Horse carriage exposition and stay at the Tremblant Ranch
(August + September 2015)
A memoir by Chantal Bellehumeur
(This memoir was used to write part of the novella ''Harmony'', published in 2016.)
On Saturday August 15, a historical site in Pointe St-Charles called "La Maison Saint-Gabriel" (Saint Gabriel house) hosted a special event to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Canadian horse. They had an exposition of old horse carriages close to a nearby park right after a parade in the neighbourhood streets.
I had read about the event in one of the local papers weeks before and wanted to attend. Jeff agreed to accompany me. I had asked my fourteen year old son Aidan if he wanted to join us, but he preferred to go to La Ronde amusement park with his friend Jeremy. They both owned season passes. I was happy that Aidan wasn't going to spend another summer day in front of his computer. He had been doing that since getting back from visiting his dad's side of the family in July.
On the morning of the event, Aidan left the apartment at around ten o'clock to meet his friend. Jeff and I headed out shortly after lunch.
I wasn't sure what time the parade was supposed to start or exactly what streets the carriages were going to go on, but I knew the exposition was scheduled to take place between one and five.
A few days before the event, I looked up online how to get to Marguerite-Bourgeoys park so when Jeff and I left the apartment we knew to go to Charlevoix metro station and either walk for about twelve minutes to Saint-Marguerite park or take the 57 bus there. When Jeff and I exited the metro station, the 57 was already there so we ran to it and got on. I knew we had to get off at the corner of Charlevoix and Wellington street, although I wasn't sure exactly where that was. Another couple asked how to get to "La Maison Saint-Gabriel" and the bus driver told them he would let them know when to get off. He said the bus stop would be in front of St-Marguerite park so Jeff and I decided to get off the bus when the other couple did.
We sat for about ten minutes, looking outside the bus windows.
Before getting off the bus, we saw some horses, carriages, people wearing clothing of different time periods, and long trucks within a metallic fenced area. There was nothing going on in the park even though it was past one o'clock, which confused me, so Jeff and I headed in the direction of the horses. It smelled slightly of manure and Jeff commented on it.
There didn't seem to be much going on inside the gated area, but a few people who were not wearing costumes were walking around so I thought perhaps the exposition was there. I could not see an obvious entrance though, so I asked a woman standing on the other side of the metal fence. She was a volunteer and didn't know all the details, but opened a door I thought was locked and let us in so that we could ask somebody in costume.
We were told by a man sitting in one of the carriages that the parade would start soon and that it would last about one hour. The carriages would then be exposed on a street right beside the park. We got a glimpse of most of them beforehand since we could stay in the gated area.
Jeff and I made our way towards the main entrance, where the horses were going to trot through. A few people were waiting around inside and outside the gated area. We found a good spot to stand and waited patiently for the parade to start. We could hear some of the horses snort.
A few minutes later, the different carriages started to leave one by one. A woman in costume was directing them.
Most of the harnessed horses looked very proud as they pulled the carriages they were linked to. I loved hearing the sound of their hooves as they hit the ground. I also liked hearing the majestic animals neigh.
Looking at all the carriages leave the gated area made me as happy as a child watching the floats of a christmas parade go by. The end of the parade wasn't as joyful as the arrival of Santa though.
The last carriage to go by was a black one meant to carry a coffin during a funeral.
Two carriages and four dark coloured horses could be seen farther away near the corner of the gated area. They had not been ready for the parade and got left behind, but later we found them on a street beside Marguerite-Bourgeoys park before the other carriages arrived from the parade.
We didn't know the two carriages would be exposed early, so after all the carriages of the parade had gone by Jeff and I headed to "La Maison Saint-Gabriel."
The gated area looked deserted and classical music was playing from large speakers behind a bunch of stacked white chairs. It was a bit creepy.
I finally saw a few people hanging out in front of the small empty stables to my left. A woman wearing a thick 17th century low class dress and bonnet stood with them.
Jeff and I walked around the historical stone house, talking a quick look at the fenced vegetable gardens and beautiful flower patches then started heading back to the front.
I saw some of the carriages in the distance and started excitedly running but then realized that the parade could not be over yet. I looked back at my husband and he was carefully setting his feet on the large stepping stones of the well cared lawn.
The museum was just closing by the time Jeff and I decided to go inside, but I had already visited it one winter so I wasn't too disappointed when the costumed woman told me the guided tours had ended. I was mainly in the area for the horses and carriages anyways.
Jeff and I started walking back towards the park and that's when we saw the two carriages that had not taken part in the parade. They each had two horses in front of them, who neighed from time to time. The animals looked black, but they were actually a very dark shade of brown.
A few people were taking a close look at the carriages and we soon did the same.
One of the carriages had hay inside and a costumed man took out a big block of ice from it. He started carrying it on his right right shoulder, which had a long patch of leather resting on it, representing an ice seller. I wondered how long the block would last since it was really hot out. I was surprised that it had not already melted.
The other carriage had two costumed men who represented rope makers.
I wanted to pet one of the horses but wasn't sure if we were allowed. When I saw other people doing it without being told not to, I figured it was okay. I slowly approached one of the horses and gently pet his right side.
A few minutes later, Jeff noticed that the horse I had been petting had his left back leg resting on the tip of its dark hoof like it was posing for pictures. I could not help but notice its perfect posture. The other horses we had seen earlier had been like that too.
The other carriages were soon seen on the other side of the park so Jeff and I ran towards the street they would be turning on to get a good look at them all from the sidewalk.
The sound of all the horses trotting got closer and the parade finally reached us. We saw twenty five carriages go by with drivers and passengers in costumes.
There were carriages with four big wheels and some with only two, some of them had roofs while others didn't, and they were being pulled by either one or two horses which were mainly pitch black, a dark shade of brown, or brown. There were a few rare light brown, white, or grey ones too. Different sizes of horses could be seen, but most of them were pretty big.
There were men dressed in old fashioned low class clothes while others wore full black suits and top hats, and women wearing simple dresses and straw hats or bonnets while others wore elegant ones. They all played different roles and were in carriages that best fit who they represented.
We saw basket makers, pottery sellers, alcohol brewers, farmers, a dairy deliverer, and high class citizens including a classy looking woman dressed all in black. The only visible colour on her was from a red accessory on her large hat, which matched her carriage. I imagined this particular woman must be boiling in the sun, but she remained poised sitting in her two wheel roofless carriage pulled by a brown horse. It was one of Jeff and I's favourite.
From time to time the carriages would stop, and then start moving again a few minutes later.
When the carriages stopped going forward, some of the carriage riders interacted with the small crowd that had come to watch them. Others simply waved or smiled as they passed by.
One of the carriages was a bakery and the man inside it was selling fresh bread for five dollars. I ran to it when it was immobile on the street and bought a large round loaf. A few other people did the same.
The carriage ahead had a man dressed as a priest inside. In character, he blessed our bread when I came back to my husband with the loaf.
Jeff and I started eating the bread powdered with white flower while continuing to watch the fun parade.
When all the carriages had gone by, we walked to each and every one. They were lined up on the street with the horses facing the park. Some of the people in costumes got out of the carriages while others remained sitting.
A bigger crowd of adults and children had started to form close to the carriages, but not to the point of it being unpleasant. Everyone was respectful to one another and nobody got pushed.
The horse excrements were cleaned up with a shovel regularly so the road remained relatively clean and the air didn't smell too bad.
