Wandering Jon

Quebec City

November 1, 2006 by Jon Brown Leave a Comment

I spent two days in Quebec city. I had really only planned on one day, mostly because I figured there wouldn’t be anywhere to camp. However, thanks to dog-friendly.com and petfriendly.ca I found a cute little hotel right in the middle of Old Quebec that allowed pets (with reservations only and in specially designated rooms). It was a little pricey, but not ridiculously so, and for the benefit of staying in heart of the old city it was worth it. I decided to plan on staying two nights so that I could get one really full day of seeing the old city.

The first night I spent mostly just getting settled into the room. I had dinner downstairs at the restaurant/pub attached to the hotel and then took Tucker for a short walk around the area near the hotel at night.

On the first day I did what I like to do best in old cities like this, take a walking tour. Early in the morning I went about looking for a good one, and found one that said taking Tucker along wouldn’t be a problem at all, yeah! It was advertised as a 2 hour tour, but went just over 4 hours! Which was good but also a bit tring. On the tour I started chatting with a really nice older man who was thrilled I was traveling the way I was. It turns out he was from Doyelstown of all places, right next door to Matt and Em in Pensylvania. He really wanted me to come visit his family when I came back down into the US, but I told him unfortuntaly there just wouldn’t be time. He was so friendly though, he really left an impression. As we walked I later found out he had just turned 80 years old! Wow, I was impressed he was getting around Quebec city, up and down the steep streets and stairs, really well. I little shuffle to his feet, and certinally a little extra care going up and down the stairs, but I was amazed. I hope I’m still traveling and exploring at 80 the way he is.

After the long walk I took a very tired Tucker back by the hotel room, and headed out solo to find dinner and walk into the newer part of the city. Everywhere I went I was blown away with what a majestic city it is new buildings, old buildings and streets. It all comes together very well here. I think part of it works because it is North Americas only walled city. The old walled city is maintained in all it’s historical beauty and glory, while a new city grows outside the old walls. Yet, the old city is still fully functional not just a tourist zone.

Worried a bit about where to stay in Prince Edward Island I checked out couchsurfing.com again. I signed up a long time ago and have always loved the idea, but never bothered while on the road trip because it seemed like a lot to ask someone host me and Tucker on their couch. In part because I realized my solo explorations of Quebec City left something lacking, and because I figured there was no harm in asking I sent an email to a pair of couch surfers in PEI. One, Patrick, responded very quickly with a “absolutely, no problem with the dog give me a call when you get here”. Way more hospitality than I expected. The other responded a few hours later with equal generosity, but I took the first offer.

Patrick also suggested I check out the Gaspie Peninsula on my way down from Quebec City towards PEI. Always one to take a locals advice I changed my plans a little to spend an extra day going up and around the Gaspie and camping in a national park there. With plans for the next couple days set, I left Quebec City by way of another locals suggestion (Sylvie’s this time) and took ferry between Quebec City and Levis… wow what a great view back towards Quebec City.

Oh Canada

October 30, 2006 by Jon Brown Leave a Comment

On driving in Canada, all I can say is I love love love my GPS. First, at least in Quebec all the road signs are in French, which wouldn’t be that bad if I had a good map and had looked at ahead of time to plan my route, which I hadn’t. Second, the freeway (Autoroute)interchange I was supposed to take was shut down sticking me out on surface streets which would have left me horribly lost if I didn’t have my GPS to recalculate my route every 5 seconds as I drove around the construction and kept making progress towards my destination. Third, on the surface streets the street name signs are very hard to see, it’s not like home where they are hung over the street with big illuminated letters, so it’s far easier to read the names on the GPS screen then see the unlit sign nailed to the side of a building across the intersection. Fourth, there are lots of one way streets and if I hadn’t listened to my GPS I probably would have gone the wrong way up several of them…

I suppose for background I should say that I met Sylvie and her dog Laika at the dog park about two years ago. She was originally from Quebec and was working as a veterinary pathologist in southern California. About a year ago she decided it was time to move back to Quebec. She was again someone that had made the decision to move out of so cal, and then done it, in far far less time than it was taking me. I guess however I don’t need to be as sensitive to that fact as I once was since since I’ve now covered over 8000 miles… In fact as I write this, a few days late, I’m sitting in Gaspie, Quebec which is just about the furthest point possible away from so cal, well on not the furthest point possible since I could have driving up towards Labrador or Goosebay, but I am well north and east of Maine). Anyway, back to the point, when she left so cal she also offered to host anyone from the dog park who wanted to come visit, and of course I said I would. Haha… I’m sure a lot of people said they would, but what are the odds of that actually happening. I know she was surprised, hopefully pleasantly, but I wonder what kind of odds she’d have actually put on it.

