Canadian Maritimes with Mahoney/Brewers 08

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Betty,
I along with Margi, and many others, I'm sure look forward to reading your log.  Your style of writing teases one's mind into painting a picture of your description.  It's wonderful.........

Thank you for posting what you can and when.
Looking forward to future posts, as the Maritimes are on our list of things to do.

Barb

Steve,
Is there anything left of Expo 67'?
 
I can't remember what they are being used for, but there are still some of the buildings standing.  It is right down near the Casino, in fact if I remember correctly the Casino is in one of the sites.  We will be passing by there Friday evening on our way to keep the grandkid, who are in Ottawa.
 
HAlifax is right, the casino (former French Pavillion), the shell of the American pavillion (Buchminster Fuller) which burned years ago and the Forumula 1 racetrack.  Good place for a picnic thought.  It's called St. Helene's Island.
 
Oh, Betty, you know we're here following alongside too.  You paint wonderful pictures for us, so we'll enjoy every word you write.  But, I'm with Margi.  If it gets too burdensome, don't bother.  But, if you just can't wait to share, we'll be here waiting!  ;)

Have a great time!

ArdraF
 
June 17 and June 18, 2008 Ottawa

Hello friends,

Despite  the pouring rain of the past 2 days we have been having  great experiences.  The RV lifestyle affords us the opportunity to meet the BEST people.  We are in Ottawa, Ontario,  Canada, which is NOT part of our Maritime plans so everything we heard and saw here was a bonus.

We  met a couple on our  Yucatan trip, Fern and Annette,  who live just outside of Ottawa.(very near our Recreationland Campground)  They were born in Quebec, speak fluent French and were our tour guides on Tuesday.  Ottawa is the Capitol of Canada and 50% of workers here are employed in a governmental position. We toured  Parliament Hill, which is the epicenter of Canada?s  political scene.  ( a phrase taken right from the tour guide)  The gothic architecture is impressive as are many of the buildings  in Ottawa.  We saw the American Embassy , heavily fortified a massive yet plain building. We saw the Rideau Canal that is  an 8 mile long ice skating venue in winter.  We saw streets dedicated to shopping( Sparks Street Mall) ,  farmers market, fresh flowers, restaurants and night life.  We saw the most impressive of museums.  It is said there are more museums here than anywhere else in Canada.  We determined that we would have to stay for over a year to see them  all.  Our time was short so we did not take in any of the museums but I must  tell you I have marked Ottawa as a place to return.  This is a beautiful ?big City? but with easy access. (Marcia you and Lindsey would love it her for your mother daughter weeks) The  icing on the cake with our visit with Fern and Annette was a trip to their home on the water near  Ottawa River.  Fern built the home did all of the impressive woodwork and Annette has become a master  gardener upon her retirement. The rain denied our trip up the river on their pontoon boat but we had such a good time.  Fern introduced Terry to a fast food treat, French fires smothered in cheese curd  topped with gravy.  I called it ?something?  but our friend today said I liked prostitutes so I am no longer confident in my French  pronunciations.

On day 2 in Ottawa,  June  18, 2008 we had the pleasure of visiting with Steve and Ginette Pally , who lived in Montreal for years and have now been living in a luxury high rise condo in  Ottawa for  4 years with winter visits to their winter home in Titusville, Florida.  Following a delightful lunch at Robbie?s, their favorite  Italian Restaurant, Ginette graciously drove us through the major highlights of Ottawa.  It was a treat for Terry to not be the driver.  Their car is a Mercedes crossover,  SUV and very luxurious.  Russ is now demanding better auto accommodations for his rides with us !  Ginette navigated traffic, one way streets, road closures and of course pouring rain.  We again saw Parliament Hill , stopped to see the locks on Rideau Canal, noted Fairmont Chateau Laurier, drove by  the National Gallery of Canada with it?s big spider sculpture out front. 

I could go on and on but all I can say now is VISIT OTTAWA.  It is on my list of places to return! 

We stayed an additional night here at Recreation land .  This park is quite suitable for big rigs and one of the few within access of the city. 
Betty
 

Attachments

  • American Embassy03 (Small).JPG
    American Embassy03 (Small).JPG
    35.6 KB · Views: 98
  • Betty & Fern03 (Small).JPG
    Betty & Fern03 (Small).JPG
    66.5 KB · Views: 131
  • Fern & Annette01 (Small).JPG
    Fern & Annette01 (Small).JPG
    55.6 KB · Views: 136
  • Ottawa22 (Small).JPG
    Ottawa22 (Small).JPG
    70.2 KB · Views: 120
  • Pally's02 (Small).JPG
    Pally's02 (Small).JPG
    32.1 KB · Views: 134
  • Parliment Hill03 (Small).JPG
    Parliment Hill03 (Small).JPG
    44.9 KB · Views: 104
  • Parliment Hill08 (Small).JPG
    Parliment Hill08 (Small).JPG
    48.7 KB · Views: 107
Betty,

The Pallys are gracious hosts and tour guides, as we found out when we visited Ottawa several years ago. As we exited the freeway, heading towards the campground, Steve emailed me to say he spotted us from their 28th floor condo. Steve was also kind enough to plot a route through the Maritimes for us.
 
