Sunday August 14, 2016

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. Well here I am - wandering again. This post is coming from near Edmundston, New Brunswick. I've lost an hour but from the look of this hotel room I've actually gone back several decades. I made the booking on Trivago for the Rose Motel. The name alone should have given me a good clue and in fact it did. However, for some reason everything is very expensive here so I took the cheapest option. And, you get what you pay for. Even if you pay too much.

I had a bedspread similar to these in the early 70s. I think these have been around that long too. Good thing I prefer a shower to a bath - the tub is so short I could never unbend my knees if I managed to get in at all. Ah well, it seems quite clean and there is wifi. I was first offered a room "at the back overlooking the river". Well, being alone I prefer a "room at the front". When I asked about wifi and found out that the original room didn't have it, I said that was not acceptable. Hence, this room. It's only one night and I anticipate surviving.

This journey to the Halifax area to visit with high school friends began somewhat later than I had planned but there's really no rush to the trip. At 9:30 I departed my place and arrived here about 6 pm which instantly became 7 pm as I'm now in the Atlantic time zone.

The drive from Ottawa to Montreal was uneventful. Following carefully the instructions to get to Route 30 and avoid going through Montreal, I just sailed along, stopping only to pay the toll. It's well worth the $2.50 to NOT visit the city. Anyway I was so enjoying the road that I missed the exit for Highway 20, but I'm ahead of myself.

My pursuit in genealogy is pretty much restricted to my Irish ancestors. The French line is well known and I found it already completed, rather than having to figure it all out myself. Verification of records has proven that the original research was excellent. I did sort through it for a few generations and discovered an Irish woman who had married a French Canadian man. Bridget Loughnane married Jean Baptiste Hebert at Ste Martine, Quebec which is quite close to Montreal. Well, to my surprise the first exit off Route 30 was to Ste Martine. I didn't take it but at least I know where to go if I decide to explore that area. Bridget married, had a son, and died a year later at a very young age. My memory did not store the particulars but we're talking about 1834 ish. My best guess is that she died in childbirth with a second child, but there's nothing to support my theory other than it was very common.

Anyway I sailed by Ste Martine and the next exit was for St Constant - another place notable in my French line. A few more familiar places followed. What is a bit annoying about all this is I lived in that general area for 7 years, 1974 - 1981, long before I started to do genealogy. If only I had known at the time. Of course I've made a mental note that a two hour drive could net me a lot of tombstone photos but the trip remains unplanned.

So, merrily I went down the highway listening to music and enjoying the limited traffic and great speed at which one could progress. Oops - just roared past the exit to Highway 20 towards Quebec City which was a milestone on the journey. I figured (wrongly) that another opportunity to exit would come along. Hah! So, I asked the GPS for assistance and she directed me to St Marc sur Richelieu where I enjoyed the drive through farmland and past Les Trois Tilleuls, a restaurant that I'd once visited about 35 years ago. Eventually I got to Beloeil and a ramp to the 20. I was once again on track.

At this point I set the GPS to my ultimate destination which is outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. All was well as I noted the route she/it? had planned. There was an exit just at Quebec City, or more precisely Levis, as I was on the south shore. Naturally I turned as directed, completely forgetting that the correct route took me via Riviere-du-Loup a couple more hours ahead. Just as I took the prescribed exit the GPS screen momentarily went black but then came back on. Hint number 1 that all was not well.

Still, I decided to keep driving along the route waiting for the GPS to respond. Suddenly there was a message on screen that it could not calculate the route. What??? I continued to follow route 73 for a bit when I realized it was taking me to Maine. Nice state, but not the route I wanted. Sigh!

So I found the map of Quebec and verified that indeed I needed to go as far as Riviere-du-loup before heading south into New Brunswick. I tried to reset the GPS which now said that it was 8590 KMs to my destination. What??? It's really about 500 kms. I turned the GPS off and on. Same thing. Plus it said it could not calculate the route. It had the right address but still said I had 8500+ kms to go. This was nuts.

I re-set the thing for Riviere-du-Loup and continued on my way - still on Route 20. Eventually the signs indicated that I was properly on track for New Brunswick so I was happy. I stopped for a break and once again entered my ultimate destination. This time the dumb machine gave up its obstinate position that it was thousands of kms away and got it right. Ta-da.

By about 6 pm I really was tired of being in the car so I took the exit for the motel I had booked just before leaving home this morning. I had not been able to program that into the GPS - stupid dumb piece of technology. I stopped for gas and the attendant (yes an attendant who actually pumped the gas for me) gave me directions. They were wrong. I think this place is in a time warp. I'm not quite in Edmundston, I'm in St Jacques which is just outside the city. I paid for the gas and followed the directions which took me to the Ritz Motel. As it happens it was really only marginally nicer than the Rose Motel. Deciding to follow the main street of St Jacques a little farther in the way I had first taken, I eventually found the Rose, and here I am.

The motel owner gave me directions to Station 127 - although she said Station 126 - which is a restaurant a few kms away. It was very nice and I enjoyed my grilled salmon and a glass of wine. Now, I'm settled in my modest accommodations and just catching up with my online life before settling in with my book and then hopefully an early and sound sleep. Tomorrow I think I'll drive a bit before stopping somewhere for breakfast.

This time tomorrow I expect to be relaxing with Sharon and Bob Power at their cottage outside of Halifax. Not sure when the next episode from the Wandering Genealogist will materialize.

For now, Good Night.