Company Retreat Update

Well, we have recovered from our adventures up in Canada. All in all, it was a fantastic trip. Quebec City is a beautiful city. For those who have never been, it being my first time in Canada, I highly suggest visiting. The city reminds me of Boston in a way where it is really hard to get lost. The people are very friendly and seem to welcome us Americans.

Getting to Quebec was an adventure in of itself... We decided that rather than spending the 6 or so hours driving up to Quebec, we would could the trip down to 2 hours by flying in a friend's plane. The plan was to take-off from Hanscom Airforce Base around 1:30-2:00pm on Friday and land at Newport, VT and then drive the remainder of the trip. We eventually took-off around 2:00-2:30 and the weather quickly deteriorated. While in the air, we decided to divert over to Lebanon, NH. As we approached Lebanon, the Tower was reporting that planes were having difficulties landing due to visibility and cross-winds; and that we are better off seeking a different airport. With this knowledge we found ourselves diverting again, this time to Concord, NH. Lining up to land, the plane was bouncing all over the place and obviously struggling to maintain a steady course. The pilot (RJ) decided to attempt to land but as we were about to touchdown, the winds were just throwing us everywhere and the runway was wide enough for us with all the winds. We came within 15 feet or so from touching down when we powered back up and set course for the next airport. The next airport being Manchester, NH... For those who don't know where Manchester is in comparison to Hanscom, it is about a 45 minute drive north of Hanscom. Anyways, after the heart-stopping attempt in Concord, we eventually landed in Manchester which had its own set of scary moments. We basically turned a 45 minute drive into an hour and half flight. I can't speak for everyone on-board that day, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

After arriving at Quebec City around 12:30 AM, we went to a pub around the corner from our Hotel and had some good times. Later that morning we started off the day with a little bit of Hockey and then proceeded to the Carnival's events. Before we spent the day walking around the streets it was mandated that we got some Caribou Juice, which is grain alcohol mixed with red wine. To some it may seem like an odd mix but let me tell you, when it's -10 degrees outside, it is the best way to keep warm.

There were some great snow sculptures all around. One of the best sculptures was this one that had three wolfs attacking a hunter laying on his back with only a knife defending himself. The level of detail in the sculpture was incredible. The sculpture was just hilarious to see the hunter being taken down by three wolfs.

After spending some time on in the Carnival's grounds, we proceeded to walk the streets and find interesting places to eat and drink. All along the sidewalks were ice bars where you could just walk-up to and get a quick shot of hot Caribou Juice. On Saturday night, there was a great parade down the main street that wrapped-up with Bonhomme (the mascot) on a float.

Aside from just relaxing and spending some quality time away from the brewery, we were pretty low-key with the carnival events. This trip has essentially re-charged our batteries and we can now focus more on the future of Rapscallion.