I got to Sylvie’s in Lachine (a Montreal Suburb) right at 11:45pm. Only 15 minutes later than originally expected, thanks to the wonderful GPS. It was awesome to see Sylvie and Laika again. Even a touch surreal. Laika seemed to remember me and Tucker and was very excited to see us. Tucker took his usual minute or two chill out and be friends with Laika. Sylvie and I caught up a little but then called it a night, it was already pretty late.

Sylvie has an enviable and wonderful morning routine. Every morning she gets up and walks the lovely Laika. She walks her down along the St. Lawrence River past her local farmers market (open daily!). Then just past the market she stops off at her local French bakery to pick up a fresh croissant before heading home to enjoy breakfast. Tucker and I joined her every morning for this wonderful start of the day… even the morning it was raining, 5 degrees above freezing and with 40 mph winds. Several morning however, we had beautiful albeit still cold weather and frankly the dogs loved it either way.

On Friday we took the dogs to Laika’s Country Club (the name Sylvie has given it). It is a private park area just west of town for hiking and trail running in the summer and snow shoeing and cross country skiing in the winter. The dogs had a fabulous time running, swimming and chasing squirrels through the mud and water and leaves…. The pictures say more than I ever could with words

Friday evening we walked around he Old Port area of Montreal before having Indian food for dinner in Montreal. It’s a bit odd when the non-indian asian waiter is speaking French to you… Montreal is an amazingly multi-cultural city and it quickly squashes any stereotypes one might have.

Saturday Sylvie humored me by taking me into the city by subway to see the giant underground mall. As an engineer I admit I it was out of a bit of geekiness that I wanted to see it. It amazed me that in this harsh climate they’ve built a huge subterranean complex to keep everything moving in spite of the weather outside. It also amazes me that anyone was brave, or foolish, enough to found a city here hundreds of years ago. Anyway, it was a good day to be inside and underground since it was cold, wet and windy outside. I can report that the underground mall, is isolated from the elements, but it’s really just a massively huge mall. You wouldn’t know you were underground. We also took the afternoon to catch a movie, one that is hard although probably not impossible to see in the US, “Death of a President”. The movie was way more noteworthy than the underground mall. It was eerily real. It’s clear it’s fictional, but at the same time I didn’t expect to suspend disbelief that way I did. I was honestly sadden as the faux documentary played out and actors and actresses played their roles. In the end it does what it’s intended, make one really question where the country is at and where it’s going. Personally I have no doubt that war in Iraq will be looked back on in a similar vein as Vietnam and that the violations of basic civil rights (wiretaps and suspension of habeas corpus for terror suspects) will be viewed in a similar vein as Japanese internment was. There is never, has never, and will never be a justification for such actions in a free society.

Saturday night was Sylive’s birthday dinner. Like me, all Sylvie wants for her birthday is to be surrounded by her friends so every year that’s what she tries to make happen. Quite successful this year 🙂 Her friends were all wonderful, kindly speaking English when I was involved in the conversation, and all really friendly nice people. I can’t think of ever meeting such a large group of a friend’s friends and thinking so highly of all of them.

On Sunday we got a bit of a late start to the day, but started the day with a late lunch at the Museum d’art in Montreal followed by a few hours of wandering the museums art collection.

On Monday we took the dogs for a walk in a public park in the center of Montreal, with fabulous views of the city.

On Tuesday I packed up and headed for Quebec City as it was time for Sylvie to get back to work.

