Day 11: Rimouski QC - Arnprior ON

KM Driven: 844.4
Location: Arnprior Motor Inn

Preface: I can't stay connected long enough to upload photos. They will be added tomorrow.

What can I say about today, other than I'm sore and I'm tired. I've pretty much sat in a car for two days straight. Sure there have been stops along the way, but it's still confining, and after a while it feels like my legs start to atrophy. I stop to use the washroom and it's like I have to learn how to walk all over again.

I started the day with a quick loop up to Pointe-Au-Pere to see the lighthouse and the historical site. It was just a few short KMs up the road fom where I was staying. I read a few placks, took a few photos, and was on the road for the big push through QC. I would have liked to have stayed longer and learned more about the lighthouse and the history of the historical site, but there was definitely too much time pressure for that. Back in the car, the first and only stop I made was in Trois-Pistoles QC. Being such a die hard hip fan I couldn't pass up the opportunity to drive through and take a picture of the welcome sign for the QC Hip namesake city. It has a quaint downtown with a beautiful church in the centre. A quick drive through was all I did and I was back on the road. I wanted to stop in for lunch somewhere but being so ashamed of not knowing French I had picked up a sandwich at a gas station in Rimo and that was that. Then I drove straight through to Ottawa. Pretty uneventful drive. The sun was a nice touch to the trip. Finally, when I have no sights to see it's bloody beautiful out. Still it made for a nice driving day. The Quebec drivers are still among the worst in the country. How can they not realize how stupid tailgating is. And cutting almost directly in front of trucks. Did captain bad idea tell them to do that, because the captain doesn't always give good advice. One turd burglar was tailing me, and I had to squeeze in front of a school bus to get out of his way. He was practically already in my lane by the time I got over. With my window down I flipped my hand out the window in a "shove it" motion. He gave me this really weird look when he passed, like he had no idea why I would have done that. I pulled up to the Econolodge (thew new Ottawa standard stop) and I was all ready to unpack and unwind but they were full. Unfortunately the Econolodge was full. It is the cheapest in Ottawa, and otherwise you might as well not be in downtown unless you want to pay 100+ dollars. The sun was already practically set, but I decided to get back on the road and just truck it towards my next destination. I'm taking the northern route to Haliburton, and making a few stoppies on the way. One potential stop is another waterfalls in QC, just across the way from I think Pembroke. I'll have to see if I'm feeling up for it. Now that I'm within 5-6hrs from home I have to think that anything I do now could be accomplished in a weekend trip if I so chose.

All in all Quebec in an amazingly beautiful province. This morning, and last night I really enjoy driving through what I'm going to call the Northern Appalachians. Whatever they were it was stunning. The towns and villages, the shoreline of the St. Lawrence River. Quebec est une tres tres belle province. I also have resolved that I need to learn how to speak French. I'm going to look into teaching myself and then if it goes well looking into getting formal lessons.

I'm going to attach some photos and head to sleep. The internet connection is very very weak up here so I want to wrap it up. Plus it was a fairly uneventful day, and there's really not much left to say. Oh, but I am less than impressed with where I'm staying. I put the deadbolt on and it was looking kind of suspicious so I gave it a tug from the locked position and it popped out. Good stuff.