Montreal, QC, Canada // Quebec City, QC, Canada

• Mom finds 3 scenic gems in the middle of nowhere outside Montreal, Quebec City, and Vermont. Montreal is REALLY in the middle of nowhere and although the house is beautiful, Marie and Laura find underwear hanging on a wall in a closet and imagine murderers.
• Paper thin walls in the Vermont hotel clue Mike, Laura, and Marie into Mary’s utter frustration with the lack of hot water and shampoo. After commenting to herself on the lack of hot water and the unbelievable fact that they didn’t fill the shampoo, she talks to herself exclaiming “this is extremely unpleasant!”
• Chris’s first Medoffest
• Chris drinks A LOT of water.
• Visits to St. Joseph’s Oratory, Cathedral Notre Dame, St. Ann de Beaupré
• Marie, Laura, and Mike practice their French. Marie chats with some ladies after daily Mass in French, making a new highlight of her trip
• Ben insists on going to Tim Hortons, apparently that is the #1 thing to do in Canada
• Intense intellectual discussions of the immaculate grid every day
• Ben tries to turn the pool in Montreal into a hot tub. Unwilling to accept defeat, he relaxes in a hot bath with his bathing suit on and the door open.
• Ferris wheel, six flags, beautiful old city feel, and museums in Montreal
• Walking tour in Quebec followed by a steakhouse Mike ensures is on the itinerary. “Je me souviens” the walking tour.
• Gorgeous view over pond in Quebec, canoeing on pond in mornings
• Two functional cell phones
• Beautiful stars when it wasn’t cloudy, but speaking of weather, God provides countless beautiful days despite rainy predictions. Dad’s “it never rains” weather app is much more accurate than Alex’s app.
• Chris and Marie take some time to discuss wedding planning… it doesn’t bring Chris as much joy.
• Chris reads aloud the end of Marie’s Christian romance book. He pauses regularly to barf in his mouth. “For the praise of His glory”
• Dominion, Ping Ping, Ticket to Ride, Azul, Banana Grams
• Mike almost falls victim to a possible phishing scam with “Charlie.” Seems legit though.
• Lots of laughing watching “Get Smart” at hotel in Vermont.
• “Well said” (clapping)