Got back last night from driving with dd to the east coast for her 3rd last semester of uni (she finishes in December, 2024). It is (or seemed like) a long drive -- day 1 was 8 hours and day 2 was 8.5 hours. I packed fruits and sandwiches for lunch so the only stops that we made were for gas and bathroom breaks.
Day 1 we drove to Levis, Quebec, which I am sure not many people have heard of. We stayed at the Four Points Sheraton, which is a 7 min drive from the ferry dock that takes you right to Quebec City (the ferry ride is 15 mins). Next year we will leave a day early so that we can spend a day in Quebec City -- it killed me that we were so close but too tired to venture over. Hit a glitch at the Four Points because I forgot to call ahead and let them know that we had dd's kitty traveling with us and they are not pet friendly. Totally my fault, but she has paperwork showing him as an ESA, which they accepted after I spoke with the duty manager (thankfully). I didn't take any pictures of the room because we were both tired and hungry, so we sat at the desk and ate our take-out. After dinner I walked across the street to an amazing chocolate store and had a small dipped soft-serve cone that was delicious. This Four Points does not offer breakfast of any kind, instead they refer guests to a small cafe, ES Cafe, across the street (no discount for hotel guests). I picked up two "overnight oats" (more like chia seed pudding) and a smoothie for us to eat in the room before we hit the road. I'd recommend this hotel (it was built in 2008 and fully renovated during COVID) and staying on the Levis side of the river because hotels in Quebec City are expensive and they probably a lot charge for parking. Plus the ferry seems like such a nice way to get there. This was booked and paid for cash direct with Marriott (need to get to 50 nights this year to maintain platinum).
Night 2 was in Truro, NS, the small town where dd attends Dalhousie. The best option there is the Hampton Inn and Suites and it was nice. My fav part of visiting the Maritimes is that the people are SO nice and the staff at the Hampton Inn were exemplary (for example, I asked Daniel at the front desk if he had milk for a cup of tea and he opened the breakfast area and handed me a carton; contrast that with the Four Points who I asked for a bit of milk for my tea and they told me how to drive to the nearest grocery store -- I ended up getting some from the chocolate store / ice cream parlor). Daniel was so nice (he's a cat lover too and loved dd's kitty!) -- he upgraded us to a huge junior suite with a massive bathroom). The only downside to the hotel was there seemed to be 2 ball teams (8-10 yr old boys) with 1am curfews -- I say this because there were kids running and screaming up and down the hall until that time. We were so tired that it didn't bother us too much; I would def stay here again versus driving 45 mins further to Dartmouth. For breakfast we both enjoyed blueberry make-your-own waffles and an orange. I rank this hotel higher than the Four Points for the breakfast and amazing staff even though the hard product at the Four Points was nicer. Booked and paid for using the AmEx Expedia spend $150.00 save $20.00 offer.
Flew home in economy class on AC (supposed to be 2.5 hours but we were 30 mins at the gate before pushing back, so over 3 hours in my seat). I had an extra legroom seat in row 12 (right behind biz class), but this particular plane had a solid partition separating biz and economy so I had nowhere to put my legs. Grrr. Next time I'll book row 13 so I can stretch them out under the seat in front of me. Flight was uneventful -- watched Painkiller on Netflix and am loving it so far. I will continue to fly economy class between Toronto and Halifax because I refuse to pay double the points for a domestic biz class flight. Only exception will be if I can get a seat in biz class using eUpgrades.
no more taking him to Disney, while his parents work
Pleasantly surprised as it had been a while since I didn't see the 'We need more time' screen.