With 2 of our 3 kids, and all 3 of our grandchildren living in Ottawa, we have spent quite a bit of time there over the past 8 to 10 years.  Donna and I agree that ti is a very nice vacation destination, with lots to see and do.  In fact, we leave for there in our Toad tomorow.
 
It was great to have the visit of Terry,Betty and Russ!  We enjoyed our time together, and had fun showing them our (new) City..despite the rain.

We wish you a safe trip the rest of the way!
 
Betty

The French Fries are called potine, it is an acquired task which neither Marlene nor I have yet acquired :)

Hope the weather clears and you can see the changing of the guard in Ottawa. It is an interesting spectacle.
 
Steve said:
I don't expect you will have much difficulty with French in Quebec except for those pesky road signs. 

Attached is a text file I prepared a few years ago to help RV travellers visiting Quebec.

Tlhanks for the word translations Steve.  They will come in handy.

 
The French Fries are called potine

That would be poutine

But be careful of the pronunciation Be sure to say  pooteen because a slightly different pronunciation of that word would mean a prostitute. :eek:
 
BernieD said:
The French Fries are called potine, it is an acquired task which neither Marlene nor I have yet acquired
Hope the weather clears and you can see the changing of the guard in Ottawa. It is an interesting spectacle.

Bernie,
We enjoyed the gravy topped fries.  I  dashed lots of malt vinegar on top too. But I'm not going to say tht word no matter how it is spelled.  I'm bound to get it wrong!

  We learned that they hire college kids to dress up like Royal Canadian Mounted Police to work summers for the  ceremonial changing of guard.  They don't start this "show" until after  June 27 so we were too early.  I've seen the Changing of the  Guard in London and it is IMPRESSIVE.

Betty
 
June 19, Quebec City

We had our first  diesel fuel fill up this morning in Canada.  We paid $ 1.42.9 per liter.  This meant $330.10 US for us as we took on 62.8 gallons.  This translates to $5.26 per gallon.  Gulp!!! 
Today  I felt like we entered a foreign country!  We crossed over in the Province of Quebec and they use French exclusively.  (None of those English translations on road signs.)  We traveled mostly in rain and right through the middle of Montreal.  We felt it was just like driving through Los Angeles but Montreal only has 3 lanes of stopped traffic in the direction you are going vs the 6 lanes of stopped LA traffic.  We are checked into the Camping  Aeroport  RV Park in a semi flooded  sight.  It has been raining a lot.  We  selected the bus tour we will do in the morning for a City Tour.  Then we will know how to explore on our own for the next  few  days.

Betty
 
Betty,

Filling up won't seem like it hurts so much if you never let it go below a half tank.  That's what we were paying in Newfoundland which was our highest rate, so it will be interesting to see how much diesel is when you get there.  Doesn't seem so bad if you don't do the conversion and dream instead of $1.42!  ;)

Great start to your trip even if it is raining.  We had a lot of rain in Quebec and that's where we discovered our first leak.  Yeah, some of that sealant around the batwing antenna had dried out just enough to make a mess.  Hope all your seams stay dry!

ArdraF
 
Betty,

We filled up yesterday with diesel in Pagosa Springs @ $4.799 per gallon and we took in 62.51 gallons and our total was exactly $300.00 - The pump quit at $300.00

Maybe you should check your metric conversion table!!!! We are going to have to get used to the fact that we have to pay more for gas.  My children in Switzerland pay almost $8.00 (converted from liter) per gallon. AND they pay less for diesel. The US is the only country where we pay more for diesel. Go figure that one!!!!!

If you liked Ottawa, you will love Quebec City. It would be a pity to miss that. I realise one can not do everything. But have fun and keep on writing those interesting reports.

Mariekie
 
mariekie said:
We filled up yesterday with diesel in Pagosa Springs @ $4.799 per gallon and we took in 62.51 gallons and our total was exactly $300.00 - The pump quit at $300.00 Maybe you should check your metric conversion table!!!!

Marie,

Terry used a metric conversion table from liters to gallons THEN he used the exchange rate to come up with the cost of our fuel in  US dollars as  I  understand that value.  The sticker shock  of fuel is something we are coping with.  I am cooking more meals in the RV and unless a souvenir is really special it is not on my list of "Must Purchases."  Fortunately  digital photos are "free" and I can delete all of the  really bad ones!  I like Ardra's suggestion of fueling up more often so the amount does not seem as large at a given fill up.  Whew!!!  But we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to see our planet  in this RV style. 

Betty
 
Marie,

Maybe the confusion is coming from:

We paid $ 1.42.9 per liter.

That would be $cdn, which would mean Terry's numbers are correct, or close enough.

1 US gallon = 3.785 liters

$US 1 = $cdn 1.016 (approx)
 
Thank you Tom,

I always forget about US gallons!!! I have been living in the States for almost 23 years now and I still can not get the metric way of thinking out of my system.  Why, oh why, can the US not get into the 21st century????? It is so much easier...................

Marie
 
Why, oh why, can the US not get into the 21st century????? It is so much easier....

I agree 100% Marie. When I went through school in the UK it was the imperial system. Later, when I went back to college, it had changed to metric and I had to re-learn everything. But, as you say, it's much easier to work with.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,670
Posts
1,382,726
Members
137,455
Latest member
MtnRV
Back
Top Bottom