So I hope you are enjoying Sis’s adventure as much as I am! What a once in a life opportunity!
Speaking of opportunity I also made these ah-mazing double chocolate zucchini muffins while Sis and Fam were visiting! Unfortunately for me they were gone so fast, I missed my photo opportunity lol. I will share the recipe and then Sis will take over with Part 2 of her Road Trip Adventure!
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted margarine, melted
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups packed zucchini, shredded
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir until smooth.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don’t overmix. Stir in the shredded zucchini until just combined. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into liners. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the muffins.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out mostly clean.
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New Brunswick, one of eastern Canada’s Maritime provinces, was our destination. It has rivers, pine forest, mountains (which most people don’t realize) and the Bay of Fundy. It is where Mon Beau grew up, until he left for Ottawa to attend University when he was 18. It was where both of his parents and extended family grew up. It may not be where he calls “home”, but it is where a big chunk of his heart lays.
Our first stop in NB was Dalhousie, a town of about 2500 located on the Baie des Chaleurs. Mon Beau’s grandma (Memere in French) and 2 aunts, Yolande (Tante Yo) and auntie Penny live there. Memere lives a few houses down from the Dalhousie lighthouse and their backyard is on a campground with a playground, splash pad and of course, the beach. It is the perfect spot to camp with a family!
We stayed the night in the driveway and the girls were spoiled rotten with a pizza lunch, special gifts, ice cream and rides in Tante Yo’s wagon. The best part is always just visiting. Hanging out with family and not having a care in the world is a great place to be 🙂 Dalhousie is a very special place and a must see in Northern NB!
Next up was Mon Beau’s parents (aka Memere and Pepere to the girls) who were dying to hold their grandbabies. They live in Beresford which is a seaside town of approximately 4200 and it is where Mon Beau grew up. You know how grandparents spoil their grandchildren? Well, times that by 100 when they usually only get to see them in person once a year lol
Memere made up the girls rooms with all the special touches- their names on the walls, special beds and baskets of toys, books and clothes for them to take home.
Pepere smothered the girls in little trinkets and books he found that made him think of his girls.
We first spent 4 days in Beresford where we took SweetPea to a local fair and she got to go on the rides with Memere and Pepere. This made me very happy as I cannot get over what age and 2 kids has done to my love of rides! Just watching a ride from the sidelines made me dizzy and want to throw up my mini donuts.
We spent a wonderful day down at the beach where we searched for shells and Sea glass and had Dixie Lee (fried chicken) for lunch. Leave it up to Memere and Pepere to always make an adventure special for SweetPea. Since there was no sea glass to be found this time, Memere brought a bag of her own from home and scattered it in areas of the beach we were walking. SPea would then stumble upon it and be SO excited when she just so happened to find a big pile of it at her feet! She’s going to be gutted when she reads this one day and seeks the truth 😂
We just so happened to be here to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary, which meant….babysitters!! Score! I can count on one hand the times Mon Beau and I have gone out, just the 2 of us since SweetPea was born 4 years ago. Sad, I know. It’s hard when most family lives far away and all your friends have kiddos to look after themselves. We could always hire a babysitter, but we just haven’t gotten around to it yet! Maybe we will more often now that we made a pact to go out more often together, now that Cabbage is over 6 months and in a good bedtime routine. It’s important to take the time for each other and is way too easy to get into a routine where that is forgotten.
My anniversary began with both a nap AND a shower in the same day. Woo hoo! It’s the small things these days, guys. I put on a dress, Mon Beau shaved and we went out for dinner. We made sure to sit in the lounge area where kids were not allowed lol I had mouth watering ribs and chicken, a gin and tonic and the largest glass of red wine they had. Mon Beau ordered some east coast fried clams and a local beer. We enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation (yay!) And then moved onto Bootleggeurs, a local pub (the ONLY local pub 😂) that sells craft beer. This was exciting as Mon Beau has become a beer connoisseur ever since he started brewing beer from scratch at home. His beer is now deliciously amazing and he is part of the local beer club in Calgary 🙂 He loves it and making it satisfies his science geeky side!
We sat on the patio, chatted and listened to the live music happening across the street. We ended our night with a walk down by the Bay, which ended quickly when the thunder and lightning lit up the sky. We stopped for a McDonald’s ice cream and watched the cars go by, which is a popular activity in Bathurst hehe.
