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Daily Travel Journal
When we travel, we send an e-mail message (to the kids and others) each day reporting on our days activities. Below are those messages for our Montreal trip. Although it is a lot of words, It gives us a chance to re-live our trip as we fondly read through our escapades.
Montreal Trip, Friday, Day 1 Report
Well, on Friday it took us all morning to load the car. We are trying something different. Got one of those clothes rods to hang our stuff, thinking it would save always lugging so much in each evening... it broke before we were out of St. Paul... so there it hung half off in a slant across the back seat until we stopped for the the night. Roger fashioned some heavy duty additions to the contraption with clothes hangars so it should not happen again. Our hotel is an AmericInn just barely over the UP Michigan border at Menominee, Michigan, across the bay from Door county, "above" Green Bay. Believe it or not, our first hotel that we stopped at was full, (they had a big wedding) but this one is nice and just across a parking lot from a Perkins where we had dinner last evening. The back of our hotel faces Lake Michigan as do all the businesses along the highway. We left at noon and arrived here about 6, driving about 325 miles. So it was a nice driving day. The drive was easy. We took highways 94 and 29 which were 4 lane most all of the way. The last 50 miles was 2 lane but took us through beautifully hilly dairy country with lots of large herds.
Today, Saturday, we plan on driving to Sault St. Marie and/or Mackinac Island, Michigan, although it's suppose to rain all day. It was cold and windy last night and they say very cold up there... so Roger will probably buy a sweat shirt to go with his windbreaker... I brought more to stay warm... So far it is sunny and bright with some clouds; and the water is sounding like the ocean out our back door.
Had a knock on the door at 2:00 AM; some guy looking for "Miranda"... needless to say she wasn't here... he apologized and we never opened the door. Connor have fun at the birthday party! Garth have fun out of town; Hannah have fun with Connor and Kyla; Dave say HB to Andy! Dan and Dawn go for it in Iowa... and best to Elinor. Kathy and Cam enjoy the week with Mike & Eva.
As you can probably tell, we both worked on this....
More next time.
Love,
Dad & Mom
Montreal Trip, Saturday, Day 2 Report
We both wrote this mishmash, so bear with us. Roger says he will have to see how feasible it is to add photos.
This morning we left Menominee Michigan and drove over the top of Lake Michigan, almost stopping for lunch in Manistique (where John & Katie Sczepanski lived for awhile) but waited till we got to a unique log restaurant filled with antiques... passable food, and gave us lots to talk about as we "dined"... whose grandma had what cook stove, etc. Then as I snoozed for a bit, we traveled along the two-lane road lined with trees, and with more or less constant lake views of Lake Michigan. Very beautiful . We saw lots of semis with more wheels than the conventional 18 wheelers, for big loads, I guess... (lots of them are log trucks, but these seem to be hoppers for something.) We got out at a couple of look out points to photograph the Mackinac bridge - like the Golden Gate but more massive and slightly longer. Then we crossed it to spend the afternoon in Mackinaw City. (Yes it is spelled lots of ways-all correct, apparently- but they say to always say it as if it has a "w" . The bridge here apparently "connects" Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. We got in about 3:00; and a lucky thing or we would be without lodging. As it turned out , we have a "budget" SUPER 8 for $150.00.!!! When we checked they backed down to that from nearly $200.00. And gave us the second night for a bit less... so next time you go to a hotel... don't take it without a "fight"... But it does have a lake view so we are happy.
This evening the rain finally caught up with us. We went walking around this little tourist town eventually ending up at a restaurant for dinner. But when we came, out it was raining quite hard and we got quite wet walking 3 or 4 blocks back to our motel. We did not melt, though. And before dinner let it be known that we looked at a dozen homemade fudge shops and bought none; but Roger invested in a pricey canvas hat ... now he looks like Crockadile Dundee.
Another story, long story short; the waitress came to us with THREE different bills-all to the advantage of the restaurant. When the third bill came with only 50 cents to their advantage we gave up and paid it. But I did complain to the hotel who recommended it. Oh well it ended up being only 50 cents and gave us something to talk about.
We are planning on spending the day tomorrow on Mackinac Island (which you can only get to via ferry - no cars on the island), but the weather may change our plans. We'll keep you posted. We could always stop back by here if we come home from Montreal this way.
More tomorrow.
