Coteau du Lac National Historic Site was our accidental find of today. We started out our day with a swim. Jim and Yvonne have a traditional entry to the pool that consists of a race - her down the slide - him jumping from the side.

We had a quick lunch and started out on our planned bike ride. Our aim for the day was to find ice cream and jelly beans. Yvonne has had us on a jelly bean hunt for two days. On our ride, we decided to follow the museum signs and ended up at the National Historic Site. We had no idea we were in such a historically important spot. We ended up buying our annual National Parks and Historic Site passes - it's $155 for a family for the year and each site is a minimum of $10 to get into, so we're sure to get good value.

Here's what the National Parks say about the site:

"Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site is located 40 km southwest of Montréal on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, and offers a window on a particularly rich history going back several millennia in time. Owing to its strategic position on the River, the main route into inland North America, this site has played a major role in the development of river transportation in Canada. At first a portage for nomadic Aboriginal peoples, Coteau-du-Lac later became a genuine bypass for travellers from Great Britain and France. By the late 18th century, a lock canal is constructed on this location. It was the first work of its kind in North America and was to serve as a forerunner of the modern-day St. Lawrence Seaway".

This was in fact, the first locked canal system in North America. The picture above is the entrance into the locks. Before the St. Lawrence Seaway was complete, the water was about 8 feet higher and the entrance to the locks was a big bay. Now it is shore and trees. The site has excavated remains of all the buildings at the fort. At one time there were over 2,000 soldiers stationed here. They have reconstructed the octagonal block house - that's where we took the picture from. A very pleasant surprize for us today.