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| Photo of my view from our hotel window in Quebec City |
I began writing this from the Hilton in Quebec City, Canada. I was looking out the most beautiful window from our hotel room. It was an absolutely wonderful and special week.
Below is a summary of my trip:
On Friday, March 4, at 2:30 pm, my husband Dan and I went to Hailey, Idaho to Sterling Urgent Care for me to get a rapid result Covid test so that I could travel to Canada. After, getting a negative result, we headed back to Sun Valley to get my luggage and then headed towards Boise, Idaho.
We could not reserve a hotel at a reasonable price in Boise, so we stayed at an inexpensive motel called Highlander Motel in Mountain Home. I must mention that this motel was just like an old motel in a movie. We got to park right in front of our room which was so nice and easy. The motel was very old and dated, but the owner of the motel was so nice that it made up for some of shabbiness of the room. I had to be at the Boise airport by 6 am, so we left the motel a little after 5:00 am.
At the Boise Airport, we were able to take our dog Duchess inside with us since she is now a registered support dog.
We didn’t know the procedure to register to be “Travel Ready” with United, so it was very frustrating to check in. The sell-service system wouldn’t allow me to check in, but the person at the counter finally got me registered to fly to Chicago and told me to complete some forms online so I’d be issued a boarding pass for Montreal.
Once I boarded the plane in Boise, I was able log in to the United app and upload the forms. What a relief! Dan and Duchess headed back to Sun Valley and Dan was relieved to hear that all was good.
The flight to O’Hare in Chicago was so, so long…four hours! I read a book about Sun Valley for most of the flight. There were only two people, instead of three people, in my row, so near the end of the flight, I talked to my row-mate. He was going to Nashville, changing planes in Chicago, for a new job. We chatted about life in Idaho. That made the long flight feel faster.
I had to change terminals in Chicago since I was flying on an international flight, so I had a long walk from Terminal C to Terminal B. Once there, I was able to get a new boarding pass that said “Travel Ready.”
The trip to Montreal was really nice since I had a whole row to myself. It was also quite a short flight.
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| Montreal Airport |
Once I arrived in Montreal, of course I headed to Baggage Claim. There was a bit of a mishap though, since I could only locate one bag and the baggage claim service people were not there. I did quite a lot of calling, and just as I was about to give up, a worker from another airline noticed my other bag was hidden behind a certain area. Again, wow…what a relief!
It was now time to call an Uber to take me to the Holiday Inn near Montreal airport. I made the mistake of calling the Uber too early though and couldn’t find the Uber pick up area. Finally, when I did find the Uber pick up area, my driver arrived, but when he saw how short of a trip I’d booked and paid for, he took off and canceled the trip!
That caused my credit card not to work, so I had to call the credit card company to activate the card again which took a while since the phone I have associated with my credit card was almost dead. I am one of those weird people who have two phones: If one doesn’t work, I always have another one, but this time, the extra phone I had that was not charged, didn’t help.
After talking to the credit card company, it took sometime to get my credit card to work again, but once it was working, I called an Uber. This driver was really helpful and even helped me load and unload my bags.
Check in at the hotel went fine and I was just so happy to get settled. That night, I went down to the hotel restaurant and got some food to go and settled into the evening. Of course, I called my husband Dan and my son Joel and talked to my daughter Annabelle too.
I loved the hotel room and looked forward to the next day where I’d see my daughter Rebekah!
I woke up early (5:30 am) Sunday morning since Rebekah needed to pick me up early so she’d be on time for the first show she was doing that morning. It was hard to get up since it was only 3:30 am in Idaho and Colorado.
After I got dressed, I called Rebekah, but she had been so exhausted from doing what Disney On Ice calls a “Six Pack” on Friday and Saturday, that she had not woken up yet. She did come to the hotel around 8:45 am to get me and was in a big rush. The elevator in the hotel was not working, so Rebekah had to help me get the luggage down the stairs.
When I arrived at Rebekah’s hotel in Montreal, the cast members were in the midst of getting the bags to the luggage room since it was Sunday and a travel day, so I got to say hi to some of the cast members I already knew and meet some new ones.
