When I was researching the area around Quebec I saw the Basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupre was just outside of Quebec City and knew we had to stop. She is the patron saint of Quebec and the mother of Mary. To me she was someone I prayed to many years ago when I struggled with a miscarriage. I didn't know anything about her,but a friend of my father's-Carmen gave me a little statue of her when I came out of the hospital. That little statue got me through some difficult times and years after Carmen passed away, I would look at it and remember her with love. She was like a mother to me-I had always wished that my father would have married her but it was not meant to be. We lost touch over the years and I understand why-she loved my father so much it was too difficult for her to be close to us and not him. She will always hold a very special place in my heart.
We felt so fortunate that when we entered the Basilica an afternoon mass had just begun and we stayed for the service. The singing was angelical, whomever the woman was doing the singing-her voice filled the entire church. And mostly everyone was holding a group of candles,almost like a bouquet of flowers. It was very very special to both of us.
When we left Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre we had our boon docking radar on. It was slightly overcast and foggy again and we weren't holding out much hope for finding a sweet spot. But as we went up a mountain we saw the sign for a ski resort and thought let's check it out. Some resorts are open during the summer for hiking and we thought if that was the case maybe we could still find a little forest road off of the main road to boondock.
We went about 6 kilometers up a dirt road and as we came down the hill we spooked a moose out of the grassy culvert and he took off into the woods. Well that settled it, we were going to boon dock close by and look for more moose ! Our road emptied into the parking lot for the ski resort and it was completely deserted so we made ourselves at home.
Just before six o'clock in the evening a truck full of workers arrived,dropped of some construction equipment up near the lodge and took off down the mountain. Other than 2 white tailed deer we saw no one the rest of the evening. Perfect boon docking !
I wish I could remember the name of this little village along the river-it was so quaint and so pretty and just so French ! We spotted it as we came down off the mountain and our boon docking spot-just another pleasant surprise along the way. Our weather quickly took a turn for the worse. We drove through heavy fog and rain until about one o'clock in the afternoon. We drove through the village of Rimouski and just outside of town we saw a little road to turn off on with this parking area. We hadn't planned on boon docking here-we just wanted a little afternoon nap after the stress of driving in the bad weather.
When we awoke from our nap we decided this was a good boon docking sight. No signage that indicated we couldn't be there and we weren't blocking any one's view from across the two roadways. We were very stealth while here since we were close to many houses along the shoreline and we left early in the morning-very quietly.
The nice thing about leaving early in the morning is that you pretty much have the roadway to yourself and can stop and explore without horns honking as you jump out for that photo op !
We stumbled upon the village of Sainte Luce Sur Mer not too far from Rimouski-what a sweet little village. Built along the water with a beautiful promenade that takes you all along the coast line.
The church sat right on a wharf , waterfront-another beauty. Wouldn't you just be filled with gratitude to see this view as you entered church ?
From the colorful shops and homes lining the promenade I guessed that this is a very busy spot during the summer season. It looks like a lovely place to spend your summer vacation. We are still heading east along the coast on Highway 132 and at every opportunity we take the little side roads off the highway that take us to these sweet little villages. What awaits us up ahead ? Ahh, I have a little hint from our friends and fellow Roadtrekkers-Yvette & Paul- the artist colony at Sainte Flavie. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm sure if fellow artist Yvette loved it, I will too !
Safe travels and Happy Trails fellow travelers !
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