Tag Archives: travel

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A Quick Visit to Quebec

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Finding the time or inspiration to write has been difficult this summer. Most of our travel has been to funerals or memorials it seems. But I think we made our last such trip, for a while I hope, this past weekend when we traveled to the Montreal, Quebec area.

We had to stay over one night so I looked for an inexpensive hotel near to our venues. Through Hotels.com I found a room at the Travelodge in the Dorval area. The reviews were mixed; some were awful, so we didn’t know what to expect. It was a pleasant surprise. The building is an older one, but seems to have been refurbished fairly recently. The reception area was large and had double winding staircases up to the second floor. I could imagine a photo of a bride with a long train descending them.

Travelodge Room

The halls were bright and clean; the room was more than adequate with a queen size bed, two night tables, a corner armoire with a large TV (not flat screen though), a sofa and a desk. A coffee maker, hair dryer and ironing board and iron were also supplied.

Travelodge Room

Jim found the bed comfy

I noticed no unpleasant smells that a few reviewers had mentioned. Other than a few paint nicks and some wrinkles in the drapes and bed skirt, I could see nothing to complain about. The dining room wasn’t open for dinner, but we enjoyed a good breakfast the next morning.

After getting lost in the construction on the way to our hotel, and driving through the Dorval Airport, we settled into the Travelodge Hotel on Chemin de la Cote-De-Liesse, before venturing across the highway in search of dinner. Getting there was a challenge. Montreal is known for its one-way streets and strange angled intersections. When we arrived at Le Bifthèque and entered the grand reception area where we were asked if we had reservations, we expected to see an expensive menu.

Le Biftheque Restaurant

Le Biftheque Restaurant

We were directed up carpeted steps and into one of several dining rooms. The decor was elegant – dark stained woods, polished wooden table tops on black tables with black chairs or benches, dimmed lights and a glass-enclosed fireplace. But when we scanned the menu, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the prices were only the normal for most family restaurants. We chose the baby back ribs, which came with a choice of soup or salad, and potatoes or rice. Before our order was even taken, a bowl of tasty seasoned, crunchy croutons and a basket of freshly baked dinner rolls were placed on our table.

Seasoned Croutons

Yummy Croutons

Our Caesar Salads were ample, so when the plates of half racks of ribs and huge baked potatoes (sprinkled with salt and Parmesan cheese) were presented, we knew we were getting more than we could chew!

Ribs and potato

Where did they find those potatoes!?

And it was all very succulent. We enjoyed some of the leftovers for our bedtime snacks later that night.

Next week we are flying to BC for a real vacation spent with family. I hope to have many pictures and stories to share.

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Discovering some Canadian History

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At Wasaga Beach we found a spot to park at Gateway Campground, just a few blocks from the beach and at a discounted rate since it was the beginning of the week, before the first long weekend of the season. We were told that the busy season would start in a few days and the rates would jump. However, after taking a stroll along the boardwalk at the usually popular party beach, we had some doubts. The large section of retail stores and restaurants that had been wiped out by fire in 2007 has yet to be rebuilt and a store clerk told us that the former manager of two of the remaining bars had walked away, leaving employees and patrons “high and dry”. Attempts by someone else to get them up and running again in time for the upcoming long weekend were being thwarted by red tape, so the prospects looked slim. Still there was a throng of sun-lovers lounging on the beach.

Wasaga Beach

Wasaga Beach

We hadn’t even packed swim suits, and the biking gear we were wearing was clinging to us like a shy child to its mother. Jim insisted we buy suits, which we donned to take a dip in the campground pool after we cleaned some of the carbon out of the bike on a ride out to the country, and we picked up BBQ chicken and potato salad for dinner. It was just too hot to walk back to the beach!

