Revolutionary History and Ciderweek

 26 October 2022

Today is our day to explore the Old City. We wanted to take the metro/subway at least once, so I found a bus that goes to the City Hall and we took the metro from there to the Old City. The metro has stainless steel cars so it is somehow noisier than Bart. And the name SEPTA sounds unfortunately rather like sepsis which is unfortunate.

We walked a few blocks to the Philadelphia Mint, something Barney was keenly interested in seeing. They had a terrific history exhibit that tracked major US event, the issuance of coinage, and the admission of states and pre-Revolutionary dates. The self-guided tour took us through the various stages of coin making, and along a long corridor which allowed us to look over the production floor. The machinery was fascinating, as well as the quality control, of course - flawed coins are “waffled” and then the metals recycled. We watched thousands of bright copper pennies and shiny quarters moving swiftly in the conveyor buckets toward the stamper, and at the end, one worker pressing 3” commemorative medals in a giant press. We spent about 2 hours on the 45-minute tour.

As we left the mint, it has clearly rained, though there was only a 20% chance of rain when we left so we decided not to bring our umbrellas. It was now only misting, and we found a nice bench under a tree behind the original Quaker meeting house to eat our lunch, leftovers from the delicious dinner Madeleine left for us on arrival. We walked on to the Liberty Bell center, which was fronted by the archaeological remains of the house that George Washington lived in with this family during his Presidency, when the government was headquartered here before DC. The signage and videos spoke to the enslaved servants he brought with him to Philadelphia, and two who escaped during their time here. In that era, slavery was ubiquitous, even in the North. The exhibits inside showed much of the history of the Liberty Bell, whose crack was first documented in 1846, and never rung since. There was also a Women’s Liberty Bell paid for by a a Philadelphia woman who was advocating for women’s rights, which toured the country. The Liberty Bell itself was a bit mundane … plain with very rough rim as if pieces had been chipped off over time.

Then across the street to Independence Hall. Tickets in hand we got into an earlier tour, and saw the two chambers which were the original state house and state courts of Pennsylvania, and is famous for being the place where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. The chair at the head of the room is the same one from which George Washington presided. We also went to see the “Great Essentials” in the nearby building, where surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Articles of Confederation were displayed. It was interesting to realize that the Articles essentially created 13 small sovereign units with no central government, so after a dozen years, the former colonies were in chaos, thus the need for the Constitution, an entirely new document. I think this puts to rest the idea of States’ rights being a good thing. It did not work then, and it does not work now, witness the ridiculous and dangerous situation of every state deciding about a woman’s right to choose health care, creating a patchwork of laws all over the place. After this, we went to the old Congress Hall, and saw the original chambers for the House and Senate, again with the original chair of the presiders.

A walk through some nearby gardens was nice, except for running into nasty-smelling male ginkgo tree stuff which really does smell like vomit, surprising that these are planted in such nice gardens. A few roses were still blooming in the rose garden … amazing that these green spaces are still around in such a dense area. Then back to the metro, a quick stop at Whole Foods for some breakfast items, and back to the Airbnb.

We headed over to Madeleine’s apartment, and off to a restaurant called Elwood, for a Ciderweek dinner. Madeleine likes cider so this was going to be fun. It was a small place, and the makers of the ciders were there pouring, so enthusiastically explaining about the various varieties of apples, and how there have been 200+ years of apple cultivation in Pennsylvania. The area they are from is Adam’s County, they called it the “Sonoma of Pennsylvania apples.” The multi-course dinner was delicious, with the brown-butter trout on squash purée being a standout. Each diner received a special cider glass (we left these for Madeleine) and a jar of their apple butter - we left two of these for Madeleine and will take one to Susanne and Bruce.

Penn Museum and a lovely dinner

 25 October 2022

Having scoped out where to buy a transit pass - a pharmacy two blocks away - we head out for the day. This tiny street curves off the main Pennsylvania Avenue, is quiet and quite tiny, close to the art museums, and perfect for our needs.