Roger & Theresa
Montreal Trip, Sunday, Day 3, Report
We've emptied our digital camera into our computer and have selected 1 picture to send you from Saturday. We've reduced the resolution quality & picture size to minimize the time it takes for you to download the message. After we get home we'll put a picture travelogue on our web site and will let you know when it's ready. Roger got up around 6 Sunday and went for his regular jog; this time for about 45 minutes - about 2 1/2 miles. (Weather: cloudy, but rain has stopped.) Ran along the coast road with the boat & ferry companies on the lake side and tourist business across the street.
All the boat crews were just coming to work. Went all the way down to the foot of "The Bridge". The tops of the towers were completely enshrouded in clouds. Beautiful. Theresa woke up more or less as usual (never heard him leave to run) taking time as always to feel civilized...but enjoyed the rest of the day.
Pop & Marlys: we know our font is sort of small. When we're traveling we don't have a way to make it big like we do when we send messages from home. If you want a paper copy with big font, let us know and we'll print some out and send them to you via land mail.
Like we said, the picture is from Saturday, showing Roger at the viewing station for the famous Mackinaw Bridge. No one photo really tells the story... but suffice it to say that it is FIVE miles long... slightly bigger even than the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco. .
Today it started out drizzly and a bit windy but all that did was make for a bad hair day... we had a lovely time. By 10:00 AM we were on the large catamaran ferry (probably held 75-100 people but we did not have that many) for a 7 mile, 15 minute ride across Lake Huron to Mackinaw Island . No cars or motorized vehicles are allowed on the island except for emergency vehicles. They have 600 horses, though, so we took a 20 person carriage for part our tour, drawn by two black Percheron draft horses named Seymour and Moe. Seymore worked hard but his partner was a bit of a slacker. Both were 12 years old. The hills are big enough that they are given rest breaks often. Also they work 6 hours on, then 12 off, 6 on, 18 off. There is a vet and a blacksmith so they seem well cared for. On another leg of our tour we had a 3 horse carriage. Those "guys" just happened to arrive on the island yesterday and seemed just a bit unsure of themselves. One horse slipped a bit on a hill, but nothing really alarming. Incidentally, they have the regular iron shoes encased in a hard plastic which reportedly is a much cushier walk. We were advised to visit the livery/taxi stable of the big hotel and did so. We were alone in the big barn and had our own Australian attendant tell us a ton of stuff.
There are hundreds of college kids on the mainland and on the island doing most anything pertaining to tourism. Also a few dozen Jamaican young adults. Everyone is very polite and pleasant. But they must pay them well since we paid dearly for everything. For instance we had tea and dessert in the fancy Victorian tea room. Our total bill for that alone was 15.00 and that was cheap. If we would have had high tea it would have been $25.00 per person. Everyone was casual all day but there were big signs that if you stay after 6pm you must wear jacket & tie, and ladies must not wear slacks. And oh yes, just to tour the Victorian hotel it cost $10.00 per person.
And everywhere all over the island and the mainland, there are fudge shops, ice cream shops and gift shops, mostly in Victorian style. Suffice it to say that Mackinaw Island is to be seen for sure, but do not plan on anything but an expensive day. We went the "cheap" way and spent $200.00 dollars with fees, food, tours, souvenirs. What the heck, you can't take it with you. No one would be sorry if they go. And do NOT think that the mainland gives you the same experience. You MUST go the Island.
Oh forgot to say that we toured a Fort... have done similar elsewhere but this was all restored and very worthwhile.. long story short... also saw the summer home of the Michigan governor... worth well over 3 million. Not even that impressive... interesting though.
We've picked out 4 pictures from the day (hard to do since we took 150) and will send them to you in a separate message. Finally, this afternoon, after we got back to our hotel at about 4:30, the sun came out. Lovely afternoon! Stuck our feet in the water but it was frigid. This is up north and the lake actually freezes enough to go to the island on ice!
Tomorrow we go to Sault Ste. Marie, then will try to get almost to Ottawa... a long day. 500 miles I think.
Love,
Roger & Theresa
Montreal Trip, Monday, Day 4, Report
Last evening (Sunday), we sent you 2 messages. The first was our regular daily report. It contained a single picture. The second message contained nothing but 4 pictures. If you didn't receive both, let us know and we'll send them to you again. Anyway, today, Monday, Roger was up like always at 6; Roger went jogging for just a short route - downtown and out to the end of one of the piers with many pleasure boats.
