We're home!!

Couple from Ottawa (Nicole & Louis-Charles) that we met at Rideau locks

Randy joins us from Kingston to Trenton

Our dear friends Sherron & Randy in Trenton

Captain Maddie

Cold, windy day in Frankford. Effects of hurricane Irene

Campbellford lock in the early morning

Dale Mann joins us from Buckhorn to Fenelon Falls

Gamebridge lock

Spending night at Gamebridge lock.

Our boat adventure ended yesterday afternoon as we arrived safely back in our home base marina. Had a lovely trip back from Ottawa. Made it down to Kingston where we picked up our friend Randy who joined us for the trip to Trenton on August 27th. Randy & Sherron invited us over to their house for dinner and a sleepover. It was wonderful to see them again. On Saturday, Philippe & Maddie met us at their house. We then brought them back to the boat for an overnight trip to Frankford. We were thrilled to see them after all this time. Maddie is just too precious. Randy was kind enough to drive us over and pick up Philippe & Maddie the next day as they had to go back home. We continued on up the Trent/Severn on a windy Sunday (effects of hurricane Irene). Stayed at locks all the way up. In Buckhorn we picked up Dale Mann, a friend of Mike's from his younger years. They hadn't seen each other in about 40 years. Great reunion! Dale left us in Fenelon Falls to return to his cottage near Algonquin Park. Thanks Dale for the great time, the great wine and desserts. Managed to swim 2 days in a row on our way home. That was wonderful!

Back in Ottawa

sunset on last night in Trois-Rivieres. Au revoir et merci!

Carole & Michel (the loopers)

Waiting at St-Lambert lock

Yet another ship locks through

last ship in Ste Catherine lock before we can go through.

We're on our way home! Finally had boat repaired by our great mechanic, Pat. We left Trois-Rivieres on Friday, August 19th fighting strong currents all the way to Montreal. Long day! Arrived at marina in Longueil to be greeted by Michel & Carole whom we'd met 2 years ago in Orillia. What a nice surprise. Next day only got through 2 commercial locks in Montreal. Had to way for ships to go through as they have priority. Got to Ste Anne de Bellevue on a Saturday night at 8pm. You wouldn't believe the number of boats that were at docks. It's party central. Left for Ottawa the next morning but only made it half way. Anchored out for the night and woke up to very strong winds. Had a difficult time pulling up the anchor because of the wind. Yesterday we stayed at the marina at Lac Leamy and had a great time. Just went through the 8 flight locks starting up the Rideau. Stopped on the wall for a bit of food shopping then on to get fuel as we start our journey back home. Don't know when I'll have internet access again. Will update asap.

Still in Trois-Rivieres

Still waiting for the part to come in. Last we heard it was in Buffalo!! So, thanks to the marina in Trois-Rivieres, we ride around this park island and go to town to visit and shop for food. Bicycles have large baskets so we can bring back quite a bit in them. Very handy. Today we visited historic Trois-Rivieres. As I was born here and lived in Ste Genevieve de Batiscan as a baby, Ste Anne de la Perade (famous for ice fishing) until I was 6 and Shawinigan until I was 16, staying here brings back a lot of memories.

Sunset at 3 Rivers marina

Canoists paddling from Quebec City to Gatineau as a fundraiser

beautifully restored home in old Trois-Rivieres

Ursuline Convent where we used to visit my Aunt Soeur Helene

Stop along the waterfront

We've been on our journey for 2 months now. This was to be a shakedown trip to find out if we could be away long term on the boat. The conclusion is...maximum 1 month away. Beside, most of the loopers we've met have told us that Georgian Bay is the highlight of the loop. I miss swimming!!! Hoping to do that when we finally get to the Thousand Islands.

Back in the water in Three Rivers but not out of the woods yet!

engine

see the boat under blue travel lift

Boat went back in the water on Monday, the 8th. |Went out for a test run and still heard strange noise.  Pat, our mechanic, found out that it was the clutch plate that had cracked and broke the transmission. So now we're waiting for this new, of course expensive part, to arrive. |The marina staff are the best. 4th nights are free and they supply bicycles to go shopping, etc...I'm recovering nicely from my serious bout of eczema on hands and feet. Boat and I are on the mend.

Unscheduled stay in Quebec City

Ancestral home of my Gagnon family on Cote de Beaupre dating from 1640

Lise & Claude at Dave & Andree's

Met with old work colleague

Apperitifs in the park at Lise & Claude's

Surprise! We're going with you on the cruise!

Out of bad things, really good things can happen. We had such a wonderful time back in Quebec City. Dave & Andree were so very generous to put us up for all that time. Merci Andree et Dave! Fabulous meals, wonderful friends, and of course lots of wine. Couple of visits to the doctor for my eczema. Dave & Mike helped Louis build a fence in St Fereol des Neiges, and worked on the new house addition. I rested a lot as I couldn't walk anywhere. Lise & Claude booked their cruise to Greece in October and we decided to take the big plunge and go with them to celebrate 50 years of friendship. Hey! timings not so great but...you can't take it with you.

