The Fall(s) after the Concert

As I feared, don’t feel great today. Between having a cold and staying up late at a rock concert, I feel hung over even though I did not touch any alcohol. A bit light-headed, dehydrated, ears are ringing, mouth is dry, groggy - yep, feels like a hangover. Guess it’s a cold-induced and AC/DC-influenced hangover.

Needless to say, we were not quick this morning. Took us most of the morning to get ready and get going. When we finally did head out, we made our way to Les Chutes de something or other. I don’t recall the name but it will be in Sonya’s blog - she checks all the facts and has many, man details. I do remember that they were tall and beautiful. There was a building that we passed through to get to the footpath that leads up to the top of the falls. The building had a small shop and was also a billeterie (ticket booth) for a commuter train that stops there. It is a two-car train. Both cars being engines that are back-to-back, presumably to allow the train to go in both directions without having to turn around. Waiting for the train was a tour group of seniors and when I asked one of them where the train was headed and, in all seriousness and without hesitating, she told me “Chicago”. “What?”, I exclaimed, “Chicago? Really?” I was taken aback that this little train stopping at a waterfall near a small town well outside of Quebec City would go all the way to Chicago. But then she gave me an impish grin, pointed to my Chicago Bears t-shirt, and said “I’m just joking, I saw your t-shirt.” Good one - I fell for it.

Turns out that the small train was headed for another small town - Saint Something or Other (again, please refer to Sonya’s log for details). Editors Note: all small towns in Quebec are named after Saints.

We climbed the path to the top of the falls. It was a good, steep trail - not as long as Bear’s Hump in Watertown but just as steep. These falls are impressive, one of the tallest in Canada. Actually, I thought that we read that they were the tallest in Canada but Sonya’s fact checking proved otherwise so I’m going with “one of the tallest”. There is a suspension bridge across it so we walked the bridge and really got a good view of the falls and the valley below. The bridge is version 3.0, with the first suspension bridge having been a disaster. It lasted only a few days before one of the supports gave out and the bridge, along with three people, plunged into the chasm below. That was back in the early 1800’s. The second bridge was built shortly thereafter and lasted until the 1990’s. Quite a good run. The bridge that we took was built in 1993 and looked pretty solid. The cables and bolts holding this thing up are huge. (You can't quite see the bridge from this angle. It is just beyond the top of the falls.)

For the hike back, we decided to take the stairs instead of the trail. There are well over 400 stairs from the top of the falls down to the bottom so we had some good exercise and were all getting hungry by the time we got back to the car. On the way to the parking lot, while the others stopped at the washroom, I was hanging out with Kizzy and we met a fairly rough looking biker dude. He had the look and all of the accoutrements: long hair in a pony tail, earlobe extending earring, tattoos (who doesn’t these days but his are of the ‘biker-dude’ variety), leather vest, head scarf, jeans, and black boots. We traded Harley-Davidson museum stories while he pet Kizmet. He was soft-spoken and seemed like a nice guy.

Across the river from these particular Chutes is the “Ile D’Orléans” (Island of Orleans) and that was our next destination. This island in the middle of the St. Laurent Seaway is a veritable treasure, with acres and acres of strawberry fields an

d apple orchards. The main road circles the entire island, following the coastline. We passed many beautiful ocean front cottages and houses and more than a few fruit stands and boutique art stores. It seems that the island is inhabited predominantly by farmers and artists. We stopped at an old Moulin (mill) that had been converted to a small restaurant. The meal was excellent, sitting on the deck next to a small stream and waterfall. A person could easily fall in love with such a place.

#ACDC #quebeccity #iledorlean