Oh, Canada Loop II - Southern Hospitality, Canadian Style and Capital Fun

Miss Jazz, S/V Blue Pearl, and Midas Touch

Goodbye, Hawkesbury Wall and hello, Francis and Hélène and your welcoming home.  But before we left, Midas and a Doberman on the boat tied in front of us made friends and had a great time running and chasing each other around the park area.  Midas was almost ten, and we thought his playful days were over, but he'd loved Dobies since he became friends with Chloe, another PETS in Action/READ dog, and it warmed our hearts to see him acting like a puppy again.
We pushed off from the Wall at 9:06 on Sunday, July 24 and followed Miss Jazz to her home, tying up just before noon.  With 
a very long, heavy-duty shore power cord, we were able to connect Midas Touch to shore power, not the 30 amps we would have at a marina, but enough to power the refrigerator, lights, and a fan. No air-conditioning needed!  Summers in Ontario are delightful, especially when there's a pleasant breeze off the water in Parc national de Plaisance.  The dock, about 100 feet from the house, holds Miss Jazz on the left, rafted to son Patrick's sailboat La Perle Bleue, and Midas Touch on the right. In winter, the bay freezes over, so Francis and Hélène can drive across the bay to town. It's a much shorter trip.

Interior of Francis & Hélène's home

What started as a casual conversation with Francis and Hélène about duck (and the legendary duck sandwich at Charleston's Tattooed Moose) ended up with them showing off a wide variety of superb culinary skills.  We feasted on duck, lamb, and freshly picked corn on the cob.  For one meal, Marian prepared one of her old standby meals - Summer Sausage Skillet, with Italian sausage, summer squash, zucchini, onion,  and red-skinned potatoes.  Francis loved it, telling us that he hadn't liked zucchini until we introduced this dish.  

Midas had lots of room to play during our stay

Not only did we eat well; we drank more wine (and much better wine) in our five days there than we ordinarily drink in six months. 
Francis also introduced us to a wonderful liqueur, Genepe, which we haven't been able to find in the States.  
Francis and Hélène's son Patrick, who was a firefighter, their (now former) daughter-in-law Audrey, and beautiful granddaughter Zoe joined us for one of our meals, and we immediately felt we'd been friends for life. Patrick and family live in a house he and Francis built, between Francis and Hélène's house and the road. The homes are near the small Quebec town of Papineauville, where we shopped for groceries and saw both a McDonald's and a Tim Horton''s.  We love Tim Horton's and wish the company would expand to Georgia.

Zoe - a charmer if ever there was one

Francis and Hélène took us sightseeing during our stay. We visited Montebello, the world's largest log cabin and site of the 1981 G-7 Summit.  It's an impressive place, and maybe we'll stay there one of these days.  
http://en,wikipedia.org/wikie/Ch%C3%AZteau_Monebello)
Our home is in North Georgia, known - among other things, like the first U.S. Gold Rush and moonshining - for its beautiful waterfalls. La Chute, a short drive from Francis and Hélène's home, is just as beautiful.

Francis is the consummate AGLCA Harbor Host, although he had not officially begun to serve Loopers in this role during our visit.  As with many older boats, Midas Touch had a leak, this one under the forward starboard deck.  "Not a problem!" said Francis.  "Let's fix it."  Francis and Hélène then drove us to Ottawa to shop at The Chandlery, where we purchased materials to repair the leaky area. Blessed with several warm, dry, sunny days, Mike and Francis drilled about 20 half-inch holes in the deck, let the area dry for several days, then filled them with an epoxy resin.  No more leaking or seeping from that area of the deck.  

Mike told mon ami Francis, “You either get the Canadian adoption papers or kick us out.” We couldn't stay forever, and when we left on Saturday, July 30. we followed Francis and Hélène in Miss Jazz about halfway to an anchorage Francis recommended.  They had brought lunch, and after a final feast, we waved farewell to people we consider lifelong friends.  Francis had told us about a great place to anchor for the night just east of Ottawa and explained how to approach the park between the two markers. Petrie Island, another Parcs Canada location, is on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River, but we could see Quebec on the north side.  
https://www.petrieisland.org/beaches
Francis had told us to watch for buoys to warn of shallow areas, and sure enough, we found one and managed to ding our prop. That didn't stop us from going ashore to give Midas a "get busy" break and to check out the park, which was full of boaters and picnickers on a sunny Saturday afternoon.  While there, Mike tightened the packing gland that keeps water from entering the boat around the shaft and worked on a switch that ties the transmission to the starter. 
We spent the evening watching people enjoy the beach, the park, a parasailer, and a beautiful sunset on the river, with a glass of Smoky Bay, our favorite Canadian wine, to top off a glorious day.  

