July 4…8 ish AM…we gave them a bit of a break… Fired up those engines…and not one head appeared…clear, calm and sun is shining…water on the St Lawrence is glassy smooth…Big ships are moving and some boaters …current is against us about 1 knot (that will increase through the day somewhat)…but that little breeze was on the bow…we were plenty cool…about an hour in and we both opted for longer pants and jackets…more and more boats on the water but it is Saturday and the sun is shining. All chatter on our radio is in French…don’t understand a word!!!

The last two hours of our trip as we got closer to Montreal the boat wakes became an issue…in fact, we thought it was just as rocky rolly as the bay going into NYC…we were amazed…the big ship wakes were not nearly as bad as the other boaters. Too many people on too many boats going too many directions and going too fast… because the current is increasing, our speed is decreasing…which makes it even more rocky rolly…poor Dakota got seasick. Always a not pleasant event! But one we have learned to be prepared to deal with.

Our arrival at Port de Plaisance Marina in Longueuil was an event for the record books. The entrance from the river is a fight of boat traffic and river current…once inside the break water,  we were looking at one of the busiest gas docks ever…big and little boats, lots of people, dogs, and dock hands, of course, speaking and yelling in French.  Lucky for us, a big slip emptied at just the right moment, and we scooted right in…gas-o-line, pump out and two nights stay, please…I took Dakota to shore where he regained his sense of land…and we were in our slip by 3:30..

It is a big place…and it is a great weather weekend for folks to be on their boats…oh, and fireworks at 10PM. Yes, it seems the city is hosting some sort of fireworks contest…and tonight is the Italian entry. We love the irony of it…Americans in French speaking Canada on Independence Day enjoying Italian fireworks…lol…and it is the third time in so many days we’ve had fireworks…this time I don’t think we’ll be on the front row with smoke blowing in our windows. We are so blessed that they don’t seem to disturb Dakota much either…he just goes to bed.

We did discover that there is some sort of key the marina forgot to give us for the gate at the entrance to our slip. Better check that out when they open in the morning.

So the typical Fourth of July fare for us…burgers, brats, potato salad, deviled eggs, and baked beans. Lots of Frenchies coming and going…boats headed out into the river to watch those fireworks…oh, and yes, there is drinking involved. The y put on quite the show….but we thought the fireworks were a bust but it was just because there were too many trees between us and them…though they made quite the racquet.

Tomorrow we head into Montreal…we think the ferry leaves from this marina…to play tourist. One day is about all we plan to do. We’ll probably do a “hop-on-hop-off” bus tour…hope we can find one in English.

early night…we have work to do tomorrow…but just like at Fort Edwards last week…people people people…and fireworks. But then the band music returned…don’t these folks have to work tomorrow??? We don’t really know when it finally stopped…we went to bed.

July 3…we slept like rocks! Even Dakota was a slug this morning…Frenchies are all gone … we lollygagged around and spent time letting Dakota run loose in the park and chase and chew sticks. At the crack of 9:55 AM we pulled away from the mooring wall only to hear TRITON on the radio announcing their arrival on the other side. We talked briefly…but kept on…it was a great ride…smooth waters…wind has died down a little and the sun is finally shining. Lovely homes and little towns dot the waterway…only one cable ferry today…and we only have 14 miles to the marina in Sorel…we’ll be on the St Lawrence River…they say it’s a great stop to get groceries…and we need them.

Our dockage into the marina here was just a bit tricky…those winds hadn’t died so much…but we didn’t buy any boat parts so all is good. That close grocery store was a long 30 minute walk…and the sun is shining…we aren’t complaining…but geesh, we were ever so glad we had that wheelie cart…lugging groceries is not fun.

Tonight we are in party marina on Friday night…no one speaks much English and we don’t speak much French…the older boaters are having a pot luck at the picnic area (lots of wine and drinking songs) and the younger ones are playing loud music and dancing on the docks. I’m talking Michael Jackson, Alabama, and Alan Jackson…oh, and some French things…they’ll pay for all this when we fire up our big engines at 0’dark thirty in the morning… hehehe…

From here on we are headed home…mostly west and/or south…We head to Montreal tomorrow…against the current on the St Lawrence…we plan to visit the city briefly…then there is a busy commercial canal with two huge locks we have to transit. We are studying the books about all that. Stay tuned!

St Ours lock at the end of the day…and we tied to the floating dock there to spend the night. Quiet rural setting…with two other boats of French speaking Canadians…they pretty much help and then leave you alone…cause you don’t speak the language.  Picnickers, fisherman, dogs and children… it was a busy little park area…and then who should go whizzing by with a wave and giggles…those men on PANDORA II…lol…no damage…and they went from being thirty minutes ahead of us all day to thirty minutes behind…then boom bang…two more French speaking boats arrive…one is nicknamed Captian Boom Boom…lol…not the most graceful docking…

Turned on our phones to check in …discovered all our Looper friends are stuck on the flooding Erie Canal...Dee is gonna buy a condo by us…and Ryne misses Gma and Papou…We had steak and veggies on the aft deck…it was a great ending to a great day. 

