London, Ontario

The start of our 12 day Road Trip up North taking us to London, Ontario, Battersea, Quebec, Les Bergeronnes, Saranac Lakes, Lake Placid & Bufallo.

Day one! We packed up the car, ran a few last minute errands, said good-bye to Penny our dog and left around noon to head to Oma's house near London Ontario.

On the way we stopped in Lima, Ohio at the Kewpee Hamburger Place. It was so so good! The best hamburgers I had since In-Out-Burgers. I have to say though the doll is a little creepy haha

Fun Fact: on the way we saw Colonel Sanders driving in the car next to us. I didn't have my camera ready and he was driving soooo slow. It was pretty awesome though and probably the highlight of our first day!

Instead of crossing into Canada in Port Huron of the Bluewater Bridge we have been taking lately the ferry in Marine City. It shaves about 15 minutes off our trip and we never have to wait at the border. Plus it's so much more fun riding the ferry. I can never get over how BLUE the Bluewater River is!

Arrived at Oma's house and she had this beautiful cake for me. A little belated birthday surprise! It was even more delicious than it looks! We ate so much cake that we only had a very small dinner much later! 

Scot and the boys played a few hours in the backyard and then we all went to watch the storm roll in. The lightening was perfect and so I had to snap a few pictures of Scot too.

Unfortunately the storm also knocked the power out and so we spend the rest of the evening playing board games from my childhood by candle light. We had a very mean round of Mensch-Aergere-Dich-Nicht going!

Went to bed with the power still out and excited for the next day!