Vermont/Quebec City Recap

My pictures all uploaded backwards... and my description of the trip is at the end of the pictures so you might want to read that first!Chickadee eating off the rail





Tyler's rabbit




I tripped and fell


Old Stone Wall in the woods








Moose tracks


Breakfast


Real "old-school" cooking :)


Mouse-trap cabinetry - look at the latch
Fireplace

Tyler hits his target


I look goofy with a gun


BunkhouseOuthouse



Glover Camp


Trying to stay warm


Well pump



Colder inside than out


Kitchen

Approaching Deer Camp


Hippie Horse


Currier's Market

Tom and Donna's house (Ty's apartment is on top of garage) on Lake Memphremagog

Apple Pie #1

Saint Lawrence River

NYE in front of Chateau Frontenac

Dinner the first night

Our hotel - our room was the top one on the left

View of Chateau from our window

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Tyler fell asleep in our room

Dec 30 in the AM outside Tyler's door

Tyler's heater... I loved it!

Chickens at Jericho Settlers' Farm

A warm egg that Matt found

Tyler and Matt collect eggs

Ty poses with his 2008 deer portrait inside Currier's

Getting pulled in the sled... so fun for me! A workout for Ty!

We crashed on our first ride

Sitting on a pond!Self-portrait

Putting up the Trackster

1st Snow Angel

Tyler

My plans to blog in Vermont fell through because there was just so much to do! I apologize for the delay in getting up pictures... I had the most wonderful Christmas break ever. To travel from Atlanta to Florida to Vermont (and Quebec City!) in a 2-week period was exciting and exhausting. I'll try my best to summarize my adventure up North!

I departed Atlanta on December 26, and got stuck on the runway for 2 hours before take-off. I was so worried about missing the connection at JFK... but thankfully I made it with perfect time. As soon as I got onto my tiny connecting-plane we took off and arrived in Burlington 30 minutes early! The view from the plane of Lake Champlain was spectacular. I'd love to explore that area more on another trip. Tyler met me at baggage claim and we drove to downtown Burlington for a walk down Church St. and a visit to American Flatbread for some of the most delicious pizza I have ever eaten. We also enjoyed some hot chocolate from Lake Champlain Chocolates - yummy! Now that I am home I wish I'd have purchased some hot chocolate mix to bring with me. After dinner we made the journey home to Newport where we opened our Christmas gifts to each other. Tyler got me some wonderful gifts including my first Carhartt socks and hat!

Saturday we woke up and Tyler made pancakes and venison sausage for breakfast. Then we went searching for a pair of snow boots - and found some great ones for under $100! We left with my purchase and went over to the Alexander Family Christmas in Glover. There were about 42 people at the party for me to meet. You can read about it here. When we opened the door to the house I was amazed at how loud it was! It was like entering a bar on a Friday night! Ty's family was amazing, as I expected. I especially enjoyed meeting his dad, step-mom, and brothers. Later, we went for a ride on the Trackster. It was fun for me because I didn't have to squeeze into the back of it like Matt and Calvin, Tyler's cousin! After the ride we explored the pond... I was so excited to "walk on water!" I also went sledding for the first time - so fun, but Ty forgot to tell me how to stop and we crashed on the first run! On the way home we stopped by Currier's Market - the coolest store I have ever been in. The business card for the store says, "Meat - Groceries - Deli - Harware - Sporting Goods." The Glover Post Office was also located inside the market - classic. Currier's did not have my favorite champagne, so we went to Shaw's to pick it up (where it was not on sale!) along with some strawberries. Yum!

On Sunday we got up and drove to Tyler's mom's house in Richmond. I was very excited to meet her and his step-dad! We arrived and had time to visit for a little bit while the gifts for the Yankee gift-swap were wrapped. Tyler brought an old moose-antler... it was pretty hilarious! When everything was wrapped we left for the next family gathering with the step-family. It was great fun! The food was delicious, especially the artichoke dip that Tyler's step-brother made. The Yankee gift swap was great - I made out with a fragrance diffuser and Tyler got the Grey's Anatomy Season 1 DVD (and some other DVD that I can't remember). After the gathering we went to the movies and finally came back to Tyler's mother's house. We got dressed warmly and headed out to "The Clubhouse." This is a small camp that Tyler and his family built in the woods behind the house. Tyler got the fire started and it was actually a lot warmer than I expected it to be!