Drove 425 miles today nearly all on 2-lane roads, passed through mostly very small towns, mostly logging communities. Lunch was at a tiny town in their lone & quiet restaurant called the Red Top. Nice people and good food. Staying in Pembroke, Ontario tonight. Long day! We did not get settled until after 7 PM. Early this morning we did visit the Soo Locks which was about an hour north of Mackinaw... until today I thought they were the "same"... never too old to learn! Interesting also how Sioux is also spelled Soo and Sault.
We have been advised to avoid Ottawa tomorrow since the (Capital) city will be celebrating Canada Day tomorrow: will be like July 4th in Washington. The road goes there so we will decide at the last minute whether to stop. It looks likely that we will call ahead to Montreal and just get there one day early. It is 208 miles. (not kilometers)
David, we saw your town/area where you go with Tom C. It was referenced in a weather report and we saw a road sign pointing in the proper direction. (Temagami?) Weather has been cool and yet Dad is always hot. What is that?? But we are fine. Kind of creaky from sitting long hours in the car.
Interesting that we feel like we saw more French signs in Calgary than here so far... but that is likely going to change tomorrow in Quebec.
BTW even though we have a short list of folks who are getting this, go ahead and forward it to anyone we left out... we have a history of getting too many on our lists; and also we did not want to bore folks. Suffice it to say we are thinking of everyone, so tell them all hello.
Kathy if you don't tell Dave we are sending these, he won't check e-mail. Thanks.
Hope that Elinor is satisfactory.
Love,
Roger & Theresa Picture 1 Picture 2
Montreal Trip, Tuesday, Day 5, Report
As usual, Roger was up and ran over 2 miles. Weather: clear & cool, temperature about 60. Theresa feels like she is getting her exercise just getting around to various venues. She's achy but not too bad. Although, we did sleep in till about 7:30. Since we drove so far yesterday, we have a day and a half to make just it to Montreal, about 200 miles from here.
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We stopped outside Ottawa to call our Montreal hotel to see if we could check in a day early. They said okay. So, we drove on in to Montréal and are all unpacked into our hotel, the Delta Centre-Ville in downtown Montreal.
(Although Ottawa did seem a bit on the quiet side, we decided to skip it... the freeway went right through the city so we "saw" it.... a mall and more unimpressive city, at least what we saw. The closer we got to Montreal, the better the road, and the more lush the countryside. Oh, by the way. "Parlez Vous Franciais?" Of course our French is terrible, but it is very interesting to have totally charming and at least bi- if not tri-lingual service people. And after we got over the border into Quebec, it was totally evident that this is French through and through... it is just like our trip to Europe. I kept saying the what we heard is NOT true: we heard that this is the "most European" city in North America. Rather it is "THE" European city in North America... amazing. (Oh by the way, there are only two columns of Mongeaus in the phone book. Does Mike want to ask Aunt Jean if I should call one?
BTW the city is on an island and on a hill... a mix of skyscrapers and old churches mostly. Have not found the population figures but it seems bigger than downtown Minneapolis.
Everything is expensive, though... so if you come bring money... UGH. We ordered sandwiches for dinner and the bill was $45.00. And the service, although very friendly was slow.
All we did this afternoon since arriving, was to unload the car, schmooze, walk up a big hill get our convention registrations.
Tonight we plan on going to sleep early since the rest of the week will be tiring. Fireworks are scheduled for 11:00 PM but we will miss them. It is raining, though so wonder how that changes things. As you may recall Canada celebrates their independence on July 1 (today) not July 4 as we do. They call it Canada day and banks, government offices and some businesses are closed.
Our room is on the 24 floor in a very nice hotel... so we have a fairly good view of downtown. Some of our friends have also arrived, but Joan and Larry will get in tomorrow. Their room is supposed to be next to ours.
I see that this message is a little choppy since we again both wrote it.
Pop and Marlys, thanks for the news of Rae Ann's father's death. Maybe it is good that the wedding might soften the blow. Please give our sympathy.
Kids, we are looking for T-shirts, but so far have not made up our minds.
Love,
"R&T"
Montreal Trip, Wednesday, Day 6, Report
Well we did not send any pictures yesterday but attached are a couple of our trip from Pembroke through Ottawa and on to Montreal. (we mentioned a bit about this trip yesterday.)
