To Gaspésie and Back - Part II

We arrived at our hotel in Carleton-sur-Mer on the afternoon of our third travel day. It took us about 11 hours of driving, over a span of three days, to get there! My dad's hometown of Maria was just an extra 15-minute drive from the hotel.

 

The last time I was in Gaspésie (1993)

We got settled in, then headed out to view the sights of Maria, including the church, the cemetery (where my grandparents, an uncle, and an aunt are buried), my dad's childhood home, and the Baie des Chaleurs right across the street from his home. The highlights were grabbing some lobsters from a local shop and eating them down by the water, then going for an evening walk in perfect weather. It was a memorable day!

Grand-Maman Victoire 1993

Grand-Maman Victoire 1998

Tante Hectorine 1991

His home for 18 years

Our expert lobster sheller

Episode 53: The Lobster Dinner by the Sea

From Maria we headed northeast towards Matane to visit friends of my parents'. They were a military family that lived in Kingston for a couple of years, and I even remembered playing with their two daughters when we were young, about 8-10 years old.

Fun friends for a brief two years (1993)

Matane is right on the St. Lawrence River and our friends have a beautiful view of the water! We enjoyed good food and conversation, and I had a chance to reconnect with one of the daughters after over 30 years apart.

The next morning we took a walk by the river before making our way back to Trois-Rivières. It was a long, 5.5-hour drive that I filled with reading and watching Wuthering Heights and two episodes of Bridgerton.

Cool!

On our sixth travel day, we had one final stop to make in Beauharnois to visit my aunt (and godmother) Gracieuse as well as two of my cousins. We had a delicious lunch and chatted the whole time. It was a perfect end to our lovely trip! Thanks, Maman and Papa, for letting me tag along!

Tante Gracieuse, 1991 & 2008

June 2026