A French Quebecer male announcer spoke and even sang in a mic every so often. He did his rounds as well, giving historical information on each type of carriage and letting the costumed people have a few words too.
We were able to interact with the men and woman in costumes, take pictures of them with their horses, learn the names of some of the mares or stallions as well as get information on their backgrounds, and pet the animals who sometimes neighed, snorted, or whipped flies away with their tails every so often.
I pet quite a few different horses, which made me happy. There was just one time where I got a bit scared because the large white horse I was petting rapidly turned his head my way and almost hit me in the face by accident. I stepped back in time and continued petting the calm horse after it faced forward again. Jeff kept his distance from all the horses because he didn't feel the need to get close to them like I did.
Unlike my husband, I was pretty curious about everything, including some of the props on display in the park grass. There were some old wooden buckets, a rope maker being used as a demo by a man in costume, and a few other things I could not quite make out.
My main focus was the horses and carriages.
In one of the carriages, there were many baskets of small red apples and I wasn't sure if they were for the horses or if we could buy some like we had bought the bread. One man took a look at a few and walked away with one. I was going to ask if the apples were free or for sale, but by the time I decided to so so, the carriage left.
I got the chance to embark one of the wooden carriages. I was instructed to place one of my feet on the piece of metal protruding from the centre of the black wheel and lift myself up while holding on to the top part of the carriage. Once I was seated, I was given the leather rein and Jeff took a picture.
It would have been fun to go for a ride, but unfortunately that wasn't an option. I disembarked the carriage after thanking the woman for letting me on and pet the brown horse named Polo.
The announcer mentioned buying able to buy tickets for a special dinner at "La Maison Saint-Gabriel," where traditional songs would be played and sang later that evening. Costumes were mandatory. I already knew about it, having read it in the newspaper, and would have loved to go. I definitely had something to wear. But, Jeff didn't own any old fashioned clothing nor did we know were he could simply rent some and I didn't want to force him to go to a dinner. I was happy that he came along to see the carriages with me.
After seeing most of the carriages a couple times, Jeff and I decided to go sit in the shaded grass under a tall tree. It was around three o'clock by then.
As I looked around, I noticed that most of the people in costumes had been given bottled water or juice boxes. I found it amusing to see the man in front of us, who was in a black suit, white gloves, and top hat, drinking from his small cardboard box through a plastic straw. It looked really out of place. I took a quick picture with my ipad from where I was sitting and got up to take a closer shot but the man hid his juice box behind his back. That made me giggle.
I kind of envied those who had refreshments and wondered why there were none for sale as part of the event.
Despite the shade, Jeff and I were still pretty hot and started getting thirsty so at around three fifteen we left the park to go find a place that sold drinks. We didn't care if it was a grocery store, depanneur, cafe, or restaurant. We just needed something cold.
We walked on Wellington street and turned on Charlevoix, going the opposite way the bus had, and soon found a depanneur. I picked up a white Gatorade bottle from a refrigerator as well as the bottled Starbucks iced mocha Jeff wanted. My husband also wanted a drumstick ice cream treat so he got one from the freezer before paying for everything.
I tried to open my bottle of Gatorade before even leaving the store but had difficulty so had to ask the Asian woman at the cash for a pair of scissors. It felt so nice to finally drink something once the bottle was open.
We headed back towards the park and saw a few dark brown horses in the gated area. They were either eating something or drinking water from a bucket; most likely drinking.
Jeff and I sat on a wooden bench in the park near the line of horses and carriages. I noticed that there were a lot less people around.
My husband had eaten his ice cream cone on the way and took a few sips of his iced mocha shortly after we sat down. He didn't think it was cold enough so decided to drink the rest at home. I offered to share my Gatorade with him and he took a few sips.
I soon finished off my drink and we decided to take a look at the carriages one last time. Jeff felt a few drops of rain and I eventually started feeling them too. Some people were holding open umbrellas above their heads. We had one too, but the rain was very light so I didn't feel the need to use it just yet.
At around four o'clock the rain picked up. Jeff opened his umbrella and held it above our heads.
The carriages started leaving because of the rain so I began to run through the park towards the gated area so that I could get a look at all of them pass by again. It was funny to see them between modern cars and delaying the traffic.
The rain dyed down by the time Jeff caught up to me.
My husband and I walked along Wellington street and watched as each horse carriage headed back where we had first seen them. Jeff and I then crossed the street to catch the bus we saw coming our way. The rain had completely stopped by then.
As we waited for the bus to get to us, Jeff thought he saw a monkey on a leash. It turned out to be a furry black dog so I could not help but make fun of my husband and tell him he needed new glasses.
We soon went home, ate dinner, and shared our day with Aidan when he got home from his outing. We all ate some of the leftover bread, which I had wrapped up in a white cloth and placed in an argile pot.
The following day, Jeff and I booked a room at the Tremblant Ranch. We had talked about going there in the fall because I felt that I would need a getaway after replacing the receptionist at the office for two weeks in a row during the second part of his vacation.
I tried to include Aidan in the plans, thinking he might enjoy spending some time on a ranch but he wasn't really interested. I didn't want to force him, especially that it would give Jeff and I some more alone time if he didn't come.
At first I wanted to go the weekend after I replaced the receptionist for two consecutive weeks, but I was worried that I might be too burnt out to want to do anything. Plus, it was a long weekend and I knew we would have to deal with more traffic than usual. I ended up deciding on the following weekend instead. It would give me something fun to look forward to and also give me a bit of time to rest beforehand even though the point of going there was to relax.
Jeff made sure a Communauto car was available on Saturday September 12 as well as Sunday the 13th, and then I called the Ranch to find out if one of their eight rooms was available when we wanted. We had a couple options and I ended up booking a room with a mezzanine, breakfast for two, an hour horse back riding excursion, as well as a western dinner for two.
I mentioned my digestive illness before agreeing to the proposed dinner and asked what was usually served. I was told dinner consisted of steaks, burgers and such. When I verified that I could ask not to use certain ingredients for my meal, I was told it would not be a problem.
As I was making final arrangements with the man on the other line, the phone line cut and I had to call again. The same man with a French accent picked up and we were able to finalize the reservations. I had to give a thirty five percent deposit so I provided my credit card info.
After getting off the phone, Jeff reserved the car and I noted down the info on a piece of paper along with the ranch reservations.
I told Aidan that if ever he changed his mind and wanted to come with us, all I had to do was reserve another breakfast, dinner, and an extra person for the horse back riding expedition. I was told that the room I booked would have a pull out bed so he could sleep there. The trip would no longer be a romantic one, but I didn't want Aidan to feel excluded.
A few days after booking our trip, my son ended up being asked to be an extra in the french movie "Tout Simplement" on the Saturday September 5th, so it was a good thing Jeff and I hadn't made our reservations for that weekend. Although my husband and I weren't needed on the set, we still had to bring Aidan there and pick him up later in the evening. Well, at least one of us did and that person was supposed to be me. Jeff said he would accompany me.
After dropping Aidan off at Jeanne Mance school on Bordeaux street before four o'clock the day of the film shoot, Jeff and I walked around the Mount Royal neighbourhood going in and out of a few air conditioned shops. I started trying to find something fun to wear at the ranch, but realized I didn't need anything new. It's not like they had a dress code.
My husband and I sat down in a shaded area of a park to shelter ourselves from the ridiculous heat and also eat a snack; we had just purchased a trail mix at the dollar store as well as a basket of strawberries at a small fruit shop.
