Saturday morning Keith woke up and said "I have some big plans for us today!" Then he promptly went downstairs to make pancakes. I got up and started to get the kids ready for whatever these plans were. Then he said "Pack overnight bags." Yes, Sir! Our last two residents had moved out on Friday so we had the house to ourselves and consequently the opportunity to take a spontaneous overnight family trip.
After a yummy breakfast and whirlwind packing for four people (for all contingencies - since I had no idea where we were headed) along with a picnic lunch we all climbed into the car. Keith stopped at the grocery store to pick up "Buns for our sandwiches" and came back with three full grocery bags. I discovered two giant bags of carrots. He said he was looking for a peeler since he thought these would be a nice snack. Odd, I admit. But I didn't think much of it. Keith does weird things sometimes.
After crossing into Quebec and driving for an hour or so we arrived at our destination:
Auberge Montebello. Beautiful. The famous Chateau Montebello Resort is down the road but we had no complaints about our comfortably priced hotel. Big room, two Queen beds, a set of bunkbeds and a pack 'n play. Perfect. We dumped our gear and then Keith said "Aright, let's go!"
Back in the car. 10 minutes later we arrived at Surprise #2: Parc Omega. I had never even heard of it and was thrilled that this is what we got to do! The immense carrot purchase now made sense.
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| Feeding the fawns. By this point, even Lucy had the nerve to come close. |
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Our little family
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There were, of course, animals we were not permitted to feed carrots to. These were behind fences. Lucy is trying to give you a hint as to which animals these were.
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| Lulu pretending to be - well, something ferocious. |
There were the Black Bears (Lucy's favourite), the Timberwolves, the Arctic Wolves, the Coyotes, and the Buffalo. Apparently, the Buffalo might wreck your car - even if they aren't trying to be aggressive.
The Ibex were a true crowd-pleaser. And very polite.
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| Mr. Ibex taking advantage of the fact that Keith frequently ignored the Omega safety rule of keeping windows half-closed at all times. Stupid driver's-side window controls. |
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| Our navigator |
I think this is a great destination for families with kids. We did the drive-around safari first. Then we did two walking trails (one with a golf cart) where you could feed the deer without the safety of your vehicle. The bonus was the park admission was included in our hotel cost.
Lucy's Omega highlight - riding in the front of the golf cart with Daddy. Well, that and the pigs!
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It was a fantastic family getaway weekend for us - a time of refreshment and reconnection.
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| Isaiah's look of Terrified Pride - My wee boy is growing up. |
It was a fantastic family getaway weekend for us - a time of refreshment and reconnection.
