All’s Well that Ends Well

After our post race recovery regimen of a shower and big lunch, complete with celebratory libations, it was time for the other important part of our trip. And that was spending time with our brother Randy, who we had not seen for a few years. He graciously came and picked us up and drove us to his farm, about two hours outside Montreal. Once we got over the surprise of how much he now looks like Colonel Sanders (albeit a more svelte version), we were off to the farm. Little Sis got the front seat on the drive and she had a great time enjoying our brother’s somewhat offbeat sense of humor while Big and Middle rested (read slept) in the back seat.

Down on the Farm

Suffice to say we had a lovely evening with Randy and his wife, enjoying the serenity of their farm. The highlight was a delicious dinner amid much reminiscing about our childhood. The conversation and wine flowed freely as Big Sis and Randy challenged each other to remember their Elementary and Junior High School teachers and our old home phone numbers. (Fortunately, we long ago established who spilled the orange pop on the living room carpet)

When the competition was over, Big Sis was thrilled to discuss politics with someone as immersed in it as she is. Middle watched the spectacle unfold, while Little, who was missing her faithful canine companion Biscuit was delighted to get to know Randy’s dogs Daisy and Rose.

After a such a delightful evening, and one more trip down memory lane (we were served eggs in cheese sauce for breakfast, which was Mom’s Christmas morning specialty), saying goodbye the next morning was difficult. And yes, the tears did flow, (Guess who?) making it an official family function. Although he initially resisted, Randy graciously consented to participate in one last tiara picture. Big Sis promised to send some information on our paternal grandfather (Thank you Lana), we hugged, waved good bye and were off back to the big city.

One More Day

We returned to Montreal with one more day to relax and soak up the atmosphere. Of course our first choice was to visit one of the many side walk patios and as luck would have it, there was one just around the corner from our hotel. The sun was shining, Sangria was the drink of choice and life was good.

After getting to know our server and encouraging her to be safe on her drive home at the end of her shift, we discussed the agenda for our final day. We decided to simply play it by ear, but the Sisterhood is always striving to do better (Thank you Dad) so we decided to prioritize a post race analysis. And analyze we did🍹

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly?

First, let’s establish that there was no “ugly.” It just fit in well with the heading. Pretty much everything was good and the only bad was that everything was so expensive! In no particular order, however, we noted the following:

• We need to be more discerning in our choice of event. There were no medals, which was a major disappointment and we weren’t mentally prepared for such a large event (approximately 1200 participants.)
• Tiaras are not appropriate head wear for the actual race. Any time before or after is acceptable and encouraged
• We seriously need to “up” our selfie stick skills. We were awful and we didn’t have a strategy.
• For some reason hotel concierges seem to assume we are running a 5K. We will continue to be somewhat vague on this point when conversing with them.
• Acknowledging that our Senior brains can only retain so much information, we committed to keeping a diary on these expeditions, for reference purposes.

One last point. One of our server friends in the hotel roof top lounge had promised to take us to an even higher, private level so we could try for a selfie at night with the lights of the city as a background. Upon arrival, however, the Manager was not keen on the idea and more or less dismissed us. We sat down and ordered drinks but Big Sis was annoyed. Eventually she called the Manager over and asked his name. Well…. He asked why she wanted to know and she made up some nonsense. He left, consulted with our server friend and BINGO! We were led up stairs to the highest level. The view was stunning. Way to go Big Sis!

And that pretty much sums up our Quebec 5K adventure. As usual, we had “tons of fun” and are already planning for 2024. Look out Nova Scotia. We’ll be seeing you next year.

In the meantime, we are going to sign off for the summer. Catch us again in September when we hope to have lots of new and fascinating stories to relate. Keep smiling and stay safe people.