Geocaching April 2023

The month started for us in New York, where we found Bonus cache for Adventure lab: Historic bridges. The cache is on a bridge over the Ausable River in upstate New York. The adventure lab has geocachers visiting bridges in the Keeseville area. We haven't started doing adventure labs yet so that cache will remain unfound. This particular bridge had a fun hiding spot and was over a dramatic bit of the river.

The bridge

The river

We did some geocaching while in Canada. Our first find was in Montreal, our base of operations, near our rental. The neighborhood looks a little sketchy, especially where the cache was. The find, Putsch/Poule, was a lot of fun with its secret and original hiding place. My eldest was with me and he noticed the neighbor across the street looking out his window at us. I hope it was the cache owner!

Somewhere on the back of this building

We went to Mount Royal (after which Montreal is named). While admiring the view at one of the overlooks, we found PFC Virtual Reward Mont Royal. As a virtual cache, there was no log to sign but we did have to find a fact only findable there, along with posting a picture of us at the overlook.

My son at the overlook

In Quebec City I found Porte Sainte - Virtual Reward 3.0, a door on the Notre-Dame de Quebec Cathedral Basilica. It's the holy door that is only opened during Holy Years or Jubilee Years declared by the Catholic Church, like the year 2000. Usually they happen every 25 years, though special years are declared every now and again.

Hard to get close with the snow

In Montreal, I found the Basilique Notre-Dame du Montreal Basilica, another virtual cache that required answers about the basilica and a monument in front.

Monument, basilica, me

Back in the USA, we had another bridge cache in New York--Virtual Rewards: Walkway Over the Hudson. The bridge was built in the late 1800s for train traffic and was ruined by a fire in 1974. It was refurbished and opened in 2009 as a pedestrian/cyclist bridge. It reaches 212 feet above the Hudson River and is 6,768 feet long (or 1.28 miles), making it the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. The cache requires visitors to take a picture in the middle, which I did.

This guy again?

Keeping with the river theme, I found Rollin' On The River! in Columbia, Maryland. It is by the famous (on this blog) Middle Patuxent River. The cache itself is in bad shape--the log was too wet to sign. I let the owner know.

Cache contents

Nearby lake

Why is the tree wearing a mask?

On a trip to our local Scout Shop, I went over to the nearby VFW to find Cold War Bull Fighter. The cache is an easy find on the missile in their front yard. It's a TM-61 Matador, the first surface-to-surface cruise missile developed after World War II by the United States. It could have a conventional or a nuclear warhead.

Why can't I have one of these in my front yard? Stupid HOA...

ADOPT A ROAD? - I WANT TO ADOPT CACHES is a geocache in Clarksville, Maryland. The name is a very big hint to where the cache is hidden.

View from the cache location (not a very big hint)

My son had a tennis lesson in Cedar Lane Park, so I found two caches there. Meatball Sandwich is a small container hidden just off one of the trails. I am not sure why the cache has that name. That part of the park is lovely with no sandwich shops in sight and the container is too small to hold a sandwich (you shouldn't leave food in geocaches anyway).

Maybe some plant-based meatball?

The other cache was the mystery cache HC Soccer Series - Cedar Lane Park. I had to solve a puzzle involving the name of a famous female footballer from twenty years ago. I had to do a little bit of internet research to find the name. There are other HC Soccer caches (HC=Howard County), so I may find more in the future. This one had some interesting swag that I did not take--a bowling pin pen and a geocacher card. Maybe I should make cards for myself?

Interesting contents

After donating blood at The Mall in Columbia, I found What Could Be Making That Sound?!?! It's right across a busy street from the mall. Happily, a crosswalk lets pedestrians make it to the other side safely.

The donation center is above the pub, not at it!

At the end of the month, I have another full month of cacheing on the calendar, with only two days to fill in for May. I had 12 caches this month, raising my total to 797. I am sure to break into the 800s next month!

Current calendar grid

Random Bits of Quebec City 2023

Quebec City has a lot of charm. The old town is laid out like an ancient European city with twisty streets and old buildings. The city has developed, so there are new buildings and lights. Old shops and homes are blended with new architecture, giving surprises around every corner.

