In this tender and decidedly funny story, Kary-Ann, our Executive Assistant, takes you along on the epic family road trip she took down route 117. An overstuffed trunk, miles of “are we there yet?” and a box full of memories : that’s what awaited her… before returning, as always, to her beloved Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Everything started with an idea thrown around in between two loads of laundry: “And if we went camping in Stoneham this Summer?” Three kids, two adults, a tent, 9 hours and 30 minutes of driving and I said yes with the enthusiasm of a mother still believing in miracles.
So, here is our great family adventure of the Summer, sprinkled with Goldfish cracker crumbs, with magic and with “Are we there yet?” But most of all, more memories that we will bring back home with a little more sand in our shoes and even more love in our keepsake box. But, before the S’Mores, the soft mornings and the too cold pools, we had to face the Jeep packing challenge.
KM O | Too many luggages, but a lot of hope
I left Rouyn with my daughter Hazalie and enough luggage to furnish a 2-bedrooms apartment. We had bought an XXL roofbox, yet I was not even sure everything would fit in. My boyfriend was waiting for us in Val-d’Or with his children, Emma-Rose and Edouard.
When he saw our luggages, Vincent looked at the box, looked at me, then looked at the box again. And then, he had that intense look that we see on the face of police officers in the middle of a hostage negotiation. At this stage, I got the memo. I dropped our bags and had a sip of coffee in silence. Packing is his sacred ritual: we must not talk, we must not help, we must stay away, and nod as if everything was working out perfectly.
When he packs the car, he becomes a kind of Canadian Tire version of Mr Miyagi. He did it, and then, against all odds, and against all laws of physics, the box closed completely. That’s when the vacations began. Comfortably set up tightly, with a light heart, and some country music in the speakers, a little voice rose to break the silence: “I’m hungry.”
KM 3 | Where are we at?
Ça a commencé à la sortie de Val-d’Or.
- Hazalie : I am SO hungry!
- Édouard : Where are we at, daddy?
- Emma-Rose : I need to go pee!
- Hazalie : Are we still in Quebec?
- Édouard : The camping is so far away, I am bored!
- Emma-Rose : Can we eat, now?
All of this… within the first hour.
After the 34th question, I stopped answering. I put on my sunglasses, looked straight ahead and dissociated, like a mother in the middle of the toy aisle who does as if she does not hear the word “want” every 3 seconds. Vincent drove stoically while I escaped in another world: a world where people would go pee before leaving, eat when it’s time to eat and ask a maximum of two questions per hour.
KM 896 | Setting up the camping site
As soon as we arrived, the true challenge began: assemble the tent, inflate the mattresses, make the kids dine and try to find our mental health somewhere in between the cooler and the picnic table. The weather was humid, the kids were running around (as if they just discovered the outdoors for the first time of their lives), Vincent was trying to understand the instructions for the portable gazebo, and I was doing what a mother knows how to do best: everything and nothing all at once.
Once the camping site was ready (or about so), Hazalie and I headed towards the public showers for our big mother-daughter moment in a 3’x3’ shower cabin with a suspect hook, and water jet more interested by the wall than us. I shampooed my daughter without her touching anything (victory!), kept our clothes dry (miracle!) and got out of there with a little more humility than when we entered. All of this for a simple fee of $1.75.
We dried ourselves with our already humid towels, then Hazalie looked at me, proud, her hair still wet:
- Mom, it’s so cool to take a shower at the camping! aman, c’est vraiment cool de prendre sa douche au camping !
- Yes, my darling… It's SO cool.
KM 1001 | A zoo unlike any others
On Saturday, we had planned to visit the Miller Zoo Animal Sanctuary (you know, the one we see on TV with Emilie and Clifford!). The kind of place where everyone finds something pleasing. The kids got excited at every enclosure: the Malayan tapirs, the Kodiak bears, the tiny saimiris, the goats and the pink flamingos! Even us, adults, were amazed at such beauty.
Edouard, on his part, was experiencing a whole different adventure: one of a toddler boy at his tolerance limit for walking. Every 100 meters, we were blessed with a “it’s looooooong”, followed by a theatrical sigh and a dramatic collapse on a bear shaped bench. We motivated him with promises of a pool and slurpies.
KM… I stopped counting | Let’s go back home
The drive back home had a little taste of the end of an adventure: the kids were calmer, the Jeep smelled of strawberries we bought at a roadside kiosk and of a camping weekend trip. Our faces showed that mix of intense fatigue and soft happiness. At times, we would drive in silence, each and everyone a little lost into their own memories.
Then, at some point, without even really knowing why, Vincent’s imitation of a peacock became the epicenter of a collective laughing outburst. A true one, like those which start slowly, rise in a crescendo and end with teary eyes and belly cramps. A laughing outburst to end this beautiful parenthesis of life.
KM final | Back to essentials
Stoneham was beautiful. Truly. But there are beauties that touch us and others that inhabit within us. Even if the landscapes change, my heart always comes back a little more in love with home. Because our Abitibi-Témiscamingue, it’s not just a region. It’s a landmark. Also, I am pretty sure that we will end the Summer with an expedition nearby, where the great pines already know us.
My darling Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Let’s be honest, going on vacations outside of Abitibi-Témiscamingue when we work for its promotion, it might seem a little contradictory. However, wishing for a change of air is not a denial of where we are from: it’s simply to go see if the snacks are as good elsewhere… while knowing that nothing beats the “squick squick” cheese from Boréalait. My Abitibi-Témiscamingue, I carried it into my luggages: in my cooler with my Blonde du Prospecteur (Blond beer from the Prospecteur microbrewery), in my accent, in my way of saying proudly where we are from to our camping neighbors, and into my heart which remains hooked on our lakes, even while admiring the beauty of the mountains of the Chaudière-Apalaches area. In every case, we get back to the essential: here.
What are you waiting for to pack up the family van and come explore this beloved Abitibi-Témiscamingue? Here are 5 activities to discover it with your family!