After taking Midas ashore Sunday morning, we raised the dinghy and pulled the anchor at 9:15, heading to Ottawa and the Chain of Locks, entry point for the Rideau Canal.  
(http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/locks/h01-08-ottawa.html)  

Because we had a bent prop blade, we had to keep the RPMs down.  It was a short, slow trip to Ottawa and the eight locks in the Chain, which lifts boats up into the northern end of the Rideau Canal system. You can see the Rideau Falls and Prince of Wales Falls in the photo. 

We waited a few hours for our turn to lock up. Sunday was a beautiful day and we were just one boat among dozens at the base of the Chain. Along with about seven other boats, we entered the bottom lock at 3:42 PM, and by that time it was a very warm day.  While we waited our turn at the bottom of the lock, with another boat rafted to our port side, Mike and Midas explored the area, which was crowded with on-lookers who wanted to watch boats go through.  The lock tenders select from the waiting boats and determine which will enter, in what order, and to which side of the lock the boats will tie up. Once you start up (or down), you must complete all eight locks, leaving the first when it's been filled and moving slowly into the next, where one person (Marian in our case) uses a boat hook to snag a strong cable attached at the top and bottom of each lock wall, then pulls the boat forward to our assigned location. The second person (Captain Mike) grabs the rear cable. Then we thread our lock lines around the cable, Marian cuts the engine, then we hold on to our line as the lock fills and lifts us to the next chamber.  We wore gloves to make it easier to manage the lines and cables and to avoid touching the slimy lock walls.  

Boats waiting at the bottom of the lock.

We always enjoy chatting with people along the bank, telling them about Midas Touch and Midas and the Loop.  We were both a bit nervous as we traveled up because a young girl - about 4 or 5 and wearing a cast on her right forearm - kept creeping closer and closer to the edge of the lock wall.  Her parents weren't watching her as closely as we would have liked, and the Parcs Canada lock tenders had to keep warning people to step back onto the grass from the three-foot concrete borders on each side.  If the little girl had fallen into the lock (could she swim, especially with that cast?), she could have been pinned between the slimy concrete wall and our 22-ton trawler. With our deck at least 4 feet above the water at its lowest point, we could not have reached down to grab her. (We would be remiss if we didn't praise the Parcs Canada staff - mostly college students working for the summer. They are - without exception - friendly, courteous, and at the Chain of Locks, endlessly patient.)
We were very relieved when we exited the final lock, about 5:30, then found an open spot with a shore power pedestal along the wall and tied up at 5:45.  Our Parcs Canada pass included dockage at any lock wall along the Rideau Canal and the Trent-Severn Waterway, as well as entry to any of the Parks Canada national parks. We had to pay $29.40C for shore power - a bargain.  Confederation Park was near our spot, and across the street, a Westin Hotel, where we strolled in to use their restrooms instead of filling the holding tank on the boat. We stayed on the wall for three nights and explored Ottawa on foot and by Uber.  That will be the next chapter.

One of the statues in Confederation Park, near our spot on the lock wall.
Mike couldn't resist putting his new CIA hat on top of his head.

Looking south along the Rideau from the bow. in the winter
the canal is the longest skating rink in the world. 

The other side of the canal, with Canada's 
Parliament Buildings in the background. 

For more photos of the Rideau Locks look here: http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/images/locks/img-01-08-ottawa.html.  

Oh Canada - Loop II/Part 1 continued

We left this narrative with our visit to Phi, Montreal’s amazing virtual reality experience, and we’ll pick up the story from there.

When we’d had all the virtual reality we could handle, we meandered the streets of Old Town Montréal, and Mike took some great shots of the sights we saw...

...the spiral staircase in a First Nation art gallery, a colorful horse and buggy, and a street performer who looked like a palace guard, until he opened his coat to reveal a flesh colored unitard.  We were flashed.  

During our stay at the Montreal Yacht Club, we enjoyed two spectacular fireworks shows, one put on by Sweden and the other by the good old USA.  We have to admit that Sweden’s was better. The shows were even better because they were set to music that boaters could hear on their radios – and some of the boats in the marina had awesome sound systems.

It’s difficult to describe Montréal. It’s about walking beautiful streets and listening to its sounds. It’s about walking up on street musicians. Montréal is about great restaurants and wonderful food, especially restaurants with outside tables, where Midas could wait just on the other side of a fence.   We loved the Jacques Cartier Market, with shops, places to eat, street performers, and a friendly person who took our picture. 