Jeff and I had dinner on the terrace of a pizzeria on St-Denis street. We received a free dessert each because a waitress accidentally dropped an empty water pitcher while clearing the table beside us, which sent shards of glass flying everywhere including in our food. After our dinner, we walked back to the school to get Aidan for nine o'clock. Of course, Jeff needed to go inside the Starbucks to get himself a coffee when we passed it. I didn't want anything.
It got dark pretty quickly and I was glad that I had agreed to get Aidan rather than let him take the bus or walk to the metro station alone. I was also glad Jeff was with me. The area was quite different at night, and felt less safe than in daylight.
While Jeff and I were waiting inside the large building for Aidan to finish shooting his last scene of the day, my husband asked me if I wanted to roam around the hallways like the characters of the breakfast club. I checked out a few sections of the school on my own, but didn't venture too far because I didn't want to accidentally interrupt any filming.
Aidan was pretty tired after his workday and his fatigue followed him the following day so he didn't join Jeff and I when we went to the Atwater market to buy cheap vegetables and fruits as well as treats.
My husband and I had a great time at the market despite the fact that it was really crowded.
On our way home, we stopped by the nearest Canadian Tire to buy a fifty pound weight set. Jeff carried the heavy case to the bus stop, and inside the bus when it arrived. When we got off the bus and started walking towards our apartment, I eventually asked Jeff if he wanted me to take over.
I had been half joking, but then agreed to do it if Jeff came on a helicopter ride with me in Mont Tremblant. I had already made the reservation for myself and he was still undecided on whether he was going to come with me. My husband agreed to go with me if I carried the weights the rest of the way home and I did it. "I am much stronger than I look," I proudly said when we were inside our apartment.
Jeff and I told Aidan about the deal we had made, and asked him again if he wanted to come to Tremblant with us.
Aidan continued to be uninterested in going to the ranch with us and didn't mind Jeff and I leaving for a good part of the weekend. I knew he would be fine on his own and trusted him so wasn't worried about leaving him behind. I ended up giving him twenty dollars in case of emergencies or if he wanted to eat out.
I had a feeling that Aidan would just spend his alone time on the computer.
The day before our getaway, I made enough macaroni casserole for there to be leftovers so that my son could eat it while Jeff and I were away.
On Saturday September 12, Jeff left the apartment with a travel mug partially filled with nuked coffee shortly before 10:30 to get the Communauto car. With Aidan's help, I brought our luggage to the lobby. I then gave my son a big hug, said bye to him, and waited outside for my husband to arrive with the car.
It was a bit chilly and rained lightly so I remained under the small roof of the building entrance. When I saw a blue car with the Communauto logo on the side arrive, I picked everything up and started walking towards the area Jeff was parking.
Jeff helped me put everything in the trunk and we were on our way.
We used the GPS on Jeff's cell phone to guide us to the ranch, traveling on the highway and seeing familiar surroundings for about one hour.
For lunch Jeff and I decided to stop in the quaint town of Sainte-Agathe-des-Months, where we had stayed overnight back in July. When we got to the main road in the area we liked, Jeff found a place to park and we walked under an open umbrella Jeff was holding towards some restaurants.
I had seen a bar and another restaurant with their lunch specials advertised so Jeff and I had considered checking them out and seeing if we liked one of the menus as well as the general ambiance. However, we spotted a diner and decided to look there first. We both liked what we saw right away.
The cute diner had a small outdoor terrace but because of the weather we chose to eat indoors. Jeff and I sat at a table set for four on an elevated floor near the entrance, right beside a metal railing.
Jeff ordered a cup of coffee right away, before taking a look at his large menu. I eventually decided on a bowl of hot chocolate. I used the large white cup I was given to warm up my cold hands.
When we were ready to order our food, our friendly waitress noted down that Jeff wanted a croque monsieur and that I wished to have a club sandwich. Both sandwiches came with a house salad, which ended up having a lot of pieces of raw onions as well as chives in it so I shoved mine aside to avoid being sick.
As we were eating, we saw two girls and a boy right outside the diner waiting for their mom. The boy was entertaining the two kids sitting by the window of the hair salon next door with his dance moves and silly faces. It made us laugh.
A young man who was sitting at a table on the lower level with his elderly mother and another person asked if Jeff was eating a croque madame. I answered that it was actually a croque monsieur. The man said it looked good and was probably going to order one too, then told us he would let us eat the rest of our meal in peace.
Jeff and I had come to realize that people in small towns were always so friendly and social. It was rare to see that in big cities.
My husband decided to make Sainte-Agahte-des-Monts our go-to place whenever we wanted to get away. It wasn't too far from home, always pleasant to be in, and close to other little towns of interest. There was just something special about it that made us both smile. Perhaps it was something in the air. It was definitely better quality than in Montreal. I could breathe a lot better.
Jeff and I continued to pleasantly talk and eat our delicious food, then suddenly Jeff announced that he had just seen a blue Communauto go by. I asked him if he thought it was ours and he answered that he wasn't sure. We made up amusing scenarios as to how we would get to the ranch if the car had been stolen, because there was no way we weren't going, and how we would get back home.
All jokes aside, we both hoped to find our rented car where Jeff had parked it. But, we didn't want to worry about that just yet. We wished to keep enjoying our meals.
Aside from the onions and chives on my plate, Jeff and I finished everything and were quite full.
My husband and I walked to the cash to pay and found out that the diner did not take Visa even though there was a Visa sticker on their front window. The waitress apologetically told us that they could not unglue the Visa sticker in the window, and that they took debit or cash only.
I always carried more cash on me than usual when I travelled and so did Jeff so we both paid our bills with the money we had in our wallets and headed out.
on the way back to our car, my husband and I walked into a flower shop that also sold bath products, air fresheners, and a few little antique decorations.
My colitis symptoms started acting up, probably because of the salad dressing as well as the milk from my hot chocolate, but the floweriest did not have a bathroom I could use so I had to rush out and go back to the diner. It was always so stressful for me to travel because I never knew when I would urgently need a bathroom, or more importantly, where I might find one.
When I was okay, Jeff and I went back to the flower shop. My husband bought me a pretty branch of white and purple flowers I selected, which I named Agatha in the car.
I started naming my flowers and plants since being in a relationship with Jeff. I named a bouquet of orchids Jeff gave me "Anna" because we had recently watched the Disney movie "Frozen" together in the park with Aidan and his friend Cecilie. The plant Jeff gave me shortly after was named Olaf. I bought a venus fly trap at the Atwater market at the beginning of September and named it Audrey 3, after the movie "Little Shop of Horrors."
After leaving Sainte-Agathes-des-Monts, we passed by mountains filled with trees that had not started changing colours yet.
The weather had been really odd lately. The previous weekend it had been over thirty degrees Celsius. I didn't think it would have been pleasant to travel then, yet I wished that the usual fall weather had not arrived so suddenly this weekend after a nice sunny week. For the record, the hot weather resumed after our getaway.
Jeff and I took about twenty five minutes to get to the ranch from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. There was about a ten kilometre stretch of winding roads within a wooden area with barely any noticeable civilization; only a few houses and general stores.
Closer to the ranch, which was actually located in Val-des-Lacs, there were signs pointing us in the right direction and Jeff turned right onto a muddy road.
