Our first stop this morning was the museum/information centre in VanKleek Hill. The sign on the door said that they opened at 9 and it was 9:30 when we stepped on their porch. Doggone! The door was locked. I peered inside and there was this lovely lady. She opened the door and told us that they really aren't open this month and they really should change their sign. When we asked for a few pamphlets, she took a liking to us and insisted on giving us a tour of the museum.
"Did you see our wedding dress?"
"I need to show you the baby bottle display." Most baby bottles had very narrow necks. They were about half the diameter of the ones in the image below and were difficult to clean. Babies would get very sick. Adelaide Hoodless' 14 month old son died from drinking contaminated milk. She made it her life's mission to educate girls and women in household management. She founded the Womens' Institute.
After being invited to a lunch of soup and buns tomorrow from 12 to 1 at the Creating Centre, we were on our way.
Don't you love the trust factor in small communities?
There is a beautiful bridge that crosses the Ottawa River between Hawkesbury, Ontario and Grenville, Quebec.
Just over the bridge we noticed this lovely canal alongside the river. There is a lot of history in this part of the province.
Our destination today was to travel to Mont Tremblant, around 90 km due north of Van Kleek Hill. When figuring out our route, I noticed a monastery, the Saint Monastère de la Vierge Marie Consolatrice, on the map. To get there we needed to drive over around 5 km of rough, narrow, sandy forest roads. Their 1/2 km long driveway opened to a flat area with dozens of buildings: a chapel, some small cabins, what looked like a conference room, a chicken barn, a hospitality building, a greenhouse, a stable, boutique and even a graveyard. All of that plus this large construction project in the middle.
We drove around the property and came across a sign. After reading and mentally ticking off "no" to each one, I thought I'd be O.K. to visit.
Prohibited
sleeveless
midriff exposed
tight fitting clothing
offensive print
skirt above the knees
shorts
exposed back
see through clothing
low neckline
But, then there was another sign with more restrictions. No pants on women. Hmmmmm....
There are 31 sisters living at this monastery. Everyone we met were sweet and friendly. They assured me that if I were to go into the chapel, someone would meet me there and give me a skirt!
When we got out of the truck, we smelled food cooking. We asked one of the sisters if they had a restaurant on site? "No, but if you go to the basement of the chapel, we will feed you."
Hmmm.... what could we say? No sooner had we opened the door to the room under the chapel and another sister trotted over with a tray of food, saying that someone told her that two people were asking about food. Eggs from their chickens, tomatoes still from their greenhouse and homemade cheese. We asked how much we owed them and they said to make a donation in the chapel - whatever we wanted to pay.
The chapel was small and dim and lovely.
Lunch enjoyed, donation made, skirt returned to the basket for returned skirts.
Here's me in a skirt.
Back on the sandy forest roads, we were soon driving through an intense maple syrup production area.
There were signs to warn travelers about dangers ahead.
After winding and twisting our way for 3/4 hour we finally arrived in Mont Tremblant. Taking pictures through the windshield is never perfect, but there are some of the accommodation options.
We didn't stay long because it was getting dim out and we needed to take the same road home through the forest. Aren't those ilex beautiful? What a red!
Below is a good example of the paved part of our trip today. That may be one of the longer stretches of straight road.
We were glad it wasn't winter time. Those roads would be treacherous in the winter.
But, winter is coming!
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