We take the #49 directly to the Penn Museum and get some nice views of Philadelphia on the way, see the train station where we’ll go on Saturday, and just past the big football field is the Penn Museum. There is only one other person in the lobby, so it is quiet day. We are greeted by a giant red granite Egyptian Sphinx, weighing several tons, with carved hieroglyphics that look like they could have been carved yesterday. We head first to the Near East gallery, which covers the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, and nearby areas. The Penn Museum collections are primarily from the actual research expeditions of Museum staff and Penn faculty going back over 100 years. This gallery was recently renovated, and uses video screens to introduce each area where you can focus on a specific artifact, rather than lots of small things in cases with labels. The cuneiform writing tablets, the beautiful pottery, and seals are impressive, but the jewelry is astonishing. Gold, carnelian, Lapis lazuli, and more are in necklaces, bracelets, huge earring made of the thinnest gold, elaborate headdresses with gold leaves hanging from multi-c9ed beads, and more. While in the gallery, I see someone who looks familiar. It is Jeffrey Brown, the arts and culture reporter for the PBS NewsHour. His crew is here shooting a segment on the Benin bronzes and repatriation, and he recently did a segment on the Native American remains at the Hearst Museum in Berkeley. The Museum’s PR director comes over to us and asks if we would be willing to be filmed seeing the exhibit, and of course we said yes. We admired a display of jewelry woe the cameraman was nearby. Afterwards we spoke with Jeffrey Brown - we told him we are from the Bay Area to visit our daughter, a PhD student in Archaeology, and it turns out he is from Berkeley, and his daughter is a professor of Archaeology at Rice University in Houston! We had an interesting conversation about repatriation and noted how we liked his piece on the Hearst. What a thrill to meet him in person!

On to the Egyptian galleries, the core of the Museum. One huge room has many large scale works on pedestals, and the nearby smaller galleries go deeply into the world of mummies and preservation through the thousands of years of the ancient Egyptian culture. These older galleries are small and definitely need some improved signage. The newer Egyptian galleries, recently renovated, also feature wonderful artifacts including gorgeous sarcophagi, masks, jewelry, and more. A new gallery is for conservation which allows you to see the experts at work, and works awaiting conservation.

Downstairs to see the Benin bronzes, which are indeed masterworks, the revised exhibit shows the “object journey, where an artifact came from and how it got to the museum for many of the items. One case featuring a letter from a military guy who had stolen some items he felt were not worth money but were interesting, thinking of offering them to the Musem, and there they were.

After a quick lunch, we went to a exhibit on U2 spy planes and how their amazingly detail3 images can be used by archaeologists to document how thin*s looked, especially in the Middle East, during the 50s and 60. Then additional Egyptian galleries, and we peeked behind the curtain of the new Eastern Mediterranean gallery which is what Madeleine is working on. We also saw an amazing Carthaginian mosaic IN THE FLOOR where people could walk on it. How this was not protected I do not know, but it was stunning. It was time to head back to meet Madeleine for diner, so back to the #49 bus and close to the Airbnb.

Madeleine had scored a reservation on Vetri Cucina, the Chez Panisse of Philadelphia. We took a Lyft there and had a wonderful four-course dinner with amuse-bouche and palate cleaner, and Barney got 5e 22nd parings so w could taste those also. It was delicious, beautifully served, and introduced us to some interesting new flavors. We especially liked the scallop ravioli and the onion crepe and multi-meat tortellini. 

We headed back to Madeleine’s apartment and got to see her place for the first time. It is so nice and cozy, filled with the artwork she has collected over the years, and she seems very settled there. We had a good chat about local politics and National issues, and saw a beautiful mosaic mural on a house. We walked back to our airbnb after a lovely first day in Philadelphia.

Off to Philadelphia!

 24 October 2022

We headed out about 8:15 for BART to the airport, got through TSA-Pre quickly (so grateful as lines were long), and out full flight headed out on time. We have gotten good at packing just the carry-on and backpack, so the transfer in Chicago went well, and we landed on time (though it was a bumpy ride). We took a Lyft to our airbnb as Madeleine suggested. She is so wonderful - she left us a warm piece of pork tenderloin in mustard sauce with carrots, a lovely salad and a few cookies, plus berries, milk, yogurt, and juice for breakfast. After a late dinner -10:30 in Philadelphia and 7:30 for us - we headed upstairs to sleep. The bed is one of those sleigh beds, rather high off the ground so I have to hike myself up, yet quite comfy. We’ll be ready for our day in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Rivière-Ouelle to Oakland