One corner in the city

Le Chateau Frontenac is the most famous building there, possible the most famous in all of Canada. We went for a quick visit. The amazing view of the St. Lawrence River was not so amazing since it started snowing with a strong wind. We approached from the side.

Le Chateau Frontenac

While named after New France's seventeenth-century governor Louis de Baud, Count of Frontenac, the building was constructed in 1893 as a luxury hotel on the Canadian Pacific Railroad. 

The courtyard of the castle

The inside is as fabulously appointed as the outside, with beautiful staircases and many fine restaurants and shops (and also a Starbucks).

Ready for spring

Downstairs are several exhibits about the history of the area, including items from previous buildings discovered at the site.

Tea time info

An old silver service set

The square nearby has one of the monuments to one of the many Quebecois.

Not sure who this is

The snow started to pick up during our visit.

Getting a little worse

An important warning

The city is the only city in North America north of Mexico that still has its walls. In the old days, a city could have a wall and keep out the undesirables, human or otherwise. The snow and ice made it too treacherous to walk on the wall.

Old-style city gate, part of the wall

The snow getting worse

We had lunch at Cochon Dingue, a restaurant specializing in French and Quebec dishes. I ordered the breakfast poutine. Poutine is a famous dish, usually french fries covered in cheese and gravy. This version had hash browns instead of french fries, cheese curds, gravy, sausages, eggs, and some other delightful bits. It was delicious but very filling.

Breakfast poutine

Later, after wandering around in the snow, we stopped at Baguette & Chocolat for some hot chocolate to keep us going. I could not resist the Chocolate Brownie Cake with White Chocolate. It was very delicious and even more filling. I shared with the rest of the family.

Best dessert ever?

Le Monasterie Des Augustines, Quebec City

Le Monasterie Des Augustines in Quebec City has a history stretching back to the 1600s. The Augustine Sisters founded a hospital here to serve the colony, as they had founded hospitals all over France. Part of the early church is still visible inside of the new center.

Walking to the fancy entrance through the snow

View of the monastery wall from the lobby (indoors!)

More of the old walls with new structures

The monastery continues its tradition of hospitality and care for the sick. It has a hotel, a restaurant, a health spa, daily Mass, and a museum cataloguing the history of the order in Quebec.

Our first stop was to see the wing of the church where the sisters pray and attend Mass. It is separated off from the main body of the church where the general public comes to pray.

The sisters' part of the church

A small room has various liturgical items from the monastery on display, including relics of saints.

Bones of the saints

Chalices and other items

More of the same

A monstrance for benediction

The main founder of this monastery is Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine. Born in 1632, she joined the Augustinians at Bayeux, France (where the Tapestry is from), in 1644. A call came for sisters to travel to New France to assist the canonesses opening a hospital in what is now Quebec City. She accepted in 1648, traveling to the New World at the age of sixteen! She worked tirelessly in developing the hospital.

Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine

Sacristy with some original 17th century furniture

The main body of the church is fabulously decorated with a lot of white and gold, making it radiant. It is not very large but is impressive.

Main altar (with the nuns' wing on the right)

Side altar dedicated to Our Lady

Side altar to St. Augustine

The pews for the congregation

Relics of Blessed Catherine and St. Jean de Brebeuf

Madonna and child in the hallways

The museum part of the monastery has an impressive array of displays. This model shows the original layout of the hospital.

The first hospital

The sisters have the happy combination of work and prayer so necessary to an authentic Christian life. This display shows a rosary (for praying) and a mortar and pestle (for working).

Ora et labora!

The sisters came over in groups. Three sisters shared one large trunk that had three locks--one key for each sister. They had to pack everything they needed into it before leaving France.

Trunk

More work and prayer here--a cake mold and a reliquary!

Food for body and soul

Statues

Trunk and keys

For some decisions, the nuns would vote using white and black beads.

Early voting machine

The number of statues is truly amazing.

A lot of statues

We wish it had not been snowing so hard when we visited so we could have seen the gardens. It was restful and joyful to visit the monastery.