Once we arrived in our hotel room, Rebekah had to rush out the door to make it to the 11 am show. The performers have to be there an hour early, so she was close on time.
After she left, I did “Mom’s Maid Service” and straightened up her room. I made her bed and straightened up the kitchen and bathroom. It was a really nice room with two queen size beds and a full kitchen! I’d already made myself some coffee with the Keurig coffee maker that had been in my Holiday Inn Airport room.
I didn’t have to leave to see Rebekah in the ice show until 1:30-45 pm for the 3:00 show, so I decided to take a scooter-walk around Montreal for some good coffee and a muffin. I was careful when I left the hotel to take a photo of the hotel and its address since I had no idea actually where we were!
The streets were a bit slushy, but I found a nice coffee house not too far away. I thought it was interesting that when I said I would eat there, that I had to show proof of Covid vaccination. After I left the coffee house, I decided to look for bagels and headed to a place a bit further away. It was cold, but I enjoyed the scooter-walk.
I expected to arrive to a bagel shop full of lots of bagels, but hardly any were left, but I did end up buying one plain, one everything, and four sesame bagels with enough cream cheese for those bagels. The shop reminded me more of a Subway sandwich shop since the young man who worked out the shop was puzzled that I wanted the bagels separate from the cream cheese. He was so very polite which seemed to be the norm throughout Quebec.
Shortly after I returned to the hotel, I got ready to call an Uber to go to see my daughter Rebekah perform as the co-host of the show. I was so excited!
It was not a long Uber ride. Rebekah was really nervous about my ticket though since it was sent through an email and would not be accepted as a screen shot. I also did not have my data roaming on on my phone, but the will call clerk helped me get logged into the WiFi and the ticket was issued. I hoped and crossed my fingers that the bar code wouldn’t close or anything so I would get in and all worked. Whew!
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| An excited JO ANN about to see her daughter Rebekah be the co-host in Disney On Ice! |
I had a fabulous seat with the complimentary ticket issued and asked the people behind me for a photo. I told them my daughter Rebekah would be hosting the show and they were very excited too!
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| Rebekah co-hosting the show! |
Seeing Rebekah do the hosting is one of those Proud Mom Moments that a mother will never forget! It was so cool when Rebekah told the entire audience of 10,000 people that her mom was there! I stood up and waved and the people behind me even took a photo for me of that moment and a selfie shot when Rebekah and her co-host Alex suggested everyone take selfies! I think I cried tears of joy the entire show as I saw my daughter in almost every scene!
After the show concluded, I met Rebekah at a very crowded Starbucks across the street from the Venue and then the two of us walked to the train station and took a train back to the area where our hotel was. I just followed Rebekah, so I have no idea actually where we were.
Once we returned to the hotel and settled in, Rebekah removed her make up and then the two of us walked to an Asian restaurant and had a wonderful dinner together. I have a memory of looking for dumplings, but I am not sure of the exact name of the restaurant, but it was quite good. (Actually I think we ended up eating Poke!)
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| A Canadian Poke Bow! |
Rebekah extended our stay at the Montreal hotel for two extra nights so we didn’t have to leave until Tuesday. We hoped to enjoy seeing more of Montreal on Monday, but the weather was really lousy. I stayed inside and ran Temple Israel’s New Testament From a Jewish Point of View class via Zoom from 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm eastern time. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do that, so my husband Dan and our friend Karen were there ready to host it (Dan in Sun Valley and Karen in South Carolina).
While I was running the class, Rebekah went for a walk around Montreal and returned with a very delicious pastry she got in Montreal’s Chinatown. Rebekah was really exhausted after her difficult week of shows in Montreal (they did like eight shows in a row) so we spent some time resting until we left to meet my friend Lori Robertson for coffee at around 4 pm.
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| Jo Ann and Lori Robertson |
What is amazing about my friendship with Lori is that we never had met one another face to face until my visit to Montreal! We first connected in 2015 when we were both writing professionally about skating and we’ve been in touch every since through Facebook. When Lori noticed I was in Montreal, she reached out to me. She was.born and raised in Montreal and skates and teaches skating there.