We had a lovely evening and got to hear all of the fun stories that happened at Memere and Pepere’s while we were out. At least this year SPea didn’t take advantage of Pepere and convince him to go on a walk at 9:30pm instead of sleeping 😂 Cheers to 5 years Mon Beau and Merci Memere and Pepere for the wonderful night out! Too bad I only took one picture, go figure! haha!
Going to the East Coast would not be complete without a seafood feast. When I say feast, I mean eating so much that you do not need anything other than the seafood itself lol Man, we were spoiled rotten by Tante Yo and Auntie Penny! They came by on our last day in Beresford and brought along almost 25lbs of delicious, huge crab and bought us all each a lobster. Holy moly. I ate so much that my fingers looked like I’d been in the bath for days.
Since I am from the prairies, I always require step by step instructions on how to deconstruct and cut a lobster to get out all the meat. Everyone pitched in to assist my sorry ass and I was introduced to the miraculous lobster shear. These things slice through Larry’s shell like butter! I was in awe. Apparently so much awe that Tante Yo bought me a pair to bring home and use at our Annual lobsterfest we host! And the best part about this gift is that the box has step by step instructions on how to eat a Lobster 🤣 Thanks again Yo, I love them!
Camping in Val Comeau was definitely a highlight of our trip. Val Comeau is located in Tracadie, where Mon Beau’s other Grandmaman lives, and also where he spent many summers camping as a child. This is also where we went camping on my first ever trip out to NB in 2010. Memere and Pepere joined us with their tent and we spent our days looking for seashells on the beach, building sandcastles, digging for clams and playing at the park. We also got to visit with Grandmaman and Mon Beau’s Aunt and Uncle who live right down the road from Val Comeau! At night we played bingo, popped Jiffy Pop over the fire and enjoyed the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen. If there is one thing Val Comeau is known for, it’s the sunsets there. Breathtaking! It was relaxing and beautiful and everything we could have hoped for, for our first actual “camping” experience.
Our last name is Hachey 🙂
We began our journey back West and our first stop was the farm. The farm is a magical place I have been hearing about for 10 years and have now finally had the pleasure of visiting! This farm is a huge piece of Mon Beau’s childhood and lies in Lac des Aigles, Quebec. The roads to get there are described by SweetPea as “a super fun rollercoaster! 🤢 He would spend the summers at his great aunt and uncle’s, exploring the land, picking from the garden and feeding the animals. This time he was able to take his own family there and watch SweetPea do all the things he did as a kid. I could see his heart explode while we were there! We were welcomed with open arms, shown the land and fed a wonderful traditional meal of salted pork with vegetables and we brought along some cheese curds and homemade bread from the local fromaggerie. What made this visit interesting was our lack of communication as they do not speak English and my French is about as strong as SPea’s. I spent the day hanging out with the girls while Mon Beau chatted, laughed and caught up with his family. It was a simple yet wonderful day!
Ottawa is where Mon Beau spent 8 years of his adult life going to University, working and making lifelong friends. Even though this is not where he was born and raised, this is where he calls home. Ottawa is a stunner of a city. If you’ve never been, I highly suggest it! Being there for Canada’s 150th Birthday was cool!
We stayed across the bridge in Gatineau, Quebec where Mon Beau’s brother (Mon Oncle to the girls) lives. He is a bachelor with a 3 bedroom apartment, who is also not used to 2 adults and 2 children staying with him haha Talk about overwhelming! Gatineau is so close to Ottawa that he commutes everyday to work on transit, which is faster than driving during rush hour lol
We spent day one touring downtown Ottawa. We hit up Byward Market, the Parliament buildings and had lunch at our favourite Italian sandwich shop, La Bottega. We took our let-me-make-love-to-you sandwiches to our traditional courtyard and people watched while we made love…I mean ate our sandwiches.
It was hot. Who doesn’t want air conditioning?
Day 3 was spent at the Children’s Museum and we met one of Mon Beau’s dearest friends from University there, Adil. Adil was in our wedding party and now has a cutie 10 month old daughter for us to meet! This museum was super fun and unique, a must see if you’re in Ottawa with kiddos! It takes your child around the world with a passport they must stamp at each location they visit. They can explore a lavishly decorated Pakistani bus and a three-wheeled auto rickshaw from Thailand. Or step inside homes from India, Indonesia and Mexico. There were so many things to see and explore, SweetPea went insane there!