So many of the people we met – on the street, at the marina, in restaurants – recommended visiting Quebec City that we decided to rent a car and drive east. https://www.tripsavvy.com/canadian-french-in-quebec-2392420 (We would have had a favorable current in Midas Touch from Montreal to Quebec City, but it’s a long, slow push against the current to get back.) The great staff at the marina agreed to take Midas for a mid-day “get busy” walk, even texting us to let us know he’d had his walk and was back on the boat.  

Thanks to Uber, Wednesday morning we were at the car rental office when it opened.  Navigating out of the city, where streets we closed due to construction in preparation for Canada’s upcoming 150^th birthday in 2017, was a challenge, but we managed.

Our first stop in Quebec City, after finding a place to park, was the Visitor Center, where we wisely decided on a guided walking tour, led by a fantastic guide who imparted her knowledge of the city with zest.  

Jeannette - our terrific
tour guide

The newer part of Quebec City sits on a bluff high above the St. Lawrence Seaway, while the older part is just above the water.  It’s like visiting an old town in France – narrow cobblestone streets, lots of small shops and restaurants, and an old building with a colorful mural on its side, depicting the history of the town.

Jeannette, our tour guide, was a walking encyclopedia of Quebec City history, and she had a great sense of humor.  Like most residents of Ontario, she is bilingual – fluent in both French and English and able to switch from one to the other with ease.  She ended the tour by telling us “Go have fun and get in trouble.”

Part of the charm of the old buildings is the distinctive style and character of each one.  Just imagine a cushioned window seat in the bay windows that extend from this building, where you could curl up with a good book while watching the world go by. 

Quebec City has many beautiful churches, and Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral is just one of them.  According to our tour guide, when the faithful pray at the altar accessed from outside through a door with a carving of Christ, all sins are forgiven and washed away.  With the Presidential campaign in full swing in July 2016, Marian left a prayer card asking for the safety of our country. Learn more at this link: http://holydoorquebec.ca/en/cathedral

Above, Marian is second from left in the green shirt.  The Holy Door is on the right.  Below, a view of the St. Lawrence Seaway from the bluff.   

Right, the plaza outside the Basilica-Cathedral.

After our walking tour, which included a ride in a funicular to the street above, we found a place for lunch in the Old Town .  Mike had poutine, the signature dish of Ontario.  Wondering exactly what poutine is and why anyone would eat it?  Basically, it’s French fries covered in gravy and cheese curds – tasty and filling.

Le Chateau Frontenac is the jewel in Quebec City’s crown.  It’s one of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s signature hotels and has quite a history:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Frontenac

Below is another view of the magnificent hotel, taken from the broad pedestrian walkway that overlooks the St. Lawrence.

Our guide also recommended a particularly good local liqueur, which we located in a very nice restaurant bar on the way back to the car.  One day was not enough to see all of Quebec City; we’ll be back, and maybe we’ll splurge on a stay at Chateau Frontenac. 

Navigating the narrow streets of Old Town Montreal in a semi can’t be fun for a truck driver, especially when there’s construction going on.  It took about 10 minutes for this truck to make the turn.

Thursday was our final day in Montreal – more random wandering and a chance reunion with a Gold Looper couple we had met in Marathon during Loop I. We joined them for a provisioning trip to an excellent downtown IGA grocery store hidden inside an office building.  We wished we’d had more refrigerator, freezer, and cabinet space, but we could buy only a small supply of tempting items.  (Unlike supermarkets in the states, Canadian grocery stores sell groceries.  You won’t find shampoo, bath soap, or other toiletries.  Look for a pharmacy, similar to a CVS or Walgreens, to find those necessities.)

Wayne and Vicki’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandson arrived on Thursday, bringing a Verizon Jetpack to replace the one we had that does not work outside the U.S. Verizon can’t ship “overseas,” but Leslie graciously agreed to have it delivered to her home and bring it to us.  And that in itself is another story too long and involved for this blog. Lesson learned:  if you plan to travel outside the U.S. and take a hotspot so you’ll have Wifi, be sure to get the right hotspot and activate it before you leave.

