Lachine, Quebec

We left around 8:30am from Montreal and we are going the Lachine Canal  and to the Attwater market. This is the same one we went to last year that I loved so much. I can’t wait to see all the fruits, vegetables and butchers to cut your meat. I am hoping to talk to Connie and my mom in the am and see what is happening. After Attwater we will cruise on through the Lachine and tie up for the night on the dock at lock #5 before proceeding the next day on the St. Lawrence to Ontario. We hope to be meeting up with Elliott and Sheryl at Lachine Monday night. We met them last year in the thousand islands when we were cruising and they live in Montreal.

 

 

We arrived lock #5 around 2pm EST. I spoke with mom while in Attwater and Connie. Mom was going into surgery today around 1 or 2pm CST.  She was very aware of what was going on and was emphatic that I not even consider coming home that  Connie and the boys had everything under control and she knew what was ahead of her as far as healing. She will have some rehab after surgery and she knows what is expected. We are going to proceed with our trip and evaluate whether or not we will have to abort the trip later or fly home for a couple of weeks. 

Longuel, Quebec

Scenery along the Canadian locks to Sorel, Quebec

Locking through the locks

June 28-30

Longueil, Quebec (across from Montreal)

 

BONJOUR!

Yes we are definitely in the French speaking neighborhood. I think I am actually getting pretty good at reading and figuring out what signs and some packaging is saying.

The young man who checked us in at the dock spoke English fluently and was very nice and helpful. Everyone here has been nice and most of them speak English. We went grocery shopping at the IGA at the mall, but it was different than any IGA’s I have been in stateside. It kinda reminded me of Wegmans in Jersey. It was fun shopping there and seeing them cut your meat, you pick out the size of bread you want and the kind of bread( I mean they had all kinds) and package it yourself and write the code. The fruits and vegetables were fresh and local. They had 2 sushi chefs there making sushi to order. I know that we have it in Publix in Florida. But this was different in how they prepared it.  They had all kinds of meat including horse meat steaks. YES I said horse meat. Alan said the French like to eat horse. NO thank you, that I won't try.

We then walked back to the boat , chilled out until 9:30pm and went up the hill to watch the fireworks. 

It seems that every Saturday night during the summer Montreal puts on a fireworks show over the St. Lawrence. We had the best view in the house being on the opposite side of the river. Last year we were in a marina in Old downtown Montreal and couldn’t see them because we were not going to pay the $20 to  go up on the bridge to see them.

 

Sunday, we walked back to the mall and was going to get a throw away prepaid phone for here in Canada. Decided to wait until we get to Ontario because it would be long distance calling marinas and such in Ontario if we had a Quebec number. So we had lunch in the mall, went back into IGA and walked back to boat. It has been raining and storming off and on all weekend so we have been on the lazy side.

Sunday night I got a phone call from my sister Connie that my mom had fallen at her house and broke her leg and shoulder. Adam anad Zack were at her house when it happened and called the ambulance and Connie. Thanks Adam and ZacK!! We really depend on you guys and appreciate you helping out. It was a hard night for me being so far away. Tommorrow we will know more and as to how our trip will pan out.

 

St. Ours Lock, Quebec

New concept in boat launching near St. Ours, Quebec

June 27, 2008

 

St. Ours Lock, Quebec Canada

 

We locked through all 9 locks today on the Canadian side. We entered customs this morning around 7:30am and made it through without a hitch. They were very pleasant and couldn’t believe we came all the way from Florida by boat. We looked around St. Jean locks and city before locking through the 1^st lock. We decided to purchase the seasonal pass for the passage and the mooring on the locks and boat docks at Canadian locks in the thousand islands. We tied up for the night at the last lock before the Sorel and walked into the little village of St. Ours which was about 4 ½ miles round trip. We had a really nice meal in a French bar and restaurant on the water. They spoke very little English, but we managed to understand the menu and the food was good. I must say the French DO know how to cook.

Valcour Island

After leaving Snug Harbor the seas were so rough we went back and dropped the hook at Valcour Island again only this time the opposite side and a different cove. We had a very calm and peaceful night before our journey to Canada.

 

 

Snug Harbor Marina, N.Y.

We are at Snug Harbor Marina on the New York side awaiting for us to be hauled out of the water for the service on our engine. It is time for the 400 hr service and we are getting it done before we enter Canada. After the service, which shouldn't take more than 4 hours(we hope) we will head to Canada. Don't be concerned if it is a few days before you see something posted to the blog. When we get wi-fi service I will catch up on our daily trips. 

Burlington to Valcour Island ,N.Y.

Cedar trees growing on rocks Alan and Linda on hike

From Top looking down..COOL!!