Kathy, hope you finally got the e-mails. Thanks for checking the plants. With the serious heat, I do not know whether that gel stuff will help or not.
Marlys, yes, your return messages are getting to us.
Thanks. Also heard from Marcy . We like the feedback.
Pop: Happy 4th of July Birthday! We will be thinking about you.
Dan & Dawn, is Elinor Okay?
Kathy, did you tell Dave to check out the e-mail?
Thanks.
Our walkie talkies might come in handy so that we avoid cell phone charges trying to stay in touch... will tell you how it works out.
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WEDNESDAY: Roger got up about 7:30 and went jogging again, down toward the St. Lawrence river. Found lots and lots of huge grain elevators. Otherwise, Montreal is very similar to most other large cities, except you can't read the (French) signs which are everywhere, not much English. Usually however we get the message... also it is interesting that most French speaking folks up here speak perfect English without the accent.
Joanie & Larry are here and we have spent a fair amount of time with them. They however are still at the quartet contest and we c____ed out. Tomorrow is an early morning, so I am hoping that there will be a nap time. At 7:45 Roger leaves by bus with the chorus to sing at a church nearby---sharing the stage with the Happiness Emporium, VocalMayority, Four Voices, and GNU. J,L, and I will take a cab.
Going to sleep right now. And if you do not hear anything for a while it is due to a strict schedule of rehearsals and contests.
(Roger will send this tomorrow.)
love,
Montreal Trip, Thursday, Day 7, Report
Today (Thursday) was the Gospel sing at a very old Gothic church about one mile from the hotel. It was big - 2000 people, which filled the space to standing room only. GNU, Happiness Emporium, and a Tennessee young and excellent quartet called 4 Voices. (Picture of chorus at that event attached.)
Afternoon rehearsal went very well today; more work to do but everybody feels good about potential for a medal. At least they will have done their best.
Joanie and Larry have been with us most of the time. She even likes the rehearsals (of which there are at least 11 hours during this week). Tonight we had a free night and went to a great Chinese Buffet. Really great, flavorful and quiet. After that we went strolling; visited the famous St. Mary of the World Cathedral where they were almost ready to close but we toured it in 10 minutes and got the flavor of this copy of the Basilica in Rome. Joan and Larry are getting up early to go to Mass there... we think it will be in French.
After a stroll around town and running into a bunch of fellow members, we headed "home" and sat in our room for some visiting.
It is now time for bed so we will get this off in the morning. Tonight we want a good night's sleep since every day till Sunday will get busier.
Again if you do not hear from us it is only due to being busy... you know you would get bad news...and we are not planning on that.
Dan, would you call Kathy and tell her the reason that she's not getting these e-mails is because July 1 is the cutover from attbi.com to comcast.com so she has a new mail address that she needs to send us. We're currently sending her messages to her attbi.com address. Thanks.
Thinking of each of you... David, hang in there. Dan & Dawn, hope you are having a good mini vacation... Kathy thanks again for the help even though you have company.
Pop's birthday is Thursday the 4th (today when you get this.) HBTY.
Love,
Us
Montreal Trip, Friday, Day 8, Report
Friday morning again Roger got up at 6 went jogging for 45 minutes down to an area along the St. Lawrence river known as Old Montreal. Very nice waterfront. He had a meeting with several people about the scoring program he wrote for the Society. Got back about 10:30. Then we went to lunch over at the Train Station (Gare Centrale) and had crepes - very delicious - and we can't get them back home.
Joan and Larry got in their car and gave themselves a self guided tour of Montreal... while we were at yet another rehearsal. They joined us for the LOL Pep rally... all district competing quartets and and both choruses... both being cagy and did not perform their contest sets.
Later in the afternoon we met Connie and Dwain Chambers, mutual friends of Joan, Larry and us... long story short. There is the biggest food court you ever saw---guaranteed---and that is where we take most of our meals... not too expensive and everything there. We came back before the quartet contest was even half done tonight... tired. Tomorrow is such a huge day; breakfast at 6:30 for the guys, must be fully made up and ready for rehearsal at 8:30; leaving the hotel at 10:30; onstage at 11:30. (all Eastern time.) contest done mid afternoon... at which time we will find out if the guys earned a medal for which they surely worked hard. For sure they will sing/perform the best they ever have, so that is all you can ask.
