A reunion in Quebec City

After checking in at the Old Quebec City Marina on Saturday evening, we went to find Claus and Rachael. What a joyful reunion that was! The conversation was animated and without pause for the couple hours we spent with them and their cat, Charlotte, on Kyanna. Although we just met this summer because we "happened" to be docked two slips apart at Pike's Bay, it feels like we've known each other much longer. Sharing a first adventure like this (although they've sailed more than we have) at the same time will do that. It was fun to compare our experiences.

On Sunday morning we were invited to join Claus and Rachael on Bill and Nancy's boat, just a few over from ours. Bill and Nancy are acquaintances of Rachael's aunt and uncle in Park City, Utah, and old salts with endless stories to share. Bill counseled Wayne and Rachael (who took scrupulous notes) on the fine details of navigating the waters of the rest of the St. Lawrence, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Maine. They pored over the charts while Claus and I, who aren't navigators, followed along with our road maps. The other three would be talking about latitude and longitude, and Claus would say, "That's G5 on our map."

After lunch we went our separate ways but soon bumped into Claus and Rachael on antique row. We continued our exploration of the Old City of Quebec with them, Rachael with her Nikon D200 and me with my Nikon D80. The guys get a lot of points for patience, because our pace went something like "walk twenty feet, stop and take a picture" all through the Old City. Rachael and I rewarded Wayne and Claus with a beer stop later in the afternoon, and we finally settled on dinner at a little French restaurant after checking out nearly every menu posted in the Old City. Too many enticing restaurants to choose from.

We like Quebec even more than Montreal; it has more of the Old World charm and atmosphere, more buildings and sites of historical and architectural interest, and is the last remaining fortified city north of Mexico City, which adds a unique element of interest. Quebec City is said to be the only place in North America to have retained so much of its European heritage. Walking the cobbled streets within the walls of the old city, one has the unmistakable impression of being in Europe, except for the almost jarring disparity of seeing signs and shops with Canadian, Native American, and Inuit merchandise, arts, and souvenirs.

We returned to the boat late Sunday evening, but not too late to call and wish our granddaughter, Alex, a happy 5th birthday. Happy Birthday, Alex! We love you!

Monday morning we had another session with Bill and Nancy, covering the area from Maine down to the Chesapeake Bay. They're from Rhode Island and know the east coast particularly well. They shared with us a treasure trove of information, and we are grateful to them for their generosity. Bill and Nancy are dear people who are young at heart and fun to be with. They spend their winters in Park City, Utah, where it is Bill's goal to become the oldest ski instructor there.

After lunch I was feeling the need to go off on my own, and Wayne had work to do. I went to the farmer's market nearby - oh, my! Wayne and I visited there on Sunday, too. I have never seen so much beautiful produce! Baskets of freshly picked berries, piles of sweet corn, gunny sacks full of potatoes, bundles of leeks, onions, carrots, herbs, etc, heads of broccoli and cauliflower, buckets full of flowers, every kind of squash imaginable, cheeses, teas, maple syrup, freshly baked bread, etc. etc. etc. And all of it displayed so beautifully. It was a feast for the eyes and overwhelming to us produce-deprived mariners.

I walked for over four hours and returned to the boat exhausted and weighed down with goodies from the market. Wayne greeted me with "let's go to the grocery store!" so we walked twenty minutes over there and picked up things not available at the market.

On the way back we were summoned by our four friends to join them for cocktails on Bill and Nancy's boat. We dropped off our groceries, heated up some spinach and artichoke dip, and went on over. We shared stories and laughed and just enjoyed the company of like-minded friends.

I had thawed out some soup and invited Claus and Rachael over for dinner, with the idea that we could plot and discuss our course since we've decided to travel together for a while. I don't know how much plotting took place, but we shared lots of lively conversation and laughter.

Earlier in the day Claus said to me, "I'm feeling the itch," and I knew exactly what he was talking about: as much as we love it here in Quebec, we were feeling the urge to "hit the road." In spite of that, we decided to stay another day and get things done. We'll be mostly in wilderness area for the next couple weeks and we want to be well-provisioned and prepared before we venture out. I did a couple loads of laundry, answered email, got some things organized, and am working on this blog. I hope to get photos uploaded this afternoon. Wayne has been - all together now - working on the boat, and I hope he'll have time to get a couple things done on my honey-do list before the day's out. I have been encouraging him to post to the blog, but he hasn't gotten around to it yet.