Monday we woke up late and were treated to an amazing breakfast thanks to Tyler's mom... we had blueberry pancakes, bacon and fresh fruit galore! It was so good! We were supposed to all go skiing but the snow had melted and so we had to cancel those plans. I said good-bye to Tyler's mom, but will get to see her again when I return in April. Matt, Tyler and I went instead to their cousin's farm (Jericho Settlers' farm) and art gallery and explored. (Tyler worked here one summer.) We were there quite a while and got to assist in collecting the days eggs from the chickens. It was like a farm field trip for me - I learned quite a bit about chickens that day! You can also view their blog here.

We left the farm and stopped by a gas station/deli that had the most wonderful food I have ever seen in a gas station! We ate and then headed to Smuggler's Notch to hike with the intention of sledding down the road on the way back. It was so icy that I did more falling down than walking! On the way back we attempted (all 3 of us) to sled down but it was way too bumpy for me! Tyler and Matt took turns though and seemed to enjoy themselves. The views all around were breathtaking. I especially loved seeing the ice frozen all over the mountains... Monday night we had dinner plans with Tyler's landlords, Tom and Donna. Dinner was great but it made for a very long day and by 9PM or so Tyler and I were both exhausted and ready for bed.

Tuesday we woke up and got packed for Quebec City! The weather was crazy! Snow was blowing all over the place; I'd never seen anything like it before. We loaded up the truck and got off to a late start on our way to Canada. Five minutes later, we were in Canada! I forgot my passport and birth certificate so we kept our fingers crossed that I would be allowed back into the US. The drive was intense, for me at least. The snow was blowing all over the place and I felt like a nervous wreck. Tyler did an excellent job driving though and we made it to Quebec City around dusk. We found our hotel fairly easily, after a grand tour of the city, and checked in. Our room was #21 overlooking the street and Chateau Frontenac. We went for a walk to explore and IT WAS COLD! I didn't think to use my toe and hand warmers donated by Jenni and Matt, or I might have been warmer. The wind was whipping and I was ready to get inside some place warm to eat.

Before dinner we celebrated our arrival in Quebec City with some very, very sweet wine at a bar/restraunt near the hotel. Here we encountered two drunk, deaf men who were very boisterous... they made the experience interesting for sure! After the wine, we had dinner at Aux Anciens Candiens (built in 1675): Tyler had the "Trapper's Special" of game pate and a meatloaf-sort-of-thing made of pheasant, bison and elk while I had lobster bisque and a mixed salad with warm goat cheese and maple dressing. Yummy! For dessert we shared a huge slice of maple pie and it was perfect. Totally stuffed, we went back to the hotel and crashed.

Wednesday was New Year's Eve and we had a big day planned. Unfortunately, I woke up with a nasty cold and that changed our plans quite a bit. First, we missed the breakfast buffet because I was sleeping and couldn't get up by 10AM in time to eat! Then, we tried to explore the Notre-Dame Cathedral (1647 oldest parish in N. America) but I felt miserable. We bought tickets to the Musée de l'Amérique francaise where we viewed the exhibition on The Settling of French America and The Huguenots in New France. Both were very interesting, but because of my cold I was completely out of it. At 2PM Tyler had scheduled a carriage ride so we quickly made our way back to the hotel to prepare for that. We had a great, albeit cold, ride behind a huge Percheron horse. The guide spoke English and told us a lot about the history of the city - although I am pretty sure Tyler already knew most of what he said. We rode past the preparations for the NYE celebration and it seemed like a huge blowout was planned. It was, after all, the conclusion of Quebec City's 400th birthday.