Valcour Island Hike

Mallet's Bay--Storm coming

Valcour Island anchorage

We left Burlington around 9am  EST and the fog was finally lifting. We are cruising around to Mallet's Bay where Alan came with his family cruising as a child. He had fond memories of that family trip and wanted to see what Mallet's Bay was like now. We had heard that it was not near as clear as it was back then and polluted. After Mallet's Bay we are cruising over to Valcour Island on the New York side. 

We arrived Valcour Island and anchored in Sloop Cove next to the beach area for protection from wind. We also tried a stern anchor this time on the beach so that Linda could easily get out and roam the island also. It was pretty cool being able to do that. We raised the motor, put out the front anchor , then Alan pull the boat's stern to shore and set the stern anchor. It was like camping, but in the boat. 

We went for a walk on one of the trails and around to the point we could see our boat. This is a really cool spot. 

There were several sailboaters anchored in the cove (about 10), and all but one were Canadian. 

Tomorrow we go over to Snug Harbor marina to stay the night and they will service motor for us before crossing into Canada.

Burlington,VT

Stowe mtn on Smuggler's Notch drive

Sunset on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vt and baby ducks hanging out at our boat in Burlington

Let's see, first we drove the car around till the bike shop opened up at 10am. ALan rented a bike for two days to ride on the incredible bike trails they have along the waterfront. He rode about 24 miles , crossed over Lake Champlain to Grand Isle, Vt. and back. (no, his ankle is not healed)

I went walking around Burlington downtown and enjoyed the time to myself. 

Tomorrow is laundry day and getting ready for our next cruising port and having the boat hauled out for the motor service. We are going to have it hauled out at Snug Harbor on the New York side of Lake CHamplain. We will visit Valcor Island for a couple of days before that. 

By Thursday or Friday we will probably be in Canada. 

Burlington, Vt

Well, we have decided that we will gain 10 lbs staying here. I love this place. It is a college town with plenty to do. We ate at the brewery for lunch and then later that evening we were going to try the flatbread restaurant, but so was everyone else. We opted to go to the city market and tried some of their exotic healthy food. We walked around Church street which had cafes, stores and the usual in most college towns. 

First we went to a place called "Skinny Pancakes" for breakfast. We split a crepe with spinach, vermont cheddar cheese and sweet red peppers. It was good and interesting. After breakfast we rented a car for the weekend and drove to northern Vermont by making  a loop through Grand Isle, Vt.  Stopped by Costco to stock up and also visited West Marine to replace the fender we lost yesterday for the boat. Came back to boat and walked to flatbread to try it again. Luckily it was 2:30pm and we walked right in. It was fabulous pizzas cooked on wood burning stove and on flatbreads. We had the special today on half of it, which was vermont raised rabbit, fresh asparagus and herbs. The other side was vermont maple sausage, cheese and fresh herbs. It was DELICIOUS! Went to blockbuster and rented some of the latest movies and chilling out for the evening. 

Vergeenes, Vt to Burlington, Vt

We cruised up the Otter Creek river to the city of Vergeenes. It is known as the smallest city in the united states and it is. It is really a cute and quaint  city, but had several restaurants and shops. We had lunch at 3 squares cafe on main street and visited the library for some wi-fi. There was free electric and water along with the free dock on the creek. The only downfall was it was 110 instead of 30amp which most boaters use. We along with some other boaters looked for the local hardware store and purchased a 110 extension cord. We already had a 30amp to 110 adapter on board so we were set. 

We stayed 2 days at this dock and departed around 6:45am on Thursday. We stopped by Essex N.Y. to walk around and had breakfast at the deli there. We departed Essex around 10:45am and headed to Burlington , Vt. We will stay in Burlington for four days and stock up supplies before going into Canada.

Whitehall, N.Y.

Old Silk mill in Waterford

Castle built in mountain built by Judge Potter in 1874

We decided to stay another day at Whitehall because there was a storm coming. Tempertures are suppose to get cooler tonight so out comes the down blanket. We will leave tomorrow for Vermont.

Father's Day in Waterford and Locks

Alan and Richard going for ride

Waterford waterfront dockage as we were leaving

We did decide to stay another day and I did buy pastries from the dutch lady.

 Richard gave Alan a ride on one of his canal boats through the lock and back. 

We departed Waterford around 9:30am and proceeded through the 12 locks on Lake Champlain canal. On the way we stopped at Fort Edwards and walked into town for a Stewart's ice cream. Because it was Father's day Stewart"s was giving dad's a free cone.   YePEE!!

We decided to tie up at Whitehall on their courtesy docks w/ electric instead of going through lock 12. We met Marge(the tourism director) and Dave on shore and they gave us a quick history of Whitehall. They were actually out walking their dog "Tonic".  They recommended all three restaurant's in town, but we chose the newest one to try out.

