MONTREAL

We have truly enjoyed this wonderful week in MONTREAL....

In between water polo games we have toured the sights of the city, tasted great food in various restaurants and best of all spent lots and lots of time visiting with special friends. 

The weather this week has been a roller coaster.....rain, cold, sun, wind, humid, hot and this morning fog? This factor has only added to the weeks excitement :)

MONTREAL is a very old city that can trace its history back to 1642 when a fortified mission was established here. Today, MONTREAL is is a large modern city with many well preserved historic buildings. French is the official language of MONTREAL which makes it the worlds second largest French speaking city, behind Paris. The Olympics were hosted here in 1976 and the Expo 1967 Worlds Fair.

I think MONTREAL just might be a perfect city blending the old and the new...just like we have especially enjoyed blending old and new friendships this week attending the FINA World Masters.

Off to the pool wearing red, white and blue, to watch the final game - GO USA ....GOOD LUCK Santa Barbara 55's!

We have been riding our bikes all around the beautiful city of MONTREAL.

Notre-Dame Basilica.

Old Town MONTREAL.

The town square with a juice stand, music and colorful summer plants.

Walking the cobble stone streets of Old MONTREAL.

A bike ride along the canal to Marche Atwater...ready for guests on Thistle: Endive with goat cheese, pate on a baguette with cornichones and French radishes with herbed butter. 

Fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables at Marche Atwater.

Pate, cheese and bread at Marche Atwater.

Team gathering on Thistle.

Lots of stories and smiles :)

Some of our dock neighbors at the Old Port Marina...Blue Moon a 200 foot mega yacht (we like the name XO).

FINA World Championships.

Santa Barbara 55's Team and Coaches.

SAINT OURS to MONTREAL

Today is what this summer's Great Loop Adventure is all about.... Our destination was MONTREAL by Friday, July 25th!!! ..... For the FINA World Masters Water Polo Tournament ....And we made it :) YEAH! Back in November (when it was ice skating season at the Old Port) we secured a summer dock reservation in the Old Port Marina from July 25 to August 5th.

Friday morning we departed SAINT OURS at an early 6:30 am to arrive in Montreal by 3 pm. We traveled 12 miles up the Richelieu River to Sorel, Quebec and then made a port turn to continue the 44 mile trip up the Saint Lawrence River. We are against the river flow... In Sorel about 1 knot then by downtown MONTREAL about 5 knots against the current (honestly a little...no a LOT...stressful). 

The weather was chilly (still wearing jackets) a bit cloudy with wind and light rain showers. We saw many churches, cable ferries and cargo ships along the route. We were speechless on this very memorable journey today along the Saint Lawerence, Thanks to Captain Greg :) 

Once we arrived at Old Port we secured Thistle and Greg rode his bike to get credentials for the FINA event, while Reenie cleaned the boat. That night we met our wonderful dock neighbors and enjoyed a special dinner at Grande Manger (seasonal greens with seaweed and a poached egg, squash blossom with scallops and bison tartar.. and nice wine) in Old Port Montreal. 

Saturday morning we relaxed on Thistle, then Greg had a afternoon practice and a 10 pm fireworks show to end a wonderful day.... Can it get any better? 

Yes, it got better today (Sunday), the first day of the tournament and the Santa Barbara 55's were victorious over Brazil ... A fun celebration followed with great friends....saying good night now XO.

Good Morning 6:30 am departure from SAINT OURS... Sun rise!

The trip from SAINT OURS to MONTREAL.

Many Churches.

Many Ferries.

Many Cargo Ships.

The current was against us on the Saint Lawerence River... Up to 5 knots!

The view of MONTREAL arriving by boat.

Gerg gets his FINA credentials.

Thistle at the Old Port of MONTREAL with our view of the Old a City.

Fireworks show over the Old Port of MONTREAL.

Santa Barbara 55's Team....and "Supporter" :)

SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIEU to CHAMBLY & SAINT OURS

On Wednesday morning it was pouring rain! So we decided to treat ourselves to a rainy day French Bistro breakfast in the town of SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIE (I miss the sunshine, but breakfast was fantastic :) The rain diminished and we departed from our floating dock just before noon, with our rain jackets still on!

We headed North up the Richelieu River on the Chambly Canal. We have eight Locks and five Bridges today! The historic Chambly Canal opened for commercial navigation in 1843. This canal played an important roll in the export of Canadian Forest products to the United States. Today the canal is enjoyed by a varity of pleasure craft.

The Chambly Canal is 19 kilometers in length between SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELEIU and CHAMBLY and allows boats to negotiate a drop of 24 meters while avoiding the rapids on the Richelieu River.

The hand cranked historic locks are meticulously maintained with lots of Canadian pride. The lock attendants (mostly college students on a summer job) wear a uniform and hand pass you the clean lock lines (quite a difference from the US locks).

We arrived in Chambry about 3:30 and discovered that there was a weekly summer concert tonight in the park on the canal. We purchased a picnic consisting of: cheese, pate, baguette and wine... I am enjoying this French life style! 

Looper tip: Always fly your AGLCA burgee because you meet the nicest people. We enjoyed Docktales before the concert with new looper friends and made plans to stop for lunch together along the Richeleiu River the following day.

On Thursday we departed CHAMBLY for SAINT OURS at 10 in the morning....it was sunny and cold about 57 degrees and we put on our jackets for the first time since Norwalk, CT. We are now officially flying our Canadian courtesy flag.

The River is beautiful and we stopped for lunch at Auberge Handfield. After lunch, we entered the unique floating Lock of SAINT OURS and docked Thistle by 3:30 in the afternoon on the floating wall just North of the lock. This is a very rural area so the "Chef" (as in Chef Boyer d) made an excellent dinner.