 Today is our big travel day, from rural Rivière-Ouelle back home to Oakland. After breakfast and a final cleanup, we go downstairs to the shop to give the owner the keys. I bought a nice pair of earrings for Madeleine, headed down the river road. It was about 90 minutes to Quebec-Ville, with a few drops of rain now and then. We found a nice spot on the river walk for a picnic lunch and watched some boats going by. It was a quiet peaceful spot yet only 20 minutes from downtown. On the way to dro to off the car, we found a little post office in a pharmacy so w could mail the postcards to family in the US. The return of the car went very smoothly … quite different than when the Hilton was the media center for the Pope’s visit a few days before, when it was filled with media and security.

We walked to the #11 bus and took it to the train station. We had plenty of time, and boarded the train for Montreal, and again there was some rain. At the Montreal station, our friend Matt picked us up with his partner Jacqueline. They had scoped out a restaurant near our budget airport hotel where we’d be for a grand total of of12 hours. The Italian restaurant was decent, great, but most important was having the time to talk and also to meet Jacqueline. It turned out that he knew the fellow with the beautiful dog who we met in Kamouraska, through public policy work … truly a small world. Back to the el, which was fill3 with kids staying there during a soccer tournament. For some reason, there was a security guard on the second floor at all hours, near the door …a little unusual. I tried to check in online, got Barney his seat but then the section was full and I could. Get a seat. After 30 minutes on some sort of chat with a person who kept saying she could not do anything and refused to get me to a supervisor, I called and got the same run around, except this time the person at least said I could fix it at the airport.

We rose early, had a simple breakfast downstairs (standard budget hotel style) and got a cab to the airport. We gave him a nice tip, and Barney pulled all the Canadian coins from his pocket and gave him those as well. Check-in was fine and security was smooth, but we were told we could not get my seat there, we had to do it in Newark. Grrr. We went through customs there, and we were so lucky to have the Global Entry cards. We went right through and on to our gate. The hundreds of other folks were in an hours-long line, about  100 per line and it snaked back and forth at least 12 times. I’ve never seen so many people running for their flights, it must have been a terrible backup. Relatively small plane, there was a bird strike so a bit of delay, otherwise fine, and we headed right for the United Club. The one in that part of the terminal was huge .. you could walk for five minutes end to end. We found a table, had some late lunch, and found some nice chairs to relax while we had a 4-hour layover.

Exactly 90 minutes before the flight we left the club for the gate to get my seat. 15 minutes later the agent showed up, I explained to him that when the flight time was changed my prior reserved seats were removed, and now my husband had a seat and I did not. He almost moved us to business class but instead moved someone else and we were back together in Premium economy or whatever it is called. It was a backed flight and they were offering cash to folks to take a later flight, we were already getting home late so did not want to delay further. The flight was fine (we stayed masked on both flights) arrived early, we got our stuff and got a Bart train home. Walking home in the dark we were both tired … it was more like 12:30am since we adjusted to East coast time. And it was a little sad walk in the door, no sweet doggies to greet us. We are still so sad thinking about the loss of Bucky and Anna. Tomorrow we are back to work, then unpack and do laundry. We are fortunate to have had the chance to take this wonderful trip, and stay healthy while traveling.

Rivière-Ouelle Day 3

Our last full day in Rivière-Ouelle and Kamouraska was planned to be for the Fil Rouge, the Red Circuit which included a specific mini-tour for the Levesque family.

One of the interesting things we both noticed is that, for many of the houses here, the front steps lead to grass or maybe gravel, never to a concrete walkway to the sidewalk or street. Is this because people now always enter from the back where they park their cars? It seems off to see a lovely front porch with steps that just lead to grass. And the driveways are often gravel or grass, not asphalt, making me wonder how they manage to plow them in the winters?

We head out on the circuit to St-Pâcome, where we encountered the beautiful Riviere Saumon, and a lovely old restored mill. There is a tree nearby which rustles so loudly in the wind!

We go to the outskirts of Rivière-Ouelle, and finally get to the huge area of land that belonged to Robert Levesque and a Jeanne Chevalier. Truly a shiver moment, to see that this enormous expanse of land was theirs and they farmed this using simple plows. Their land stretched all the way to the river, as was typical for these concessions of lands.

