My oh My, Mesmerized, Meandering then Motoring into Montreal

SNM Tour Day #47
What a totally different tour day.  Right off the bat, I must tell you that it as Monique's birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONIQUE! (shhhhhh - she's busy..........)

So, I was told that there would be no alarm clocks set.  As our mileage was very low today, I obliged to a civil "late start".  Sean had suggested a "picturesque" back route way into Montreal and we had "all the time in the world" to meander our way to our final destination.  And meander we did, oh boy!!

We made our way through to Hudson, jaws dropping at every second house, shall I say mansion, shall I say massive stone castle? WOW - who lives in Hudson?? The Main St running into and through the town was spectacular particularly on the river side. The town itself appeared as a little sleepy, very artsy and well kept.  Clearly there are a lot of wealthy retired folks in this area who have the time and money to do things right.  We passed a film crew shooting a movie in the backyard of a mansion, very interesting set up with brightly coloured clothes on a number of clothes lines as a back drop to the property and river. Also passed a huge crucifix outlined in a neon light - bizarre. 

this was the maid's quarters for one of the castles

We stopped in at a few shops including Pure Art which sold a great variety of clothes and jewlery made in colloboration with artisans from Peru and Tibet, and whose proceeds are going to helping these communities with water and schools etc.  Given Monique's birthday and the great things (and goodness) in this store, it is no wonder that we had to buy out half the store, pawn the RV and put the tour on hold as we hitchhiked back wearing very colorful clothing and beautiful jewelry.  (I jest, we only bought out a quarter of the store and had to only pawn off the spare tire and my guitar. The tour goes on...)

Then we went on a ferry over to Oka (yes the infamous Oka) and then on a bike path through Oka National Park. Thereafter it got a bit dicier as the path left the highway and we got disconnected for a bit longer than Monique was comfortable with, then it started raining and we started running a bit short of time, all of which magnified when we finally made it to the second ferry only to find out that our RV was too large to go over.  We were but a few kms from our destination at this point, but without the ferry, we needed to get to a bridge (some 30 minutes away) and next thing we know we are racing to get to Marc's house to get ready for the educational event tonight which was getting increasingly far in distance and closer in time.  As the rains got heavier and heavier, so did the traffic until we were essentially in a slow moving parking lot, Bonjour rush hour Montreal.  

We eventually made it (just) and the presentation was excellent, every seat taken with an inquisitive group of family physicians who seemed very pleased with things.  The slow moving, enjoyable day had instantly become a blur of rushing around and wondering how we got into this mess in the first place.  As it usually does, it all worked out in the end.

Tomorrow is a rest day off the road in Montreal and hopefully a few media things will pop up and be dealt with.

Tour Day Sponsor - Marc Klasa (and Rita), thanks for the very very gracious and generous support. GO ALS GO (all the way to the Grey Cup where you will be soundly defeated by the Stamps............again................)

Random Quotes of the Day

Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man
Jimmy Lyons

Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy
Robert Anthony