The web site guys were on live tonight and we saw them on the big screen.,
'nite all.
Love,
"R&T" Picture
Montreal Trip, Saturday, Day 9, Report
Sandy, we just realized we've been sending your messages to your old address. We'll send you the back messages and pictures in the next day or so. Photos in some case have been going out late... the last one was of course from the Gospel Sing of Thursday. We will try and get caught up eventually. Hooray: today is the big event. the chorus is ready. As we write this part we are almost ready for the final rehearsal. They are singing up a "storm"... never looked or sounded better. Theresa plans to attend the first half hour or rehearsal then go to breakfast with Joan & Larry; then make our way to the contest site. This is no small feat since she is such a bad "riser and shiner"... it's all the adrenaline that helps. More later.
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The chorus contest is now history. The chorus seemed to sing as well as we ever have if not a little better. However, the judges scores didn't reflect that and we placed 9th in the rankings. It was a fine chorus contest with Dallas winning as expected. BTW how did the web cast come through. Did anybody listen?
The rest of the day was spent with Larry & Joan walking back & forth from the singing site to the food court in the train station. We watched all 22 choruses in the afternoon. Had supper. Then went back and watched the 10 finalist quartets plus a nice program of other singing entertainment. They are leaving early Sunday morning as Larry has to be back at work Tuesday morning.
Our current plans are to stay over here in Montreal at the same hotel at which we've been and go sightseeing for several days. Then start back west driving leisurely back to Minneapolis.
More tomorrow.
Roger & Theresa
The picture attachments are Roger during rehearsal ("deer eyes"), the chorus in rehearsal, and the Albrechts & Chambers (friends of both us and Joan & Larry since Chambers used to live in the Chicago area where Connie sang with Joan and Dwain worked with Larry.) at Friday night dinner. We'll send pictures from the chorus contest tomorrow after we've had a chance to review them and pick out the best.
Montreal Trip, Sunday, Day 10, Report
Sorry that photos have been a day behind the letters. Actually Roger has sent them and I am not sure what you have seen. Marcy, the castle which you asked about (I think) was something we passed by in Ottawa. Also Marcy, that sounded like some big rain! We said good bye to Joanie and Larry just before midnight Saturday night and they planned to head out around 7:00 AM. Had to be home in two days. Loved our time with them; Larry has such a dry humor; and Joanie, being a true Sweet Adeline, was in her element.
The chorus contest was a big disappointment, and although I am certainly biased, I absolutely could not see how they judged 8 choruses to be of higher scores... whatever... even so it was a pleasant convention. And as I see it, our job at present is to continue to generate enthusiasm. They have 3 months until the fall convention and everyone will have to figure out how to get a good hundred additional points (out of a total of 1,500... or maybe 10 per judge would do it. )
Roger again got up at 7:00 this morning and went jogging (about 2 miles) down to Old Port Montreal. Very picturesque with lots of topiaries (plants shaped like "things"). And those long, tall grain elevators in the background.
Theresa is walking maybe 2 miles every day (half up hill) so that is enough.
Today, we took a 3 hour GrayLine bus tour of Quebec. good overview of the 3 million (population) city, built on a hill which is an island. Our driver guide was very informative and congenial, almost our age with a moustache... ("all French"... he even seemed to feel as if French Canada is "more French" than France... they keep no English words in their language and send back to France, any dictionary editions which contain words which are new-sort of English- but OK to the Europeans! We certainly see almost no English road signs, but essentially all clerks do speak English as well as French. ... Just amazing that all of this is so "nearby"... so much in the world is a pleasure to behold.
Our drivers name is Roger Roleadeaux, I think. Says they pronounce his name something like RuAGjea. I did ask about Mongeaus. He said he knows the name but does not know any. (oh and yes he says they still speak only French at home...he started out life driving bus to Toronto, then after 10years he felt he had learned enough English, so he went to school for 2 years to earn an AA degree to be a tour driver. They also screen so no guys with criminal backgrounds get to be "ambassadors" for the City.