We parked in front of a big rectangular pen made with logs. Three horses, each one a different shade of brown, were inside it eating grass. They didn't seem to care that it was raining out so Jeff and I figured that it would be okay to go horseback riding later on. We had been worried the excursion might get cancelled.
Jeff and I got out of the car and got closer to the pen to look at the horses. They took no notice of us.
My husband and I then walked on wet sand and mud towards the entrance of the ranch. There was a humorous "Do not Feed the Bears" sign hanging on the outside wood wall beside the door, which made us laugh.
A man wearing a long sleeved checkered shirt, jeans, and a cowboy hat was sitting at a table on the long wooden deck. He was talking to another man, who was standing in front of him, but said "hello" to us so we politely replied "hi" back.
When we got inside the ranch, we were greeted by a friendly French woman with long brown hair wearing a cowboy hat, jeans, and a light beige wool sweater. She was standing in front of a lit stone fireplace with two young children and I didn't realize at first that she worked there. I thought she was a guest of the ranch and that the kids were hers. I found out later on that the blond and brunette girls were the daughters of another employe. They visited their father at the ranch every second weekend.
As I moved forward, I saw that on the top of the large fireplace there were bull and horse skulls plus a vase of dry flowers as well as an old bell as decorations. To the side of the big room, there were two couches as well as a chair plus a coffee table on a cow skin rug. The table had a few books on it. On the walls, there were framed pictures of people I did not recognize as well as western decorations.
I saw that the entrance to the dinning area was also on the left. Right beside the entrance, there was a large fridge with canned and bottled drinks inside plus a sign with the drink prices.
We walked towards the long check-in counter and were greeted by a man with long wavy black hair and a cowboy hat. When he spoke, I recognized him as being the man I had done the reservations with. I soon found out that his name was Jacques.
I checked in and the French woman who had originally greeted us took Jeff and I to our room, number seven, on the second floor. It was the last one at the end of a long corridor with old style chandeliers on the ceiling and posters of western films plus framed horse pictures on the walls.
The stairs as well as the floors were made of thin wood planks and it made a lot of noise when we walked on them. I found the smell of wood within the Ranch very pleasant.
On our keychain, there was a large antique metallic key as well as a modern one. We had to use the modern one to open our door, which had a nice welcome sign on it.
We were told that free Wi-fi was available and where to find the access code if we decided to us it. Jeff tried to make use of the internet at one point and it was really slow. I imagined that if my son had come with us he would have found it frustrating.
Jeff and I didn't care as much about the bad internet connection, or the fact that there was no tv, since we had come to the ranch to relax away from any screens and mainly enjoy the outdoors. The place was perfect for that. It was very authentic, as advertised.
The lower level of our country style room with yellow and while painted walls was furnished with an antique writing desk plus wooden chair, a green tartan couch with two square red cushions on it, and two old beige upholstered chairs. There were two windows to look out of with open small red curtains. From one of the windows we could see the horse pen, a wooden lodge, plus green mountains, and from the other mostly mountains and trees.
There were horse themed decorations everywhere, a tall floor lamp as well as a large white vase with dried branches in the corner by the side window, a nice framed landscape painting hanging on the wall across from the couch, as well as an antique clock on the windowsill which had stopped working.
On the same level there were two other rooms; a large windowless titled bathroom with a stand up shower, big white sink, and modern storage unit with what we needed to clean ourselves up, plus a walk in closet to store our luggage, which had two extra blankets and pillows on a high shelf.
As I was looking around, I noticed a metal hook screwed to the side of the first level ceiling/second level floor in a hard to reach place and wondered what that was all about plus what it could possibly be used for. Jeff and I joked that whoever put it there had done it by mistake and never bothered to remove it.
Jeff and I crawled up the eleven wooden stairs that looked more like a ladder to the mezzanine level.
The open area with protective wooden barriers had an old wooden chair in one corner with a circular red pillow resting on it. I wasn't sure if it would be sturdy enough to actually sit on it.
Underneath a window with the same small red curtains as the downstairs area there was an old wooden three drawer dresser with dry flowers on top. In the centre of the room we saw a made up queen sized bed about two feet away from the tilted roof, plus two small side tables with a lamp and box of kleenex each. The room included a white porcelain bath. Beside the tub, there was a tall antique metal three shelf unit with two folded white towels, two rectangular bars of soaps, and a soap dish. In a corner, there was a comfy looking upholstered chair as well as a short rectangular wooden table with two decorations on it. It wasn't until the following day that I realized that the light green glass in the shape of a shotgun beside the arrangement of dry flowers was a vase.
I noticed that the protective wooden barriers facing the end of the bed had a thin red blanket folded on it. When I tried to lean on it, I quickly discovered that the barrier was wobbly and not as strong as it looked.
Ignoring the fact that we could easily get hurt if not being careful, Jeff and I found the place quite lovely.
We went back downstairs, locked up, exited the ranch through the side door in the hallway, and walked down a flight of wooden stairs. I saw a horse shoe game on the side of the building and pointed it out to Jeff. We considered playing even though neither one of us really knew the official rules.
My husband and I walked to our rented car to get our luggage and brought everything to our room using the side door again.
Jeff placed his sets of keys as well as the ranch's keychain on one of the three key hooks beside the door.
We changed into warmer clothes because we were cold, closed the windows, and turned on the heat in our room so that it would be at a comfortable temperature later on.
I put cold water in a small glass from the bathroom and placed it on one of the window sills. I put the end of my wrapped flower Agathe inside and let the top part lean against the white wall.
Jeff and I then did a bit of exploring within the building.
We walked to the other end of the long hallway, where there was a large vertical framed painting of a brown horse hanging on a stone wall. On our way, we noticed that some of the room doors were wide open. I curiously peeped inside as I passed them and saw that they were small. They looked nice, but I was still glad that Jeff and I had booked one with a mezzanine and stand alone bath. They gave the room a little something special which would make our stay like nothing we had ever experienced before.
My husband and I entered a large living room with an unlit stone fireplace, tree couches, chairs, and a big wooden bookcase filled with paperback books as well as boardgames. There was a big stuffed brown bear who had seen better days sitting on a wooden chair.
I saw that there was a door that led to a small wooden balcony so I opened it to go outside. Standing above the main entrance, I could see the horse pen as well as a large stone wishing well plus a picnic table, some red chairs and matching tables around a wet fire pit, and an outdoor stove.
Back inside, I found a mysterious open door. My curiosity led me to walk up some stairs to the attic and I discovered what looked like a storage area. Jeff kept telling me he didn't think we were allowed up there. He was probably right since there was a lock so when I heard footsteps I quickly came right back down as though I would get in trouble if I got caught.
Jeff and I went back to the main floor and passed by a small sitting area with a couch and horse skin blanket, which we had walked by earlier. We found two individual bathrooms as well as a game room where there was a dart board as well as a baby foot game. A closed black guitar case sat on a square table.
In the hallway, we saw a small rectangular table with a guest book and decorations, such as a horse hove.
Back in the lobby, we noticed that there was a tall wooden dresser displaying articles for sale; they were mostly checkered shirts, cowboy boots, rope, and a few horse decorations. There were authentic cowboy hats for sale on the long reception counter.
We went inside the dinning area to see what it looked like. The ceiling was held together by strong wood beams. There were large windows on each side of the room and a stone fireplace at the back. In the left corner, there was a tall wooden unit with speakers, a radio, and a CD player on shelves. In the right corner there was an old stove with a big cauldron on it. We saw an antique cash register on a long table and right beside it there was a wood burning stove. The room was decorated with old skis, snowshoes, small wooden sleds, and Western style things such as a deer head.
