Heading NorthWest

We woke up to rain, but it was a driving day so the rain didn't bother us much.  We left Prince Edward Island with the goal of getting to Quebec Province.  The drive took us through more forests and valleys in New Brunswick.  Not much population and no real reason to take stop and take pictures, although I was tempted by road signs to see the world's largest axe, the world's longest covered bridge and a potato museum.  I resisted the call of those sirens and kept on driving. 

About an hour before the end of our drive we crossed into Quebec.  We gained two things--the hour we lost when we came east and the need to brush up on my college French.  In New Brunswick all of the signs are in French and English, in Nova Scotia they are in Gaelic and English, in Quebec they are only in French!  We feel we have really come to a foreign country.  Up until now we have been in a place north of the US where they sometimes speak funny.  Now we are in foreign territory.

We are spending the night in Riviere du Loup on the St. Lawrence River.  We had dinner at the French restaurant and it was the best meal we have had since we left.  No more fish and chips--foreign countries do have their benefits!

Diane

After Diane and I sent the blog yesterday, we went for a walk around the main area and waterfront of Charlottetown. In the process we learned a little more about Canadian history by reading the various historical descriptions that were displayed around town.  The reason for this emphasis on Canadian history in C-town is that it was the location in 1864 of the signing of the document that the started the process for the federation of the various British colonies remaining in North America after the 1776 Declaration of Independence and revolution that led to the establishment of the US.

So-here's some more history that at least Diane and I don't remember reading in our US history books.
 In 1864, while the US was in the last year of the US Civil War, there arose fear within the British colonies of America the the USA would attempt to gain control of many of these colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) and maybe Montreal and Quebec after the civil war was over. So-the Maritime Colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edwards Island) decided to meet in Charlottetown to begin discussing some kind of consolidation of these three colonies to protect themselves from a grab by the US. Then  the additional colony of Upper and Lower Canada (the name for what would eventually become the additional Canadian provinces of Quebec (primarily French speaking) and Ontario (English speaking) asked if they could join the discussions as well.
 These discussions in Charlottetown eventually led to an agreement to develop a centralized government loyal to England, with separate assemblies in each of the provinces. By 1866, the British government agreed to their move and created the North American Act, which provided independence to the new country of Canada, and made them part of the British Commonwealth. They were joined later by British Columbia, and others, until in 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador became the last province to become part of Canada.

There's a lot more to the story, but this is enough for tonight.

We thought that this was interesting and wanted to share it with you.

Joe

P.S.  There will be a test on Canadian history at the end of this blog (just kidding, Diane)