We went to sleep early since tomorrow is a long journey to Montreal.

Our trip from SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIEU to CHAMBLY & SAINT OURS.

Rainy day French Bistro Breakfast :)

The historic Chambly Canal.

The Lock Attendants pass you clean lock lines.

Chambly Canal Locks 1, 2 & 3.

Happy to be on the Floating Dock at CHAMBLY.

The CHAMBLY summer concert series...we listened to Les BB :)

Flying our Canadian courtesy...it's chilly....And passing under a low bridge!

Lunch along the way with Looper friends.

Checked In at the  SAINT OURS Lock Dock for the night with our new pass.

BURLINGTON to ROUSES POINT NY & SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIEU

The last two days have been very exciting on our Loop journey! We departed BURLINGTON, VT on Monday morning and arrived at Gaines Marina in ROUSES POINT, NY on Monday afternoon. It was not a long trip ( 5 hours) but we wanted to stop on the USA side of Lake Champlain to prepare for our international crossing on Tuesday morning.  During the day we had some white caps on the Lake and heard a "May Day Call" from someone who hit a rock - it was a great reminder on safety first! 

The Gaines Marina was clean and nice :) we did some laundry in town, and then proceeded to accomplish our goal of finishing all of our fresh food and fortified beverages. We took our international border crossing rules seriously !!!!! And enjoyed a great BBQ with more than a few bottles of wine.

Moving a little slow on Tuesday morning we entered international waters and checked in at the Canadian Customs house. With no issues we crossed the border and continued to SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIEU and passed lock # 9 on the Chambly Canal. 

We purchased our seasonal Canadian Canall pass and docking permit ( $750). Yeah :) 

It was a beautiful afternoon and we decided to take a bike ride North on the Chambly canal to the town of Chambly... About 36 kilimoters round trip ( kilimoters now that we are in Canada :)

That evening we watched sunset on the boat and walked to town for a pizza dinner. Good night and ready for the Chambly bridges and locks tomorrow !

Monday night Gaines Marina in ROUSES POINT... Tuesday night in SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELEIU, Quebec Canada.

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain, better known as "Fort Blunder" as it was actually built in Canada due to a survey error. Many sailboats on the Lake Champlain today with lots of wind !

The charming town of ROUSE POINT, NY.

Swimming on our Gaines Marina Dock.

We are in NY but everyone is Canadian here ?

Last night in the USA for a month or so ... BIG celebration!!! BBQ & officially Christen Thistle.

Canadian Ciustoms House.

SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIEU Lock.

Our floating dock... Using our new dock pass the first night. 

Colorful town of SAINT JEAN SUR RICHELIEU.

Our bike ride to Chambly along the canal.

VERGENNES to BURLINGTON

Last Wednesday we traveled from VERGENNES to BURLINGTON VT. The voyage took about 4 hours and we planned for a diesel fuel stop at Point Bay Marina. When departing VERGENNES our bow thrusters stopped working.....drama??? We were able to navigate out of Otter Creek and then put Thistle to full throttle in hopes of dislodging any debristhat may have lodged in the thrusters at VERGENNES. Well...That did NOT work so, Greg dawned his speedos and googles and dove in for a look ... Nothing visible but our thrusters worked after his lake swim:) Good Greg karma..Namaste :) 

The weather was sunny and clear for an enjoyable trip on Wednesday. We were fortunate to find a mooring in BURLINGTON and planned on staying two or three nights. We are now on our fifth night (Wednesday - Sunday) in BURLINGTON and enjoying every minute of our visit! Three nights on a mooring and two on the docks meeting fellow Loopers!

We have decided that the City of BURLINGTON is best described (especially for our California followers) as: Newport Beach, California's Fashion Island meets Northern California's Arcata Town Square with some Berkley California thrown in for good flavor! How fun is that? 

We must depart on Monday morning to arrive in Montreal by next Friday for the start of the FINA World Master Water Polo Championships. 

Looper Tip: Burlington is a wonderful port, the moorings are beautiful ($1.00 per foot), but the docks are in a much more sociable location ($2.00 per foot). It's a good port to make a reservation and stay a few nights. Point Bay Marina, VT has great fuel prices.

VERGENNES to BURLINGTON 

Greg goes for a swim in Lake Champlain to look at our bow thrusters. The Lake water was about 70 degrees, refreshing and crystal clear.

Thistle is looking happy with her mast back up...Three nights on the mooring and two on the dock in BURLINGTON.

Greg taking our bikes to the BURLINGTON Boat House on our dinghy "Bee".

Great bike riding in BURLINGTON.

Church Street... Very vibrant and fun! (We hope one day our home town of Laguna Beach,CA considers making Forest Avenue a Market Place / Walking Street.)

Buildings of BURLINGTON.

Thursday night summer Concert series in BURLINGTON sponsored by Ben & Jerry's.

The Saturday BURLINGTON Farmers Market.

Unique items at the Farmers Market... Maple Syrup, Gooseberries and Currents.

We decided to stay in BURLINGTON on Sunday ... To attend the Vermont Cheesemakers Festival at Shelbourne Farms - about a 10 mile bike ride ...100% worth the effort !!!

Some of our favorites at the Festival.

Awwww...What type of cheese do you like best....Sheep, Cow or Goat?

Beverages at the Cheese a Festival.

Nap time under the trees after the Cheese Festival and before our 10 mile bike ride back to BURLINGTON .

Fun things to see around BURLINGTON: A 20 foot tall dog made from hay and the Dragon Boats.

Steve, thanks for the great Vermont hospitality and special State logo to remember our new friendship.

Our brother Bill (Neurosurgeon) will be pleased... After 5 days of long bike rides we decided to purchase safety helmets.

Good night BURLINGTON... Thanks for the special visit :)