After our quick look around, Jeff and I went back to the lobby and headed towards the stone fireplace. As we attempted to take a selfie of ourselves in front of it, a middle aged man wearing a cowboy hat got up from one of the couches and offered to take the picture for us.
After taking our picture with my digital camera, the friendly man introduced himself as Patrick. He said he was from the West island of Montreal and was staying at the ranch with his friend Gabby. Him and Gab had gone to take a walk in the forest earlier and searched for different kinds of mushrooms. They found a few and had tried to spot images of them in a paperback book about mushrooms they found on the coffee table. Pat showed us the book in question.
We continued talking together, during which Patrick informed us that he was retired and had gone motorbiking to the Niagara Falls area with Gab the previous weekend during the heat wave. He said he had been surprised by the lack of traffic there and back. I was surprised to hear it.
During their trip, Pat and Gab had stopped in Kingston plus gone on a one hour cruise of the Thousand Islands just like Jeff and I had done the previous summer with Aidan.
Gab showed up and she was wearing a cowboy hat like all the other adults I had seen at the ranch so far.
I was starting to feel a little bit left out. I had two straw cowboy hats back home, which had been given to me and Aidan before a Western dinner show in the Disney village of Paris, France a few years back. I had taken them out of hiding and told Jeff at the time that we should bring them to the ranch, but the hats were actually a bit big for our heads and had a Disney banner around it. If the cowboy hats sold at the ranch weren't so expensive, Jeff and I might have bought some to fit in. We didn't think we would ever wear them again though.
Once Gab was formally introduced, it didn't take long for her to join our conversation. She eventually told us that she was originally from Russia and knew how to speak seven different languages, which I found pretty impressive. Gab said her twenty eight year old son learned the same languages, which helped him during his leisure travels and work abroad. He was now in Islam.
I realized that Jazz music was playing, when it had been silent before. Gab confessed that she could not live without music and was playing her downloaded tracks from her cell phone. Jeff could relate to her.
During the course of our conversation, we all kept switching back and forth from French to English. Sometimes we used the two languages in the same train of thought. Jeff was a little shy about his French but everyone thought he spoke very well.
We eventually realized that the four of us were waiting to go on the same horseback ridding expedition. Gab had never been horseback ridding in her life whereas Patrick had a bad experience the last time he tried. He said his horse didn't like him for some reason and threw him off its back. Jeff and I had pleasant riding experiences, but it had been a really long time since either one of us had mounted a horse so we were both a little nervous.
Patrick showed off his black cowboy boots he had bought in Calgary as well as his fancy silver accessories, then Gab told us where to find some rain boots if we wanted to borrow some from the ranch. I came prepared and was wearing short black boots, but figured it would be better to borrow some rain boots so followed Gab to where she had gotten hers. There was a single pair in the sitting area by the stairs, and they fit me.
Jeff felt he needed coffee before the expedition and asked if there was time for him to drink one. We still had fifteen minutes to wait, so Jeff politely asked Jacques if he could have one. Jacques brought my husband a fresh cup with milk and sugar on a tray and my husband paid for it. Nobody else wanted anything. We were all afraid that if we drank something we would need the bathroom while ridding. We didn't want to relieve ourselves publicly like the horses.
The four of us continued talking together, building a friendship.
The french cowgirl soon joined our group and told us she would be our guide. At this point, she informed us that her name was Camille.
Jeff asked for some boots and was led to a pile of men's rain boots and cowboy boots near the main entrance. He put on the smallest size available. They were a bit big, but it was better than his only pair of running shoes.
Camille told us that long cowboy rain jackets with hoods were available in the stable to anyone who wanted to borrow one. Both Pat and Gab said they would take one. Jeff said he was okay with his short blue rain jacket. I thought I would be fine with my short dark green leather jacket. There was no hood on it, but I was wearing a bandana on my head. It was brown to match my long sleeved shirt.
When we were outside I noticed that the rain had died down a bit, but it was still drizzling. I didn't mind getting a little wet.
Camille turned around and told us that when men wore their pants inside their boots it meant that they were single. Jeff kept his jeans tucked in, saying that he didn't want to get the bottom of his pants dirty; especially that they were the only pair he brought with him. I had packed a second pair of jeans for myself, just in case.
We walked behind Camille on a large dirt path towards the stable, where a brown labrador and white husky were hanging out, and followed her inside. It smelled of horse droppings but we got used to it quickly.
Several horses were in their small wooden stalls. Some of them had their heads sticking out and were looking at us, while others were facing the other way and paid no attention to any of us. Their riding gears hung on a wall to the left underneath their names.
Patrick and Gab grabbed the long black jackets they needed.
Camille led a dark brown horse named Big Mac outside by a lead-rope and the oldest of the two young girls from earlier got ready to ride it. The brown haired girl put on a black ridding hat and was obviously experienced in horseback ridding.
Next, Camille took out a large black male male Mao. She said it was for Patrick. Gab was going to ride a dark grey female named Flash.
Camille took out her dark brown stallion and came back in the ranch to get a light grey female horse named Moonshine for Jeff and then a light brown female horse named Diamond for me.
Before we could go ridding, there was some paperwork to sign. Once that was taken care of, everyone walked towards their calm horses, which had been tied to a large elevated horizontal log. Another woman was standing with them with the younger of the two girls, who was kind of hyper and seemed to really want to play. The blond girl was told a few times to calm down.
I pet my horse and talked to it. Diamond stomped her feet every so often just like the other horses did. We were told that it was because of the flies. The horses also snorted from time to time.
With the help of the other female employe, Camille helped each horse stretch their legs, which inspired us to do some stretching of of own. She then gave us a few instructions.
Camille demonstrated how to properly mount a horse, saying that it was important to do so on the left side of the animal. She then showed us how to make a horse move forward, by kicking her feet on the sides of hers. "Don't be afraid to hurt them," she told us. "You won't." Camille also demonstrated how to make a horse stop as well as turn left or right by pulling on her horse's thick leather reins. She told us not to pull for too long when wanting to stop because otherwise it would activate the backwards walk command. She informed us to lean slightly forward when going down a hill, and slightly backwards when going up so that we would be well balanced.
Once everyone confirmed that they understood everything, Camille decided in what order we were going to ride. She was obviously going to be in the lead and chose to have the young girl right behind her followed by Gab, Patrick, myself and then Jeff.
The other young woman helped me mount my horse by keeping it still. I put my left foot on the stirrup and grabbed the horn of the saddle to lift myself up. As soon as I was sitting down with my two feet in the stirrups, Diamond was ready to go.
I lightly pulled on her reins so that she would stay still, but she seemed very eager to be on her way. When everyone else were mounted, Camille started heading towards the forest path on her horse. Diamond wanted to follow right away. I had to pull on her reins a few times to keep her still.
The young girl gracefully guided her horse behind Camille's. Gab had a bit of difficulty getting Flash to move. As I did my best to keep Diamond from going forward in Flash's assigned place, Camille reminded Gab to kick harder. Once Gab used a bit more force, her horse started moving forwards. Diamond tried to get in line again but I had to let Pat go by first.
After everyone aside from Jeff had gone ahead, I finally let Diamond start trotting. Jeff soon followed. The two dogs had gone ahead and looked like they were leading the way. They had obviously gone on the expedition many times and seemed to enjoy it.
