Day 54: Berthierville, Quebec, Canada

Day 54: Berthierville, Quebec, Canada

August 5, 2016

Miles: 41

Average Speed: 9.7 mph

Trois Riviere to Berthierville, Quebec

I woke up this morning and was shocked to discover it was already 8:30!  I woke Di and she was even more shocked than I.  Of course, I was shocked in a good way, because I love to get my sleep, and Di was shocked in a negative way, because she likes to get an early start.

We went to the restaurant in the hotel and ordered the buffet.  The waiter congratulated us on expecting a baby and we were very confused.  "Your baby will be here in November.  Do you want a boy or a girl?"  It took us a moment to realize he was talking about the presidential election.  We have had many conversations with Canadians about the upcoming election.  I think they are fascinated by the success of Trump, but of course, they never say anything bad about either of the candidates.  They are interested in what we think.  Di leaves them in no doubt as to which candidate she prefers.

Buffet offered made-to-order eggs

We went back to our room to pack and that is when I made the awful discovery that I had lost not one, but two sweaters.  They were nowhere to be found.  Then I remembered that I had taken them (I always carry an extra one for Di) to dinner with us last night and deduced I must have left them at the restaurant.  We are very careful with our gear and clothing because we don't want the hassle of trying to replace things, so we were surprised at this turn of events.  We saw that the restaurant didn't open until another hour and a half, so we weren't optimistic about getting the sweaters back, but we rode to the restaurant to see if we would get lucky.  And we did!  The restaurant was open for lunch prep and my sweaters were found stored under the bar.  Di and I celebrated like we had just found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Sometimes excitement has to be manufactured.

Sweaters Regained - an epic poem

It was a sunny and warm day.  I would say it was a hot day, but those of you back home probably have a much different idea of hot than they do here in Quebec.  For example, it was in the mid 80's here and we were warned to be careful and drink plenty of water because of the heat.  

After riding 12 or so miles, we came upon an area of the St. Lawrence shore that looked like it was dotted with tents.  When we go closer we saw that instead of tents, those colorful objects were actually kites.  We stopped to watch the kite flying (while humming Let's Go Fly a Kite, of course).  After a while we noticed that some of the kite handlers were actually in the water and were using the kites to help them surf.  It was para-sailing, but with kites.  Impressive!

Kites, not tents

Its a kite convention

Para-kiting?

Another thing to add to the bucket list

We stopped for lunch at the Tango Cafe.  We both ordered veggie wraps and Di a lemonade and I an iced coffee.  Di said her lemonade was so good that I had to use a term other than "good" to describe it.  Di's lemonade was really good.  My coffee was excellent.

Most excellent coffee

I'm totally parched.  Can I get a lemonade?

We had about 18 miles to go after lunch and we rode it in a straight shot, pausing only once to take a picture.  I am including that picture here.

Picture of questionable value

We arrived at the Day's Inn in Berthierville around 4:15.  Berthierville is where those people who doubt President Obama's citizenship come from (ba-da-bum).  Di washed some clothes and we hung them to dry in the room before heading out to Mike's Trattoria for dinner.  Di ordered a gluten-sensitive pizza (a pizza that doesn't eat gluten?) and I had chicken brochette (I'm ready to eat chicken again after a two week abstinence).  Both meals were good.

Gluten sensitive pizza and person

We are hoping to watch some of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics tonight.  Tomorrow we are off to Repentigny, where no doubt the flagellati come from.