Subway to the City

We set out this morning and found parking for the mass transit system on this side of the River, and took the subway into town. The campground host advised that this would be the easiest way, as parking can be difficult and expensive downtown, so we decided to give it a whirl.  We made it to the parking lot, but got a little confused trying to find the transportation terminal—it was a couple blocks away (we didn’t realize this).  Once we got to the terminal, we stared at the signs (which were all in French) and tried to figure out which way to go.  After I tried to buy a subway ticket from an ATM, (how embarrassing) we finally found the proper place to be, and bought our $18 3-day pass.   The subways were very clean, and not terribly crowded.  The host also suggested we wait until after 9 am which probably helped.  The ride was easy, smooth and quick.  We made the right transfer  and popped out right downtown where we were supposed to be.

We took and a double decker Gray Line tour to get an overview of the city and get our bearings on where things are.  It was excellent, and we learned a lot about Montreal and its history, and realized how big and diverse the city is.
Montreal was established 173 years ago by settlers who wanted to start a mission center.  They wanted to convert the Indians to Catholics, and there is an obvious influence of the Catholic tradition in the various landmarks around the city.  The city now has 1.6 million people, and is an interesting collection of old and new, big and small, and overall pretty amazing stuff.  There is a Notre Dame chapel and a Notre Dame Basilica.  
There is a ChinaTown and a Gay and Lesbian Village.
There are so many museums—art, history, science, etc.

There is a huge park established in 1535 christened Mount Royal, but referred to as “the Mountain” because it is a high point that overlooks the city.  There were beautiful lookouts, and from one point we could see the 1976 Olympic Villllage in the distance. 
       
Also on the Mountain is St. Joseph’s Oratory, a huge basilica with a lower and upper church.  The dome reaches 97 meters, and is second only in height to Saint Peter’s basilica in Rome.  It is one of the most visited centers of pilgrimage.  The tourguide pointed out the center stairway which is reserved for those making the pilgrimage who climb the stairs on their knees.  They offer mass and confessions every day, but we didn’t have time to wait for Jim to make his confession.
Old Montreal is one of the few major North American cities to have preserved its historic center.  It was once a walled city, with narrow winding streets.  It is a charming area of very old buildings and cobblestone streets, with lots of shops, restaurants and museums.  We plan to go back and explore more of the area tomorrow.

There was one HUGE disappointment today.  My dreams of an eternal sale in Canada due to the currency exchange were shattered!   I found out there is a 5% sales tax and a Quebec provincial tax of 9.975%.  Yikes--That’s 15% in tax on every purchase! The tour guide reminded us it is a privilege to pay taxes!  Also, check out these prices:  Gas = $124.9…I thought…wow great price; but that’s per liter…it translates to $4.68 per gallon. Now, look at this case of Coors Lite-- $39.99!!  So much for everything being on sale!

Bienvenue! Everything’s on Sale!

Before we left Ontario, we visited the 1000 Island tower to get a view from above.  The Thousand Islands were created when the roots of an ancient mountain range were flooded after the retreat of the last ice age 10,000 years ago.  There are officially 997 islands in the Thousand Islands, but the count is often exaggerated by including all of the shoals and rocks to make the total 1,867 islands. It is so funny to see a big house on a little island and that’s the only thing on it, with a dock outside.  It was beautiful looking across the landscape.  We could see the St. Lawrence River that extends on to the Atlantic coast.  We could see a castle in the distance…the Boldt Castle built on Heart Island by a man for his wife.  A sad story…she died at a young age before the construction was completed, and the man never went back to the island. 