Camille looked back every so often to make sure we were all okay and that the horses were cooperating. For the most part, the animals behaved. They trotted closely one behind the other, and when Camille's horse obediently turned in a different direction or moved to the opposite side of the path we were on all the horses followed on their own. They often trotted too close to the trees though, which made the branches and leaves brush our faces, so that's when we had to try steering them closer to the middle of the path.
It was very pleasant to go into the forest on the horses. We could smell fresh air and see beautiful tree filled mountains as we effortlessly went up and down some small rocky hills, crossed a wooden bridge over a river, passed through water puddles, and went by natural water streams...
I noticed that everyone had very good postures on their horses. Not a single ridder was slouching.
We passed by a camp and Camille told us that it was used for longer expeditions. She mentioned that there were a few other camps in the forest, and that sometimes they went horseback ridding all the way to the top of the mountain ahead. I imagined that the view would be spectacular from up there.
One section of the woods was called candy land because the horses loved to stop and eat there. Camille told us to be firm with our horses and not let them snack while we were ridding. It was time to move, not eat.
The only times Camille ever allowed the horses to stop was to do their business. "They can't go while moving forward," she said. "Neither can I," Pat joked. Everyone laughed at that.
Flash stopped often to try and snack so Camille reminded Gab to be firm with her horse.
Jeff's horse kept grabbing snacks as it moved along. Moonshine had a branch of plant leaves in her mouth when I looked back once. The way the animal looked at me so innocently despite her obvious "crime" was actually kind of funny. Jeff said she was stubborn and pulled it with her teeth as she trotted.
Apparently, Moonshine also stopped to drink water whenever she could. Later on, I found out that Jeff kept calling his horse Moonbeam so I told him she probably wasn't listening to him because he didn't call her by her real name.
I looked back at my husband a few times during the expedition and he appeared to be having a good time. At one point he was humming to himself. "I could do this all day," he told me.
If I had been wearing gloves and a hat I might have agreed with Jeff, but my fingers and ears were starting to get cold near the end of the expedition. I regretted not packing my thin gloves and hat as originally planned, but with the ongoing hot weather I was sure not to need them.
When the expedition was over, Camille was nice enough to take souvenir pictures with our camera phones. She took a few of Pat and Gab on their horses, and some of Jeff and I on ours.
Everyone carefully got off their horses. When my feet hit the ground my legs felt weird for a couple of seconds. From the looks of everyone else, I think they felt the same odd sensation.
The horses got tied to one of the two vertical logs holding up a small roof in front of the stable. Camille took each one of them inside the stable in turns. Mine was the last to be taken inside.
Diamond gave a few big yawns, showing off her big teeth, then started eating grass and decided to move further ahead. Her rope got loose so I held it until Camille came back out. I am not sure what I could have done if the horse had decided to go further or run. It was very strong.
When Camille was back out, she took Diamond's lead-rope plus informed us that dinner was going to be served at seven and that it would be fajitas. I got a little worried because I did not digest spicy or fried food very well. I told Jeff that I would inquire about it at the front desk when we got back to the ranch. I wanted to explore a bit first.
Jeff and I explored around the stable. There was an open fenced area for horses to move around as they pleased. Several big horses and ponies were standing under a wooden shelter, eating from long mangers.
Right beside the stable there was a parked truck.
We returned to the front of the ranch and one at a time I pet the two friendly dogs that had come on the expedition with us. They both shed and left some of their wet fur on my left hand, which I wiped on my jeans.
Jeff and I headed back towards the ranch and walked around the partially muddy grounds. We found out that two other buildings on the propriety were private residences, and a little further there was a spa as well as a sauna within two small log cabins.
We soon went inside the ranch and I inquired about dinner as planned. I wanted to make sure I could eat what was would be served and knew that it was best to notify somebody ahead of time that I could not eat anything with spices, onions or garlic. Jacques asked me if I could eat peppers so I told him yes. I also mentioned that I was not allergic to onions so it was okay if they happen to touch the peppers. I just could not eat them.
Jacques went to the kitchen and came back to tell me that the chicken for my serving would not be marinated like the rest. I was quite happy and relieved to hear that, so thanked Jacques for making the modification for me.
After settling the meal issue, Jeff and I stood in front of the lit fire place to warm up for a few minutes.
We then went to our room to take a nice hot bath. I had packed a bottle of bubble bath so I put some of the liquid in the running water while I soaked in the half filled tub. Jeff came in when the bath was full and sat down behind me.
It was very relaxing, but we could hear the bathwater running in another room and when the taps got turned it sounded like a woman was either screaming or keeping a high pitched note. We could also hear a bit of music and talking since the walls were very thin. We made a mental note not to be too loud.
After our bath, we got ready for dinner and went downstairs.
When we arrived in the lobby, Patrick and Gab where standing in front of the fireplace drinking coolers. Gab had her music on. The two friends were no longer wearing their cowboy hats and I saw that Patrick was practically bald and that Gab had died part of her short grey hair red.
I was thinking about ordering a cooler, but Pat told me that him and Gab had bought theirs at a depanneur before coming to the ranch.
Jeff asked Jaques for a Heineken and I settled for a glass bottle of coke.
We stood in front of the fireplace for a few more minutes then sat down; Pat and Gab on one of the two couches, and Jeff and I on the chair. The other couch was already taken by the young female employe who had helped me on my horse, as well as the two girls. We started interacting with them.
It was soon past seven o'clock, but we had to wait for a group of fifteen people to arrive at the ranch before dinner would be served.
Two round trays of backed nachos covered in salsa and melted cheddar cheese were eventually brought into the dinning area so our little group of four headed in there with our bottled drinks to eat the snack.
Country music was playing now, and it wasn't coming from Gaby's phone. I wasn't a big fan of that style of music, but it did add to the ambiance. Jeff enjoyed it. In fact, he had played some country music earlier that morning to help set the mood for our getaway. He turned it off shortly after he witnessed my exaggerated dislike for it.
I didn't really mind the country music at the ranch, but perhaps the food was distracting me.
As we were each filling small white plates with what we wanted, Pat and Gab said they had been trying to figure out Jeff's age. They guessed that he was around thirty and were shocked when Jeff told them he was forty two. The couple thought I was around twenty eight and I told them I was thirty four. I never asked their age.
Jeff and I sat at one of the two long wooden tables with Pat and Gab. As we munched on the nachos, we chatted, laughed, plus shared stories and pictures.
One of the pictures shown to us was of Gab on a Quad. I thought she had ridden the motor vehicle because I knew it was an option at the ranch, but she told me she just sat in it because she saw it parked in the front. She was a lot of fun.
Gab was funny too. She kept saying how hungry she was and finally got up to get what was left of the nachos to bring directly on our table. She kept telling us to eat and enjoy it and Jeff finally whispered to me "please," in reference to a waiter we had at the restaurant in Chateau Vaudreuil back in July.
I had been brushing off most of my salsa to avoid having issues later and Jeff gave me some of his plain nachos when he found some in his plate. By the time Gab brought the tray of leftovers to the table, we were scrapping the broken nacho pieces with a fork and practically eating the crumbs.
The group of fifteen were late and we were all getting hungrier by the minute despite the nachos we ate. When the other guests finally arrived, they socialized in the lobby and I have to admit that we were starting to get a bit impatient about dinner.
