Day 2 North Hatley and more of the Eastern Townships August 4, 2018

My day began with a pre breakfast delivered outside my door.  

and followed by a delicious breakfast in the dining room.  It had begun to rain so we didn't dine outside.  In the last five years I have been here in summer, fall, spring, and summer again and it always rains at some point!

You can see the misty view!  I was able to use my rusty French as I chatted with some of the other guests.  This area has become very popular with bicyclists.  

My goal was to go to the Saturday market on my way to visit my cousin. 

It was great, so much fun.  Beautiful flowers-I bought my cousin a bouquet 

Music

Produce-mushrooms above

tomatotoes

crafts-a friend is having a baby in January and his or her big sister loves bunnies.

I missed taking a picture of the cheese made in Waterville!

I then walked into town and over the bridge to my cousin's and North Hatley now has a pop up Hatley store for the summer.  The original concept for this successful business was developed by a Bishop's Business professor and his wife who live in North Hatley and is now run by their three sons.  For great bargains, there is an outlet store in Lennoxville (that I never made it to this trip).

I had a good visit with my cousin and admired the scenery along the river as I made my way back into the central part of the town.

It was lovely but rather hot and humid (the rain having stopped long ago)

Back in town I discovered a neat little shop on my way back to the market near the gas station and since my baseball cap hadn't made it into my suitcase I bought a straw hat for $10

i had the illusion the market was open until 2:00 but my cousin thought it closed at noon and she was right so I wasn't able to get that Waterville cheese-oh well.

So I just went back to Le Cachet and got my car and set off to lunch.

I drove back down the Route 143 past my old farm.  I am very familiar with this road.  When I was a child my family knew everyone who lived along that road from the North Hatley turn off to Massawippi.  This is where we turned off to go to our cottage in Bacon's Bay (still on Lake Massawippi).

A favourite place to go in nearby Ayers' Cliff was Wood's Friendly Snack Bar, which still exists although expanded and not owned by the same family.
I had a favourite childhood meal, a hamburger, french fries, and a strawberry milkshake.  And you have to know nothing is as good as Quebec french fries...

 Next on my list was to visit Bleu Lavendre, the lavender farm near Fitch Bay, so I took a short cut over the hills I know, Brown's Hill Road.  I tried to find this farm five years ago unsuccessfully but I didn't have a phone with GPS then.  This business seems to be going well as I have bought their products in Vancouver.  

You can go in the store for free but a tour is something like $10 and apparently takes two hours so I decided this time not to wander through the fields but just go shopping.

Next I went through the little village of Fitch Bay near where later I spent many summers on Lake Memphremagog and then I went to Georgeville, another tourist town where actor Donald Sutherland has had a home for many many years.  For Louise Penny fans, the house below inspired one of her books.

After that I found my way back to Ayers' Cliff and checked out the new improved Ripplecove Inn.

I didn't go inside but it looked great outside.  This is at the opposite end of the lake from Honey Manor. At one point one Stafford brother owned Hovey Manor and the other owned Ripplecove but no longer the case.

While I was there it poured for a few minutes but the rain was warm and felt good.

It was getting a bit late but I just wanted to take another small detour to where we used to have our cottage at Bacon's Bay and found my cousin there at his cottage so we had a short visit.

On my way back to North Hatley I may one more detour to East Hatley.  East Hatley is a pretty hamlet where I used to go to July 1 parades every year and where they still have them.

By the time I got back I only had a few minutes to change and get ready to go the reunion dinner that night.  It was very nice but too bad that not more people had been able to go, but I felt that I had marked the fact that I had graduated fifty years before.  I still find that fact unbelievable.