Traveling Gaspese --- Day 1 (L'Islet- Sur- Mer)

In the summer of 1933, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt loaded up her new Buick Roadster and took off on what she later described as one of the most incredible adventures of her life. Exhausted from the responsibilities of helping her husband win his Presidential election, and desiring quiet time and some anonymity, she and a friend traveled alone, without the benefit of secret service to the Gaspe Penninsula.  When she returned home several weeks later, she stated that she had been to one of the most beautiful places on this earth~

"For the next few days they drove along the south bank of the St. Lawrence on one of the loveliest roads in all of

 North America...eating meals cooked over wood burning stoves, sleeping under the sun on a warm beach, and swimming in the St. Lawrence. America seemed far away, and their anonymity complete. They stopped at a little church by the water, and the village priest invited them to lunch in his rectory"~

excerpt from-- 

 "Empty Without You:The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok"

 By Eleanor Roosevelt, Rodger Streitmatter, Lorena A. Hickok

 

 After spending some wonderful days in Quebec City at the start of our own great adventure, we finally began our travels around the Gaspe Penninsula. Our goal for this entire trip was to NOT be on a schedule.  We allowed 2 full weeks for this incredible trip, thus giving us plenty of time to stop whenever, and wherever we wanted~

  

  We considered the days after leaving Quebec City 

to be the actual start of our trip around the Penninsula --

so for the purpose of our itinerary and this

photo documentary -- this will be

Day 1.

Our goal for this first day

was to travel to the little town of

L'Islet-Sur-Mer,

where our hotel was located.  

Today's driving distance

 would be about 130 miles.

(2 1/2 hours drive)

~

It would take us over 8 hours 

to get there...

driving north,

with the St. Lawrence River on our left..

we soon left the busy tourist areas

near Quebec City.

~

It wasn't long before we knew

that this was going to be 

an incredible adventure...

~

our first impromptu stop

was this little church located on the 

banks of the river. 

~

The weather had already turned windy and COLD..

so we bundled up and walked all 

around the grounds of the church

and the old cemetery.

 located next to the church

was a beautiful little harbor area~

of course we had to stop...

~

(I had no idea that this would turn out

to be a trip that would take us to

countless beautiful churches dating back to

earlier times, beautiful scenic harbors,

and incredible coastal views...)

 any view that includes boats,

and water --- 

I'm there!!

it's the end of summer here --

and I'm sure they are getting their boat

ready for winter~

view from the Marina~

 trying to stay warm...

its brisk and breezy!

 we both loved this lovely

old cemetery on the banks of the river~

some of the monuments

dated back to the early 1800's~

opening into the St. Lawrence~

some photos from the front of the church~

we found a lovely little restaurant

at the marina for our lunch---

our lunch time view~

almost 3 hours later

(and it's only our FIRST stop!!)

we are on the road again~

Route 132

parallels the river for the entire trip~

some of the views are

just stunning.

~

not 20 minutes up the road 

and we have stopped again

to visit this little

 roadside park~

 we passed several of these

little park like areas on

this portion of our

 drive...

 beautiful flowers were

everywhere...

in the late afternoon--

almost 4:00, 

we arrive at our first destination

L'Islet

~ 

we aren't going to our motel yet,

we still have one more stop

 to make~

the amazing

Maritime Museum of Quebec

~

we arrived just in time to spend

 about 2 hours here before they

closed for the day~

the museum was exceptional!

on display was this

historic Icebreaker ship --

the Earnest Lapointe...

~

for more info about the museum

 you can click here...

some random photos

of our tour aboard the

Icebreaker ship~

we were like kids

roaming all over the ship,

playing,...

because we arrived in the late,late afternoon,

we were the only ones at the museum..

this ship could tell

some incredible stories~

view from inside the museum

 the Captain's log

in which he kept records

of the character of the crew members..

 after an incredible afternoon

at the museum,

we arrive at our little Auberge motel

just before dusk...

~

wait till you see 

how quaint and cute this place is!

~

more to come

 in my next

 post! 

Thanks so very much for traveling along with us... we have only just begun --- the next day is even more amazing!

~~~~~

Some itinerary stats so far..(starting point Quebec City)

 Day 1

miles traveled -- 130

driving time between destinations -- 2 1/2 hours

time spent to arrive at L'Islet

(counting all impromptu stops)-- 8 hours

xoxo,

Vicki 

an update to the 

Josephine's Children project~

we have received word that the boxes

 have arrived in Moombasa.

~

they have journeyed halfway 

around the world

across the oceans...

and are now waiting to clear customs

in Moombasa...

(this could take up to 2 weeks)

~

after clearing customs,

they will journey by land to

reach the children..

this could take up to a week

or 10 days. 

~ 

we are ever so close

to making dreams come true

for these children!