Our last day was spent our last day at MOSAÏCANADA , an exhibit that is running until Mid October in Gatineau. It is the largest horticulture event in Canada that reflects 150 years of history, values, culture and arts in Canada. It was about a 1 km walk around a park with a place to seek shade and have a snack halfway through. It was only 36 degrees that day and extremely busy with tourists. I never knew such amazing art could be made with PLANTS!
We were spoiled every evening with amazing dinners such as a tomahawk steak, foie gras, seafood and different game sausages, all done on the charcoal BBQ. YUM!
We spent as much time as we could with Mon Oncle. It’ not often the girls get to see him and it was his first time meeting Cabbage! It was another amazing and unforgettable stop on our journey 🙂
Before heading over the border into the US again, we stopped for 2 nights in Sarnia, where 2 more of Mon Beau’s friends from University live, Louis and Marie Helen (MH). MH was Mon Beau’s Best WOman in our wedding and has been a close friend of his for many years. I remember Mon Beau being hesitant to tell me that his best friend was a woman lol I was so relieved to hear this as I knew I would get along with her if we both understood Mon Beau’s humour 🙂 It just so happened that Adil is on paternity leave with his daughter and decided to join us on our trip down to Sarnia! We ran into each other at each rest stop to feed the kiddos and met at Louis and MH’s apartment, the crew was back together again! Spoiled once again with delicious and fresh meals, we walked across the street to the waterfront to feed the ducks and play at the park. We spent the time visiting and they took a trip to the local brewery, Refined Fools where they brought back a growler to share. Each night the kiddos fell asleep in the playpen and on the couch and then we transferred them to the truck to head back to our campsite to sleep. It was relaxing and fulfilling, but not nearly long enough 🙂
Back on the road and into the States we went! We entered into Michigan and crossed the bridge to Northern (Upper) Michigan. Once you cross the bridge linking to Northern Michigan, you have entered total cottage country. Town after town filled with campgrounds, cabins, sawmills and fishing resorts. It is of no surprise that their main industry in tourism! It is pure forestry and we came across a lot of wildlife while driving, including wild turkeys (and ducklings), deer jumping out and even a dead cougar.
We stayed the night at Silver Lake Resort which was located right on the water that people were fishing on at the crack of dawn. It had a playground, restaurant and a store with cheap booze. Thank goodness for that as we left all our booze in Sarnia before crossing the border. King cans of Miller Lite and Hard Iced Tea were welcomed with open arms after a long day of travel 😂
Shopping day!!! I have been waiting a whole month for this.
👆👆👆 Hold up. What is written above, I wrote BEFORE we got to our destination for shopping, Duluth Minnesota. The plan was to find a camping site, set up and then head to some stores to make Mama happy. What happened was…I call every campground in Duluth to find out they are all full to the brim due to a Thomas the Tank Engine exhibit and a Christian music festival. How ironic that all the parents and Christians outwitted this atheist mama 😂 we had to pull over and call all surrounding areas and found a fun looking resort 2.5 hours away in Cass, Minnesota. By this time, it was already mid afternoon and we had not planned to travel more that day. We took a chance and ran into Target with an overtired toddler and a baby who would not stop crying. This was my one chance to shop. Here we go with 20lbs of crying baby under my arm that is cramping up as she wouldn’t sit in the cart. Looks like she needs some milk to calm down. I look everywhere for a place to sit and breastfeed her and only find a bench in customer service, that’ll do. I look down to divert all the old lady eyes staring at me and notice one of Cabbages leather slippers is gone! Shit. They aren’t even mine! A wonderful friend leant them to us! When she’s done, she resumes the position under my arm and we retrace every step we took in the store. No luck. I’m now sweating and fighting my arm cramp. I came to look for clothes that are not maternity, so I head towards the women’s section. It’s now 4pm and I see Mon Beau and SweetPea coming my way. I nearly drop Cabbage into the cart and I hear “Mommy, can we go now?” on repeat. Seriously? I said F it as I was done. I got the girls what they needed and that’s what matters when you’re a momma, right? Frig.