We had a tour of the Petite École by a young local woman. The school was active 1931-1965, built by local families, and used until the yellow school bushes meant centralizing students in larger schools. This one was grades 1-7, after which children either went to work or went to secondary schools. The second teacher at the school was actually a student when she was younger, with her older sister a teacher, and she herself became the new teacher at age 16! The teacher lived in two tiny rooms on the side of the schoolroom.

Then we went back to the Quai de La Chapelle and out to the wharf area. It was less dramatic than yesterday when a storm was coming in, but still quite windy. We had our picnic lunch at a nice table, where a small path had been cut through the shrubs for the table to ensure a good view. We stopped at the community center, formerly a church, to watch some short documentaries from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, by a local priest.

Finally, we continued on to Pocatiere, the last stop on their the circuit. We saw the large and imposing St Anne’s College, which was designed by Pierre Levesque, one of the largest buildings we’ve seen in the area.

Finally we went back to the Pointe de Rivière-Ouelle, right out where the Rivière-Ouelle meets the St. Lawrence River. We took a walk along the beach, marveling at the large waves and big wind, watching a dad and his son playing soccer on the beach. The driftwood was piled everywhere in artful arrangements by chance, and the grass undulated with the wind … it was quite beautiful.

Then back to the main part of Rivière-Ouelle for dinner. We went over to the school to see the photo exhibit, which had wonderful photos dating back to the 1880s of work and family and school life, truly interesting. We got the Levesque hat for Larry, and headed over to the tent. We saw folks leaving with large styrofoam containers which seemed odd, as we thought it would be dinner in the tent. No, it was indeed a takeout of barbecued chicken, so we lined up and got our two dinners and headed back to Kamouraska.

We decided to walk down to the river’s edge where we had walked two nights ago, and have dinner there. On the way, we walked along the same street which had the house with the four putting greens, and saw a man come out with a dog who seemed to be Atlas’s double. We said hello and how beautiful his dog was, he spoke English well and we had a great chat while he threw the ball to his dog, named Ulysses. His dog was very friendly, with light brown eyes like Atlas, and the same kind of coarse fur. The man said he was a Lab-golden retriever-husky mix, and he had the same curled tail like Atlas’, and the same friendly personality. It made us both a little sad. We asked him about the putting greens, and he said it was a par-3 course, with flags for Quebec, Canada, Ireland, and Barbados, where one of his ancestors was from. He asked if we wanted to see the house, as it was somewhat historic. We jumped at the chance, and walked into a beautifully restored house originally built in the 1880s by his great-great-grandparents. After a fire it was rebuilt per the original with a few changes. It still has a dumbwaiter inside, some historic furniture, and lots of historic photos. He said he did a lot of genealogy and offered to help with our research. He plays hockey during the winter and golf in the summer, he is a retired journalist who had lived and worked all over the world, as his wife was a diplomat. She seemed not surprised as he brought us into the house and introduced us. They had incredible views of the river, and the fact that it has been in the family a long time is so interesting. He noted that he was on the town council and the board of the Kamouraska Museum as a well. We finally parted as the mosquitos started biting. We went back to the gite and had our BBQ chicken dinner which was huge and delicious, with plenty of leftovers for our travel lunch tomorrow.we packed up and got ready to leave in the morning.

Rivière-Ouelle Day 2

 After a leisurely breakfast, the Barney weekend special, we get ready for a big day at the 350th in Rivière-Ouelle. We went into the town hall Quonset hut which was now packed with artisans and representatives of the various family associations. We had a good time speaking French and English with the two older men at the Levesque table and scoped out the art. We went over to the large tent, called a chapiteau in French, as we had bought tickets for the lunch. One of the fellows we saw at the Levesque table came over and introduced us to two other older fellows, both Anglophone Levesques, one who lived in Maine, one in Canada. Both were surprised that we had come all the way from California for the event, and I mentioned the connection to Lynne Levesque and her book. They were very nice and welcoming. There were remarks and a short film about the connection to Hautot-St-Sulpice, a small town in Normandie where many of the early settlers came from. After a squash soup, there was a bacon-wrapped chicken roulade with haricot verts and carrots and tiny potatoes, and I think the vegetables were local as we had seen lots of haricot verts in the small grocery. We chatted with some other folks - most people here switch fairly easily to English, though I always speak French first and try to do only that, but I do get stuck with not hearing things quickly enough to understand and respond. A spice cake with fresh berrries finished the lunch, and it was a really nice meal.