Also he told us that the Quebec government pays for a lot of benefits, and that "welfare people" earn their pay, even teenagers...and this keeping them busy prevents crime. (Says they have closed two prisons with this newer program.) They work in day cares and parks, or shovel snow and cut grass of elderly, etc. etc He claims that anyone can walk at night and be safe... the only thing he says that if you are a woman, do not talk to a man who may be propositioning you.... another interesting fact: immigrants merge into the general population as a general rule... they feel that this integration creates a good cross-cultural understanding of all human beings... probably true. Mostly they are French, Scotch, and two other kinds of Europeans which we forgot; and some of almost everything else such as Asians, African Americans, etc. ( it is funny to hear Asians speak English sometimes with a French accent.)
Enjoyed the weather which is less humid today; we are tired from all week, and are taking a nap now before dinner.
*Thinking of every one each day and hoping that life is good.*
On our tour today we stopped in at the Notre Dame Cathedral, so will for sure have a photo or two on the web site eventually. Looks like the one in Paris, but a bit smaller... and way too ornate for my taste. but interesting anyway. Standing room only for Mass. I snuck (?sneaked?) a couple of photos. Picture taking was not allowed but I did not use the flash. We are planning on leaving Montreal today... going to Quebec city.
Love,
Roger & Theresa
The attached 3 photos today are:
a) the chorus on stage performing
b) R&T in front of building with Japanese pagoda on top of it. it was a hotel in the very small China Town.
c) Roger with the site of the Olympics in the background
d) a typical street in Montreal
Montreal Trip, Monday, Day 11, Report
(Attach P7076642.jpg, P7076655.jpg, P7076659.jpg, P7076676.jpg)
Joan and Larry: my gosh! Home in one day! Did Larry take Monday off anyhow?
We slept in this morning and Roger decided to take a day off from his daily jogging. We spent the early morning organizing pictures and sending our daily e-mail report. We're left Montreal at 9:00 AM & drove to Quebec city today.
Stopped an hour and a half out of the City on the farming prairie at an all-purpose basic motel/truckstop/ restaurant (sort of one step lower than a Perkins) for breakfast. We figured out the "French - only" menu fairly well..and the "French only" waitress knew just enough English to serve us. Roger's plate had all of the following; 2 eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, toast, crepe, French toast, potatoes. Mine had a small omelette and 3 sausages and toast and potatoes.
Even mine was too much. However after several days of not enough protein that part was good. And the bill was only about $15.00. (coffee too.) Got to Quebec City at 1:00 PM and the girl at the information area just out of the city got our hotel reservation for us. We both remarked that she resembled Anne Mongeau. Her name was Veronique (pronounced as if it had an "A" at the end.). We thought we were " in France" before... wow. now we are really there. Our hotel - Chateau Bellevue, is in Old Town, almost like the old part of Strasbourg where we visited in 2001.
But this is hillier, and the town is above the river, very scenic. We settled in, took a walk, got a snack, & souvenirs); and then took a nap; our hotel room is like our second one in Paris: clean but small and quaint with slanted ceiling.We have a square block of quiet shaded park across the street just out of our window, so that adds to the nice feeling. We conversed at breakfast that we should send folks up here if they can't go to Europe... a fine idea, but Europe is probably less expensive, believe it or not...actually in both cases you can make economies, but at times not too easy.
Old town (where we are) is only about 2 kilometers (maybe a mile?) from wall to wall (an old fort, really.)
4:00 PM and Roger decided to go out jogging... if he does not get back in an hour, I send out the police. he is nuts... hills, winding streets, and so on.
4: 20: HE IS BACK! Good. more later.
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9:00 PM; we are back in our room. have been out walking this area, having a nice dinner (the first "formal" one of the trip ... white tablecloths, real rose and candles, and special service... all for a reasonable price... actually less expensive (this one time) than home. I had soup, pasta with seafood; and cheesecake; and Roger had salad, salmon in raspberry sauce and creme caramel. so much for calorie control this day! (Actually most days it has not been a problem...) Also we got tickets for a bus tour tomorrow; and tonight we saw a 30 minute show about Canadian history.
We got Charlotte's Email in the lobby system; do not wait a few years to start touring! There is no time like the present.
In case anyone needs to know, we will be one more night at the Chateau Bellevue in Quebec City... leaving Wednesday morning. Probably will take a north side of the St Laurence River route back to Montreal, then continue on the Canadian side to Port Huron, then cross the ferry over central Michigan, and home... maybe Saturday??? (Joanie thanks for the invite, but unless something changes we would rather avoid Chicago this time, which puts your house out of the way... much appreciated, tho.