The next morning Jim searched the GPS for the historical site of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, which he was certain was at Penetanguishene, but to no avail. He settled for the All Saints Shrine in Midland as the GPS point to follow, thinking once we got there it would find us what we were looking for. But once in Midland and heading toward Penetanguishene with Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons entered into the GPS, our guide tried to return us to Midland, once even trying to direct us down a narrow dirt path to turn us around. Now occasionally the GPS does steer us in the wrong direction, but it usually eventually figures out where we want to go. But sometimes Jim just doesn’t trust it, or me or anyone else he may ask for directions.  This was one of those days. While he continued on to Penetanguishene, I dug out a travel brochure that told me Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons was indeed in Midland, but that must have been an editorial error, because when we got to Penetanguishene Jim found internet access at a Tim Horton’s and Google Maps told him where to find it there. A few minutes later we arrived at a spot called Discovery Harbour, a military historical park. This time Jim had no choice but to believe the girl at the desk when she told him that Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons was in Midland. I prided myself on my patience, and Jim decided to give up the quest and enjoy what Discovery Harbour had to offer. Discovery Harbour (1817-1856) tells the story of the original 19th century naval and military outpost built to safeguard Upper Canada after the War of 1812.  With our animated guide, Ryan, dressed in historical garb, we toured the reconstructed dockyard, sailors’ barracks, workshops, Captain’s residence and the original Officers’ Quarters, and heard the fascinating stories of life at that time. We also boarded the historic Tall Ships, H.M.S. Bee and H.S.M. Tecumseth moored at the dock. In the end we were both happy to have been diverted.

Captains Quarters

Captains Quarters (courtesy of Jim)

Our Guide, Ryan

Our Guide, Ryan (courtesy of Jim)

Tall Ship

Tall Ship (courtesy of Jim)

We left there asking the GPS to head us toward New Liskeard, and it did, right back through Midland and past both the All Saints Shrine and Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, which are directly across from each other on the highway heading north. It was too late to stop. We’ll make that a day trip on the bike another time. We were still a couple of days’ drive away from New Liskeard.

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Watkins Glen, NY

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Yesterday we rode the eleven miles back to Watkins Glen to the State Park Gorge and spent two hours climbing up the 832 steps to the top.  It’s definitely not a place you’d want to be without a camera. Between the two of us we took over 200 pictures. For now I can post only a sample.

Steps up the Gorge

Just some of the steps

One Water Fall

One Water Fall.The hole was made for a Mill sluice-way

Many Water Falls

Many Water Falls

Water Falls

Water Falls

Water Falls

More Stairs

More Stairs

Tunnel

One of many tunnels

Although my knees began to protest on the way back down, it took only half an hour because we were able to avoid most of the steps and we didn’t stop as often. We met two couples from Kitchener who we discovered were also at the RV Rally. Small world!

That was our third and final night at the Ferenbaugh Campsite. It was a good spot. I’d recommend it to any campers or RVers who want to spend some time in the area. Later I’ll do a review of all the campsites we’ve visited on this trip.

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Moving On

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We spent a few hours Sunday afternoon negotiating and crunching numbers to see if we could make that purchase on our Wish List happen (we couldn’t thanks to the sales tax we’d have to pay taking it across the border), and we completely forgot about the Vogues concert at 4:00 pm! Oh well, it was raining anyway.

The clouds rolled away in the evening so we took a walk around our camping area to see how many RVs were still there and how many would need to be pulled out of the mud. There were even some that had For Sale signs on them.  They must have made successful negotiations on new ones. The Rally ended that night with another fireworks display.

Fireworks

Fireworks

The departure on Monday morning went smoothly. Unlike we had expected, the RVs started drifting out in stages so there wasn’t any congestion when we got away at about ten o’clock. The sun was hot by then. By noon we were once again established, this time at  Ferenbaugh Campsites, five miles north of Corning, NY. Hungry and in need of groceries, we struck out on the bike, heading towards Corning we thought, but we’d turned in the wrong direction so had lunch, did banking and bought groceries in Watkins Glen instead. We’d planned to visit the State Park there another day and had not gone prepared with cameras, so we returned to camp to enjoy nice leisurely showers before carrying the dirty laundry down the hill to the Laundromat. Not an exciting day, but after a week of dry-camping (i.e. without electric, water or sewer hook-up) it was pure luxury! We even had unlimited internet. (Well, I thought we did until I tried to post this blog with more pictures. Had to switch to Verizon and limit pictures.)

