Monday July 2, Rimouski to Saint Simeon, 110 km

Woke early and suggested to Bob that if we got on the road early that it might be possible to catch the 2:15 ferry from Riviere du Loup to Saint Simeon.  We ate the continental breakfast and were on the road by 7.  It was a sunny morning and not too cold for my sleeveless jersey.  Once again we encountered a bit of head winds but nothing in comparison to yesterday.  The scenery was beautiful with the Saint Lawrence on our right.  It was hilly as we went up and down out of valleys and then down again along the river.  Great farmland in between. We were looking for the spot on the road where Christopher and Clo had painted our names during the cross Canada ride We decided not to follow the route verte for the majority of trails, but chose a spot near Trois Pistols to do so.  MISTAKE!  WE were descending a steep hill and missed the turn off to the sharp left which would put us in the right direction.  We ended up climbing a steep hill, I couldn`t ride it and had to get off 3/4 of the way up.  Bob made it to the top only to discover we were heading in the wrong direction. So, back down we go and eventually find the trail.  Although it was pretty and took us along some interesting spots, it also tied up time and we really didn`t make much headway using it.  From then on we decided to stay on route 132.  There was tons of traffic making it a bit nerve racking  We were pumping along and it seemed like a L O N G time before we saw signs of being close to Riviere du Loup.  Finally we saw the sign for the ferry and booted down......at this point it is 2:20 and I couldn`t see any boat at the dock, but could see one coming into port.  Luckily I had the departure time wrong, and it was 2:45....bonus, we made it!!!  I was exhausted on board and we sat at the cafeteria where we ordered poutine.  They seem to make the best poutine on this boat as I have had it before.  Lots of cheese curds.  I also ordered 2 pepsi`s as my sugars must have been low as I was thirsty and really craved the sugar.  The crossing takes just over an hour and we were in Saint Simeon in no time.  The camp ground was literally beside the quay and we found a lovely spot.  It was perfect, and our lot right on a beach on the Saint Lawrence.  We set up the tent and I donned bathing suit and went and sat in the frigid water for about 35 minutes....which did wonders for my sit bones and sun burned leg.  We showered, set up the cook stove and cooked our dinner.  It was lovely to sit and look out at the vast river....like a big sea.  We watched ducks, sea birds of all kinds....I just sat and stared.  It was a lovely evening and we slept with the door open and just the screen.  The sound of the waves and water was so, so nice.  It was a great way to break into camping!!