Friday, thanks to more help from Wayne and Vicki, we were prepared for the first of two locks we’d have to transit on the St. Lawrence.  These locks were built to accommodate ocean-going freighters, and like the locks on the inland rivers of the U.S., commercial vessels have priority.  We hadn’t realized that these commercial locks charge about $25 and had not obtained our tickets in advance.  Fortunately, Cocomo was equipped with a printer, and Wayne graciously helped us purchase and print the “tickets” we’d need for the very large St. Lambert and St. Catherine locks while we waited almost two hours for a large freighter to go through the St. Lambert lock.  (The locks have a dock where waiting boats can tie up, much better than having to hover before the lock.) We were tied up on the St. Anne-de-Bellevue wall before 6:00, giving us plenty of time to explore the town and have a yummy dinner at Klondike.  The town, with shops and restaurants, is on the other side of the restaurants that are adjacent to the wall.  After dinner, we strolled along the walkway to a bridge and a look at the St. Catherine lock. 

For no reason that we can remember, we didn't take pictures of the town or waterfront, but Mike found these three on line.  Above, the free wall where we tied up; fortunately, we didn't have to raft to another boat.  Right, a view on the main street. Below, another view of the waterfront.

Saturday morning, we found a great breakfast restaurant, checked out the farmers’ market – more goodies than we could store on the boat, and found a barbershop where Mike got a haircut.  We were off the dock at 10:25, ready to enter the lock, but it took until 11:15 to get through because of some kind of transaction problem with another boat.  Apparently they didn’t know they would have to pay.  Once we were through the lock, we headed for the Hawkesbury Wall, where we would meet our Canadian friends Francis & Hélène.  The Ottawa River widens at this point, and we dodged Waverunners zooming back and forth, cutting closer to the boat than we liked, but no close calls.  The Waverunners of course wanted to jump the Midas Touch’s wake.  After a while we found ourselves approaching a narrow point in the river, and just about then, Francis called to warn us about an approaching squall line.  We could see it heading our way...

Mike told Marian that there was no time or place to bring the boat into to tie down. A trawler is a slow boat, so we couldn’t outrun the storm.  We’d be better off to turn around and head back into the open water, hold our position, and put her nose into the storm.  Mike got back out into the wide water just as the storm hit us. Now we were in total whiteout conditions. With our Bimini top and side curtains closed, the Midas Touch has a lot of windage, and we’re talking very high winds—50 or 60 mph. The storm kept turning us away from the wind—not a good idea, and all Mike could do was turn her back into the wind. With whiteout conditions--high winds, lightning, and rain so heavy that we could see only a short distance ahead—there is no land reference to aim for, so we were totally dependent on our radar and Garmin chartplotter to determine where the shallow water and land are.  The storm felt like it would last forever, but in reality, it was over in a few minutes.  Midas appreciated his anxiety bandana during this short interval, and we were relieved and exhausted when it was over and could continue toward Hawkesbury.

We had no trouble finding the free wall, where Francis and Hélène were waiting.  They helped us tie up, and Wayne & Vicki soon joined us. Our Canadian friends had brought dinner – fresh salmon – and we enjoyed a convivial evening with them, including plenty of wine. 

There was also plenty of room for Midas to run, and he made friends with a Doberman the next morning. (He had been friends with Chloe, a Doberman in our therapy dog group, and he seemed to think every Doberman he met might be his friend.) For the first time in several years, Midas decided it was time to play run and chase, and we enjoyed watching him have a good time.  After breakfast, we untied the boats and followed Miss Jazz to Francis and Hélène’s home on Baie de la Pentecôte, a short tributary of the Ottawa River.  We spent five days there, and our stay will begin the next chapter.

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Oh, Canada! Canals and Capitols (Past and Present)

Our last installment was long, with more narrative and fewer pictures.  This one will tell the story with more pictures and fewer words. We cleared Canadian customs with ease, and when we reached the free dock at St. Jean de Richelieu, we tied up even though it was only about 1:00.  The next good stop was too far away, and we enjoyed exploring the town. Wayne and Vicki went one way, and Mike, Midas, and Marian went another. It was a HOT July day, so we looked for shops with air-conditioning. We're not really shoppers, and when we found a doggy boutique, we hung out there until time to return to the boat and meet Wayne and Vicki for dinner.  Midas made himself right at home and quickly learned where to get treats.  The friendly manager even allowed us to use their grooming facility to trim Midas's toenails, then did another of the visiting dogs.                                                 

The next day was windy again, and getting tied up to the lock walls was a real challenge for Cocomo.  Wayne and Vicki always entered the lock first and took the port side, although the wind was blowing them away from the wall. The Parks Canada lockhands are friendly and helpful. At several locks, we had to tie up to the wall and wait, as shown below, and since Wayne and Vicki and perfected the skill of snagging a cleat, they would tie up, then come back to help us.  THANK YOU MORE THAN WE CAN SAY! 

