My family and I recently went on a road trip in the province of Quebec. I have lived in the Montreal area for many years now and I’ve been on road trips before, but I’ve never stopped at a fromagerie. I have seen signs on the road announcing their presence all over the place, and I’m very enthusiastic about cheese, but for some reason, I never stopped.
For this road trip, I told my husband and son that I wanted to stop whenever we saw a sign that said “fromagerie.” I was also willing to stop for the word “laiterie.” Now I’m writing a blog post so that you can join us on this delicious journey.
I have posted on this blog every day since June 8. It’s been years since I’ve been writing with any sort of regularity, so it feels pretty good.
As you may have noticed, I’ve mostly been writing vignettes. Some of these depict recent scenes, but many of them are old snapshots of my life from way back. I thought it might be a good idea to post a monthly update to share what’s happening with my blog and what’s happening in my life.
You can read the vignette presented in this video here.
The video includes my artwork, and also some footage from our more recent whale watching tour last week. This time we were armed with Gravol and we didn’t get sick.
Here is a gallery with some pictures from the tour and with the artwork from the video.
For many gardeners, the part of summer when the tomatoes are ripe is the best time of year. There is nothing more delicious and rewarding than a fresh tomato from your garden. Whether you grew them from seed or acquired some small tomato plants, you did it, baby! It’s time to enjoy the benefits of your labour.
Maybe you plan on making sauce, or maybe you just plan on having salads and sandwiches that are more tasty than usual. At this time of year, I just add fresh tomatoes to basically whatever I’m making. I’m making pasta? Throw in some tomatoes at the end. Omelet? Oh look, now it’s a tomato omelet. Cheese plate? Who doesn’t love tomatoes with some fancy cheese? You get the idea. We love tomatoes! It was inevitable that they would be named Garden Star 🌟 of the Week.
The waterfall at Camping Chutes Fraser near La Malbaie, Quebec
There’s a waterfall across the laneway from our campsite. After our tent is set up, we cross the little road to have a look.
Wooden stairs lead down to to the flat rocks at the top of the waterfall. We stand on the rocks and admire the scene.
“We’ll probably get a better view from the bottom of the waterfall,” I say.
My husband Phil says, “Do you want to take that trail we saw when we came in?” I agree and we head down the path.
We quickly realize that the path we’re walking on is also a roadway. We squeeze onto the shoulder to let cars pass. We bend our knees generously as we make our way down the steep path through the woods.
At the bottom of the hill, there is a parking lot. A family in a pickup truck wants to park where my son is currently walking. They reach their arms out of the open windows and bang on the metal sides of the truck, making a loud, booming sound.
Not wanting him to get run over, I pull my son out of the way, but the truck is taking up the entire parking lot. Pedestrians scatter as the driver maneuvers around the small parking lot.
We get away from that mess and onto the trail. There is a wooden bridge crossing the river and a foot path leading us closer to the waterfall. I snap several pictures and take some videos from the bridge and from the path.
We find a picnic table near the base of the waterfall and sit down to enjoy its beauty. The cool mist tickles our hot faces, relieving us from the humidity that has been clinging to us all day.
Phil decides that it’s a good time for him to get some photographs as well. He takes out his phone and uses the camera to frame the waterfall. He is about to tap the button when the family from the pickup truck walks into his shot.
They’re wearing bathing suits, tank tops, and flip flops. A guy with a mop of white-blond hair and neon pink swim shorts takes his shirt off and poses in front of the waterfall.
He bares his teeth and sticks his tongue out as far as it will go. He sticks his pointer and pinky fingers up while holding the middle fingers down with his thumb. He poses with his right hand up and his left hand in front of his belly, with his left hand up and his right hand down, and with both hands in front of his hips.
When he is done having his picture taken, he puts his shirt back on.
When Phil sees the guy walk back to his family, he thinks that this is his chance. He takes his phone out again, but the other family members also want their pictures taken.
We notice rain drops and decide to walk back to the campsite. As we walk over the bridge, we see the guy climbing up the waterfall. His shorts are blazing like a neon sign in front of the white water and the grey rocks.
A few days later, we’re at home sitting on the couch. I ask Phil what his favourite part of the road trip was.
“I liked it when we were sitting on the picnic table and laughing at that guy,” he says. “You know, the one who was throwing horns in front of the waterfall while his girlfriend or whoever took his picture.”
I was on a road trip with my family this week, which is why the video is late. It also contains scenes from our trip. There will be more posts about this road trip coming soon, and there are already some photos and videos on my Instagram.
Iris lays in the tent in the dark. Her family is sleeping, but she can hear whispering outside. At first she thinks it’s just people on neighbouring campsites, but the voices seem to be coming closer and closer.
“Iris.” The whisper is hoarse and sounds almost like static.
“Hello?” she says, trying to sound brave. There’s a sliver of fading laughter and then silence.
Meg is too exhausted to sleep. Her children were arguing in the car for the entire drive here. She had planned this entire trip for them, and neither of them wants to be here.
She is not surprised by Cam’s seething anger and hostility, but she is surprised by Iris’ sharp sarcasm and lack of faith in Meg’s planning skills.
They are asleep and quiet now, at least. They are on opposite sides of the tent.
Meg is trying to mimic their slumber, but it is not working. She thinks about the reasons why it might not be working. Could it be disappointment that her children no longer enjoy family outings? Could it be that the tree root under the tent is making her back feel like a piece of wood with an axe sticking out of it? Maybe it’s her husband’s snoring.
Cam cannot sleep. His family is in the tent with him snoring softly and the campground is beginning to quiet down.
He is angry with his family because he doesn’t want to be on this camping trip. He has been against it since his parents brought it up.
“Can I just stay home by myself?” he asked. His parents said no. They said it would be a fun thing to do as a family. He told them that he wasn’t a kid anymore and he shouldn’t be forced to do stuff like this. His dad countered by saying that he was too young to stay home alone for a week.
“We’re staying for a week?” Cam said in an incredulous monotone.
Raccoon Brontosaurus 