Silver Adventures

If you’ve been following along here on our blog and on Mastodon at silveradventures@mstdn.ca, you’ll know we recently arrived home after a 10-day #MiataRoadTrip to Ontario in our trusty Mazda MX-5/Miata “Pedro.” We had a few reasons to do this trip – Pedro needed a good, extended run, the Travel Manager wanted to visit her cousin in the Trenton area, we had friends to visit in Lennoxville, QC, and I wanted to take in the IMSA sports car racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) just north of Bowmanville, ON. In this series, we’ll do a day-by-day look at our trip.

When we began searching for an overnight halt after day 1 on the road, our friends Steve and Rosie had suggested the Motel Royal in Temiscouata-sur-le-Lac, Quebec. Steve and Rosie make the NS – Ontario run quite frequently to visit their family and grandchildren and know the route, we like a similar level of comfort vs. expense, and we trust their judgement without question. Long before we departed, reservations were made at the Motel Royal. This would give us an 800+ km first day on the road and while I knew Pedro was up to it, I wondered if the Travel Manager and I were. It would certainly be the longest day we had spent on the road since we drove to NS during our move from Kentucky in 2018.

Departure day (July 4) dawned as dreary, damp and grey as the previous month had been. Pedro was about as spotless as I could manage (I hate hitting the road with a “dirty” car) but that lasted all of a few hundred metres. We left at 0800 as planned, and headed through the NS heartland and north towards New Brunswick. Pedro’s top was up, of course – the weather was showery and we hit a couple of significant downpours through the Cobequid Pass.

Our first planned stop was at Salisbury, New Brunswick, about 330 km from home. After lunch and refueling, we carried on through western NB towards our destination. The weather had improved substantially by this time, so we dropped the top and headed towards Fredericton.

From Fredericton north to Edmundston, we drove secondary roads along the St. John River as much as possible. This allowed us to visit Woodstock and Grand Falls, where we stopped quickly for a stretch and photos. Approaching Edmundston, we ran into a fierce thunderstorm with torrential rain just as we stopped to refuel. Thankfully it didn’t last long and we had good weather for the final 30 kms into Temiscouta-sur-le-Lac.

The Motel Royal occupies a stunning location just across the street from the lake. Check-in was quick and we were assigned a room in the main complex not far from the office. Adhering to Steve and Rosie’s recommendations, we walked the 100 metres to the Pub-du-Lac for dinner and had amazing fish and chips and, for the Travel Manager a pizza/spaghetti bolognese combo, washed down by a strong IPA and a glass of red wine respectively. It was a fitting end to a long, but rewarding day on the road. Pedro, as expected, performed flawlessly.

Day 2 would see us heading to Sherbrooke along the St. Lawrence River to Levis and through the Eastern Townships. I hope you join us!

Tips/recommendations from Day 1:

• The Motel Royal and Pub-du-Lac in Temiscouata-sur-le-Lac are excellent if you’re looking for decent, comfortable accommodations and good food respectively.
• The Irving Big Stop in Salisbury, like all Big Stops in the chain, provides good food and prompt service, as well as fuel and convenience store facilities. There’s also a NB Alcool discount store across the road if you’re looking to recharge wine or beer supplies (at a reduced cost depending on how much you purchase) for evening halts.
• At this writing, fuel is less expensive in New Brunswick than it is in Quebec. Fuel up in Edmundston before crossing the border into Quebec.
• If you have the time, get off the Trans-Canada highway and follow Route 130 (old Hwy. 2) along the Saint John River. It’s much more relaxing, the pavement quality isn’t too bad, and it allows you to visit some of the towns along the route which you would otherwise bypass.
• Like anywhere else in the world which operates with a language other than English, a few words in the native language (French in this case) will stand you in good stead in Quebec. We had no problems with communicating to our hosts or servers in English, but the ability to say please, thank you, and general pleasantries in French is appreciated.