A few weeks ago, long before we'd even thought about acquiring a car, my friend Nicole mentioned that at the end of August she would be in Montreal for a few days. At the time the distance, though it is only 200 km, seemed almost unimaginably far. And while I hadn't completely written off the idea of somehow making it to Montreal for a visit, it certainly seemed a little unlikely.
Of course once we had our car in hand travelling the 200 km to Montreal didn't seem so challenging (and what better way spend time with a new car than by taking it out for an extended test drive?).
So with the transportation issue out of the way I now just had to play catch up and get the dates of Nicole's visit. Amazingly, after what seemed like just a few minutes I got a response back from Nicole indicating that she'd just arrived that day. Within a few emails we'd arranged to meet for lunch the following day.
Though we had to deal with a few construction related delays while making our way out of Ottawa, the trip went relatively smoothly (though had our air conditioning been working it would have been even more pleasant). The only noteworthy aspect of the trip, which was remarkably straight forward, was the traffic. Though I haven't made the drive before it seemed that there was a fair bit of traffic for a Saturday morning in August (though this feeling may just be because I'm still unfamiliar with the traffic patterns).
In just about two hours from our time of departure we were in the Mile End neighbourhood of Montreal. Despite the fact that I hadn't spent much time in the area there were a few names and locations that were familiar.
After a short stroll around the surrounding area we made our way meet Nicole (it being a hot and sunny day we were looking forward to not only our rendezvous but also the restaurant's shade and water).
It was really great to catch up on post-library school goings on a hear a little about life in New Zealand.
After a very pleasant lunch and chat we made our way over to my old stomping grounds. I was able to show Jeannette where I used to live, work, and shop. Unfortunately because of one-way streets and an unfamiliarity with streets from the perspective of a driver the trip to this part of town took a fair bit longer than it should have.
Despite the fact that I tend to think that I don't really miss Montreal all that much it was really nice to see the place again after about four years. Despite the fact that there have been quite a number of changes in my absence, there are a remarkable number of similarities. Maybe now that we're only a two hour drive away I'll have the chance to head back a little more frequently now.
Showing posts with label transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transportation. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Isn't life exciting?
On Wednesday afternoon I received a call informing me that my recently ordered table was ready to be picked up on Thursday. Much to my surprise, despite the fact that the store is closing and the table was suspiciously cheap, the call about the table's availability came right on time.
At about the same time I also received a call informing me the used 2000 Toyota Echo that Jeannette arranged to buy would also be available on Thursday.
Talk about synergy.
Now we could use the car to pick up the table, or at least that was the plan that was rapidly forming in my head.
On Thursday we bussed out to the car pick-up site and were back on the road within minutes. Not surprisingly, our destination was the table pick-up site. Of course, because it's construction season and because the loading dock is tucked away beneath a bridge getting to the pick-up point (even though it's only about 3 blocks from our apartment) took the better part of a half an hour. Then, once we were finally on site, we found that the table was too wide to fit in either the back seat or the trunk.
So before we were back to the original table pick up plan - my hand-truck.
Of course the loading dock guys were amused to see that after the failed car-based load I came back with an even smaller means of conveyance. Anyway, even if it looked a little funny, I made it back to the apartment with the table on the hand-truck in much less time than I spent driving around in circles trying to find the right one-way access point to the loading dock.
(I guess I somehow managed to spend more time and effort on the table pick up than I did on the new car details. It's nice to know that even with the acquisition of a new vehicle I'm still not car (R)obsessed.)
At about the same time I also received a call informing me the used 2000 Toyota Echo that Jeannette arranged to buy would also be available on Thursday.
Talk about synergy.
Now we could use the car to pick up the table, or at least that was the plan that was rapidly forming in my head.
On Thursday we bussed out to the car pick-up site and were back on the road within minutes. Not surprisingly, our destination was the table pick-up site. Of course, because it's construction season and because the loading dock is tucked away beneath a bridge getting to the pick-up point (even though it's only about 3 blocks from our apartment) took the better part of a half an hour. Then, once we were finally on site, we found that the table was too wide to fit in either the back seat or the trunk.
So before we were back to the original table pick up plan - my hand-truck.
Of course the loading dock guys were amused to see that after the failed car-based load I came back with an even smaller means of conveyance. Anyway, even if it looked a little funny, I made it back to the apartment with the table on the hand-truck in much less time than I spent driving around in circles trying to find the right one-way access point to the loading dock.
(I guess I somehow managed to spend more time and effort on the table pick up than I did on the new car details. It's nice to know that even with the acquisition of a new vehicle I'm still not car (R)obsessed.)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
It finally happened
For quite a while I've been wondering when I would first get to experience a bus-other vehicle accident.
Well, last night the answer was revealed to me with a thump as the bus I was riding in clipped the mirror of a car it was passing with a loud thump.
Of course because this was my first such accident I wasn't up on the protocol. And despite the fact that most of the passengers soon exited the bus I wasn't sure if this is what I should be doing, or if another bus would be sent to pick us up.
After speaking to the bus driver I learned that they wouldn't be sending another bus for us, but that we were supposed to walk to the next stop and pick the bus up there. And because of my slight delay in getting off of the bus I almost missed the bus at the next stop - and that would have really been a bummer.
Anyway, I'm just hoping that yesterday's lite accident will be the one and only bus-other vehicle accident I'll have the opportunity to participate in.