It was very good(japanese night) and we sent our compliments to the chef's and owners 

who came out to talk to us. They have only been opened for four weeks, but they are on the right track if all their meals were like the one we had. They are only open for dinner on Fri, Sat and Sunday nights with a different international theme each night. 

We had a very peaceful night sleep and we were the only cruising boat tied to the wall. 

Tomorrow, who knows where we will be.

Waterford, N.Y.

We are tied up to the free dock at Waterford, N.y. just before going into the Lake Champlain Canal system. The dock was full, but Dick Powell with the Canal Boat tours was kind enough to let us raft up to his canal boat last night  and even loaned us his bicycles to go to the market. Today we have our on dock space and it even has free electric and water. I walked to blockbusters

and rented us a couple of movies to watch since we haven't seen any in two months. We haven't decided if we are leaving tomorrow or Sunday from here. We hear that they have a farmer's market on Sunday morning and a lady from Holland makes fresh pastries. I know we don't need them, but it sure sounds tempting. 

New York Harbor to Tarrytown,NY

We left Cape May, N.J. around 6:15am. Had good weather and went outside for awhile until Egg Harbor inlet. We went inside and cruised the intracoastal until Manasquan. We were going to stay the night in Manasquan, but the wind had laid down and it was almost flat out in the ocean. It was a beautiful day for cruising and we took advantage of it. Came through the New York Harbor around 4:30pm(rush hour on ferries), but did manage to get some pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the skyline. It was too crazy in that area so we decided to go on up further. We fueled up and got a slip at the Tarrytown marina for the night. Will leave tomorrow for upstate New York.

Wye River to Cape May , N.J.

We left around 6:15am this morning from the Wye River anchorage heading north. It was 85 this morning and we decided to skip Chestertown and keep going. It has been so hot the last couple of days. It was relatively flat on the Chesapeake and the Delaware river. As we approached Cape May the air temperature from the ocean dropped to 76 degrees. What a pleasant feeling. We are at Utcsh's marina and will monitor the weather. We are going to tour around Cape MAy on bikes tomorrow and then head north on the New Jersey intercostal if weather permits.

Family visit- Lotsburg

Alan, Zack and nephew Sam
Joanne, Sam, Linda

Zack and Alan

Saturday, Joanne and Sam Weiland (sister-in-law and nephew came from Maryland to visit us. We had a great time together catching up, catching, eating blue crabs and a boat ride and swim in the Potomac River. Alan's brother John and nephew Jacob had to attend a soccer game that Jacob was playing on Saturday. Mom and Zack left this morning for back to Florida. :( 

Sam and Joanne drove back to Frederick and we started cruising again.  We cruised to St. Michaels , but decided not to stay there. Unfortunately it was a little too rich for our blood and budget. We had a 23 foot boat that would have been a $90.00 minimum to dock at marina.  We decided to cruise on and are anchored for the night in Shaw Bay on the Wye River. Must have picked a good spot because there are several boats here including a C-Dory. Tomorrow we will cruise on the Chester River to Chestertown.

Blue Crab night

Mom and I on ferry

Even crabs like beer

Arriving at Tangier Island

Look at this one!!!

Chef grilling oysters
This one is MINE!!
TIME TO EAT!!

What a dinner. We steamed up some blue crabs, oysters and enjoyed an awesome meal last night. Today we rode the ferry over to Tangier Island. It was a fun trip and very interesting. Took the short local tour and learned about the history of the island. ALan and I had cruised through here a week ago, but didn't stop because there wasn't a dock space. Decided that we could ride the ferry over later and mom go with us. Zack decided he wanted to stay behind at farmhouse. Tomorrow our nephew Sam and sister in law Joanne will be coming for a visit. It will be our farewell evening as we must keep moving north on Sunday and mom and Zack will return to Florida. 

Lottsburg and trip to DC

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNIE!!!!

The farmhouse is a nice change from the water. Mom and Zack arrived and we quickly caught up . That night we had the best meal. Fresh veggies (white acre peas and snaps, squash, tomatoes, pepper , and from mom's garden, blueberries from Chipley that had just been picked. Oh soooo good.  We chilled out and went to Warsaw for groceries and such. Made some plans for DC.

On Monday mom got the baseball tickets. Zack was a happy young man. We left Tuesday am for Dc and stayed at Hawthorn Suites for the night. Mom and I took the metro to Arlington cemetery and visited JFK's grave. We didn't have much time to go anywhere else because we had to meet Alan and Zack at the will call booth. Mom and I managed the metro quite nicely. We took the blue train to the green train and exited right at the ball field. It was a rainy and miserable night , but quite an experience being at a live game. This was my mom's first time at a professional ball game and our second. We finally left after about the second time of covering the field and waiting out the rain. 

We had a good time anyway and back to the hotel. We drove back to farmhouse Thursday am ahead of the severe weather that hit that afternoon in DC.