***Does anyone know if our relatives came from the St. Hilaire area? We drove by it and it sounded familiar. Will apparently be near there on the return trip. It is a little bit NE of Montreal.
One more thing: Don't think you can get a taste of old Canada at Montreal... this is totally different. Best to plan on time to see both. What a wonderful trip. We are very lucky.
Love to all; take care of yourselves.
Roger & Theresa
Attached are 4 pictures which Theresa picked out for you. They are:
a) French road signs (note: no English)
b) street in Old Town Quebec inside the walled city
c) Roger in front of our hotel
d) Theresa in front of the landmark: Hotel Chateau Frontenac
Montreal Trip, Tuesday, Day 12, Report
(Attached: P7076661, P7086751, P7086855, P7086885)
Roger got up early again, jogging, wet sprinkle. Didn't realize how far east we were until we looked at a large map. Quebec (city) looks to be straight north of Boston. Sure seems a long way from home.
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This morning we went to a Crepe place and sat to eat them in the restaurant's outdoor coutyard. It was threatenting rain but we were under a big tent. Lovely breakfast.
Then we took a 2 hour tour of this beautiful city. It is only 3/4 of a million people and I don't know where they all are... seems smaller. The guide says that $100,000 buys you a decent but unpretentious bungalow... and the closer you are to the City- or to a park- the more expensive it is. No one lives more than 1/2 hour from work. Very low crime.
As we said, there is a great deal of French influence... in architecture and in language, everything. Even the TV--here and in Montreal- are 3/4 French. Our guide today did have a charming accent ... unlike so many we have enountered. His name was Francois, and he said he has recycled himself from a sports reporter to a tour guide. He says he LOVES MN sports; cited many stats; and his dream is to visit the Metrodome! Very handsome guy and I guess only in his mid 30's. He says he lives here in winter but I forgot to ask if he guides in winter. The bus posts a sign that it is customary to tip for good service and everybody tipped. I estimate that he gets at least $40.00 an hour, or even maybe 2-3 times that in tips. Probably does not have to work in winter... but he did say he went skiiing after work on lots of evenings so I guess he does something to support himself... and the city does not exactly close down in spite of more snow than we get. ==And they also have an annual winter festival like our St.Paul Carnival, with ice castle.
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Had a frozen yogurt and fruit treat and took a big nap;
Now we are going to take a Funiculaire (sort of of an elevator on a steep track) from the top of the fort to the bottom to another tourist area, and have dinner down there near the water and more re-created historic buildings and shops. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we are starting back West... on the north side of the St. Laurence River to Montreal, then further on.
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While out on our evening adventure, a nice man offered to take our photo. It is one enclosed. He said he is from Quebec; I asked if he knew anyone named Mongeau. He said, "yes, Evonne Mongeau"...formerly of Montreal...now of Toronto. He is from Montreal, and said as soon as we said that we attended the convention there that it must be barbershop.
Our dinner tonight was much less pretentious but just as fun...in a bistro with brown paper "tablecloths" over peach and green plaid tablecloths; grease pencil signs on the mirrors and windows. I had a lovely dish with camembert cheese and Roger had a main dish salad with maple vinaigrette dressing.
During our stroll down the narrow provincial streets tonight a sudden rain- short deluge really-so we sought cover under a canopy and waited it out. An interesting few minutes to really study windows, one of my odd interests. So many interesting ones, and flowers everywhere... also a big interest for me. As for Roger, he notices roofs...and there are a lot of steep, copper and metal ones.
We have re packed the car partly so we can easily go in the morning...but even so we plan to be waiting until about maybe 9:00 or so. With lots of sleep lately, I think I can do it.
We are hoping that everyone is OK; especially Elinor and Dave going through tough years. Sandy, congratulations on being godmother! They brought her to Mpls for christening? That is the Florida baby, right?
Photos included again; hard to decide what to send for now; eventually we will put more on our family web site. And more in a hard copy album.
Love,
"R&T" picture 1 picture 2 picture 3 picture 4
Montreal Trip, Wednesday, Day 13, Report
Today was a big driving day. We drove about 700 miles from Quebec (city) (pronounced as if the "Q" is a "K", without the"u" ) to Port Huron, Michigan. Left about 8:00, arrived about 9:00. Lots of pretty country in between. And got got lost several times and made several wrong turns, but still did it in about 13 hours.
