The Fixed Link

 The Confederation Bridge is a world engineering feat. It connects Prince Edward Island to mainland Nova Scotia over the Northumberland Strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.  At 12.9 kilometres or 8 miles long it is longest bridge in the world over ice-covered waters.  It takes approximately 10 minutes to across. At the highest point, the bridge reaches 60 metres above sea level, which allows large sea vessels, including cruise ships, to navigate under the bridge between its piers.

 

  

 

Audio Books help the time pass

Passing through New Brunswick

 

We stopped at a service centre for a cup of coffee/tea gas and bio break. I think it was this cool dino park that was the drawing card. New Brunswick has really good divided highways with new pavement and speed limits 110 kpm. The  trucks and cars were very courteous. LOTS OF TREES and MORE TREES!

Berthier-Sur-Mer

We ate supper at Cafe De La Marina Berthier sur Mer Du Havre. Sarah and Sally had Fish and Chips but there was more breading than fish.

I had Coquilles St.-Jacques. It was scallops and shrimp in a delicious creamy wine sauce and piped with cheesy mashed potatoes with rice pilaf and french fries.

 Lemon meringue pie just did not taste the same with the chocolate topping

Sugar Pie was a must try. It is a typical dessert of the Canadian province of Quebec, where it is called tarte au sucre;

 

 

Less than 40 minutes from Québec City is Berthier-sur-Mer, known as the sailing capital, where the St. Lawrence becomes an estuary. In the evening we strolled along the wharf, the new riverside park at the marina and the beach. We viewed Grosse-Île and the Isle-aux-Grues Archipelago and Mont Sainte-Anne across the St. Lawrence River.

La Blue Casa

We booked this charming spot simply for location -- we were on our way to the East Coast and wanted to break our journey just past Quebec City. After an evening there we wished we had spent a few days there. The house was so well and thoughtfully appointed -- each of the three bedrooms had its own bathroom, the house was very charming and very clean. The location was terrific -- very close to the St. Lawrence on a street with other charming houses that had a very lovely Quebec feel. Berthier-sur-Mer was Itself a lovely village on the St. Lawrence that would be a great place for exploring the area: Grosse Ile, Quebec City and the St. Lawrence in all its exquisite beauty as it opens up toward Riviera du Loup. And on top of all this Patricia is a top notch host -- very pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable

Side yard with hammock

Very nice linens

Happy Hour Martinis

Living room/ Dining room

Well appointed kitchen

Very pleased with our accommodations and getting ready to walk around town and down to the Marina

Viva La Montreal

So glad Sarah is driving this stretch as we head through Montreal during Friday rush hour. She is such a good driver and is so much more experienced at 3 and 4 lanes of cars.

At 234 meters, Mount Royal is the highest point in Montreal. It is affectionately called The Mountain by Montreal

Lots to see when you are a passenger. I Love Quebec.

               

Home of the 1976 Summer Olympics, officially called the Games of the XXI Olympiad

 and Expo 67

 

 

The Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine tunnel under the St Lawrence River— the longest tunnel in Canada

 

 

We thought we were lost and relied on the GPS. It took us west of the downtown and under the river during rush hour. Easy Peasy!

Nothing better than

Tally Ho away we go!

Road Warriors heading east on the 401 and crossing over from Ontario to Quebec.

 Smoked turkey and brie cheese on a baguette for a picnic in Quebec

When in Quebec eat like the locals…

Montreal smoked brisket on rye with Grey Poupon!

Sometimes all you need are good friends and a tank of gas

 

 So then there’s the road: a seemingly endless network of routes and possibilities that will take you to your desired destination. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Trans-Canada Highway: running west to east from Victoria, BC to St. John’s, NL, the highway is 7,821km long, making it one of the longest continuous roadways in the world.  We will head east on 401 and hook up to the Trans Canada. Traveling from Toronto to Quebec City is truly an all-day journey. Typically one is looking at somewhere between 9 and 11 hours of driving time* (depending on traffic). 

Tom set up a playlist of tunes. Karaoke anyone?

The British Invasion

Sally arrived ready to get this par-tay started