Most of the Richelieu Canal is a narrow ditch that runs parallel to the Richelieu River.
Thunderstorms are followed by beautiful rainbows, like this one at Sorel, on the St. Lawrence River.

   

         

Our second stop on the Richelieu was the town of Chambly, with the marina located at the bottom of three contiguous locks.  Start through, and you have to finish.  We had to wait on the south side of a bridge for a thunderstorm to pass, and we were the last boats to lock through that day.  The marina is at the bottom of the locks, to the right in the photo above.
Wayne (and Mike) enjoyed one of the local craft beers at the restaurant where we had dinner in Chambly.  Mike had duck poutine - french fries covered in gravy, cheese curds.

Canadian towns along the canals are always full of pedestrians.  Like many towns, Chambly has ice cream parlors, and we indulged.

North of Lake Chambly and the Chambly Canal you'll see Mont St. Hilaire to starboard.  According to the Waterway Guide, it's a relative newcomer at only 125 million years old. It's the result of volcanic activity and the source of more than 250 different minerals.  It is clearly visible from Montreal.

Left, approaching Montreal, about 45 against the current miles from Sorel, with wind creating a chop on the St. Lawrence.
Cocomo led the way past the sight of the Montreal World's Fair to the Montreal Yacht Club, where we were lucky to get dock space.  The municipal marina was closed due to a strike by many city employees, but the Marina Manager Debbie checked with a couple of their slip holders and found they would be leaving, making room for us.
We followed Cocomo to Montreal Yacht Club, passing the site of the 1967 Montreal Expo along the way.

The interior of the cathedral is more beautiful than
the exterior, and even non-churchgoers like us 
were overwhelmed by a feeling of reverence, plus
total admiration for the workmanship of the
craftsmen who built this amazing expression of 
faith. 

Right, the imposing edifice of the Cathedral de Notre Dame, a beautiful church in the heart of Old Town Montreal.    

Above, a friendly local took this picture of us enjoying Place Jacques Cartier, lined with restaurants, stalls, and shops and buskers to provide free entertainment.

Below, Old Montreal's streets are narrow, but this semi managed to make a right turn from this tight spot, with construction (in preparation for Canada's upcoming 2017 150th Birthday) taking place all over Montreal. We watched the maneuver until we knew the truck would make the turn.  

Below, Montreal's portal to its past, the Chateau Ramezaywas built in the18th century as a prestigious residence.  It was the first building in Quebec to be classified a historic monument.  

 The exterior garden is more impressive than the front facade, and the rooms were lovely.   

           

This guy, who looked imposing and official, really suckered us in.  When we moved closer after he spoke to us, he flashed us - sort ot.  He was wearing a flesh colored unitard under the kilt and jacket, but it took a moment to realize that.  Out of sight was a film crew, recording us in a Canadian version of Candid Camera.

We turned to the modern side of Montreal when we visited Phi, a virtual reality experience that left us both open-mouthed. Below, Marian is wearing goggles with a smart phone screen that engulfed her in a vivid world of bright pastel scenes - hot pink, turquoise, yellow, and orange. It's the story of a little girl and her imaginary monster. As the beast walks up behind her, you can feel his large, heavy feet shaking the ground with every step.  
    

Below, the sound and scent drawer; we had to sign a waiver to confirm we're not claustrophobic before we could lie on the table and be rolled into a box that felt like a drawer in the morgue.  Marian chose Dallas, and she heard and smelled the assassination of JFK, including the aroma of Jacqueline Kennedy's perfume.  
Mike chose Houston, thinking he would experience the town.  Instead, he heard Whitney Houston's final minutes, including the splash of water in her bathtub and the scent of her bubblebath.

August 20, 2017 - we're back in the USA:
We're inexcusably behind with our Loop II blog, and there's more to tell about Montreal, our visit to Canadian Looper friends Francis and Hélène, then Ottawa - another amazing city - and our trip down the Rideau Canal.  No excuses - just a heartfelt plea for understanding.  WIFI got sporadic at best, Marian got lazy, and we just let it drop.  
Today - counting travel time from Dahlonega to Clayton, NY and prep work on the boat after it went back in the water - we're two months into Loop II/Part 2.  Eventually, we'll finish this blog, and we appreciate your understanding while we continue to cruise down Lake Michigan, through Chicago, and the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennesee Rivers to Hales Bar Marina near Chattanooga.  Meanwhile, feel free to follow us on Facebook.