We left the gorgeous Jardins de Métis and continued to drive east on the Gaspé Peninsula toward Forillon National Park. If you haven’t made this drive you should. It is really, really beautiful and rivals the Pacific Coast Highway in California. It is super hilly with spectacular vistas at every turn. This was the beginning of our admiration for the many hued houses. The colour choices and combinations inspired and excited us. In addition to our photo documentation of giant ice cream cones adorning buildings and attracting customers we noticed that frites in boxes were fairly ubiquitous on the Gaspé. Said frites are really two by fours collected and assembled in a white plywood box and positioned on the top of the casse croutes. We also wondered why we saw so many three wheeled motorcycles. Was there a convention? There were literally hundreds of them over a couple of days all travelling westward on the Gaspé. Paul and Sherry – we think this is the perfect vehicle for you… that way Sherry could pack a little more! Also, Paul and Sherry – the photo of Christian gassing up and holding a PetroCanada gift card is for you – thank you for such a generous gift!!

We made it as far as a little community called Sainte-Madeleine-de-la-Rivière-Madeleine. This photo essay documents what we saw on our way and while in the vicinity of a terrific little privately run campground called Camping Bel-Air. Our campsite was literally beside the beach on the St. Lawrence and we were all alone. Up on the hill there were some sweet little chalets overlooking the beach and some of those giant campers but we were oblivious to all of them. Also, because they all had their own bathrooms we had the pristine bathroom facilities virtually to ourselves. The women’s bathroom had the customary paper towel dispenser but then it also had freshly laundered pink cotton towels for your hands and a container of feminine hygiene products and an ironing board (all very thoughtful, don’t you think?). We stopped at the local Poissonerie and bought fresh cooked lobster which we paired with a fresh salad and a glass of cider, sat along side the river basking in the end of day sun while we ate listening to the waves. After dinner we walked along the beach collecting our favourite rocks and lining them up on logs for closer inspection. In the morning we would determine which would make the cut and would travel with us. We still think back to this campsite longingly. We contemplated the selling of our house that night and decided that it was worth it if you could make a place like this your home each night for just $23.