Mommy's reunion

Last Sunday, Ben and his parents went to a brunch that turned out to be Ben's Best Party Ever. It was his mom's 20th college reunion, and a friend, Will, had a brunch for several friends who were in town for the reunion (or already lived here). It was great to see everyone, especially friends like Stephanie and Zak, who Jessica hadn't seen in years. Ali had a copy of her fabulous new book, Diary of a Real Estate Rookie, that we were all checking out. Ben liked meeting everyone, but most of all he liked meeting his new friend Sonia, Will and Stacey's baby, who is 11 months old. She had all kinds of great toys to play with, and she even had her very own swing on the front porch. However, Sonia was much more fun than her toys, and they had a great time following each other around and otherwise interacting. Ben hopes to see much more of Sonia in the future.

Going home

On June 8, Ben started his trip home (a two-day ride). On the first day (which ended at a different hotel, but also with a pool) he stopped with his parents at a cantine to get a last good poutine. Poutine is a famous Québec dish made of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. When done well it is very yummy. On the second day, he stopped in Maine where we found a park next to a river with a swingset right up next to the woods. His parents had a great meal in that town too, very good fish (haddock burger) in a diner attached to the gas station.

Field School

Benjamin was in Percé for a field school that his friend Tania organized and that his parents helped teach. Here he is with his parents and all his buddies from the field school. He was particularly good friends with Jimmy Lee. He liked to play peekaboo with him.

Boite a Lunch

Ben's favorite place to go to eat in Percé (most places weren't open yet) is the Boite a Lunch (Lunch Box). The food is good, and Edwige, the woman who works there, is one of his biggest fans. She brings out toys for him to play with and flirts with him. He thinks it's great.

Final day in Percé

Thursday was the final presentation of the field school. There were about 75 people there, and Ben got his feet tickled and his chin chucked more times than he could count. At times he found it overwhelming, but he also thought it was sort of fun and liked lots of the people. After the presentation was over, Ben and his parents went on a last walk down to the center of town and out the pier. Ben had had dinner before the presentation, but when they got back from the walk he was feeling a little hungry, so he helped himself to some mac and cheese (left over from a dinner his mother made the students) out of the refrigerator. It was quite a day and Ben had lots of fun.

Swinging

Ben loves swings. In Percé there are two swings, the "ice cream swing," near a not yet open ice-cream shop, and the "boite a lunch swing," nearer to the water and near the "Boite a Lunch." He would swing for hours if he could. This last week it was extra fun because there were sometimes bigger kids he could watch at the boite swing.

Stormy day

Tuesday was a very stormy day. There were big waves and we all woke up in the middle of the night because the house was shaking. Jimmy Lee said it was the sort of storm they usually only get in winter, although it wasn't all that cold. This meant that Ben had to stay home and make his own fun. He thought he'd see what he could get into in the kitchen, including the dishwasher, in imitation of his cousin Sebastian.

Waking up

When Ben wakes up, it's a very active process. He wants to be doing even before he's got his eyes completely open. He is very fond of the headboard here in Percé. It's fun to hold onto and bounce.

Sunday adventures

On Sunday Ben and his parents went on a short hike to a waterfall and along a pretty river. They also did a little scenic route by car (Ben slept). However, they forgot to bring along their camera.

Visiting the Rocher Percé

Today (Monday) at lunch it was low tide, so Ben and his parents took a little walk out to the Rocher Percé (Pierced Rock). You can walk to it at low tide, but at high tide it's an island. The weather was relatively warm (for here) and the first part of the walk, along the beach, was sheltered, but it was very windy on the (land) bridge out to the rock. The geology is quite striking. The rocks at the end of Mont Joli (the point) are dark grey, maybe slate, with quartz veins, and the strata are almost straight up and down. The Rocher Percé is red rock, from a different geological era (we saw a map). It supposedly has fossils, although we didn't find any that we were sure of.

Where is Percé?

You may be wondering where exactly Ben actually is. He is in the town of Percé, which is on the Gaspé peninsula, in Quebec. It is about 14 hours north-northeast of Boston. It's June 3, and the trees are just now beginning to have baby leaves. Locals say it's always windy, and the usual greeting is "pas chaud, eh?" (not hot, eh?)

The ride back

After the birds, Ben thought it would be nice to take a nap on the walk back to the boat. A wonderful day was had by all.

Gannets

The bird sanctuary was pretty amazing. The gannets nest very close together and the ground and the air are completely full of them. You can also get very close to them.

On the Island

Once we got the the island, Ben got to pick some dandelions, which always makes him very happy. Tania and Ben's parents hiked across the island to the bird sanctuary, and Ben rode for the first time in his new backpack, which he thought was pretty fun. The students from the field school also hiked there, but they were going much faster, so we caught up with them for the boat ride home.

L'Ile Bonaventure

On Saturday, Ben and all his buddies from the field school took a boat out to Bonaventure Island, which sits out in the bay and is a provincial park. Jimmy Lee, who used to work both on the boat and for the park, had arranged the outing for us. It was very windy on the way there, so Ben and his mom rode most of the way on the lower deck, and Ben slept for a good part of the trip. From the boat, we could see our house and the pierced rock from many angles, and we also went on a tour all around the island, so we could see the far side, where thousands of birds nest in the bird sanctuary. The main bird type is the gannet (fou de bassan) but there were also puffins, which Andy thought were hilarious. He said they look like little flying penguins that shouldn't be able to fly.