Update from Trois-Rivieres

Thought I'd keep you posted on latest developments. We left the marina Trois-Rivieres early this morning but heard strange sounds coming from port engine. So we returned to the marina. Turns out we have transmission problems and the whole transmission will need to be replaced. Insurance company has been contacted and a mechanic has confirmed the problem. An adjustor will probably be coming by as well. The boat will need to be pulled out. Could be a couple of weeks. If that's the case, we'll go home and come back when it's ready. We'll know more in a while.
The problem stems for hitting a deadhead log on June 23 on the Rideau. Probably hurt a gear in the transmission and now it broke. Mike did hear something strange when we arrived in Trois-Rivieres.

Update: Andree & Dave have kindly offered us to stay in Quebec for the duration of repairs and we accepted. Boat is coming out tomorrow morning. The current guesstimate is august 8 to go back in water. So no Lake Champlain this year. We'll be in Thousand Island as scheduled. C'est la vie on the sea!!

Marina Trois-Rivieres Day 3

some of the thunder clouds we experienced

Decided to stay another day as weather is calling for more thunderstorms. And, boy, did we get some. We were out for a walk this morning when the lightning and thunder happened all at once. Scary!  Made it home without incident. It's 7pm and the skies look like they're ready for another round. This will be # 4 or 5. They're short but not as furious as they look on the onset. Tomorrow's looking good so we should leave around 8am for the first  lock on the Richelieu river. Stay tuned!

Trois-Rivieres July 25 2011

Marina Trois-Rivieres

We're spending a 2nd day  at this great marina. Must tell you it's beside a pulp and paper mill with sulphur smell that remind me of my young years in Shawinigan where the smell was something you got used to very quickly. So many memories of this area!

Went for a bicycle ride today. Bicycles supplied free of charge by the marina. The marina is on Ile St-Quentin which is a beautiful park in Three Rivers. We rode all over town as they have many bike trails. Had lunch in a great resto (as they call them in Quebec), picked up a few groceries and rode back. Stormy weather seemed to pass us by. May get some rain overnight. Tomorrow we're heading for the Richelieu river on our way to Lake Champlain. Don't know when we'll have wi-fi again so I'll update whenever I can. Plan to be in Lake Ontario by mid-August.

Portneuf July 22 to 24, 2011

floating docks for tides up to 15 feet

marina and restaurant

mermaid guiding boaters into marina

Had a wonderful stay at Marina Portneuf. Arrived with crew of Louis-David (our nephew) and his wonderful girlfriend Jessica. Met at the dock by my brother Dave and his wife Andree. Had a fabulous lunch at the marina restaurant, the Littoral. Next morning had brunch there with egg benedict that they call "benediction of Florent" for Eggs Benedict Florentine, etc...

Quebec City Stay

Sorel Marina

Trois-Rivieres Marina Garden

Trois-Rivieres Marina

Coast Guard Working on St Lawrence

Ste Anne de la Perade church

Lise and Agathe

Riding in a Miata

Francine and J.C.

Lise and Claude toasting their anniversary

dinner at Poisson d'Avril

Mom the 90 year old hotrodder

Claude Laberge visits

with Dave and Andree

Claude's wife, Lorraine

Louis-David and Jessica

Left Montreal for Sorel and Trois-Rivieres then on to Quebec City to arrive at low tide. In Sorel, they gave us the wrong dock and Mike went stern in with fenders touching the next boat. Mike finds it easier going stern in. He'd never tried it before not knowing how it would be. Big storm at dusk. One boat was just arriving as the storm broke so they had to wait it out near the marina. The next day we stayed in Trois-Rivieres marina which is near a big pulp and paper mill. Ah! the smell of sulphur. Brings back memories of my youth in Shawinigan. The next morning we left in time to arrive in Quebec city at low tide. As we neared the Quebec bridges, I called Lise J. to tell her to go to her balcony as we neared their home. There she was waving a big white cloth which I saw with our binoculars. We were lucky to visit with them on that evening as they were leaving on a camping trip the next day.

Notes on our stay in Quebec city from July 14 to 22, 2011

July 14: Arrived at Bassin Louise around 3 pm. We had reserved from July 15 to 22 but, in Three Rivers, decided to go with the tides and would arrive in Quebec 6 hours later. Approaching Quebec, I called to ask if we could change our arrival date to Thursday instead of Friday. The girl answering my call said “bonyeux”4 times before saying she'd call me back. 'Do you have my phone #? ' I ask. She says yes as it's in my file. So Mike shut off the engines and we coasted on the St Lawrence while having lunch. Fourty minutes went by so I called them back. They didn't have my phone # after all so they had emailed me 10 minutes after the original call to say they had room. Of course I hadn't checked my mail so lost half an hour. No sweat. As we neared the Quebec bridges, I called Lise Julien to tell her to go to her balcony and see us come by her house. With binoculars, I could see her waving a big white cloth to signal she could see us. We didn't think we'd get to see them as they were leaving on their camping trip on the 15th and returning on the 22nd the very same dates we would be there. So we got lucky and got to visit with Lise & Agathe on Thursday night.

July 15: orientation day in Quebec. Went to the Vieux Port market. Wonderful place. Got strawberries from Neuville. Delicious!!!

