Now that it's finally beginning to feel like fall, seems an appropriate time to post about the second half of our hot, hot summer. Specifically, we had a wonderful trip to Quebec! We drove from DC to this most welcoming province in Canada (only a few hours further than our regular trips to North Carolina), and we took our bikes. We spent the first night in a perfect modern and cozy cabin in an International Dark Sky Reserve called Mont-Megantic. We could see the Milky Way and more stars than we could count, but Sylvan was more entranced by the stream behind our cabin, where he did his first rock hopping. We spent the second two nights in Quebec City, where we explored the industrial waterfront, the Old City (including a ride up the funicular), Montmorency Falls, and the Aquarium du Quebec. The last 3 nights of our trip were in Montreal, where we biked along more of the St. Lawrence River waterfront and Montreal's Old City, saw the Expo 67 site and Habitat 67 (an architectural pilgrimage!), and generally enjoyed the city's great public spaces and lovely weather. The Montreal Archaeology and History Complex was particularly interesting, where you can literally see the origins of the city under your feet. Our last stop was the New York Botanic Garden on our way home, where we saw the Roberto Burle Marx exhibition (a landscape architectural pilgrimage!) For the most part, Sylvan thought all of it was fantastic. He was repeatedly tickled by the French-speaking locals, who always replied enthusiastically to his "Bonjour, Bonjour, Bonjour!" It was great exposure for him to be in a place where English is not the first language (though it is very common and easy to navigate). In general Sylvan loves a good adventure, and this certainly was. And now we are a month back into preschool at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, which Sylvan still loves. With his last year before kindergarten underway and a 5th birthday on the horizon he is living large and keeping us on our toes!