After having coffee with Lori, we headed to Chinatown and the three of us had a wonderful Chinese meal together there. It was wonderful to be with a Montreal local!
When Rebekah and I walked back to our hotel from Chinatown, we got a bit lost on the slushy streets and in the rain, but we finally made it back. Wow, were my hands cold!
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| Ice skating through the forest! |
The next morning, Tuesday, we left the hotel around 9 am and headed north towards Quebec City. Our goal was to go to Domaine Enchanteur, a place where there were ice skating trails that went through a forest! (We first were mixed up with a similar skating winter wonderland that was close to Ottawa called Skating Through the Forest, Patinage En Foret. We were sad we couldn’t go there since the owners worked through the night to get the place ready for us, but if we’d gone there, we would have had to drive six hours to Quebec City which made no sense.)
Ice skating through a forest in Canada had been on my bucket list for years and was the reason I made the trip to Quebec in addition to seeing Rebekah. In summary, it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget and I’m so glad I got to do it!
After we were done skating, we headed towards Quebec City which was about another hour and a half drive. (The entire drive from Montreal to Quebec City is about three hours.). We arrived at our hotel in Quebec City around 5 pm. It took a bit to get us checked in since Rebekah had arranged a room for us through the ice show tour coordinator, but once we were settled, we felt so much relief and happiness! We had the most amazing view from our hotel room!
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| A fantastic vegan meal! |
Rebekah picked out a vegan restaurant in the old city quarter of Quebec City and we took an Uber there. We shared an incredible appetizer meal for two and then took an Uber back to the hotel. It was the end of a wonderful and memorable day!
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| Scootering through old Quebec City |
Wednesday was another day off for Rebekah, so we decided to explore the old city in Quebec City which was walking distance from our hotel. We chose a museum to go to and decided to walk-scooter there. It was fun to walk by the shops and look at things on our way. Rebekah chose the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City.
The museum reminded me of the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver. It was really nice and had a lot of interesting exhibits including one that covered the history of Quebec. I realized how little I know about Canadian history. We also learned about the winter activities in Quebec and learned about the conflicts between the French speakers in Quebec and the English speakers. We experienced being in Pompeii when the volcano erupted! We learned about gas and poop. We enjoyed a bit of a rest in the museum cafe when the food was incredible.
After we left the museum we decided to walk-scooter by the water which got us sort of lost. Rebekah finally put on the GPS to get us back to our hotel. We walked through a really cute neighborhood near the water which led us to a famous set of stairs, the Cap-Blanc Stairs. It turned out we had to climb those stairs to get back to our hotel. I think we must have climbed more than 300 steps! Rebekah carried my scooter up for me.
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| I made it up Cap-Blanc Stairs! |
After we climbed the Cap-Blanc Stairs, the GPS took us through an area called the Plains of Abraham. We noticed people were cross country skiing and sledding there and wished we’d known that was so close to our hotel.
Finally, we made it back to the hotel. I recall we decided to have food delivered since we were quite exhausted. We may have ordered Poutine, a Quebec dish which is sort of a mix of French Fries with cheese curds.
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| Ice skating at the Ice Ring at Plains of Abraham |
Rebekah had to work all day Thursday, so in the afternoon, decided to check out the outdoor ice skating at the Ice Ring near the Plains of Abraham Museum. I rode my scooter there and enjoyed skating outside very much. I learned more about renting cross country skis at the ice house there and decided to do some cross country skiing on the Plains of Abraham on Friday.
When Rebekah returned to the hotel after her long rehearsal day, she ordered me some Poke to be delivered and then spent the evening with her friends.
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| Enjoying Old Quebec City in the morning |
On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings. Rebekah and I found a cute coffee house near the hotel and enjoyed a bit of the mornings together. On the street where the coffee house was were all sorts of shops and restaurants that were fun to explore. Every morning, we’d walk a long that street and enjoy the feeling of being in Old Quebec.
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| Cross Country Skiing on the Plains of Abraham |
Friday was really cold, so after Rebekah and I had our coffee, I took an Uber to the ice skating ring and rented cross country skate skis. I had a wonderful time touring the area in the Plains of Abraham. After completing my skiing, I planned to take another Uber back to the hotel, but had trouble getting a ride, so after getting a quick lunch at the national art museum in Quebec City that was very close to the ice ring.