Canadian Customs

We could even see the border crossing from the tower…this is where our eventful crossing occurred yesterday!
We are adjusting our mindset converting to metrics and Canadian dollars.  After the traumatic experience entering Canada, we were greeted with a nice surprise at the bank when we found out the exchange rate is very favorable.  For every US dollar, they give you $1.19 in Canadian dollars!  In my mind that means EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!  I love it!  
The new Canadian money seems like its plastic…I’m sure it lasts longer than the old fashioned paper money.  It is probably much more difficult to counterfeit as it has a very unique and complicated construction, with clear places and ribbons of color throughout.
We crossed into Quebec, where the primary language is French, so not only are we having to mentally convert miles to km, gallons to liters, and Fahrenheit to Celsius, but also English to French.  I wish my daughter in law, or sister in law were here to help with the translation.  We were able to figure out some basics, like directions, Sud, Ouest, Est; Stop = Arret, and Shopping = Magasinage.  (At least we know the important things!)
A familiar sight in Canada are Tim Horton’s restaurants, which are similar to our McDonalds—they are everywhere.  So, of course, we had to stop for a cup of coffee as soon as we crossed into Quebec.
We arrived at our campground amid beautiful weather—clear and pleasant—no rain for a change.  We will be staying at the Montreal Sud KOA, on montee Monette in St-Philippe de La Prairie.  We weren’t at the campground very long when a couple came by and introduced themselves.  They are from Florida, but grew up in Indianapolis, and went to Ben Davis High School!  There are Hoosiers all over the place!
We made a quick run to the hardware store which looks just like those at home, except it’s a green theme instead of orange.
The rain is coming again tonight, but tomorrow is supposed to be another pretty day.  We’ll explore downtown Montreal and see what we can find “on sale”!

Canada…Eh? …oops!

We crossed into Canada today from northern New York (around Kingston).  We thought we had been very diligent in our preparations: a) measured the RV to make sure we know how tall it is in metric language --386cm-we even have a sticker on the dash to remind us; b) Renewed our passports; c) Updated Spot’s shots and papers; d) limited the amount of alcohol on board (darn!); e) limited fruits and vegetables in the fridge (i.e. no lemons for vodka tonics--darn again!)  We will have to shift our brains to Canadian lingo—kilometers, kilograms, loonies, toonies.
As we approached the border crossing, we sat upright in our seats, smiling, with the papers in hand and ready.  The border patrol officer was very cordial, and went through the standard questions…Tobacco? – NO; Alcohol? – Yes, within the limits; Firearms? – NO; Pepper spray?????  Hmmm….Well, we do have some bear spray on board from our Alaska trip, and then realized we also had a small canister of pepper spray from our Alaska trip. OMG--Pepper spray is illegal in Canada!  OOOOPS…no more smiling…big red flag…big red faces!    We were flagged over to a special retaining area, and two officers came to the door to retrieve our pepper spray.  Jim had to go to the “office” to sign a paper of abandonment to forfeit the pepper spray.  How embarrassing!   The border patrol guards explained that if we had not declared the spray and it was discovered, we would have been fined, and they would have seized the RV.   They never asked about Spot or his papers, and never asked about lemons. Whew…what an entry into Canada.  We made it through, less our abandoned canister of pepper spray.
After the border crossing, we had just a short distance to travel to get to the campground, but as we went along and noticed bridges ahead with weight limits, we realized we had not converted the RV weight to a metric measure.  Ooops again! 
We finally arrived at 1000 Islands KOA campground in Landsdowne, Ontario, without falling through a bridge, thank goodness.  One of the first things we did after arriving was convert the RV weight:  33,000 lbs = 14,968kg. 


We’ll have a good dinner, get a good night’s sleep and head for Montreal tomorrow.  

Raindrops keep falling on the Falls!

Nikola Tesla

It stormed last night, and the rain joined us for our tour of Niagara Falls.  The tour bus picked us up at the campground, and there were about 20 people in the group. When everyone introduced themselves, we found another couple on the bus was from Indianapolis!  Small world (but we didn’t know them.)  The tour was very informative, as our tour guide Rita was a native of the area and filled us in on a lot of local “extras”:  including the closed Nabisco plant that used to produce shredded wheat thus, the Falls were pictured on the cereal box; she pointed out where the Love Canal tragedy from the 70’s occurred—the first Superfund was created to remedy the environmental problems here; and the Bell Aviation plant which is now shut down where they made helicopters and lunar modules.  She also pointed out the statue of Nikola Tesla who discovered alternating currents designed what was among the first AC hydroelectric power plants in the US, at Niagara Falls.

