Up pretty early and out of our hotel. Checking out was easy since it did not require too much... uh... talking. Key from my hand to the hotel guy’s and then we were gone. Getting out of the city was pretty easy, and I have noticed a trend that leaving cities is much easier driving than entering them.
We were out and on the highway and on the way to Lambton. Lambton is a small town with a few thousand residents. There are actually many towns like this. We drove through a region called the Eastern Townships where there was town after town. Each one was more picturesque than the last, until we hit Lambton at least, which might be the pinnacle of picturesqueness. All of these towns have one enormous Church and then a bunch of smaller buildings and are quite something to see. The colours were fabulous and the weather was decent for once.
It took us until about lunch time to get to Lambton and when we arrived our friends were waiting for us. Gilles and Francine were our neighbours when I was growing up. I have many fond memories spending days with Francine when I was sick (or my parents were sick of me) and of learning about hunting and bows and arrows from Gilles (who actually made me arrows for the bow my Dad and I cut from a piece of Willow). There were a big part of my growing up, and though I was young I have many memories that I shan’t forget.
Francine greeted us warmly and with a big hug. I had seen her and Gilles a year or two back when they returned to Calgary, but even that was too long. We were welcomed to their beautiful home and came inside. Gilles joined us and then headed off to run some quick errands as we settled in. We had some amazing hors d’oeuvres and a salad for lunch when Gilles returned and then a fantastic dessert.
We had no plans in Lambton except to see Gilles and Francine, and we were very fortunate that Gilles had some time to show us around. Gilles is a very busy man, and among his many activities he is the director of the church choir. Lambton has an enormous church for when people attended. It was supposed to be a diocese eventually with its own Bishop, that that never came to be. Anyways, back to the plot, Gilles has a key to the church so we had our own private tour. The church can hold 1200 people, but recently attendance has been between 50 and 100 people, depending on events. They now use a smaller chapel in the back of the church for more intimacy and to save on the heating of the full hall. Sad as it is that such a building is no longer needed as it was, the church was incredible. The main hall was something to see, and the organ is a Cadilac of organs. Amazing.
We left the church and headed towards Saint Sebastian. That area is a granite capital so all along the way we saw granite houses, and slabs of granite waiting to be turned into countertops. We passed the bar where Gilles and Francine met and were regaled with stories of their youth. Gilles and Francine both have their families in the area, and they moved back to Lambton as a compromise between moving to either of their birth villages. We continued on our way and passed the house the Gilles was born in. It was amazing to learn so much about Gilles and Francine’s rich history. Gilles took us up to the granite museum. He thought it might be closed but when we arrived we were able to drive right to the door. The museum was closed, but they were packing everything up so the gate was open. We made it to the top of the hill/mountain and were stunned. At the top of that mountain we were confronted with the best view that we had seen yet. We have seen a great deal of Canada, so when we say the best view, we mean it. We could see forever. Gilles pointed out local areas, including Gilles and Francine’s sugar bush. He told us of the path being built between the different exhausted quarries so that people could see them all. The view truly was... stunning.
We had to stand there for quite a bit.
Admiring.
After regaining our breaths and examining a few granite sculptures we headed down the mountain. We did not go to the sugar bush immediately but to their neighbour, who happens to have a Christmas tree farm. On the way we saw three deer, which marked the most wildlife that we had yet seen on the trip. We drove into the Christmas tree farm and Gilles showed us the trees in different batches. Some were 8 years old. Some were 8 months old. He told us that the ones flagged were measured at different heights and that was indicated by the colour of flag. Those ones would be harvested. Also, every summer a bunch of people with machetes come through and trim every tree to the right shape so that when they reach their final size (10ish years) they are perfect.
The son of the owner came to check on what we were up to and had a lengthy conversation with Gilles. He said we should go further in to get an idea about the different stages of growth. We did and it was very interesting.
Then, we headed to the sugar bush.
In New Brunswick I got to see a small sugar bush of maybe 100 taps. Gilles and Francine’s sugar bush has 6000, which is quite a large operation! The taps are not in right now, but we could see the hoses that go from tree to tree to collect the syrup when the syrup is running (March). Gilles showed us the sugar shack where the sap is collected, then reduced with an osmotic filter, and then evaporated to get it to the right proportions of sugar. Maple Syrup has 66% sugar in it, and it must be carefully brought to that proportion. Gilles explained the different colour of the syrup as the season progresses and how in the beginning it is a clear colour, and then more of an amber colour at the end. He showed us samples from last season’s batches and we could see the difference. Gilles also told us about how the inspector would come and grade the syrup. The inspector would use a bunch of scientific methods to grade it, and then a final taste test to check for unknown flavours like wood, or unknown... The entire process is very impressive. It can be done with one person, but is best with four. If you do not have enough people something gets neglected and it can be difficult to produce high quality syrup.
Another thing that is very interesting is that animals can be a bit of a problem. Gilles used to have an old kind tubing that the squirrels use to love getting into. They would see the salt water in the lines (used to clean them in the off season) and they would bite into the line to get it. The technology has changed so Gilles changed the lines to the new and better material. Now the deer see the water in the lines and pull the lines down to get them. They are a nuisance, but part of the whole equation.
We walked around the sugar bush and left some apples near the salt lick... hopefully to get the deer to stop pulling on the syrup lines... and then down to the pumphouse (where the vacuum is created to help draw the sap, and where the sap is then pumped to the sugar shack).
Having learned an enormous amount, and having gained a sudden desire to return during the season to help out (which we may do in the future, well, I certainly hope so!) we headed back.
We reconnected the trailer to the truck so that Gilles could get away early the next day for his hunting trip in New Brunwsick and then went into the house. We entered Gilles’ trophy/work room from his hunting exploits and I remembered many of the trophies from when they were situated in their house back in Calgary. Gilles gave us an incredibly generous gift of a box of maple syrup (half light syrup for cooking and half dark for pancakes), and then we headed into the house. Francine had made us an incredible feast of a pork roast with a sweet glaze, and veggies in rice. It was finished off with an amazing dessert made of maple syrup. I cannot possibly express how well we have been treated on this journey.
We sat and talked with Gilles and Francine and then retired for the evening.
What an incredible day! It was so amazing to see Gilles and Francine, and the things that we got to see (not to mention eat!).
For the first time in a long long long time, we went to sleep in a home.
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