The group of adults and few teens slowly started making their way inside the dinning area, but not all at once. Some people still talked among themselves in the lobby as the rest of their group chose places to sit.
We were happy to see ranch employees starting to bring food into the dinning area.
Covered plates with flat tortillas came first, then small bowls of salsa, grated cheese, and sour cream. Hot pans with fried pieces of meat, some with chicken and others with beef, as well as fried green and red peppers plus onions came next.
Bowls of chilly and spicy rice were served too.
I was given a small plate of non marinated chicken as well as a small bowl of plain white rice as an accompaniment.
Some of the ranch employees as well as the two young girls sat at our table. They were all very friendly.
Everyone made their own fajitas to their liking and ate their dinner while conversing.
Pat and Jeff kept looking at one of the men in a cowboy hat, saying he looked like a popular actor who had played in a lot of Westerns but could not think of the name. "Chuck Norris," Jeff finally said. Pat told the man sitting beside him who he reminded him and Jeff of and the man took it as a compliment. He then added that most people said he looked like Brad Pitt's character in Legends of the Falls because of his long hair. I could sort of see it. I had no idea who Chuck Norris was so couldn't say who the man looked like more.
Jeff finished his beer and ordered another. I jokingly said he should tell Jaques to charge it to a room that wasn't ours. Gab and Pat laughed and when they ordered themselves some Heinekens too they told Jacques to put it on me and Jeff's tab. Jacques laughed, knowing they were kidding.
When everyone was done eating, Jacques sat down at our table and ate the leftovers. The other employees as well as the two young girls eventually got up one by one and left the room. Jacques left as well once he was finished eating.
For dessert, a big circular tray with pieces of chocolate as well as vanilla and caramel cake on small white plates was brought to our table.
At first neither myself, Jeff, or Gab could decide which flavour we wanted so we took one of each to taste. Jeff finished the pieces of chocolate cake while I finished the vanilla caramel one. Gab said she preferred the chocolate cake and had a piece all to herself.
Patrick had temporarily gone to sit down at the other table to socialize with the other guests so Gab put two pieces of cake aside for him. When Pat came back, he told us that everyone from the other group were family members of one of the owners, visiting from France. They were touring Canada for three weeks.
Because Pat had been offered to drink a glass of wine with the French visitors, he left the table again. Jeff got himself some coffee while Gab and I decided to have tea.
By the time Pat came back to our table, the room had started emptying itself.
We thought there might be line dancing later on, put it never happened.
Pat and Gab went to smoke a pipe with vanilla flavoured tobacco outside at around ten o'clock. At that point, Jeff and I wished our new friends goodnight, said the same to the few French guests that were left, and headed back to our room.
It was comfortably warm when we walked in.
I put on a sexy cowgirl outfit and paraded in the mezzanine for Jeff. We tried to make love, but unfortunately I started having a bad cramp in the middle of our intimate moment and Jeff didn't want me to force myself.
Jeff set the alarm on his cell phone to ring at nine so that we would have enough time to get ready for breakfast the following day. There was no working clock in the room.
My husband and I fell asleep in each other's arms to the sound of rain hitting the tin roof. At first we thought it was the sound of water running from a shower. When I looked out the window of the mezzanine it was too dark to tell if it was raining, but it went on for much too long to be a shower. It was still raining when we got up the next morning.
I got out of bed to go to the bathroom a couple times in the night, being careful when going down the stairs/ladder. I left the bathroom light on all night with the door ajar for safety since there were no night lights in the room and it was pitched black in there after nightfall. I didn't want to accidentally tumble to the first floor.
Each time I got up, I looked out of one of the living room windows. There were dim lights around the pen and I noticed that the horses never seemed bothered by the rain.
Later on though, two of the horses were standing under the wooden shelter while the other ate grass as though it wasn't raining.
I noticed that a couple of people were outside really early. I could hear their voices even though the windows were still closed, but could not make out what they were saying to each other,
Jeff and I fooled around in bed when we decided it was time to wake up for good, before the alarm rang, and took our shower together. We then got ready for breakfast and went downstairs.
The previous evening, we were asked at what time we wished our first meal of the day to be served and had agreed on a ten o'clock breakfast with Gab and Patrick. Gab had suggest it and I thought it was a good plan because it would allow Jeff and I to sleep in and also eat a late lunch after our planned helicopter ride.
My husband and I walked downstairs, finding it a bit cold. As we were passing the unlit fireplace of the lobby, we were told by a new female staff member that there was fresh coffee and orange juice in the dinning area. I borrowed a pen from the reception area and took the time to write a nice message in the guest book before going to get something to drink with Jeff.
Country music was playing from the speakers and Jeff seemed pleased.
A big jug of pulp free orange juice was on the table set for six and I poured myself a glass while Jeff prepared his morning coffee.
Shortly after we sat down, a young couple joined us and a few minutes later Patrick and Gab showed up.
Gab wanted to play her music but Jeff pointed out that it would sound weird with the music already playing.
While looking through the back window, I noticed that there was a large round blue trampoline outside with black protective nets around it. I pointed it out and mentioned that I wouldn't mind trying it out if it wasn't still raining.
I continued to look around and saw a long rope that almost looked like a noose hanging from one of the wood beams above the unlit fireplace of the dinning area. I pointed it out and we started making jokes about it. Gab said we better be good or we would all be hung. The story became more morbid as we all pitched in.
We were served a large plate of home fries, scrambled eggs, sausages and crispy bacon, plus a basket of toast was placed on the table. There were individual containers of butter and strawberry jam in bowls.
Everyone was quite full after the big meal.
Jeff poured himself some more coffee and asked if anyone else wanted any. Gab and Patrick gave my husband their cups and told him what they wanted inside in terms of sugar, cream, or milk. Jeff poured coffee for them and gave them the sugar packs and creamers requested.
I had some tea as well as more orange juice to help me digest.
We eventually got up from the table in turns and wished each other a good day, saying it was nice to have met. Everyone headed to their rooms.
Jeff and I packed, left a tip in an envelope held by an antique metal tool we presumed may have been tongs, and exited the ranch through the side door to bring our luggage to the car in the rain.
I saw a wet spider web on my side of the car as well as what originally looked like a large piece of fluff on it, but it moved and I realized it was actually a big spider. Jeff kicked it off the car and when the arachnid landed on the wet sand it started crawling. My husband stepped on it a few times but it didn't seem to be killable so I told Jeff I wished a horse was there to stomp on it. The spider eventually did die, or at least looked dead. I hoped that no spider had somehow gone into the vehicle.
After that somewhat traumatizing moment, I walked to the pen to see the three horses for a few minutes. They were all standing in the sheltered area and two of them actually moved closer to me so I was able to pet them for a few seconds.
Jeff brought me an open umbrella, asking why I was standing in the rain. I didn't really have an answer.
We had no idea when checkout time was, but figured it was okay not to rush. The owners of the ranch seemed pretty chill about everything.
It would have been nice to go hiking or just hang out near the stable before leaving, but the weather wasn't ideal to be outdoors. Not only was it raining, it was also cold and we were not properly dressed.
We walked to the main entrance and went back inside the ranch to pay what was left of our bill. Jacques informed us that they were experiencing computer problems lately, so had gone back to the old fashioned way of doing things. He pulled out a piece of paper and started doing calculations on a battery operated calculator.