July 16: Found the Metro store so did a food shopping. Decided to go and see Mom. Missed the Ecolobus and then found out that, if we took regular bus, we would need to tranfer 3 times before getting to Place d'Youville. Got on the 1st bus but was too tired and cranky to go on. Walked back to the boat. Took 30 minutes. Not happy campers. We don't handle heat and humidity very well.

July 17: very interesting day today! Mike went to get ice and had the ipad with him hoping to get a signal. He dropped the case and broke the glass on the ipad. It's repairable so we went by bus to Place Ste Foy to the Apple store and they gave us a new one for free!!! Then we went over to Lise & Claude's for drinks and dinner at the Bamboo restaurant. Very good food. Went back to the boat by Navette Desjardins. For 3$/day you can use the navette all day. Very good deal.

July 18: As we needed to have internet to reload Navionics on the new Ipad, we went over to Cafe du Monde for a cappucino (me) and a beer (Mike) and downloaded the software. Lunch menu looked good so we had a delightful lunch. Got back to the boat at around 1:30pm. Went to Francine's today. JC came to pick us up at about 2pm. Had a wonderful day with them. Swam in their pool and they even lent us their Miata for a drive around the lake. Saw the Laberge estate. It's for sale and Dave is selling it. JC drove us back around 9pm after a lovely meal of General Tao food.

July 19: took the bus to Can Tire and bought propane. Lise & Claude picked us up & drove us around to run errands, go to get $$s and dropped me off at Mom's. They then drove Mike to the boat while I had a visit with Mom. Unfortunately Mom sleeps from 1pm to 2:30pm so didn't get to talk to her. So we went to the boat, had bubbly for L&C's anniversary, wine and nibbles then for dinner at Poisson d'Avril. Then L&C went home on the Navette and picked up their car at the Aquarium parking lot.

July 20: Another hot day in the city. In the morning Mike and I took the Ecolobus ($1) and #25 bus to St Brigids. I went to visit Mom and Mike went to Maguire and the park. Had a nice visit with Mom. She's very confused but did recognize me. We went for a tour of the garden. She insists on wheeling herself around. Strong arms! I left her just before her lunch. Mike and I met a noon and had a nice lunch at the St Germain. Then we shopped at IGA and took the bus back to the boat.

Dave & Andree came over to the boat and brought along a nice surprise. Claude and Lorraine Laberge! Hadn't seen them in 10 years. As a bad thunderstorm was coming, we all went over to Dave's for dinner. Bad storm. Lots of wind but it passed. Had a great time. Claude drove us home. Upon arrival at the boat, Mike noticed the kayak was missing. Found near the next boat over. The winds were so strong, it had blown the kayak right off the boat.

July 21: rainy morning, lots and lots of it until around 2 pm. Wanted to play tourist today but that didn't work out. Both had showers. Went shopping this afternoon around 4:30pm. Came back to a major gas spill. Marina people very lackadaisical about it. Not impressed with this marina at all. No desire to ever come back. Bought strawberries from ile d'orleans. Delicious! Tried to have something to eat at the Riviera. Got a table but nobody came with a menu nor ask for a drink order. After a while we just left. Now we're having beans and eggs for dinner at 9pm. What a way to end our visit to Quebec!

July 22: Left Quebec under hazy skies with special guests (Louis-David & Jessica). I think they really enjoyed the trip to Portneuf. Had a great lunch with Dave, Andree and the crew. Still extremely hot. Still no internet here. Really disappointed. Will send an email to notify everyone. Not sure where we're going from here. Construction holidays are starting today so it's going to be crazy wherever we try to go on Richelieu, Lake Champlain. Mike and I have discussed anything yet.

July 23 & 24: Marina Portneuf. Stayed an extra day due to high winds. Had a lovely brunch at Littoral restaurant.

Montreal at the Vieux Port

Arrival in Montreal

Chez Michelle et Pierre a Lachine

Nadine et Steven nous rendent visite

Steven, Mike et Lise

Jerry and Jenny from Charleston SC

Basillique Notre Dame

View of Mtl Old Port from boat

Finally back on line! Spent 8 days in Quebec City marina without internet!! Very disappointing as I haven't updated since Montreal. So much to add. Had a great time in Quebec City visiting friends and family. Despite the extremely hot and humid weather we still had a great time. Had a tragic moment when the Ipad was injured. But Apple staff made it all so much better. Way to go Apple!! Heading for Richelieu river tomorrow if weather is good. Then on to Lake Champlain and then back to Lake Ontario. In another week, we'll be half way through our trip. Time flies when you're having fun!

Now to backtrack a bit. We had a great time in Montreal. The marina was terrific. Pierre & Michelle spoiled us for 2 days. Drove us around for a great city tour, had dinner the first night at a lovely restaurant they frequent. The next day they picked us up and drove us to their condo in Lachine giving a great tour on the way there. On Sunday, Steve & Nadine came for a nice visit. It was great to have time to chat with them as we usually only see them at family gatherings when we don't have enough time to talk. Met a great couple from Charleston South Carolina, Jerry & Jenny, who had us over for wine & cheese and we filled them in on beautiful places to see on Georgian Bay.