JULY 2…our 100^th anniversary (months, that is!)…Locks open at 9 (these are my kind of people)…Sun is shining but wind is blowing…temps are cool…we are making preparations to leave the dock when a sailboat (PANDORA II) and a small motor boat (HORSE WITH NO NAME) zip right by and we hear them talking to the lock master…we pull out and join the line and here comes TRITON a boat we saw in Waterford…not the way we had hoped this would start…Lockmaster lets us all through the low bridge but then makes us and Triton wait on a wall, while they lock the other boats down. So we will be locking through with TRITON all day…could be worse! The canal is very narrow…speed limit is 6 mph, sometimes only 3 mph…we are being passed by bicycles and electric wheelchairs…even a rather fat man on a really slow Vespa went zipping by us on the cart path next to the Canal. Locks and bridges are mostly timed to be open and ready for you when you arrive…We had great fun practicing our very limited French…(Dakota even barks in French now) …we had to wait on a couple of walls for other boats to pass but really it gave us time to be social with TRITON and give Dakota a grass break.  We loved it…lock workers could not have been more helpful…smooth and slow ride in every lock…wind kicked up a couple of times but we handled it just fine…Down 80 feet…10 miles in 5 hours…then we trucked on for another 20…hey, the sun was shining and Dakota had already had several potty breaks.

Charts and books we are using said more than once to “watch and be very careful going through the bridge at Beloeil” …and we did…but as we flew by, there stuck in the shallow section,  was PANDORA II…we had serious flashbacks of a bridge we encountered in Marathon…the police and another rather official looking rescue boat was there…and there really was nothing we could do…so we went on. Into the land of cable ferries…three small towns…three small cable ferries…be careful of passing too close…you’ll get caught in their cable…

St Ours lock at the end of the day…and we tied to the floating dock there to spend the night. Quiet rural setting…with two other boats of French speaking Canadians…they pretty much help and then leave you alone…cause you don’t speak the language.  Picnickers, fisherman, dogs and children… it was a busy little park area…and then who should go whizzing by with a wave and giggles…those men on PANDORA II…lol…no damage…and they went from being thirty minutes ahead of us all day to thirty minutes behind…then boom bang…two more French speaking boats arrive…one is nicknamed Captian Boom Boom…lol…not the most graceful docking…

Turned on our phones to check in …discovered all our Looper friends are stuck on the flooding Erie Canal...Dee is gonna buy a condo by us…and Ryne misses Gma and Papou…We had steak and veggies on the aft deck…it was a great ending to a great day. 

Lots of Wi Fi issues in Canada…so you’ll be missing photos…but here is what’s happening so far….

July 1… Canada Day…Today is the day…we have just a few miles to travel and then we pass into Canada…a stop at the Customs Wharf is required…yellow flag to fly…no one leaves the boat but the Captain. He has gathered passports, Dakota’s rabies info, boat registration, counted cigars and liquor bottles…we are a tad over the limit on that…

It is cloudy, cool…windy…and we are the only boat at the wharf…two very official looking 12 year olds (I’m sure they were older as they wore guns) escorted the Captain into the office…less than five minutes later we were outta there…amazing!!! They didn’t care that he was over his limits…we boogied outta there so fast that Floyd forgot all about that yellow flag until we were 30 minutes out.

And then the rain came!!! The plan was to arrive at St Jeans Marina before it started…yeah, well, that didn’t work so well. We were drenched!!! And docked on the fuel dock…no slip for us…and one electric cord (three attached together actually) strung through the puddles. Not worth the money, that’s for sure. We had wet clothes and coats hanging everywhere…the sun would shine and then the rain would return. During one sunny moment we walked down to Lock 9 of the Chambly Canal to purchase our seasonal canal pass and the seasonal mooring pass. These passes will be good on Chambly, Richelieu, Rideau and Trent-Severn Waterways.

We are excited about this Chambly Canal…10 miles…9 locks and 9 low bridges …predicted 3-5 hour travel time …in what we would call “baby locks”. Hand operated…French speaking…the list of Canal preparations is enough to make the First Mate jittery…they use their own lines but want you to have yours ready…fenders on both sides…boathook and gloves…locks are 21 feet wide and 100 feet long (very small when compared to those we traversed on the Mississippi)…we are hoping no other boats appear.

 Of course, as we walked back to the boat it rained! More wet clothes…though I had opted to just wear my wet ones on the trip…you know who didn’t…LOL…and we kept hearing band music…well, even in the rain, it is Independence Day in Canada…Oh, and we noticed a large U-haul type truck full of pyrotechnics and people 200 yards across from us on an island…you guessed it…fireworks at 10:00PM.

Dakota and I ventured out once more…trying to get our steps in while the sun was shining…only to get drenched again…Don’t know where we managed to hang all these wet items…but somehow we did.

