I kind of dropped the ball on the true and accurate quantitative stats on the trip. But rough calculations would indicate 4600km of kilometrage. The truck has all the fancy electronic calculations and it showed that we averaged about 11.5 litres per 100 km quite steadily. So we drank anywhere of 500 litres of gas. Gas averaged about $1.10 per litre.... Not too hard to total those numbers.
We left on the 23rd of July and were home on August 8th. That should be 16 days. 11 nights were in a hotel, and then the others were at the MacLeod's in Port Hood. The 11 nights totalled $1350, there about. Food, drink and like expenses weren't calculated, but at 16 days away, to estimate about 70 bucks per day wouldn't be too far off. One bill to come will be the 407 Toll that we took on the way home. It may be the dooziest of them all. It is what it is. My friend and his wife are starting a 20 plus day road trip today, ultimately going to and from Kamloops. As I've wrote before, bring twice as less clothes and twice as more money!
The drive home was manic. We were torn as the unfinished boat ride and fireworks were going to be missed. Alex didn't plead, but made a good logical case for us to stay. In the end it wasn't in the cards. After a great out and back run with Alex, we returned to Shelly keenly packing up our provisions. Wild horses wouldn't keep us/her/us from leaving. Maybe another baseball tournament - maybe not.
Busy roads awaited as many others travelers had our intentions too. It was all smooth sailing, retracing the familiar steps back across Nova Scotia, into New Brunswick, and up past Woodstock. Edmunston, NB would have knocked off 900km for the day. A worthy total. But having already been fed and fueled, it was only eight or so at night and Rivere' Du'Loupe was only 90 minutes more. Or 90 minutes less the next day.... We pushed on.
As it was no hotels were available. We went into one, and the receptionist informed us that they were full, and all others in the community. No matter, Levis, PQ was only 90 more minutes and thus 90 less the following day.... Down adjacent the St. Lawrence in the dark. Which incidentally, was how we were left, in the dark, regarding the hotel situation across from Quebec City.
It was the same story retold but with a different author. All of the rooms in The Quality Inn were accounted for, along with every other room in the city. Okay.... It was well after eleven at night. I gassed and top the truck full. Very full. Who knows where we would get. Who knows if anything was open.
They receptionist in Levis was nice enough to give us a list of 50 or 60 names of hotels within the general area. She sort of just handed the paper to Shelly with a this-is-a-your-problem-type-of-problem look. Which it was in that it was "our" problem. However. We drove and called a number in Drummonville, PQ. It was another 140 km, but, being an optimist, 140 km less to drive the next day. Sure enough at the Hotel Dauphin a room was available. "Hold it, " we pronounced in fran-glish. We'd be there at 1:00 am. It was also, the last room they had.
The next day we had a stop to make in Kingston. Friends of Shelly's. Having been with all my friends for the past 15 days it certainly wasn't an unreasonable or undue request. We got up and drove the 350 km from Drummonville to Kingston and had a 90 minute visit. We had to keep it outside and in a park because their condo and contents would have taken a severe beating from the caged restlessness of Molly and Wally. The friends are in their 70s, and as it is they don't have a Molly and Wally proof house and contents. Any self respecting 5 and 2 year old would have torn their place to shreds, add long car rides, late nights, lack or sleep, eating in restaurants for stretches on end, our two were at their max. But the visit was fine. They live right at the marina and downtown trail in Kingston and we pushed off with the last 450 km in front of us. Home was looking good.
I wish I had taken more people pictures over the past two weeks and some. I don't have any pictures of us in Quebec City as I forgot the camera on both excursions, and there were lots of things going on. It is also nice to have pictures of people. No pictures of Alex and I together. None really of Rich and I. The biggest shame is the lack of pictures of us as a family. You can only do so much about that however, hence the selfie stick.... But I like the people pictures to tell a story just as much or better then the geographic shots.
As for other summary notes, it really goes without saying that at times it was difficult and a task all in all to bite off what we tried to chew. You are just out of your comfort zone in all capacities with kids on the road. However the alternative is staying put and not exploring or trying new things. A little bit of struggle and diversity when one is out of their elements is a good thing and needs to get identified from time to time too. When you travel you can't fight the elements of weather or distance or time. You have to give in to them and work accordingly with whatever gets thrown at you. You have to reserve (hotels perhaps), but you have to be reserved to go with the flow, rather then alter the path of the flow.
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