Weekend Round Up: My Saguenay Adventure

Friday: Went into work super early so that I could leave at 4:00 PM without dipping into my vacation time, which was hard because I was starting to come down with a sinus cold. Spent the day starring at my monitor in a fog, but still managed to get something done. At exactly 4 PM, I met L., Annie & Mel in the parking lot and we started our trip north.

It took about an hour to get off the island, and if we had waited even half an hour later it would have taken three times that long. Mel managed not to get into any road rage incidents with anyone, which was good and I prayed to St. Christopher as I do anytime I get into a car with someone in Quebec. Not that I've converted or anything, it's just that scary.

After a quick supper at a St-Hubert Express in Trois Rivieres it was back onto the road. Sadly it was too dark for me to enjoy the view on the treacherous Parc, and it had started snowing, but the trip was pretty uneventful. We got to Annie's parents' (L.'s taunt Denise and oncle Evans) place around 10:30 PM and we hung out in the kitchen talking and looking at Annie's sister Jasmine's pictures of South American beetles.

At around midnight we bid our farewells and Evans gave us a lift to L.'s cousin Valerie's charming little trailer home where we would be spending the night as Valerie was actually in Montreal for the weekend at a dance conference. Again, Saguenay hospitality was offered in spades and L. noted that a boy cousin probably wouldn't have thought to leave out towels for us.

Saturday: After a restful night we called L.'s step-dad Yves who was also in town for L.'s cousin Dave's anniversary memorial (the real reason for our trip) who picked us up so we could all have breakfast together.

Being that it was nearly noon, finding a place for breakfast was a bit of a struggle, but we did manage to find somewhere that was still serving. There was some minor drama regarding the coffee and I thoroughly confused the waitress by asking for black tea (I got Earl Grey and an apology).

After breakfast we toured around the Saguenay at bit on our way to the fromagerie Boivin (cheese factory?).





The Saguenay is a very interesting and beautiful city, that is actually three cities merged together: Chicoutimi, Jonquière and La Baie. L. had lived in all three areas at various times, and the cities that make up Ville de Saguenay were actually made up of smaller cities and towns. It is actually a Fjord but is mostly agricultural, with rolling hills and fields. The main industry is still Alcan, one of the first to settle in the area. We actually found out recently that my uncle Martin (my mom's sister's husband) had done co-op work for Alcan while in college in Arvida, now part of Jonquière.

Unfortunately the weather was a bit inclement and it started snowing again. We drove around taking photographs and L. bought a bag of warm, fresh, squeeky cheese curds. That's right, squeeky. That's how you can tell they're fresh. In joual, the sound they make is "skouik, skouik".

Around 3 PM we arrived at L.'s dad's place in Jonquière. It's a beautiful Victorian era apartment, originally built by Alcan when they opened their first facility. It even has a dining room! Yves hung out a bit with us all and L. got to play with Nicole's dog Noisette.

Later, Nicole's daughter Katherine showed up with a giant tourtière, the official meal of the Saguenay. L. had two helpings and we saved him some for breakfast. After dinner we all sat down to watch the Canadiens game, when L.'s half brother John and his mother, Florence, came by for a visit. It was a very nice surprise as it had been a couple years since L. had last seen John and we had a very good conversation about video games and film. It turns out that John had been interested in pursuing a career as a game designer, but stumbled into starting a degree in art instead.

It was a little overwhelming for me to meet so much of L.'s family all at once, but most people I had met before and everyone was so welcoming and genuinely nice that it was really a pleasure. Everyone seemed very excited to meet me, and L. boasted that I was the reason he had decided to move back to Quebec.

Sunday: Went to my first Catholic mass. Ever. It was actually less scary than I expected, due mostly to the engaging young priest with a goatee and skate shoes under his robes. After mass we went for a brunch buffet with the rest of the friends and family, where L. had (believe it or not) more tourtière. I met more of L.'s family and he and his cousin Caroline talked about how somebody from their side of the family better start having babies soon.

After brunch we visited with L.'s tant Reine and oncle Arthur while Yves gathered his stuff as he had been staying with them for the weekend. Arthur taught us about L.'s ancestor's (apparently the Malthais side of the family is originally from the Isle of Malta) and Reine asked if my parents spoke French at home, probably the best compliment I've ever received.

Then it was off to Ste-Foy (next door to Quebec city) with Yves so we could catch a bus back to Montreal. Luckily we were able to catch an express bus and made it back in time to catch the third period of the game.