Well my luck weather wise just couldn't hold
And grey skies had finally caught up with me...
So we went to visit St. Benoit du Lac and as you can see it was raining. St. Benoit du Lac is the name of this monastery. Again it has been made famous as
the inspiration for the fictional monastery in Louise Penny's mystery, The Beautiful Mystery.
On Lake Mempremagog, and perhaps a half hour or so from North Hatley, near Magog, I hadn't been here in 40 years and I don't remember much about that visit.
So it was fun to visit!
and we managed to get their for the last part of Vespers and hear the beautiful Gregorian chanting.
Above you can see inside the chapel.
We also enjoyed a visit to the store where you can buy cheese, chocolate ,etc. made by Quebec monks.
Having purchased cheese we took it back to our bed and breakfast to keep it cool.
And then we set off on our next journey
First we went to Ayers Cliff which is on the other south end of Lake Massawippi nine miles from North Hatley. Lake Mempremagog runs parallel to Lake Massawippi but is almost three times as long and actually runs into the states. We went to visit my cousin and his wife but they weren't home at their cottage or house in town.
We owned a cottage here up on the hill from the time I was 13 to 18 I think. And then the cottage was sold to my cousin and his wife. They later winterized it and lived in it but later sold it as they had another cottage right on the lake and they bought a house in town as well.
We had friends who lived in the cottage they had now which is how we started coming here. It will also be a favourite place of mine. Anyway we had lunch at the Ayers Cliff Hotel and then drove down to Stanstead which is right on the American border.
Stanstead is a lovely town, home of Stanstead College and where Frederick Banting, the creator of insulin once lived. Above you are looking through the window of the
Colby-Curtis House. This is a place I have been wanting to visit for years and the last time I tried to visit, it was a Monday and it wasn't open.
The house was built in the 1850's by Dr. Moses French Colby and was lived in by family members until the 1950's. As a result many family heirlooms are actually in the house. The Colby's were amongst the late loyalists who came to this are in the early 1880's from New England. This family was obviously more comfortably off than many early settlers, of course.
I am just going to let you explore the house a bit.
The dishes below are quite patriotic!
There were exhibits on birth, weddings, and death and the outfit below would have been worn by someone in mourning.
In the gift shop were books on Stanstead County history and I found a page on my ancestor, Captain Simon Kezar, reminding me of family history and noting the fact that He was married to a Hovey (maybe I could have asked for a discount at Hovey Manor…) When I was in grade eight I actually wrote an essay on the history of Stanstead County and did quite a bit of research.
It was a good day to visit a museum to escape the weather!
But fortunately, by the time we got back to North Hatley again, the rain did stop
and we went for a walk again into town
These pictures are actually around our bed and breakfast.
I finally got a picture of autumn leaves!!!
Just beside Le Cachet is the Catholic Church.
And below is a picture of our bed and breakfast, Le Cachet.
North Hatley is a beautiful town and there are many neat places to explore
And I have so many memories here
But as you can see the weather was still rather threatening-at least we didn't have any thunderstorms which can be very dramatic on the lake.
Below is Pilson's Pub where we did end up having dinner. It has a lovely setting on the river as it goes into the lake.
I always love this gateway.
What a beautiful garden...
As you can see the leaves were just beginning to turn.
Anyway we did head for Pilson's Pub against the advice of our landlady's but since it seemed to be the only place in town open and we didn't really feel like driving anywhere. It was busy for that reason and one woman was trying to deal with all the customers. Fortunately we ordered quickly and simply and did better than some people who waited and waited. Dessert was an ice cream cone at the general store on the way back to Le Cachet. And it started raining again just as we got "home".
The next morning I just had to photograph some of the lovely touches here.
We really loved our stay at
Le Cachet and I would love to stay there again.
As you can see it was pouring. Linda drove back to the city and I did a bit more shopping.
And then I went to visit my cousin and his wife in Bacon's Bay near Ayer's Cliff as I had checked this time to see if they were home. This was their last day staying at the cottage but since their house in town is only a mile or two away they will be back when the days are nice.
After a nice visit and delicious lunch I went to visit another cousin and his wife
who live just outside of North Hatley. This is the family homestead of this cousin's father's family and where my aunt and uncle once lived. My father had four sisters.
Again I had a nice visit. I had other people I would have loved to have seen but unfortunately my time was a bit limited.
And it was time to head back to Montreal.
Fortunately the weather cleared up half an hour into my journey and I was back at Linda's around 5 pm.
And it was lovely to be in the townships in September!