Marina had a nice restaurant...so we ventured up to try it…yes, menu was entirely in French and our waitress barely spoke English…but we were amazed at how much we understood….strangers in a foreign land…had a lovely meal and then waited for those fireworks…cause man-oh-man, we have front row seating for this one. If the wind blows or they have a miss fire, we are toast. Dakota was not impressed. We were sort of looking forward to an early night…we have work to do tomorrow…but just like at Fort Edwards last week…people people people…and fireworks. But then the band music returned…don’t these folks have to work tomorrow??? We don’t really know when it finally stopped…we went to bed.

June 30.... Mooney Bay Marina....lots of boats...no dock hands...we couldn't even raise them on the phone. Good thing we can manage just fine by ourselves...Floyd and Dakota finally started the long walk from the gas dock to find help for adding fuel...and someone appeared...fueled and then showed us our slip....and then disappeared. Once again, we managed just fine...thank you very much.  We picked this place partially because of the listed restaurant...and even asked about it when we made the reservation call...they just forgot to mention that it is only open Thursday thru Sunday. hhhhhmmmm, it's Tuesday! 

I spent the afternoon doing laundry...Floyd finished a couple of chores and made preparations for Canadain customs inspection tomorrow...shouldn't be a big deal as he is a pretty strict rule follower! I'm the troublemaker...like you needed to be told! Lol

And the French boaters are here!!! In fact, we ae hard pressed to find an American boat in this crowd. A big 62' cruiser arrived late afternoon...stirring up the entire marina ...he's got way too many toys and gadgets...and crew! Fun to watch...easy to look at...can't understand a word they say! What are we thinking??? 

ADVENTURE....Challenge....giggles I'm sure!! 

Our ride to Point Bay Marina was uneventful ... Just the way we like it....passed Fort Ticonderoga ...another chance missed for fort-lovin' Floyd....

Point Bay was a big place....in the middle of nowhere Charlotte, Vermont...not much help when it came to docking...and no restaurant...but a lovely view of Lake Champlain. Dakota won another heart...and she wanted breeder info, so maybe one of his relatives will end up here.

We continue to be in the area close to Clinton Penatentary. For some reason our phones keep reminding us of just how close we are...haven't decided if that's a heads up about strangers or a warning that they might have room for me....lol.

We are loving the depths we see on the chart plotter...today 399... Oh, and zebra mussels have started to appear so the water should begin to clear too. Floyd has requested more sunshine and less rain. It seems that we've spent more time at lower helm and in rain gear than anything else. I don't really mind the cool...as I'd rather be cold than HOT...and I have a new sweat shirt!! Lol....

Mooney Bay Marina is on tap tonight...June 30... Tomorrow we celebrate Canada Day by entering Canada...French speaking Canada....we could be in serious trouble here...we have added an international package to our cell and data service...stay tuned to see how that works...what you may get is comments and no photos for this stretch....we'll see how it tallies up.

PHOTOS... So the weather is never as bad as they predict...and this time they were way off. Rain that was suppose to start late afternoon didn't start until after 10PM... Heavy downpour wasn't...it was a nice gentle rain...gone by 8AM... So we headed north...saying goodbye to our new friend Bill, who is in line to babysit sweet Dakota....that line continues to grow!

As we came through lock 11...only one side of each lock door was working...and we didn't see anything there that we thought would have been a good place to weather wait....

Same issues at lock 12... And through the town of Whitehall...we are convinced we made the right choice to wait at lock 9...

On to Chipman's Marina, where we are docked in front of our Norfolk friends we often hear and travel with but have yet to get face to face time with....Jon and Lynn on ZENDO...across the dock at Norfolk at the Looper Rendezvous ..on the wall at Delaware city ( but they weren't really there) ...left with us to go to Cape May...but stayed at a different marina...traveled with us to Atlantic City...but stayed at a different Marina...pulled into NYC but were gone in a flash....left Waterford the day we arrived...we like to call this "looper Hopscotch....though sometimes it is mostly hop....here we are...finally enjoying docktails. They had a great guide book to the route north so we made a few copies of important pages...like the French to English translation pages!! We had a wonderful visit...once our sweet Dakota finally settled down....they will follow us up Lake Champlain and then plan to take a right turn at the St Lawrence and head to Quebec while we'll go left to Montreal working our way to Lake Michigan..so it was great while it lasted...but it didn't last long. I'm sure our wakes will cross again somewhere some how...that's how this boating stuff works!

We are waiting on the 40' sailboat that docked overnight on the fuel dock to leave so that we can fuel up (at American prices) before heading north..we had hoped to get away by 10 AM...that's not gonna quite happen....another night on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain, then one night on the NY side before we enter Canada. We got stung big time by Version on our last rip through so we will probably error on the side of caution this trip through...most all  of July will be spent in Canadain waters...and yes, we'll probably get to re-experience the Frenchie holiday travelers...what are we thinking???

Stay tuned to see how we fair in French speaking Canada...Hetty Bailey, we need you!