We got back on the road and realized the time went back an hour, we hadn’t had supper yet and that it was very close to Cabbage’s “witching hour” as we call it. The girl let’s you know it’s time for bedtime routine at about 6:30pm sharp. Cue the uncontrollable, gasping and choking on air freak out. Here we are all hangry and tired singing twinkle twinkle to a freak out baby while trying to find a place to grab dinner in the forests of Minnesota. Finally we see it. An A&W! Yes! It’s attached to a small gas station and there’s nowhere to park the truck and trailer. I jump out and leave the whiney children with Mon Beau who looked like he could have used a couple shots of tequila by the time I returned 😂 Did you know that the burger family at A&W is a Canadian thing? When I asked for a Teen burger the young guy looked at me like I was a foreign Canadian and said “can you describe what it looks like M’am?” Alrighty. They also don’t put any seasoning on their onion rings, which is the only reason I love A&W. Shame on you ‘Merica. I ordered our meals and got SweetPea all set up in the back of the truck so we could get back on the road.
We arrived at Stony Point Resort in Cass, Minnesota with full bellies and no dinner to cook, yes! We took advantage of our evening and toured around the family friendly resort! It has a private beach, restaurant, rec center with an indoor pool, boat rentals and playgrounds. We settled in with a fire, some bevvies and R & R 🙂 It was amazing and we wished we had stayed an extra day here!
Heading out East was a chance to see all of Mon Beau’s family and friends. Heading back West was a chance to see all of MY friends and family 🙂 Sistah and I were both born and raised in Winnipeg, Mb. I left 10 years ago, when I was 24 years old to go teach English in South Korea, where I actually met Mon Beau. It’s a pretty cool story actually, and if you want to hear all about it, check us out as guests on Ninja and Sistah’s Podcast How Was Your Week, Honey? haha What a good product placement, eh?
I have only been back a few times since I left, which sucks as my brother and grandfather still live there. This trip back home was pretty special as we were going to meet our new niece and Dad, Sistah, Ninja, HBear and SBean were all going as well! You can read all about Sistah’s adventure to Winnipeg on her last blog post HERE.
Off to Winnipeg we went! Back over the border through Emerson, Manitoba.
Funny story. An old friend who has since moved to England to live with her husband used to run a motel in Emerson. I used to go visit and party with her to pass time in the winter out there lol When we were in Minnesota, I saw her husband post on Facebook that he was in the most remote place he had ever been, Emerson! We were heading right there that day! What would be the chances that we would meet up all the way from England and home from our trip out East? 100%. It was so awesome!
In Winnipeg, we stayed at Sistah’s WpgBesty’s house. To me, she is a Sistah from a different Mistah. Dana was my sister’s best friend and always around as I grew up. They were inseparable, they could read each other’s minds, finish each others sandwiches – or sentences….thanks fricken Frozen. I secretly longed to find a best friend relationship, like the one they had. Both of these ladies stood next to me as I took my vows and they would be there for me, for anything. They’re pretty rad 🙂
Everyday, all 20 of us would meet up to visit family, or do the tourist thing. I got to see my Grandpa, which truly may have been my last time seeing him. That guts me. Having him meet both of the girls was pretty special. Even if his dementia prevents him from remembering it, we have photos to last a lifetime 🙂
We went to Tinkertown Amusement Park, The Children’s Museum and The Forks. I met my new niece PrettyPenny and I got to catch up with my Brother and SIL. I got to visit with so many old friends and meet all 14 of their kids. We like to have babies. We spent the night out in St.Malo at my SIL’s cabin. The best part of it all though, was just all hanging out together. WpgBesty and her hubby, Paul were the Hosts with the most and made dinner for 20+ of us a couple of times while we enjoyed their fire, pool, hot tub, trampoline, playground and mini electric Audi. Damn did the kids have fun. Every night was a late night and our final night lasted until 4am. That took a lot of booze for all of us old fogies with kiddos haha Let’s just say that it was an ah-mazing trip and if you’d like to read all about these adventures, I won’t say it again! Sistah says it best in her latest blog post, all about our trip to Winnipeg!
It truly was a trip of a lifetime and I am forever grateful to spend our summer visiting all of our families and friends. Not too many people get to experience something like that, especially when your family lives from coast to coast in Canada! We made it home, but of course, not without almost running out of gas. Mon Beau did not do the math correctly and was just ready to get the F home. We truly thought we would be pushing on the side of the highway…or calling CAA haha We couldn’t find the nearest gas station, so we had to pull over and call them for directions. We passed it! We had to turn around – with our fingers crossed and me mumbling not nice words under my breath to Mon Beau. It was a nail biter my friends, but we made it. Mon Beau didn’t have to sleep on the couch that night.
Home Sweet Home they say. It was wonderful to leave, but even better to come back.
Home is the nicest word there is.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
