On the road to New Brunswick

On the road to New Brunswick
Well, today goes down as the most frustrating perhaps. We had a long drive with a stop at Levis Fort in Levis Quebec, which was a fort built to protect Canada against the Americans after the Civil War. It was under some repair due to water leakage but we were met on the path leading up to the entrance (we were the only visitors except for several busloads of school children). The employee from the fort explained the history of the fort and that they did not have any guides to take us around because of the busy school children. They seemed quite surprised to see us. The Fort is literally in the middle of a suburban development. So, we walked around on our own. You can climb up the walls and see Quebec City and the Citadel and the river, so it’s a great view. Surrounding the fort is a place for a moat but the guide explained that they couldn’t put water in it because it would freeze in the winter and sometimes in the summer too, which was believable because the place was pretty chilly even in the sun. Justin said they should have filled the moat with oil and set it on fire. Sounds like a plan. However, the Americans didn’t ever attack so it was a moot point.
After the fort, we headed to the Musee Epoupee which was a motorcycle museum in St. Jean Port Joli along the St. Lawrence. The kids loved the name of the museum. It was empty except for us and expensive for what was in it ($20 for the Vive and the two boys), so Asha and I wandered the street looking out at the views of the river while they saw the museum. After wards, we found a nice coffee shop in the center of the town and then went to a bistro on the waterfront for lunch. Here, the waitress spoke only French, no English, so we struggled to interpret the menu and order. We ended up with soup we still don’t know what it was, but it was good. It was a lovely little café. The food was fine, but the views were beautiful. Kesh had his usual pasta with meat sauce, Justin had a burger, salad and fries, Vive had quiche, Asha had a salad and I had a pork sandwich with salad. Vive and I also got soup with our meal. It was a nice town and we could have spent more time wandering there if we had had it, but we didn’t. It finally dawned on us we were losing another hour when we went to new Brunswick and would be getting in later than we thought . . . .little did we know.
We were prepared for the low speed limits and the bad roads but we weren’t prepared for one of the roads (main roads, not some little side road) turning into a dirt/gravel mess for about twenty miles or for Sally doing some strange things along the way because the road was under construction and sometimes we’d just disappear and have no idea where we were going. Finally, we thought we were on our way to the Indian restaurant we wanted to eat at before the bed and breakfast because it was pushing 9pm and we were worried it would close but we ended up at the bed and breakfast so we tried again and finally got to the Indian place, which, thank goodness, closed at 10pm. But, in quick order, Rakesh went to the car to get out his skateboard while he waited for food, got so excited that he threw the keys into the trunk and slammed it. So, now we had the keys locked in the trunk and the car locked. So Vive attempted to call AAA. This was a series of disasters. We've never had trouble with AAA in the US but Canada was a different story. Unfortunately, our AAA card was also locked in the car. So vive called the Canadian office. They said they can't help him because he's from the US and they connected him to the US office. The US office took forever trying to get him his number but finally did and Vive repeated the number back to them (I heard him do this). And then they connected him back to the Canada office (this took almost 45 minutes). So, Vive explained the issue to the Canada office who told him this was not the right number for his concern and transferred him to another office. At this office, the lady asked for his number. Vive read it; she said that wasn't a valid number. So Vive very politely (which, I must say was impressive given the hassles) stated he would repeat the number to make sure he'd read it correctly, at which point the Canadian person hung up on him.
At this point, Vive figures he'd spent over $15 on cell phone costs and he'd just call the local tow truck to come do the car for $30, which he did. The guy was there in 10 minutes and had opened the car. But, this set off the alarm. So, by now, it's 10:30 at night in the restaurant parking lot and we have to hunt through the trunk in the dark to try to find where Kesh threw the keys so we can shut off the alarm. This takes several minutes and we only find it after Rakesh gets his special flashlight (from his tactical vest--he's always prepared!). So, right now, we aren't too fond of CAA.
Meanwhile, of course, Rakesh is running around saying how he ruins everything just when things are going so well (he has a fine sense of the dramatic). He's worried vive will be mad, and vive wasn't mad but both of us were surely frustrated (having locked our keys in the car ourselves, we couldn't get too mad. I even locked the keys in the car with a baby in it).
By the time we get to the bed and breakfast, it's past 11 and we're all punch and trying to get the kids to bed. All of us, except Vive who can't stand the party in the bathroom, are crowded into the one bathroom, brushing teeth, washing faces etc. And, of course, Rakesh is being the card that he is and saying hilariously funny things but you can't laugh because that will only set him off (For example, he has this "move" that he makes where he's imitating a cheerleading person and its like this full body shimmy that is just a riot). Finally, we fell into bed.