When I finally did secure an Uber, I went straight to the ice show’s venue to see Rebekah perform. This time she did multiple ensemble roles and I enjoyed every one of her performances. It was a highlight to see her jump ramps of course!
The show I attended was the 3 pm show and since it was over at 5 pm, we were able to spend some of Friday evening together. We got a ride back to the hotel from Rebekah’s friend Sadie and then went to a very fancy Italian restaurant that was walking distance from the hotel that was located on the cute street where we took our morning walks.
I had originally planned to fly back to Idaho on Saturday 3/12, but snow changed my plans and so my flights back weren’t until Sunday, so on Saturday, while Rebekah performed in two shows, after Rebekah and I had our morning coffee-walk, I went swimming at the hotel’s amazing outdoor pool. The pool was outside and had an entrance from the inside and was so warm! I loved swimming in it and loved the experience! There was a really nice locker room and I was provided with a key to a locker and with towels.
After swimming, I took a cab (which the hotel arranged for me) to the airport and rented a car which I drove back from the airport through Quebec City. It was a bit of a scary ride since it was snowing. I was relieved when I parked safely at the hotel’s underground parking lot. The car was for my next morning’s trip to Montreal’s airport.
After Rebekah returned from doing two Saturday shows, the two of us went out for Poke on the same cute street near the hotel. It was so cold outside, but we enjoyed our evening walk.
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| Ice skating at Patinoire de la place D’Youville |
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| Jo Ann and Joel’s friend Antoine |
After dinner and returning to the hotel, we walked to this amazing outdoor ice rink Patinoire de la place D’Youville near the hotel in old Quebec City. Many of Rebekah’s fellow cast members were skating and I enjoyed skating with them. Wow, was it COLD!!!Q
After we skated, Rebekah walked me back to the hotel and then she went to a good-bye party for a cast member and I packed for my early morning departure.
I woke up at about 5:30 am on Sunday morning and around 7 am got the rental car packed. I hugged Rebekah more than once and we said our good-byes.
I left the hotel garage in Quebec City at 7:30 am. It took about 30 minutes to get through Quebec City and get to the highway. Once I was really “out of town” that drive was quite peaceful. I made a couple stops on the way to use the restroom and buy food. I spent most of the drive talking to my Torah Mate, Chana, which made the trip feel quicker than the 3-4 hour drive.
When I finally did get to Montreal, the traffic increased and Chana and I said our good-byes. Dan had found a gas station near the airport, but my gps took me instead to an industrial area. I put “gas” into my Google Maps app, but the gas station I found had locked pumps and was not open on a Sunday, so I gave up and headed to the airport. I figured I’d just pay Enterprise Car Rental for the gas.
Finding the rental car return at the airport was also difficult because the rental car return was not marked as well as rental car returns are marked in the USA, but finally I did return the car.
The rental car agent was so nice and helped me load my bags on a luggage cart and off I went into the airport.
My plane was scheduled to leave at 5 pm, but I had to do a rapid Covid test first and get the results. My Covid test was scheduled for 1:35 pm. I made the appointment just fine although it took a bit of time to find the Covid test location that was at the airport.
After the test, I waited near a coffee house and my results were emailed to me. I uploaded the results to the United Airlines App and headed to the check in area around 2 pm. All of that was much easier than on my incoming trip. I had plenty of time to check my luggage and get through US security and eventually I ended up at my gate. I think I may have had about an hour before boarding my plane.
The trip from Montreal to Chicago was very nice since again I had an entire row to myself and even though there was a delay in the take off time, I arrived in plenty of time to get to my connecting flight to Boise. The flight from Chicago to Boise was quite long and I didn’t have the luxury of having a row to myself, but I arrived finally around 11 pm in Boise and my husband Dan and my dog Duchess were there to greet me.
Dan booked us a motel in Twin Falls and we arrived there around 2:00 am. Wow…what a trip and adventure! My travels didn’t end though since Dan and I headed to Ogden, Utah the next day so I could ski Snowbasin on our way to Colorado!
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