Today (Tuesday) we turned in the right direction and got ourselves to Corning and the Corning Glass Museum, which has replaced the Steuben Factory. We were there from 11:00 am until 3:30 pm, learning all kinds of interesting facts about glass components, fibre optics, the development of fibre glass insulation, and watched a Glass Blowing Demonstration, a Flame Working Demo and a Glass Breaking Demo, and took lots of pictures. We resisted buying anything in the Gift Shop although the glass flowers were very appealing – too tall and fragile for an RVing life though.

Glass Flowers

Glass Flowers

We took the free shuttle bus downtown to explore this heritage town (some interesting architecture here) before grabbing dinner for two at Holmes Plate 54. Once again we returned home with enough food for another day.

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Taking the long way to the Bikers Reunion

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We’re finally on the road again!

When our biking friends were planning the annual trip to New Liskeard, Ontario, for the Bikers Reunion on the Canada Day weekend at the end of the month, they were quite confused when we told them that we were leaving on June 10th. But it was true. We left home on Monday in the motor home with the Boulevard on the trailer behind. It was pouring rain. Since we hadn’t been able to get away earlier, and we’d already booked ourselves into the Biker’s Reunion, when we read about the Good Sam RV Rally in Syracuse New York, we figured we could combine the two into a three week adventure. We’ve been to a number of Bike Rallies, but never an RV Rally.

Since we weren’t booked into the RV camping site until the next night, we stopped near Watertown NY for dinner at the Cracker Barrel (our favourite family restaurant when visiting the US) and spent the night parked in the parking lot, which is OK with them. It continued to rain most of the night and all the next day. The Rally was being held at the New York State Fair Grounds and much of it was pretty muddy. We were given a spot along the inside race track, which wasn’t very attractive, but the ground was solidly packed gravel which meant that, unlike some of the people who’d paid extra for hydro hook up, we didn’t need to worry about getting stuck in the mud.

RV Parking

RV Parking around the track

Not all of the buildings and services were open yet, so we had no internet access. When the rain finally stopped late in the afternoon, we took our iPad with us on the bike and found free Wifi at the Mall so we could quickly check emails. When we returned we found the gate that we’d entered through in the afternoon was locked! Fortunately there were many volunteers around and one kind soul led us in his car to where we had to cross over the outside track to the inside. From there we turned in the direction we’d driven in the morning only to find that a large section of the inside track had turned into a slippery patch of mud! Not good on a bike! I think we both held our breath expecting to land in the slop ourselves at any moment, but Jim’s careful and experienced maneuvering got us through.

Wednesday was a warm sunny day again and there were a few activities for the early crowd so we familiarized ourselves with the lay of the land, bought our souvenir t-shirts and attended a couple of seminars. One seminar was all about travelling by RV caravan to Alaska, put on by Fantasy RV Tours. That could be one for our Bucket List! We toured some of the new RVs on display and found a new one to put on our Wish List. That night we rode into Syracuse for dinner at the Dinosaur BBQ. The restaurant was crammed with other like-minded souls who thought it a good night to enjoy the nice weather. We were told we’d have an hour wait before getting a seat. There was lots to see among the many posters and artifacts on the walls and ceiling, and interesting people-watching to do. Before we knew it, we had a high top table for two right in front of the bar. We ordered the rib dinner for two and it was well worth the wait. The price was right too – about what we’d pay for one dinner back home.

Dinner at Dinosaur BBQ

Dinner at Dinosaur BBQ

Thursday the indoor exhibits (i.e. vendors) were open, and since it rained all day again, the building was packed with shoppers. That’s where we spent most of our day and a chunk of money.

