The flight to Quebec City was via Toronto, where we were processed by Canadian Customs and Immigration (with no hiccups) before heading to our respective connecting flights.
Toronto is south east of Seattle so the plane flies across the US almost the entire journey, crossing into Canada over the Great Lakes.
Over eastern Washington, this photo shows Lake Banks, Dry Falls and several lakes following on, including Lenore Lake. Lake Banks is part of the irrigation network in eastern Washington state. It is fed via pumps from Grand Coulee Dam, and feeds the irrigation networks.
Dry Falls is the consequence of a melting ice dam in Montana at the end of the last ice age; the volume of water over Dry Falls would make Niagara Falls look like a minnow.
Travelling east I fairly quickly left my "zone of familiarity" underneath. So, I have no idea where these photos were taken, but they're interesting photos.
A distant thunder storm is building up, with some interesting cloud patterns in the foreground.
A closer view of the ground from the above image, showing the patterns in the fields and the clouds.
Farm fields and a valley with an interesting layer of white rock.
After this we flew over parts of The Great Lakes before reaching Toronto. Rapid passage through Customs allowed us time for some refreshments in the terminal before heading off to our flights (for me direct to Quebec City; the remainder of the party heading there via Montreal).
My flight was delayed, including a gate change. And then we stopped before the runway to sort out some paperwork. Let's just say I was not especially impressed with Air Canada's "on time" performance.
On the flight from Toronto to Quebec City I did not have a window seat. That was taken by a student heading to a guitar camp outside Quebec City. We talked for a while about music and the Jazz Festival. And he was worried about his guitar (even though in a metal case) which went in the hold because it was too large for the overhead bins. He had the horror story of seeing a friends very expensive guitar ruined when one of the luggage trucks ran over it on the tarmac!
Otherwise the flight to Quebec City was uneventful. While waiting for my baggage I had the chance to spy the notice explaining taxi fares. There is a fixed fare of $CAN 27 into Old Quebec. Since that was where I was headed, I knew what to pay. I thought this a very civilised arrangement.
The first thing which struck me about Quebec is the extent of French. This was not unexpected, though. It is the primary language. While there was generally little difficulty conversing with people, it was clear that English is very much the minor language.
Finally I arrived at the Chateau Frontenac, our hotel for the duration in Quebec. But it was quite dark by the time I arrived, and it wasn't until almost 11PM before I reached my room. But since my body thought it was only 8PM, I wasn't all that tired, but figured heading to bed was a good idea, especially as I was awake at 5AM this morning (Seattle time).
Getting There
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