Whirlpool in the gorge basin

  We walked along the Gorge Rim Trail and saw the whirlpool formed by the water rushing from the falls down the Niagara river.

Although we didn’t ride it, we were amazed at the car suspended on cables above the gorge that has carried passengers across the gorge since 1916!


Bridal Veil Falls

We toured the Cave of the Winds. It's not really a cave, but a series of walkways at the bottom of the falls.   They provide a rain poncho and a pair of sandals because you’re sure to get wet while viewing Bridal Veil Falls! (and we did, partly because of the falls and partly because of the rain!)






Con & Jim on Maid of the Mist

We were able to see so many different views of the falls, but the best was from a trip on a boat called the Maid of the Mist which travelled in front of the falls, and into the Horseshoe Basin.  It was pouring down rain when we began the trip, but it didn’t really matter, as the falls generated a huge mist that felt like rain. 


Water flows over the falls at a rate of 675,000 gallons per second...Amazing!

Twist 'O Mist

    Late in the afternoon, the weather cleared, so Spot was able to get out and join us for ice cream at the Twist 'O Mist (yummy!)
He also got to visit the Statue of Liberty in the park!
It was a great day in Niagara Falls, in spite of the raindrops falling on the Falls!
  

A New Lundcruiser Adventure!

Two years ago about this same day, we were beginning our first Lundcruiser Adventure…a trip of a lifetime to Alaska.  It was more than we ever could have imagined. We had such a good time, that at the end of the trip, we committed to do another big trip in two years.  Those two years have gone by quickly, and today we are beginning a new Lundcruiser Adventure--this time to the Maritimes, the Canadian Atlantic provinces.   We will visit Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and Prince Edward Island.  Our total journey will cover about 6,000 miles in 60 days.
We’ve been getting ready, keeping track through a 4-page checklist of things to take, and things to take care of.  We have a large bag of books, maps and materials to read up on.  It’s an area of the country we haven’t seen before, and we’re looking forward to exploring new landscapes, meeting new friends, and learning a little about the history and culture of the area, as well as enjoying some good fresh seafood along the way.
It was a bit daunting though, to figure out what to pack, as we expect to see a wide range of temperatures. So, what the heck—we brought a lot of warm clothes, cool clothes and everything in between, including 2 bags of dog food for Spot!


The Lundcruiser leaves home.

We departed about 7 am this morning, right on schedule, and arrived at Niagara Falls Campground 530 miles later, with only a slight detour for an accident on I70. 

We missed a few special events today—high school graduation of 2 nieces and a nephew, a college graduation party for a nephew, and the installation of a new prioress at Our Lady of Grace.  However, all of them are in our thoughts and we wish them well as they embark on their own adventures!

Home Sweet Home!

