16 - Eastern Canada (Toronto & Montreal)



Avril finding out her redneck husband has French Canadian roots!

Our trip across the border in Western Canada was so much fun we decided to see if the Eastern side was just as good! As for excitement, the drive through Detroit to Port Huron had us at the edge of our seat... low bridges everywhere! Or trailer is 13'6" tall, most of the bridges we had to pass under were 14'0", but we did have to go under one that was 13'7"...we held our breath on that one!

Once up in the Toronto area, we camped in a nice provincial park called Darlington, which is just minutes down the road from Avril's cousin Brian. Although it had been 40 yrs since she'd last seen Brian and his wife Rita, the trusty internet has kept them connected throughout the years.  Their daughter Robin had visited us 22 yrs ago, at our wedding! So you could say a family reunion was in order especially since almost all of Avril's relatives live on other continents.



FAMILY REUNION:



Brian, Robin and her 2 children Gracy & Gresham, Avril & Rita (and Jazz the dog!)

 

"HOUSTON, WE'LL BE HAVING COMPANY REAL SOON!"

After a wonderful day and a half spent with the Eastern Brownlie's we think a Southern visit is in the cards from some of them!!!  Brian mentioned he'll be retiring at the end of this year, so perhaps both him & Rita will do some trekking themselves?!?! ....watch this space!!! :)  We're pretty sure Robin is saving up for a ticket, she helped us out a bunch with French phrases for our upcoming trip to Montreal, but says her Spanish is a little rusty and needs some fine tuning...we can help with that....margarita, cerveza, gracias!...

Brian, Robin & kids at our campsite

FORSTER SIDE:

Our weekend reunion continued onto Dave's side of the family; his Aunt Lois and cousins Cameron & Janice (the one we visited in Cincinnati).  A fun evening by all, catching up and getting better acquainted with those we had not met before.  With all the family reminiscing going on, Dave started feeling a little melancholy, a little homesick perhaps?... turned out what he was feeling was a growing desire to visit the place where it all started for him. Dave yearned to return back to the place of his birth. Turns out, Dave was born in Lachine, Quebec, less than a day's drive from Toronto. So armed with French sayings that wouldn't get us into any trouble, we set our sights on Montreal.

Cameron, Dave, Lois, Daniel (Janice's son), John (Cameron's friend), Avril & Janice

PARLEZ VOUS ANGLAIS?

Fortunately Montreal was very bilinguel and although we attempted some French, it was comforting to know we could be understood either way.  Even though being a Canadian, I was surprised to realize Montreal is an island...kind of like Galveston, TX (near where we live). We took a scenic hike up Mount Royal where we enjoyed panaramic views of the city. They say it is here where Montreal was named, after Mount Royal, say it very fast, over & over, and you can hear how the two sound alike!

La city a la new...

La city, a la old.....(section of town known as Old Montreal)

LACHINE, THEN & NOW:

We were able to find the apartment complex Dave's parents stayed in when they lived in Lachine. We walked around the area and compared routes & buildings between today and yesterday.


Apartment Dave lived in for the first 2 yrs, 1st floor on the left

Little Dave on the balcony

 

Church steps Dave used to frequent as a toddler



Little Dave before the ascent....

WHERE TO NEXT DAVE?

Looks like little Dave thinks the water is where we should head towards next, perhaps to the coastal areas of Maine?  Stay tuned!