The big event for us was Lynne Levesque’s lecture. In my earlier correspondence she had mentioned having a translation, which we were grateful for. She wore a simple costume similar to what Jeanne Chevalier would have worn, and a man named Jaques had a costume similar to the Seigneur, her third husband (who we later learned was her real-life partner). They enacted the lecture as a conversation between the two, giving history and anecdotes that explained their lives. The English translation was 12 pages so we were very glad to have it, as a 75-minute presentation in French would have been a bit tough. There were other Anglophones in the audience as well. After the lecture we had a nice chat (after she finished signing books, I had forgotten mine at the gite), she told us how she spent a sabbatical in Normandie and eventually decided to stay there, and now lives in Dieppe. We learned a lot, and they did a great job bringing this history to life.

After the lecture, we visited the cemetery next door and took photos of the marker for Jeanne and Robert. Back to the town hall, we did our registration for the Levesaque Association, bought some lovely photo cards of the area to send to the family, and a nice red tote bag with the Levesque “coat of arms.” Outside we watched a blacksmith demonstration, and I bought a small ceramic bowl from one of the women who was demonstrating pottery-making.

We decided to drive out to the quai, saw more 350s on many homes and barns, and noticed it was starting to cloud over. We passed fields with huge rolled bales of hay just like in an Impressionist painting, and arrived at the quai where it felt 20 degrees cooler and windy. The views of the water and the mountain beyond were magnificent and dramatic. We decided to drive along the water then to Kamouraska, stopping to enjoy the views. We had a nice dinner at the main fish restaurant t and fresh fish vendor, salmon torte for me, fish and chips for Barney, and the local Boreal beer. We stopped at La Fee Gourmand chocolate shop, which was recommended by Josee who owns the gite, and got some cookies for dessert and some chocolates for Madeleine. Back at the gite, I caught up on my notes and got ready for the Circuit Rouge and the Levesque markers to be explored tomorrow.

Rivière-Ouelle Day 1

 Wednesday the 27th of July. We are up early to pack and get the rental car. Luckily the #11 is running again, although with diversions because of the Papal visit, and we got to the Hilton near the Parlement Building, got our little Toyota Corolla, and swung back to Quai Andre, We got some nice sandwiches at the coffee cafe (jambon and cheese for Barney, smoked salmon for me), loaded up the car, and were off. Doubling back through town near the river's edge, I continue to be amazed by the lack of traffic virtually everywhere, even in tourist areas. We get to the main highway and drive for over an hour before connecting to the road that goes to Rivière-Ouelle. We have entered the countryside, with large areas of farms punctuated by stands of trees, and hills to the right (south). We eventually got onto a much smaller road, and entered the village, which was a few buildings and very spread out, and every other house had some sort of 350th decoration out front. We continued to the end of the road where Rivière-Ouelle connected up to the St. Lawrence River, which was huge and magnificent. We pulled off the road to take photos. Heading back, we see the signs for the 350th and park at the church. We went in and took some photos… it was rebuilt in the early 20s after a fire, and the ceiling is painted white with lovely gold insets. Then we went into the huge Quonset hut that is the community hall, as various vendors were setting up. We saw models of the three different bridges over the past 300 years, and spoke to a fellow at the Levesque table, who told us to come back the next day to join the Association Levesque.

We returned to the car, and drove up to Kamouraska where we are staying. We found a small market to get a few things, and checked into our Airbnb/gite, which is lovely and looks out at the river. It was still quite warm and muggy. After settling in, we walked about 15 minutes from our gite to the “center” of Kamouraska along the riverfront which was lovely. We had dinner at the Grand Ourse, or the Big Dipper in the US; our dinner of sandwiches and local beer was fine, nothing special, and we had a nice walk back. We read for a while and I organized my notes for the start of events the next day, including the heritage connection to Robert Levesque and Jeanne Chevalier, as I had a feeling someone might ask about this.