After the carriage ride we went looking for lunch. Once we found a place and ate I was full, but still sick as a dog. We walked around a bit checking out places for our NYE dinner and finally found a strangely-decorated Italian restaurant that was still taking reservations. We put our name down but hoped to find something else. After a nap, we left for dinner and were happily surprised to find a nicer Italian restaurant that could seat us immediately. We made friends with the couple next to us and Tyler got to practice his French while Bruno, the husband, got to practice his English. The wife and I listened and I felt like it was some kind of game - the goal being to figure out what they were talking about! Dinner was excellent, but I was too tired and cold to party in the streets with the rest of the people. We went back to the hotel where I took NyQuil and turned on the TV to watch what was happening right down the street. By 11ish I was sleeping, but at midnight Tyler awoke to the fireworks and I attempted to watch them out the window. I was a sad excuse for a party-animal that night!

Thursday we packed up, ate breakfast and checked out. We had hoped to explore the lower city, but after a drive-by I didn't think there was much to see but tourist shops and restaurants. We took a few last pictures of the Saint Lawrence River and said goodbye to Quebec. The drive home was much faster, about 3 hours, because it wasn't snowing. I was allowed back into the country, thank goodness, and we stopped by the Curling Club but it was empty. Once home, Tyler made a few phone calls and within a couple hours we had eaten dinner, made an apple pie and were playing Taboo with some of his friends. I had a good time, but faded pretty fast and later felt bad that I was basically falling asleep while Ty's friends were over.

Friday morning we had the best plans to wake up early and get out to deer camp. Instead, we again slept in and got off to a late start. We stopped by Currier's and picked up some supplies. By the time we arrived at the "Hippie Compound" it was starting to get dark and we still had to walk over a mile to camp. I wasn't sure what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised by the camp. It was very cold inside, much colder than it was outside. Tyler got the fire going, the wood stove burning, and the pump primed. We went outside and I got to shoot a shotgun, although I was a sorry shot! I only hit part of the target once. Tyler also shot his muzzleloader, but I refused because I was afraid of the noise. Afterwards we laid down in the snow and looked up at the stars. I've never heard such quiet in my life... it was very beautiful. We went back inside and started dinner on the wood stove: venison tenderloin and potatoes. Very good... although it was hot cooking over that ancient stove! The outhouse wasn't as bad as I had expected, and I got used to walking outside in the snow without putting on a ton of layers.

Saturday Tyler made a fantastic breakfast of french toast with strawberries and bacon. We went for a 2-hour hike which was difficult for me. My cold, the cold air, the thick snow and walking uphill all equaled one heck of a workout. I'm sure Tyler was annoyed with my stopping to take pictures, stopping to take inhaler, stopping to pull my boot out of a hole, etc. But he was a great sport and certainly didn't act irritated! We got to the top where the Cedar Shack is located and took a breather before heading back down to camp. On the way back, Tyler spotted a rabbit and took a shot. The rabbit hopped across the street but was still in his sight, so he walked up and shot again and got it! It was an amazing thing to watch. Later, Tyler cleaned it up and we put it in a Zip Lock bag for the freezer. Although Tyler offered to cook it up for fresh rabbit stew that night, I kindly declined in favor of a less "wild" dinner. :)

It took a while to clean up camp... lots of things to do to get it ready for the next hunters: split wood (which I was pretty good at!), wash dishes, get the pump ready, feed the birds our leftovers, pack up our bed linens and clothes, load up the sled, write an entry in the journal, etc. I really enjoyed camp in general... I can't wait to go back, especially when it is warmer and I can really hike without the inhaler!

On our way home we stopped back by Currier's for the last time... what a great place! We picked up some things for dinner and went home. After badly needed showers, we attempted to make another apple pie to no avail. The dang pie crust would not cooperate and we had to improvise with a modified apple crisp! Tyler made very hearty spaghetti with lots of veggies... We were both tired from all of our adventures and very sad that I was leaving the next morning.

Sunday my flight left at 10:30AM... I bought some maple syrup for Jenni and Matt but it was confiscated along with some apple butter at security in Burlington. I forgot to transfer it to my suitcase... as if I wasn't sad enough to leave Tyler I had now lost $7 too! My flight from JFK was delayed at take-off for an hour, but I got home pretty much on time. My parents were so wonderful and met me at my house with Fred a few hours after I got home. This helped in my transition back to "normal life" from vacation.

I'm looking forward to many more Vermont adventures in the future. I go back for my spring break in April and will get to learn how to do maple sugaring!