Now......., here's Theresa
Weather today was sunny and mostly clear...beautiful day. Our getting lost was just not true...took wrong turns, yes. But we knew where we were. I guess we could have gone further tonight but these old bones are fairly creaky. And since even if we got home for Thursday rehearsal we would be too tired, there just is no reason to hurry.
We did go through Montreal again; and Toronto right at rush hour, which was FAR better than Chicago, or even Minneapolis, even though I think it is almost a large as Chicago.
Tomorrow we will probably go across Michigan: Flint; then Ludington- the ferry- then Wisconsin and home sometime Friday. not much to say since we really did not stop except for Mac Donalds or gas. ( This return "flight" will be much cheaper than the early part of the trip! No kidding I think we spent less for going to Europe. ugh. And if we would have wined and dined ourselves it would have been another thousand dollars... oh well...
Two thoughts from previous: We looked in the Quebec phone book and found several Mongeaus...less than half a column. Also up there, we noticed every town seems to be named for a saint...some we never heard of...who knows about St Lazare??? Maybe I slept through that class??
Anyhow we are back in USA and although it did not seem "Not" like home, it is really "home" here.
Folks, do not delay your trip taking... If you think you can't take a long trip like this one, at least promise yourselves to go somewhere special this summer! . Our own state and anywhere in the USA are filled with lovely places.
We are ready for bed.
Love,
Us
PS We'll send more pictures later
Montreal Trip, Thursday, Day 14, Report
Thursday turned out to be another big day. We got into Ludington, Michigan, at around 2 o'clock, but the Lake Michigan ferry didn't depart until 8. So we had to sit around for all that time and then the 4 hour crossing. So we didn't get to bed until after midnight.
Otherwise, it was an easy day driving across the state of Michigan. And the ferry trip was smooth and quiet.
I'll let Theresa fill in the details.
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Actually we walked and drove all over the town. souvenir shops...poor peoples houses...maybe they only have work in the summer?
I have been too tired to shower, too tired to take meds, too tired to find clean clothes to wear, too tired to write. . More when we get home. Did drive by the famous apple orchards of Michigan. Lovely country.
No touring of any areas since Quebec. I think we did get some good photos from the car, tho.
Big Ferry, tho. Huge. Six Semis were on; and about 85 cars. They parked them literally about 3 inches apart with mirrors turned in. Truck drivers and motor cycles drove on their own vehicles; ours were all driven on by especially trained young people... who literally ran back and forth for an hour to get things loaded. There were numerous canteen areas, TV areas, viewing decks, etc.
Talked to interesting people, including a dairy farmer from Foley, MN. Has 250 cows. Our age; he now helps his kid. He moved to town.
This arm of the trip is like the horse wanting to get to the barn. Not sure how far away the "barn" is but I guess we will be home for naptime. Or supper.
Love,
Us.
PS: Kath, could you go over this morning and turn our a/c down (we left it set at 80 when we left). We should be home mid afternoon. Thanks.
Montreal Trip, Friday, Day 15, (Final) Report
Well, we made it home, safe and sound after driving 2730 miles. What a trip!
This will be the final trip report. We will be adding a new page to our web site entitled Montreal Vacation - watch for it.
We arrived home at 2:00 PM on Friday! Drove from Lake Michigan an hour below Green Bay to here. Stopped only for gas and coffee. (Actually that used to seem like a long trip but it wasn't too bad...) So that gave us the pleasure of not driving across the Twin Cities in heavy traffic; and time to begin our post trip organization.
Amazing, though just how much laundry and putting away of things there is to do... we easily had enough stuff for another week.
There is a lot of July chorus Presidential and Newsletter duties to take care of, so here we are. Anyhow it is now Saturday morning and we have our work cut out for us.
Hoping also to see the kids and grandkids soon. (Little souvenirs...)
Kathy, thanks for minding the plants. Everything looks really good. Twyla, the neighbor, says she borrowed our trash bin, but apparently you put it away before she could..
Still working out the extra "back kinks" and fatigue but feeling a little more "normal"...( but what is that???) Trips are good and home is good.
Love,
"R&T"
Should have pictures up on the web site later today and more tomorrow. Check 'em out at http://roger-theresa.n0kfb.org (zero not the letter "o" in n0kfb)
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