Our Last Day in Montreal

Another hot day in the Old City of Montreal and we did our best to stay out of the heat and minimize our exposure to the sun and humidity. This morning Cynthia, Jan and Kyle walked into the city for a morning gander, and a couple of purchases. For Cynthia, it was a tea at McDonalds, something that she enjoys, for Jan, it was some Asian pastries for the boat crew. The Captain stayed onboard to see if he could fix the GPS and a few other issues on the boat. He ended up making two runs (actually he walked) to the mall for a scan card reader and then for a 3 volt battery. In the end he updated the GPS software and fixed the GPS.

A visit to the Asian Market:

We try not to miss an opportunity to expose Kyle to new sights and experiences. This morning he learned about Asian markets and the foods that are sold there. He found it interesting to see the different foods offered at these markets. Some, he quite clearly stated that he would pass on.

Pretending to be young again:

The girls showed some of their agility by playing in the water to cool off. Good to see that they have not lost their youthfulness.

Beaver Tails anyone:

Kyle (aka Swabbie) got hooked on Beaver Tails. He had never experienced this delicacy and grew very fond of the taste pretty quickly. He had several flavours to choose from but each time he insisted on the Apple Pie Beaver Tail and really enjoyed them.

More of the Cityscape:

The city is unique and walking the town offered so much history in the architecture and design of the buildings. There are hotels, restaurants and buildings that now house fabulous artwork all over Old Montreal. We have enjoyed the perspective of this unique area in Montreal.

Our port & the boats:

Port D'escale is a well designed marina and offers boaters a safe and protected harbour, especially when they are boating through all the eastbound locks and heading up the St. Lawrence River. We had the chance to check out the other boats that are in this marina and wanted to share a few pictures of these larger vessels.

A pleasant surprise dockage:

This evening around 6:30 pm we were watching a movie and we heard some noise outside that had us wondering what was causing the ruckus. We jumped up and went outside to be surprised to see a 75 foot Neptunus Yacht docking directly in front of Out to See III. Captain Paul went to the dock to assist in tying up the yacht, only to watch the Neptunus Captain drive the boat using remote control as he stood on the dock. His wife was on the bow tossing down the lines to him so he could tie them. I had never seen a boat being operated from the dock. After helping secure the boat to the dock we struck up a conversation and he invited myself and Swabbie for a tour, which we graciously accepted.

The boat is owned by a couple from Conception Harbour in Newfoundland who are enjoying travelling all around North America in their 2016 Yacht. It is outfitted with twin 1600 HP Diesel engines and a fabulous bridge helm where he operates the boat. They also added an electric fireplace in the salon as it gets colder in Newfoundland and they prefer that to air conditioning. They left St. Catherine's on Friday, stopped in Cobourg on Saturday and travelled to Valleyfield, Quebec on Sunday. Today they locked through the bridges and the two locks on their way to Montreal. They'lll be heading to Quebec City early tomorrow morning and then head to their home in Newfoundland. They expect the balance of their trip to be another 5 days. I guess that distance is not to difficult to run when you can cruise at 25 MPH

Swabbie was eyes wide open during his personal tour and the Captain was kind enough to let him sit in the Captains Chair at the helm. It made Swabbie's day and maybe his month long trip.

Tomorrow morning, we say au revoir Montreal as we will head back through the two locks and lift bridges across from Old Montreal. We plan to get to the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue locks on Tuesday, and then head to Ottawa on Wednesday morning. These last few days have been a great time, although hot and humid, but much better than the rain we had during some lockage days.

The Hallman Experience: Watching Kyle enjoy lots of new experiences

Solution: Never pass on a Beaver Tail

Merci Montreal