Saturday, August 24, 2013

An easy day drive from Ottawa to Montreal...kinda


We slept in late, mainly because George was choosing to be snugly instead of tormenting me.  He did manage to run one of his fangs through my CPAP pipe, so that will need to be fixed.  Otherwise there's a soft hiss all night long and I don't know if it's the pipe or if there's a snake curled up by my head.  When you're half asleep in it's dark they do seem like the same thing.

Anyway, he chose to lay on my pillow by my head and on top of my hand.  This is the most affection he has shown other than when he wants food.  So I chose to stay in bed and enjoy the moment.

We rose about 10:00 and had some breakfast and went into our respective chores of preparing to break camp.  Our preparations ended with George and Gracie diving down the rabbit hole for safety behind the couch when the motor started up.

It was a short drive and we figured we'd be in really nice and early, and we would have except for the stinking tunnel.

Now, please keep in mind that the minute we entered Quebec all the signs are in French and with few exceptions, French only.  But we both understood the word tunnel and the symbol for hazardous cargo being denied access.   Oops.  We're 22 tons of motor home hauling propane.  I don't think they want us going through the tunnel.  We need to find an alternate route.  This is not usually a big problem as the signs will clearly indicate where to go...if you can read them.

I found myself back in Mr O'Brien's French class in High School desperately searching through those conversations with Margo and her Uncle to see if they ever covered anything like this.  I know, I know...taking French from someone named O'Brien is probably a bit iffy at best, but it's the only time I studied French.

Now we are driving around another huge city with tons of traffic, narrow streets and road construction.  Give me a break!  They clearly need to fix the roads as they are full of bumps and small craters causing the motor home to bounce around like an old time washing machine.  The poor cats must be miserable in their hiding spot.

But Left Brain clearly has an internal GPS built into his brain and between him and the real GPS we found a bridge to cross to avoid the tunnel.  This took us back through much of Montreal again in the process and I couldn't help but notice you don't see a lot of motor homes driving around here.  Especially those with Texas plates who are traveling through Canada to get to Florida.

I had managed to find an RV Resort near Montreal and that's where we were trying to get to.  They had not responded to my email about any openings so after arriving about 3:00 I was prepared to beg and plead...in French if necessary...for anything they had at all.

You go right ahead, I'll stay here with my little suitcase where I am!

We got settled in and set up our house again.  Gracie came out first and immediately wanted to go outside so I set up her little playpen for her while I waited for George to emerge from his dungeon.

They both seemed to be responding pretty well, but George did barf up his lunch. 

He does this if the trip is too much for him, but then shakes it off and returns for another feeding fairly soon.  They are both adjusting quite well considering all we've thrown at them in their three short months with us.

Our tour of Montreal is booked for tomorrow and we'll be gone most of the day, so photos and follow ups may have to wait a bit.  Fortunately we can get a shuttle from the office here in the campground into Montreal for a double decker bus tour and not have to do any driving.  The camera is ready and the spare battery is charging.  I also think the cats will enjoy a day off from us and travel.

Long Live the Queen of Jangled Nerves

4 comments:

  1. You are doing well with your languages. I don't remember any of my French lessons from way back when. I think it is wonderful that you have a play yard for your kitties. A lot of folks aren't as thoughtful. George looks pretty comfortable and definitely has his mind made up. lol. Enjoy your tour today. Hugs, Edna B.

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  2. Oh to sleep until 10:00AM just one more time ... It will never happen at my house. I have three furry alarm clocks and if one doesn't get me one of the others will.

    I can't wait to see your pictures of Montreal. I might know someone who lives near the bridge you crossed ... he is a blogger and one of the first to comment on my blog and was very helpful in getting me started. And my heart goes out to you about the French ... I took one year of it in college and was so bad at it that I had to get a tutor in order to pass. I had four years of Spanish in high school and that is all gone now too, but if I try to resurrect it, my sentences come out as a combination of Spanish and French. So much for foreign languages. I do speak medical Spanish ... I know about the bano and body parts :) That's pretty good, right?

    So I must have missed the part where you said you were headed for Florida. That means we are going to get a Canned Ham ride through the east coast, right? I can't wait ... if you time it right you will be in Maine when the fall colors are coming in ... oh boy! And fresh Maine lobster ... you do lead a good life. Sorry, I am projecting, but I just can't help myself :)

    Best get myself moving. It is the day of rest and my body is determined to be complient. I do need to whip something up for Mandarin Orange Monday and then I may sit down and do some reading. Believe it or not my neighbor is getting married in my other neighbors yard and they asked me to take pictures ... I really couldn't say no, but I warned them repeatedly, I am not a professional, I am just an old poop with a nice camera. This is a heavy responsibity ... Edna sent me an article about taking wedding pictures so I need to start digesting it now. Couldn't do it earlier or I would have forgotten everthing before the wedding. Oh my ... it is going to be a beautiful event, but I, for one, will be glad when it is over. Well, enough rambling ... Have a wonderful tour tomorrow Queen of Fragmented French.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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    1. My mother was born in Montreal. I visited there once. I don't know if you're in for Catholic sites but St. Joseph's Basilica is outstanding. St. Andre who all the miracles are acclamed too was my grandfather's spiritual director. I think that's the closest I come to someone famous in my family. I wish I knew you were going there as I would have sent you to a cemetery to see if you could locate my grandmother's and 11 of their children's graves. 17 live births...my mother was #16. Only 6 lived to adulthood. Enjoy the sights. Maybe next year we will be going there. Even though I don't post much I read yours and Edna's blogs regularily. Where do you plan to spend the winter this year? Enjoy!

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  3. I look forward to your pictures of Canada. I would love to go fishing up there. George sounds so much like a cat we used to have. I am glad that you are bonding. He really needs that.

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