Did I mention she works three days a week? How cool is that, she has through some effort convinced a lab in New York to send her lab samples so she can work remotely, and to work just three days a week. Sylvie definitely leads the “deliberately simply” life style… I’m learning lessons as I travel…

From Cape to Canada

October 26, 2006 by Jon Brown 1 Comment

The weather was gorgeous. A bit cold with a stiff wind, but fairly clear skies. It all made for a great day to go exploring the Cape. I started by taking Tucker for a long walk on the beach within the Cape Cod National Seashore. Later in the day we drove towards Province town while stopping of at several light houses along the way. The lighthouses here are beautiful, but shockingly short. I’ve only seen a few lighthouses on the west coast, in fact I think I’ve seen more today on the Cape then in the sum total of my life, however it really does seem the ones in California I remember being much taller. Some here are just 40 feet tall. I’ll have to research that next time I get internet access…

Provincetown came highly recommended by my friends in Boston. I can see how fun it would be… in season. This is true of everything on the cape, as I drive by everywhere has signs outside saying “Closed for the Season, see you next May” or something similar. Ok, I’m exaggerating by saying everywhere, really it’s just 90% of the businesses that cater primarily to tourists, so that’s all the restaurants and shops. The chain stores and shops for locals in the major towns are all still open, but then they are not really the point of visiting Cape Cod. Anyway, Provincetown looks fun, somewhat like Laguna Beach or Belmont Shores. Which is to say it’s touristy, walkable with lots of great food (although 90% closed) and both family and gay friendly.

DSC 2869 After having the requisite steamers (clams) in P-Town and enjoying a fabulous sunset. I headed back up the Cape (South) for another beach and lighthouse visit before heading north towards Vermont.

I wasn’t sure where I was going to stay, I just knew I wanted to spend the night in Vermont before arriving in Montreal to visit Sylvie the next morning. After much scouring of my limited guide book supply I found something that actually sounded cool to me, to take a tour the Ben and Jerry’s Factory. Only somehow I lingered much longer on the cape then I thought I would and as I drove across Massachusetts and probably spent too much time on scenic roads through New Hampshire and into Vermont that I realized there was no way I was going to make it to Ben and Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury Connecticut by the time they stopped doing tours (5pm). I was also becoming very aware that every single campground I drove by in New Hampshire and Vermont was closed for the season. Apparently no one around here likes camping in the snow… I mean in California we close some of the campgrounds, but not all of them. I started looking for Wal-Marts as well since I was now into a “just need somewhere to sleep” mode. Really, I love campgrounds, but sometimes it’s such a waste of money when I show up at 9pm and leave at 8am. I drove through a Walmart parking lot just east of Waterbury, but it was attached to a mall and there wasn’t a single truck or RV parked anywhere. That always makes me worry a little… not so much for safety, but because I don’t want a store manger or worse police officer knocking on my window at 3am telling me over-nighting isn’t allowed here. Wal-mart’s official policy is to allow people to over-night in their parking lots, but only if local regulations don’t prohibit it. In many places owners of local campgrounds have banded together and convinced local legislatures to pass municipal laws banning the practice… which is just stupid and greedy. I don’t sleep in Walmart parking lots as an alternative to camping, I do it as an alternative to sleeping on some dark alley, or logging road, or rest stop, or turnout, or on some residential street. It’s flat out extortion by the campground owners to demand $20+ for me to park and sleep for 8 hours. Anyway… a bit worried about where to sleep I called Sylvie who was happy receive me late that evening rather than the next morning… so of I headed into Canada.

I crossed the boarder into Canada around 11pm. It wasn’t a “big” hassle, but it was more of a hassle then I expected. I was prepare with vaccination paper on the dog, which I handed the guy at the drive up window, but he still asked that I pull aside and come inside to talk to the border agents. So I went in expecting the dog to be the issue, they didn’t even look at the paperwork. They were more interested in me and how long I was planning on being in Canada. It’s understandable I guess, that they don’t get many people crossing the boarder for “tourism purposes” from California, with a dog, at 11pm. What I did for a living, when I was returning to work, how long and where I was staying in Canada. It occurred to me as they asked that that was the real concern, was I illegally immigrating to Canada. I suppose they get a lot of political refugees fleeing the states, but I’ve got a ticket to Thailand so I’m not trying to move to Canada… yet… I’ll wait for the next election.