Today the sun shone on us once more. And more RVs had arrived. It was a day of seminars and searching for our “matches”. In our registration package we were each given a numbered sticker that we were to wear everywhere, along with our ID badges. The purpose of the numbers was to search out the three people in the crowds who would have the same numbers. Although some people got creative and wrote the numbers out on large posters, or lists that they attached to their hats, most simply stuck them to the ID badges that hung from a lanyard around their neck. We heard one man comment, “I haven’t looked at anybody’s face in three days!” There are prizes to be had if you can find your match. With Jim’s help, I found one of mine this evening, so I’m now the proud owner of a T-shirt that reads, “I Found My Match” and my name will go into a draw for one of the $5,000 worth of prizes. We still haven’t found Jim’s “match”. Better luck tomorrow.

We watched a parade of couples line up to be “Re-hitched” in the park, some in wedding gowns and suits, others in comical attire.

The evening ended with a concert in the band shell by none other than Mr. Vegas himself, Wayne Newton. He still puts on an impressive performance, backed by a large band of musicians and two backup singers.  Unfortunately, his voice betrays his age.

Tonight we finally have internet connection in the RV through a Verizon card, but data is limited so photos are too.

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Plan Changes

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It looks like our RV adventure has to be postponed because of a family responsibility, so my travel writing for a while will be about the interesting things to see and do in our local area, and shorter excursions on the motorcycle.

Last week we went on our first official “Tour Riders” ride, but it was a short ride because storm clouds were threatening. “The Tour Riders” is a group of bikers that originated thirty years ago. It used to be a more formal club with monthly meetings and membership dues and many organized rides, including an annual “Toy Ride” to collect toys for the local Children’s Aid Society. Most of the original members have moved on, and the ones remaining are retired seniors whose only agenda is to get together on the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month throughout the riding season and go for a ride that ends either at an ice cream parlour or a coffee shop. Someone takes the lead and the others willingly follow on a mystery ride. Younger members who like this casualness have joined the ranks. New members are always welcome to join. Just show up at 7:00 pm and introduce yourself!

Last night was a beautiful night for a ride. Nine bikes with eleven riders met at our usual spot, The Peterborough Zoo parking lot, and headed off towards Stoney Lake. Jim and I, on a Suzuki Boulevard, led this time (as we often do as Jim has been riding in this area since he was sixteen and knows the back roads very well).

On the move photography is often blurred.

On the move

The sky was blue, the air was sweet with the fragrance of budding trees and freshly mowed lawns, as we wound our way past soccer and soft-ball players on the Trent University campus; past horses in the fields, log houses and modern estates. Following us were Yamahas, Harleys , Suzukis, and Hondas, as well as one Victory and a Moto Gucci. The sun flickered through the trees as it made its slow descent over Stoney Lake.

The road ahead

Lots of turns

Lots of turns

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Water is high and fast on Stoney Lake this year

Water is high and fast on Stoney Lake this year

We almost made it around the lake when the joy was interrupted by an unwelcome event. When making a left turn, the Victory slid on the sand that had accumulated at the corner and went down, sliding unceremoniously into the ditch and taking the rider with it. Sand on the road is a dangerous thing for bikers! Fortunately, with the efforts of four men, the bike was retrieved and the rider, although shaken and dirty insisted he was unhurt. In any event, he refused offers to call for paramedics or tow truck, and climbed back onto his bike and headed for home, which wasn’t too far from where we were. The obvious damage to the bike was a broken gear shifter, which meant he rode the remainder of the way in third gear. BIKERS! We followed him to his turn and the couple who knew him best followed him home to make sure he made it. They met up with us at the coffee shop in Lakefield. We were all left a little shaken and lingered perhaps a little longer than usual before climbing back onto our own bikes and heading home.

We’ll meet for another ride in two weeks. We hope Bob will be able to join us.

