This is actually my second attempt at writing Day 2's blog, the first attempt was about 1/3 DUN when I lost my wifi connection, was thrown into a tizzy, gave up, and went ahead and enjoyed dinner. As my 7 followers have noticed, I have been MIA on my daily musing... stick around, be patient, I'm going to catch you up... it's been a helluva last 3 days!
Today, Wednesday January 24, the Darkside Team had a nice and leisurely departure time of 10am. Awesome! The night before we enjoyed a freshly made meal, I saw many plates of pasta, lasagna and hot hamburgers set at the table. I must say they have a 4 star FRENCH Onion Soup (Vinnie & I only use a 4 star rating FYI) that was ordered by many, and envied by the ones that didn't order it (I emphasize the FRENCH because Vinnie The Truck Driver reminds me consistantly that when we are in the French Providence, it is just ONION soup!) A great meal and social hour was had.
We only had about 60 miles from Bon Aire Motel in Ponte Rouge to Quebec City and the 4 Points Hotel where our overnight accomodations were booked. We were scheduled for a 3pm shuttle from the 4 Points to the Ice Hotel, which was about 30 minutes away via road (this year the Host Hotel is not on the Snowmobile trail). Perfect. A nice shakedown ride for all the Team Riders to find their position in line, get oriented with one another, and put a few miles on the sleds... Find your groove. One rider found their "groove" the hard way, but we'll get to that.
If anybody followed our Spot Tracker that day it probably looks like Crop Circles, as we, unintedingly, did a complete circle on a trail. We finally found a place on the trail for lunch, and had some tasty pizzas and appetizers for lunch. After lunch, we back tracked, yet again, to fuel up for the ride to Quebec City.
It was a nice 60 mile ride; sun shining, smooth trails, not too many crossings. But there was this one set of railroad tracks that we had to cross. Most everybody crossed them just fine. Except Vinnie the Truck Driver. He caught a ski of his Ski-Soo on the tracks and was instantly flipped onto his side! No damage, a good photo op, and something for me to write about.
Because of our attempt to recreate the Aliens exist theory, we arrived at the 4 Points at 5pm. At check in, the receptionist politely reminded us that we had a shuttle scheduled at 3pm to take us to the Ice Hotel. The shuttle driver was still available, but his shift was over at 6:30pm, and we had better hustle. A quick unload of our saddlebags, and parking of our sleds in their secure fenced in sled parking area, and we were aboard the short bus to the Ice Hotel.
The Ice Hotel is always a cool thing to check out. There is a bar inside, approximately 35 rooms (chambres) for overnight guests, lounge areas with ice benches draped with fur skins, and even a chapel (if we had known how our next 2 days were going to be, it would have been good idea for us to spend a few more minutes in the chapel). There is even an ice slide, that several of the riders slid down. Some several times.
By 7:15 we were back to the 4 Points. Everybody showered, changed into their evening clothes, and we met in the Lower Level dining room. A great meal was shared, with many special appetizers provided, compliments of the chef (it was 3 days ago, I don't recall specifics). It was our buddy Phil's birthday, so a drink was shared, gratuities exchanged, and a pretty tame night. Our Trail Boss had declared a 8:30 departure time for the next morning, and we had a "scheduled" 190 mile day ahead of us.
Be sure to "like"/"follow" us on Facebook, as when there is time during the day I do upload pictures and brief story lines there as well.
Bye for now,
Stick
