Pregnant Ladies Love Travel

We got back from our trip yesterday. My brother J and his wife J had flown out to New York City for a few days last week. They hung out with my brother T and my cousin Kage and saw a few Broadway shows. They drove up through Vermont to Montreal, where we met them on Thursday night. Then we drove out to Quebec City together. It was a lot of fun, but it was pretty tough on R. All that sitting in the car makes her extra stiff and extra sore. She still has some really stiff muscles in her back and her stomach hasn't totally been agreeing with her. She was a real trooper through the whole thing. She still went out and did everything and saw all the sights. She got a particularly good look at this cannon.

We stayed in cute hotel nestled between the Chateau Frontenac and the Citadelle (the immense stronghold built by the British in the early 1800s to keep the savage American forces out). The Citadelle is the highest point in the city, with enormous cannons set to cover any approach along the St. Lawrence River in either direction. The tour guide told us that this cannon can shoot a 250-pound cannonball 4km. That's pretty impressive. In this picture, you can see the top of the Chateau Frontenac in the background.

Here's the view of the city and the waterfront from just behind that cannon. You can see how large the Chateau Frontenac really is. I looked at getting a hotel room there, but they are crazy expensive. The week we were there is still considered the high season in Quebec, because that's when the fall colours of the foliage are at their peak. There had been some strong wind storms in the last few weeks, so some of the leaves had been blown off. That was a shame.

This next picture is pretty much the reverse of the previous one. I'm standing right in front of the Chateau Frontenac, looking back towards the Citadelle. As you can see, there are tons of cannons in Quebec City (literally). We found one park (Montmorency Park) where there must have been 30 cannons all in a row, all pointing out to the river.

Here's my advice to you: Don't attack Quebec City... especially by sea.