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Just Can’t Wait to Get on the Road Again

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Ah, sunshine at last, and a light at the end of the tunnel, have given me renewed optimism that we will be, within a couple of weeks, back on the road in the RV, the Suzuki Boulevard on the trailer behind.

It’s been a very long winter and spring, full of family crisis that have left us exhausted. Up until yesterday, the latest one threatened to put life as we know it on long-term hold. Thank goodness for our mini-vacation in Las Vegas in February that gave us time for a bit of regeneration before the next storm.

Today, a couple of hours puttering in the backyard and soaking up the sun recharged my battery. I’m hopeful that I’ll have some interesting travel stories to share very soon.

RV and Bike

They’re waiting for us.

In the meantime, I did manage to complete another memoir, this one for my uncle, and I started a new blog on that theme, Unfolding Our Past. Hope you’ll take a look.

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Hoover Dam, Treasure Island and Fremont Street

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Hearing the news today, I’m thankful that we aren’t in Vegas this week. The “shootout” appears to have taken place in very close proximity to our hotel! Of course, it happened in the early hours of the morning, so we probably would have been safe.

On Saturday, we took a break from the lights and boarded a bus to Hoover Dam. We had a very congenial driver who filled us in on some the history of Las Vegas and things of interest along the way. It took us about an hour to get to the dam, where we were immediately taken on a video tour of the building of the dam, then down through the tunnels and into the Generator Room.

Hoover Dam Generators

Hoover Dam Generators

Back up to the top, we were left to explore the museum and gift shop (isn’t there always one of those?) before heading outdoors to take pictures from every angle.

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

What an impressive feat!

We arrived back on The Strip in time to meet up with the rest of the family at New York New York. They’d arrived while we were gone and were already enjoying the infamous yard high drinks that we’d seen everywhere. We didn’t need to wait for them to finish. Drinks of every sort can be carried along the streets from one establishment to another, the empty containers left anywhere along the way to be surreptitiously picked up by city cleanup staff and re-distributed among the hotel bars.

We watched the Pirate Show outside Treasure Island Hotel and grabbed dinner at Senor Frog, before catching cabs to take us downtown to Fremont Street.

Pirate Show

Pirate Show

Fremont Street is the older “strip” where the original hotels and casinos can be found. To compete with the flashing lights of the “new” strip, the many-blocks-long street has been closed to traffic and covered with a huge white canvas canopy. Every half hour the throngs of people partying beneath it are treated to a moving light show on the ceiling, each with its own musical theme, such as music by Queen or The Beatles, and you can’t help but laugh at some of the costumes and antics of revellers.

Fremont Street

Fremont Street

As much as we would have liked to stay to enjoy the show, we had to leave the “young ones” to it because we had reservations at 6:20 am for the Grand Canyon Tour of a lifetime.

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Phitsanulok, Long Boats and Buddha Factory

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We were at the train station by 7:30 in the morning, only to find that the train would be two hours late arriving in Chiang Mai. As I mentioned earlier, this is a common occurrence in Thailand.

We eventually arrived in Phitsanulok at 6:30 pm and checked into a quaint guest house. It was a little more expensive than our previous ones, but it included breakfast, a towel, a western-style toilet and something on the bed that could be a sarong or a cover, I wasn’t sure which. I used it for a cover as there was no other. There was no hot water either, but the days were so hot it didn’t really matter.

The next morning, after enjoying a relaxing breakfast at the outdoor lunch bar, while listening to sweet classical music playing in the background, we headed off to find the long boat races. They were held on the Nan River that flowed just outside the temple gates, and the event was a festival of vendors selling food, clothing and hand-made toys within the gates.

The long boats are similar to the “dragon boats” that we see racing at events across Canada to raise money for the Breast Cancer Society, but the paddlers are much more colourfully dressed and the speed of the boats is not comparable.

