Out Spokin': Chapter 26: Trespassing!

Day 18: Tuesday, July 11, 2017
22 easy miles; Sherbrooke to North Hatley

With a dock stretching out into the water, a water slide, and Adirondack chairs scattered around on the sandy beach, I was impressed with what I thought was the North Hatley town beach on Lake Massawippi. It was quiet; when we arrived the only people were a young mother and her two sons were playing in the water.

Rob and I went for a swim and then settled into the Adirondack chairs.

"This is nice," I said as I closed my eyes. With all the rain of this trip we were giving ourselves a chance to savor a swim and relax in the sun.

"Good idea," Rob replied. He wasn’t just talking about the swim, although that’s how it began.

We’d arrived in North Hatley around three o'clock, after a couple hours of easy riding from Sherbrooke, on the bike path of packed dirt, mostly along a river. With the town situated as it was right on a lake, we asked at the visitor center about a place to swim and, yes, there was a public beach. If we wanted to get to a campground for the night we would only have enough time to jump in the water and jump out and get back on our bikes. But I really wanted to savor the treat. And looking around the town with its gazebo and gardens on the lake, a restaurant with outdoor seating on the river, and an inn called Auberge La Chocolatiere, how could we not stay the night right here?

Auberge La Chocolatiere

What I love about bicycle touring without plans set in stone is the flexibility it affords, to take hold of any grand opportunity that jumps in front of us along the way. And I am incredibly lucky that 35 years ago I found a lifetime bicycling partner who shares my enthusiasm for grabbing onto those opportunities. Especially when those opportunities include dinner and a B&B.

We checked into the Auberge La Chocolatiere and walked down the street to the public beach. But we never got there. We had a good laugh when we left the beach we had lingered at for over an hour and saw the signs indicating it was a private club. We hadn’t noticed them when we’d arrived because we’d walked in from a side yard. And no one had accosted us. It just goes to show you what you can get away with if you act like know what you are doing, even if you don't.

After dinner we took a walk so I could document our earlier transgression. This is how we "sneaked" into the private club. Looks pretty easy, doesn't it?

It would be hard to miss this sign if we'd entered like normal people do. Happily for us, we didn't.

And we were even happier when we walked further down the road and found the real public beach. We had ventured out for our swim without even thinking of bringing any money, so had we made it this far we would have had to walk all the way back to the inn and might not have gotten back in time before the beach closed for the day. Luck was on our side this time.

We topped off our swim with a leisurely dinner at the Pilsen Pub, sharing two appetizers and an entree.

And of course we enjoyed a glass of beer.

One of the appetizers we shared was poutine made with sweet potato fries, red wine sauce, foie gras, and Hatley cheese. It was very delicious but after researching what foie gras is on the internet, I can never order anything with it ever again.

You can see why this town gets rave reviews. It doesn't include that handsome guy in the foreground, though.

Sprinkled throughout the inn were reminders of how wonderful chocolate is, as if you need any.

Then there was breakfast, included in the price of the room. Other more normal breakfast selections were on the menu, but how could I not order a chocolate crepe with fresh strawberries when staying at a place called Auberge La Chocolatiere? I should add that the lobby had a display case filled with artfully made chocolates. Our budget was happy knowing they wouldn't last long without melting on our bikes.