I was worried that I would not be able to use my Visa or even Debit card to pay because the internet connection was bad. Jeff and I didn't have nearly enough cash on us to pay the balance we owed and I imagined that finding an ATM machine or a bank would have taken a while. Luckily, the interact machine worked after the second try.
Jacques thanked us for coming to the ranch and we thanked him for welcoming us. "See you next time!" we all said to each other.
Jeff and I headed back outside. Before going back to the car, I quickly ran to the big stone wising well and looked inside. Jeff thought it might have been a traditional one but it wasn't. There was no water inside; just pebbles and dirt.
When we were inside the car, Jeff cursed. He couldn't find his bus pass, which we needed along with the car key to start the Communauto vehicle. He searched his coat pockets, in his pants pockets, then went outside and opened the trunk to look inside his suitcase...
I was starting to think that perhaps Jeff had dropped the pass on the ground and was going to suggest going back in the ranch to see if somebody had brought it to the front desk. I had also thought about calling Communauto to see if it was possible to use my bus pass.
Jeff finally found the buss pass inside an inner pocket of his jacket. He had placed it there for safe keeping before the horseback expedition. I could not help but laugh at my husband.
We finally got on the road and started following the directions of the GPS towards Heli-Tremblant, unsure if we would actually be able to fly.
On the way, we saw two deers; a doe and her baby. Jeff let them cross the road while I quickly took pictures with his phone, and he resumed his driving on the pebble roads within the woods.
It looked like the GPS was guiding us to the middle of nowhere, but we eventually started seeing a few houses.
We eventually arrived at the end of a street and the GPS told us to continue going straight. It seemed as confused as we were since it then told us to turn right onto the main road when we should have gone left.
We passed by a nice little waterfall because of this unnecessary detour so not all was lost. When we realized that there was a problem with the GPS, we returned to the main road and followed the map on the phone screen rather than listen to the GPS talk.
It started raining harder and we were both pretty sure that we would not be able to go in the helicopter. We continued on our way to the helipad anyways. Despite the rain, the view of the mountains was still nice and we were enjoying our little adventure.
On the highway, we knew we were approaching our destination but it was hard to see and my husband drove right past it. Jeff had to do a legal you turn onto the other side of the highway, go back in the direction we came from, and do a second you turn to go back in the right direction. He drove slowly on the side road so that we would not miss the turn again.
It took us close to an hour to arrive to Heli-Tremblant from the ranch rather than the estimated thirty one minutes, so we were glad to have left earlier than planned.
Jeff parked the car, got out of the vehicle, and came to get me with his umbrella. We could see the parked black helicopter on the helipad, but were pretty sure we weren't going inside.
My husband and I followed the signs to the office around a small cabin.
The office was open, but when we went inside a young man came down a flight of wooden stairs and told us that we could not go on a helicopter ride because it was raining too hard and it wasn't safe. Apparently, the man working there left us a message at home.
I told the nice man that we understood and had figured as much but wanted to come just in case. He was afraid that we had travailed far for nothing and I reassured him that we had stayed nearby overnight, but not just for the helicopter ride.
The man told us we could rebook our flight if we wanted, but Jeff and I didn't want to do that just yet because we were not sure exactly when we would be back in the area and didn't want to come back just for that. I told Jeff that he still had to come flying with me one day, reminding him that I had carried his weight set. A deal was a deal.
We were told that we could stick around and see if the rain dyed down, but we were all sure it wouldn't.
My husband and I headed back out in the rain and Jeff took a picture of me doing a sad face holding the umbrella in front of the helicopter.
Jeff headed back on the highway in the direction of Montreal.
We eventually stopped in the small town of St-Adele because Jeff wanted a coffee. He had seen a Tim Hortons sign before the exit we took, but we could not find the popular Canadian donut shop. It was fine by me since I preferred to go someplace local.
After finding a place to park, we walked around in the rain and discovered a patisserie/chocolate factory with a heated terrace across a set a lights.
Jeff and I went inside, and although we were still full from breakfast we were salivating at the sight of all the delicious looking pastries and other goodies behind the display glasses. It took us a while to decide what we wanted.
We finally walked to the cash and waited for one of the employees, who were all wearing old fashioned white bonnets, to take our orders.
When the young woman at the cash asked us if we wanted something to eat there or to go, Jeff told her we wanted to sit on the terrace. She kindly informed us that we could choose a table, and that somebody would be with us shortly.
It took a while for somebody outside to realize we had not been served after we were seated, but we were in no rush. A waitress in a white bonnet apologized for the delay as she gave us double sided menus with breakfast and lunch items.
Everything on the menu looked good, but I wasn't hungry for lunch. Neither was Jeff.
I simply ordered a caramel late bowl and a chocolate muffin while Jeff asked for a cappuccino as well as a fresh croissant. When my husband took a bite of his snack, he said it was the best croissant he ever had.
Before leaving, I bought some chocolates to bring home for dessert. I chose a small Irish cream flavoured cylinder for myself, a milk chocolate in the shape of a dog head for Aidan, and a handful of chocolate covered blueberries for Jeff.
After being weighed, my selection was placed inside a small golden cardboard box, plus long blue and pink ribbons were tied around it.
Jeff and I walked back towards the car in the rain and discovered two old movie theatres along the way. It would have been a perfect day to check one of them out, but we wanted to return the car on time.
We soon returned to the highway. There was a lot of fog up in the mountains.
At around 3:40, we reached the area of St-Jerome and the sun decided to come out. Jeff and I almost felt like going back to Heli-Tremblant. To make ourselves feel better, we said that it was still pouring back there.
It was really bright out where we were within minutes. The sky was blue and all the clouds in sight were white. We could not believe it.
The clouds slowly became grey again though and it started raining again at 4:20, which was surprisingly comforting.
When we got home, Jeff helped me bring the luggage inside the apartment and returned the car.
It was so silent within the apartment that I thought my son had gone to a friend's house, but I soon heard his bedroom door open. He came to say ''hi'' to me and we talked together for a little bit.
I then unpacked and placed my flower in a long glass vase, which I placed on the kitchen table along with my box of chocolates. I told Aidan it was for dessert.
When Jeff came back, him and I left to do a bit of groceries. We returned home with a lot of food, which included a cooked BBQ chicken for dinner. I made some white rice and carrots to go along with it.
We ate together, talking about our weekend. Aidan said he never left the apartment. In fact, he barely left his room and spent most of his time playing on his computer just like Jeff and I predicted he would do. He only came out to eat, feed our bird Link (our other bird Snow sadly passed away in August), and make use of the bathroom. I can't say that I blamed him though. It really wasn't that nice out and I probably would have stayed indoors too had I not gone to the ranch with Jeff.
When we were done our supper, we waited a few minutes before eating our special dessert.
Jeff and I showed Aidan some pictures of our getaway. He seemed interested in going with us to the ranch if we ever went back so we considered going together in the winter as a family trip.
We were already thinking of staying in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts near Valentine's Day for a romantic getaway, but we could definitely modify our plans or do two little trips. I was starting to really enjoy being away for the weekend as opposed to full weeks.
A few days later, I contacted the themed hotel Jeff and I had stayed at in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts back in July as well as the ranch to ask questions. I wanted to know if they rented skis or snowshoes in case we wanted to venture out, and also if there was a place to skate outdoors in St-Agathe as well as if the ranch did horseback ridding expeditions in the winter.
(up) Pictures taken at the horse carriage exposition in August 2015
(Down) Pictures taken in Tremblant in September 2015
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