Long Boat Racers pushing hard

Long Boat Racers pushing hard

Waiting for the gun

Waiting for the gun

Long Boat Races

Pushing Hard

Long boat races

A colourful crew

Orange-clad monks enjoy the show

Orange-clad monks enjoy the show

Boats lining up before the crowd

Boats lining up before the crowd

A number of tin buildings, many using advertising signs, lined the far side of the river.  The larger one was a restaurant where we got a good lunch and had a front-row seat

Tin Buildings line the other side of the river

Tin Buildings line the other side of the river

Some of them looked like they could be homes to large families

Tin Buildings line the other side of the river

Tin Buildings line the other side of the river

We spent one more day in Phitsanulok before heading back to Bangkok. A tour of a Buddha factory was interesting.

Buddha Factory - Phitsanulok

This Buddha looks ready for bronzing

Buddha Factory

This one is still an unfinished plaster cast

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Experiencing a City of Contrasts

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The change in time zones got me confused and I was up out of bed way too early.  While waiting for Sarah and Kendrick to appear, I took in the cityscape from my bedroom window. It was difficult to fathom the contrasting sights that I saw. There were freshly painted large apartment buildings and hotels towering over unpainted and forlorn looking buildings that families called home. Even the two sides of a duplex were different as night and day – one side painted and tidy and boasting new windows, the other very much in need of some TLC. Our day was to be much the same.

After a late breakfast in the hotel dining room, I got my money exchanged and then we went to see the school where Sarah and Kendrick taught. It’s a school for the young children of international dignitaries or wealthy business men, but it’s also an “alternative” school. The classrooms are unstructured – no desks in tidy rows or teachers standing at a black board lecturing.  Instead, the children are encouraged to participate and learn by doing, with the teachers’ guidance. An annual group building project teaches research, logistics, math skills, and craft skills.

Boat House

One project, an outdoor boat house.

Children working together

Children working together

Dragon

Another project – a colourful dragon dominates the school lobby

The children all seem to be happy to learn.  I couldn’t help but think that I might have done better in a school like this! I’m sure many others can relate.

When we left the school, we made our way through the streets that were crowded with street vendors, and into the neighbourhood where Sarah and Kendrick had lived until a few days before. This was an area of small wooden structures, some houses, some shops. We met up with good Thai friends of Sarah and Kendrick, Fatima and Daeng. They lived with their five-year-old daughter in one room in the back of a noodle shop. There older son lived many hours away with Fatima’s parents where he could attend the schooling that could not be afforded in Bangkok. Fortunately Sarah and Kendrick had become quite fluent in Thai during their years there. None of their former neighbours spoke English so I was at a loss to participate in the conversations. Daeng’s only source of income was driving a song thaew, which is the most common type of public transportation in Thailand. Named for the two benches found in the rear passenger area, the song thaew is a pickup truck converted for carrying passengers and some cargo. These vehicles are regulated and licensed by the government.

song thaew

Sarah and Fatima wait in the song thaew for Bea

The four of us drove in it to pick up Bea, Fatima & Daeng’s daughter, from public school and then had lunch at “The Mall”, the first North American style structure I’d seen so far. I ordered “ice milk” expecting plain, cold milk.  What I got was more like a pink milkshake with indiscernible flavours, possibly strawberry and mint.

Ice milk

Traditional Thai lunch, including “ice milk”

The traffic in the city was crazy. There were way too many cars, very few traffic lights or stop signs. The many motorcycles, sometimes carrying whole families, drove two or three abreast, darted between and around cars and even drove on the sidewalks to get through traffic. Some drivers wore helmets; some didn’t. Courtesy was not practised; it was every driver for himself.

At six o’clock we were once more picked up by Mrs. T’s car and driver, this time to be taken to a very fancy, modern hotel on the Chao Phraya River, for an elegant and delicious dinner. We were also adorned with gifts; a beautiful diamond necklace for Sarah as a thank you gift for the teacher, and a gorgeous piece of pink silk fabric for me!