We woke up in Port Daniel at 5am. Well, technically the alarm went off at 5am, but we actually got up at 6. We quickly got ready and hit the road at 7:30. We went straight through and didn't take our first break until Bonaventure. We stopped at the info center to ask about a bar laitier. We are on a mission to have Quebon ice cream before we leave Quebec, and since this is our last day in Quebec, our time is running out! It is essential it's Quebon because they have the BEST chocolate milk, so their ice cream must be AMAZING! We got directions to the bar in town, but unfortuantely it was closed (who opens at 11am on a Sunday? Don't they know they're losing business???). At the info center, we started talking to a woman who is living in Alberta, but who is originally from Nova Scotia. She told us a bit about the cabot trail (there are three large mountains to climb, Smokey being the worst!). We figured no hills in Canada could be worse than Quebec, so although I'm sure they'll be tough, I refuse to believe there are TWO places in Canada that would be so cruel to have such stupid steep hills! But we still listened to everything she had to say about our route (she also recommended taking the Ceildh trail to the Cabot Trail, which followed the water, so was very scenic, instead of going inland and going straight to Beddeck. So that's what we'll do!
It was a beautiful day! The winds kept changing, but it was a really pleasant ride! We kept going straight until New Richmond, where we had lunch. We didn't actually go into the town, but on the Northern outskirts, just off the highway, there was a nice picnic area with a nice view of the ocean and some of the city.
We were starting to get scared! We were quickly running out of towns and we still haven't found another bar laitier! Finally in Carleton we found one! We were just going to get a cone but then we saw something AMAZING that Quebon offered. Poutine Glacier!!! Genious! There is a white soft serve ice cream base, with caramel sauce (for the gravy), chocolate waffers (for the fries), and marshmallows and caramel popcorn (for the cheese curds). Unfortunately we were WAY too full for it and so just got the regular cone. But we took quite a while to omit that option (if only our stomaches weren't about to burst!).
We kept riding. It was such a nice day! The hills were minimal and not steep at all! The winds kept changing, but it was really pretty and sunny! We kept going until Pointe-a-la-Croix. We had only 3km until we crossed into New Brunswick and Michael spotted a gem! It was the last bar laitier before leaving Quebec for good! By now our stomachs were settled again, and they served Quebon! It was fate! We both ordered a Poutine Laitier! It was wicked!
Right before crossing into New Brunswick, I took a picture of the "welcome to Quebec sign" because there was no sign on the route I took into Quebec from Ottawa. I was disapointed and didn't want to NOT get my picture with a sign from EVERY province!
In New Brunswick (after taking a picture with the sign) we headed straight to the info center. Michael and I were very impressed with it! It was well laid out, the staff was readily available and very approachable, there were tons of things to look at, and there was free internet! It was wicked! We spent quite some time figuring out our route through New Brunswick. We wanted to get to Fredricton by the 3rd, and we wanted to try and see some Acadian culture, and we wanted to know what they recommended seeing. We were pretty stoked to be in New Brunswick because now we are officially done the West coast, the Prairies, and Central Canada! Now we only have the Maritimes and we're done! I'm excited to be done, for a sense of accomplishment, but I really don't want this trip to end! Regardless, it's exciting to start the Maritimes!
After sorting out the details, the guy at the info center told us to camp out at the Lighthouse hostel. It was so cool! It was a lighthouse that was converted into a hostel. It was a novelty, but it was so nice and clean! The really nice man, Ryan, who worked there let us shower and use the kitchen facilities as well! Such a nice guy! We got nice and clean, called home, then went straight to bed! What a productive day!