Thursday-Friday, March 6-7, 2014
There was plenty of preparation needed for the trip home.  Jim spent Wednesday getting the motorhome ready for a trip to the cold weather which the Lundcruiser hasn’t seen since June.  We were wondering if you could find antifreeze in Florida, for winterizing the water lines, and were able to get some and get things taken care of.
We woke up at 4:30 am and hit the road on Thursday morning, headed home.  We’ve been gone since January 9.  This is the final leg of our month-long motorhome trip, which started in Scottsdale on February 9.  The rain greeted us in northern Florida and lasted until we hit Atlanta.  We had a scary moment when the windshield wiper was working so hard it flew off!  Thank goodness Jim was able to pull over and retrieve the wiper and get it put back on.  Yikes! 
We could feel the temperature dropping as we headed north.  We were able to avoid traffic in Atlanta, but were not quite so lucky in Nashville, as we hit right at rush hour, but survived, and pulled into a Walmart at Whitehouse Tennessee, just north of Nashville.  We covered 825 miles in about 14 hours.  We passed on Hillbilly Willy’s, and spent the night in the Walmart parking lot. We counted 12 trucks and motorhomes who joined us for the night! 
We got up early this morning, and left about 5:30 am for the 250 mile drive to Indy.  We began to see snow on the side of the road…the first time we’ve seen snow since January 9!!  We were glad to be going North, as there was a lot of backed up traffic headed south, especially near Louisville, where there is construction (again).  Not good for the spring break traffic heading south...And then we saw the sign for Indianapolis!  Home Sweet Home!
We arrived home before noon…It was great to see our house had survived the brutal winter. The sun was out, and the temperature warmed up.   (We are taking credit for bringing the warm weather with us!)
It took us all afternoon to unload tons of “stuff”, and now we are very motivated to downsize the amount of stuff we carry in the motorhome!
Spot was thrilled to be back on his home turf, and spent a lot of time getting reacquainted with the yard. 
It’s good to be home!

Hello/Goodbye Florida

Friday – Wednesday, February 28-March 5, 2014

it was a relaxing and interesting week, visiting friends and relatives and welcoming mom to Florida!

On Friday, we visited friends at their home in The Villages in central Florida.  The Villages is a planned retirement community which has grown to about 150,000 people!!  It is an unbelievable complex of neighborhoods around 3 central “Town Squares”.  The town square is a central gathering place for entertainment, retail shops, restaurants, movie theaters, etc.  We were amazed by the activity level—almost like a cruise ship with people milling around enjoying a band, car show, shopping, eating, etc.  Golf carts and walking are the preferred method of transportation (easier to find a parking spot for a golf cart).  In this complex there are 40 golf courses, and I don’t know how many tennis courts and pools.  We have heard a lot about The Villages, and it was good to find out more about it—it was a very impressive place, and a great visit and dinner with friends!

On Saturday we headed south,  landing at Harbor Lakes RV Park in Port Charlotte, FL, which is the closest RV park to Englewood that we could find.  On the way we stopped at a great outlet mall to get a shopping fix.  Didn’t find much (hope I’m not getting rusty from lack of practice), but enjoyed the outdoor shopping in February!

 

On Sunday, we went to mass at San Pedro church, not too far from the campground, and on the way saw an interesting sight…an elephant in a truck! Still not sure what it was all about, but funny to see.

We then travelled to Englewood and met up with cousins Carolyn & Sue, and enjoyed rumrunners at the Lock & Key restaurant, and a good meal of soft shell crab!

 

 

On Monday we went to the Tervis factory.  Although the factory doesn’t provide tours, we found out some interesting info about the company, which was founded in the 50’s by a couple of Detroit engineers named Cotter and Davis.  The Tervis name came from the last three letters of each of their names! Ter-Vis=Tervis!  I think everyone has owned at least one Tervis tumbler.  The best part is that they are made in America, and guaranteed for life!  At the factory store, we were able to exchange our three cloudy tumblers for brand new shiny ones.  The clerk told us that sunscreen products often etch the surface, and even lemon juice can etch the surface if left for a period of time.  Thank goodness we don’t have to quit drinking vodka tonics with lemon in our Tervis tumblers—we just have to rinse them out! 

On Tuesday, Mom finally arrived.  Hello, Florida!  She hasn’t stopped smiling since! 

Her plane was a little late, but had only about 30 passengers, so no waiting for luggage, and we had time to stop for the annual Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s on the way to the condo.  The weather has been warm, a little humid, but much better than Indiana weather!

Wednesday started out foggy, and the surf was pounding, but the sun finally came out, burned off the fog, and also burned a few sunbathers (including me).  Spot had a great day on the beach too, chasing waves and birds and enjoying all the new smells.

Mom’s oyster craving was satisfied at the Myakka Oyster Bar, where we toasted to another fun Florida visit.  We will get an early start home on Thursday morning.

Until next year…Goodbye Florida!