Rolls Around the World 2007: 5 - Ottawa, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Monday, July 2, 2007

Miles for the day - 215 (346 km) Miles to date: 3,422 (5,507 km)

After breakfast we loaded the car, cleaned off the construction dust, paid the hotel their exorbitant fees for extras and drove up the scenic Rideau parkway on the way out of town. We had directions to find a campground east of Montreal where we would rendezvous with Achil & Helene Boudreault. Achil is an air force buddy from when we were stationed in Cold Lake (1959 to 1962). Marilynn did a first class navigational job of steering us through the maze of freeways in Montreal at 70 mph, and we eventually ended up in farm country, where we successfully followed a series of back roads to the campground. At reception we inquired for our friends, but no Boudreault was registered or reserved.

We paid the $12.50 entry fee and drove all around the huge site, not sure what we were looking for, as we had not seen Achil's trailer before. His son Carl was not home, and Marie Pigeon in Montreal, who had been making arrangements between Achil and us, had not heard from him. We had lunch at the campground, and then gave up, getting our money refunded at reception on the way out. We drove through an adjoining trailer park in case we had the final directions wrong, then followed what turned out to be a motor home to then entrance of the camp site, thinking it might be a trailer, did a U turn and drove about 35 km to Granby, the closest place with motels.

We explored the pretty town of about 100,000, and then Marilynn spotted a Wal Mart so was off to shop. I contacted Marie again, and she called back shortly to say she phoned the campground and Achil & Helene had arrived, so we motored back. This time the campsite people knew us, took our money again and gave us a map to find our friends. Once we met up and had a couple of cold beer we found that the people we were sitting with had been in the motor home we followed to the entrance earlier. They were with Achil and Helene, and had been told that we were looking for them just as we turned and left the area! At any rate, it was a good night with lots of BBQ dinner, wine and beer. We slept in the comfortable trailer with Achil & Helene.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

After a lazy start, a good breakfast and a couple of games of cards we drove back to Gamby, where Marilynn and Helene toured a large shopping mall. Achil and I patronized a pub across the street. Back at the campsite we separated items to be shipped with the car from those to take with us, had dinner, and spent the evening around the campfire.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Miles for the day - 90 (145 km) Miles to date: 3,512 (5,652 km)

I was up early removing the ignition from the car, as it had become very difficult to turn the key. When it got complicated I waited for Achil to get up, as he is a first class mechanic and I certainly am not. The crows had been at the garbage during the night, so I did cleanup duty while waiting.

Achil soon found the problem, and with some lubricant from Jules (of the motor home) it was soon functioning quite smoothly. The ignition turned out to be quite complicated, with the key turning a lot of mechanical levers, some of which were jamming.

Around noon we packed up, put our gear into Achil's truck and followed him to find the shipper. One wrong turn fortunately led to a gas station, as we were running on fumes. Gas tanks are drained before shipping, but we needed to add another couple of gallons, as we had to backtrack about 20 minutes. While gassing up the skies opened to the local equivalent of a tropical downpour. Following Achil became a challenge - low visibility, flooded roads and lots of traffic, but we made it to the shipper where things went smoothly - the car and contents were handed over.

The drive to Marie Pigeon's place was a nightmare of detours and traffic jams. It took almost three hours. My international cell phone came in handy, as she had to delay our dinner reservation. We arrived in time for the new reservations, so picked up Marie and headed for the restaurant, where drinks and three bottles of wine accompanied a fabulous dinner. Achil and Helene had not met Marie before, and everyone hit it off well. This is the second time Marilynn & I have eaten in Le Petit Extra, a bistro in East Montreal that I would put up against the world's finest restaurants. A bonus is that their prices are reasonable for both food and wine.

Achil drove Marie home, then dropped Marilynn and I at the Chateau Champlain Hotel in Montreal for the night. They drove back to Gerardville in Northern Quebec in the morning.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

We waited until the last minute before checking out, after having a good night's rest. The hotel had wireless internet so we caught up on emails, as it had been several days since we had access. Marie came and picked us up, taking us to her place to stay until we leave for Baltimore and giving us a good blast for staying in a hotel the night before. We had lunch on the way, and then made an afternoon of getting more done on the computer. Although Marie had wired internet we picked up signals from 6 wireless networks, to which we shamelessly connected.

Friday, July 6, 2007

A very slow, easy morning of more catching up. Marilynn edited photos, and I composed a poem to send to the funeral of a close friend, Pat Clark, who died suddenly after we left Victoria. Pat travelled with me for a couple of weeks when I drove the Rolls from Victoria to Miami in 1992 and has been a good friend for years.

In the afternoon Marie drove us to Montreal to let Marilynn to do some shopping, and for a tour of the city. That being thirsty work, we stopped at the Hotel de la Montagne for drinks on their 20th floor rooftop patio - a fun place with a live band. From there we walked to a bistro for dinner, which worked well, as by the time we drove back to Marie's place the rush hour traffic had cleared.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Marie helped scan and print our visas and other necessary documents in the morning. We also caught up on emails, laundry and preparations for our departure tomorrow. In the afternoon she drove us to the second largest market place in Montreal, and we walked along the Lachine Canal. Marie had purchased tickets for a boat cruise down the canal and through the locks - a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Back at the apartment we had a real treat - a feed of Quebec lobster. It was devoured in true primitive style, with a plastic sheet over the table and shells thrown into the middle. A real fun meal!

Tomorrow we fly to Baltimore, and the following day on to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.