It was freezing last night. It was the first night that we needed the portable heater on, which is not bad.

Today was a total work day…aside from having to get the propane refilled…but Dong Eun had a remarkable observation today about Ethan, too.

Video to come!

First, Dong Eun’s observation…

Dong Eun said that because we are in a new place almost daily, it means having to fit in and figure things out in a different set of circumstance every single day. Things we take for granted back home, like where to play, where we sleep, what we eat, people we meet and a kajillion other things aren’t available to us on the road.

Every day is a completely new start for us. For example, before we arrive in a new place, we need to search for places to free camp. When we get there, we then need to figure out what that location has in terms of facilities and opening hours, because we need to plan out how we’ll spend that time.

We also adjust our routine a little bit each day, depending on where we are and what we need to do.

This experience for Ethan has probably been the biggest and most consistent learning. We each have our priorities and we’ve had to find ways to meet those needs.

I need to find time and places to work, while also helping with planning where we’re going to go; Dong Eun plans out our destinations, what we’ll eat, how we’ll spend our day and has to deal with Ethan and I (harder than it sounds!); and Ethan wants time to play and to find free wifi so he can work on the computer or download new books on his Kindle.

But it’s with Ethan that we think this type of experience will have a long lasting effect.

For example, we couldn’t stay at one library yesterday because of the 2 hour parking limit. Instead of whining or asking why a million times, he’s gotten better at just accepting the situation and looking for an alternative; or he is ok with just letting it go.

The same goes for playing at a playground. When it’s time to go, he knows it’s time to go. Same with kids he meets. He enjoys the time that he has with them, then he lets them go when we have to leave. Sometimes he’ll naturally be a bit disappointed, but he gets over it very quickly and moves on.

He’s adapted surprisingly well to the unknown of each day, and he has been thriving. He only mentioned being homesick once because he’s able to find something to do, or somehow meet his needs wherever we happen to be. This part of traveling in the van was unexpected and it was only because of Dong Eun noticing it that I’m even writing it down. But it’s so true and the change in Ethan has been subtle, but huge.

Maybe we just have to keep going, but we think he’ll be a different person by the time we get home.

Morning

Last night was the coldest we’ve experienced. We opted not to bring heavy, winter coats and Dong Eun chose not to bring her Ugg boots. It’s the one thing she regrets not doing because it’s been chilly. So much so, that we even turned on the heater in the morning to warm up.

Once we got ourselves ready, we needed to refill Juju Jr.’s propane tank so we could cook last night’s dinner for breakfast. We went to the place we had found the night before and encountered something that’s been fairly rare… A Quebecer who doesn’t speak English.

He knew what he had to do, but it was likely his first time trying to fill a VW Westfalia, so it took a bit longer. In the end, he figured it out and got us filled up. We were surprised that a full tank (actually, you can only fill it to 80% capacity) was only 12.6 litres and that it had lasted us an entire month.

Ethan was curious what was going on and wanted to help, but there was nothing to do but watch. The guy was a bit worried and even had us all exit the van, just in case. Obviously, we’re fine.

We pulled over near the gas station to have our breakfast. Wow, it was awesome! The overnight marinating made the chicken tender and delicious.

The area we were in turned out to be a beautiful spot by the river. There was a statue of Jacques Cartier and a nice walking path, too.

We went for a walk and loved the small, charming homes along the water. Ethan was up to his usual exploring.

There was one house with a whole bunch of handmade birdhouses. I think they were handmade, anyway. The house had a few other pieces that seemed to indicate that they were made by the homeowner.

We seem to get quite lucky in finding nice places, getting free parking, or just having things work out (like running out of propane, but then having a tasty meal the next day). This place was one of those times where we turned the negative of no propane into a memorable experience.

It’s our reaction to circumstances that we also want Ethan to recognize and learn from. We’re not perfect, of course, but we do our best to react in a positive way.

The rocks on the beach were unique because they were all flat. There were almost zero round or somewhat round rocks. Ethan even found one with different colouring on each side. This area was likely covered by glaciers during the ice age, which would explain the flat rocks. I’m not a historian or geologist, though.

Strangely, we found a small green apple on the beach. Ethan used it for a soccer ball on our way back to Juju Jr. until the apple had almost disintegrated.

We enjoyed a nice view of the area from a tower near the beach and then it was time to go.

Afternoon

We went to a local library to spend the day. I had to catch up on some work projects with tight deadlines and Ethan needed to do his assessment online. We were also able to print out the paper version of the assessment with a temporary library card. The library was quite nice and so were the staff.

Ethan made some new videos while there. Two were teaching French words and another was about getting money. He loves making these animated videos and he’s actually getting better and better at telling the stories and finding the visuals to match.

Here are the three videos…

In between the video making, he found some books to read. We’re not sure if trying to read French books is right, since he won’t get the pronunciation and mine is most likely not right most of the time, either. But it’s good that he’s trying.

After the library, we went back to the van and had some dinner. We then went to Walmart to set up for the night and look for some snacks.

Ethan wanted to get Goldfish or some other cookies. I wanted chips. But in the end, we got nothing and made popcorn in the van. We’re trying to teach Ethan to save money when we can, and not getting junk food is a good way to do that.

Tomorrow, we visit Old Quebec.

If you’re just reading this blog for the first time, we are a family of three traveling across Canada (and likely beyond) in a 1994 VW Westfalia camper van called Juju Jr. Our son Ethan, age 9, is unschooling and so we want him to learn from being on the road and traveling. So he’s also now a roadschooler and we are documenting the trip and his learning on this blog.