Well, last night the answer was revealed to me with a thump as the bus I was riding in clipped the mirror of a car it was passing with a loud thump.
Of course because this was my first such accident I wasn't up on the protocol. And despite the fact that most of the passengers soon exited the bus I wasn't sure if this is what I should be doing, or if another bus would be sent to pick us up.
After speaking to the bus driver I learned that they wouldn't be sending another bus for us, but that we were supposed to walk to the next stop and pick the bus up there. And because of my slight delay in getting off of the bus I almost missed the bus at the next stop - and that would have really been a bummer.
Anyway, I'm just hoping that yesterday's lite accident will be the one and only bus-other vehicle accident I'll have the opportunity to participate in.
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Is this really the best route?
I know that in Ottawa there designated routes trucks are supposed to take to cross the bridges into Gatineau/Quebec, but does it really make sense that trucks carrying unmilled lumber end up in the downtown core?
I would think that for the trip from the forest to the sawmill most truckers would do just about anything possible to avoid being anywhere near downtown Ottawa.
Maybe truckers like to show off to each other by citing their number of successful trips through truck unfriendly locales?
Sunday, July 01, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 583
-Despite the fact that yesterday was not the hottest day we've experienced in Ottawa, it really felt particularly hot and stickily. At times I felt as though I as though I was just wearing wet clothing for some unclear reason. Anyway, despite the fact that today is a little more overcast, it's still on the muggy side of things. Gross.
-Earlier today we were buzzed by a few jets. I'm pretty sure these jets must have been Snowbirds and/or CF-18s as both plane types were set to fly over Parliament Hill as part of today's Canada Day celebrations. I have to imagine that just being buzzed by these planes was a little less exciting than actually seeing them fly by at a low altitude.
-Yesterday while Jeannette and I were out on a bike ride in Gatineau we happened to be riding along the river when we saw a giant hovercraft doing its thing.
Just a few minutes later we rode around a bend in the path and found that the hovercraft had beached itself a few feet in from the edge of the rover. I have no idea why it was out in the river or why it was beached where it was.
-Our balcony garden continues to grow, though I'm not sure if the plants are developing at the same rate they were just a few weeks ago.
The plant in the garden that seems to be developing the most quickly is the sweet pepper plant. I can't help but hope that in maybe just a few more weeks we will have a few peppers to harvest.
I guess I shouldn't be too hard on our growing bean collection (which now includes two pots of edamame soy beans).
A few days ago we were able to harvest a handful of beans.
Definitely exciting times in the world of our container garden.
-Oh, just a few minutes ago I learned that there is a webcam that broadcasts an image of Parliament Hill. This might be useful if you wanted to see which protests are occurring on a daily basis, or if you wanted to say that you watched today's festivities but you don't actually want to hear them or see them in any detail.
-Earlier today we were buzzed by a few jets. I'm pretty sure these jets must have been Snowbirds and/or CF-18s as both plane types were set to fly over Parliament Hill as part of today's Canada Day celebrations. I have to imagine that just being buzzed by these planes was a little less exciting than actually seeing them fly by at a low altitude.
-Yesterday while Jeannette and I were out on a bike ride in Gatineau we happened to be riding along the river when we saw a giant hovercraft doing its thing.
Just a few minutes later we rode around a bend in the path and found that the hovercraft had beached itself a few feet in from the edge of the rover. I have no idea why it was out in the river or why it was beached where it was.
-Our balcony garden continues to grow, though I'm not sure if the plants are developing at the same rate they were just a few weeks ago.
The plant in the garden that seems to be developing the most quickly is the sweet pepper plant. I can't help but hope that in maybe just a few more weeks we will have a few peppers to harvest.
I guess I shouldn't be too hard on our growing bean collection (which now includes two pots of edamame soy beans).
A few days ago we were able to harvest a handful of beans.
Definitely exciting times in the world of our container garden.
-Oh, just a few minutes ago I learned that there is a webcam that broadcasts an image of Parliament Hill. This might be useful if you wanted to see which protests are occurring on a daily basis, or if you wanted to say that you watched today's festivities but you don't actually want to hear them or see them in any detail.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
How to solve our F-35 problems
As some of you may know, since Kirsten and I first watched the NFB's The Defender about a year ago I've been a real evangelist for the film. At almost every opportunity I try to encourage people to watch the film.
[Embedded video]
[Embedded video]
Just moments ago I realized that I'd been completely missing at least one aspect of the film's timeliness - which is that aspects of the film parallel (or should parallel) the F-35 process.
When the film was originally created the plane development process followed in the film was in the context of the costly development of the CF-18. Bob Diemert, the plane's creator, was hoping that his low-tech, low-cost plane would be adopted instead of the technologically advanced CF-18. Maybe now that we're in the midst of the F-35 development process we need another prairie inventor the champion a low-tech, low-cost alternative to the F-35?
Or given that we're now well into the 21st century maybe we could crowdsource the design?
And shouldn't there be a new NFB film charting the development of the 21st century version of the The Defender?
Even if this project doesn't lead to a viable alternative to the F-35 it might at least raise a few questions about plane design, approaches to military engagement, and procurement. And, who knows, maybe it would lead to a movie as fun as The Defender.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 7
After a brief stop in Windsor, Jeannette and I finally made it back to Wolfville. Fortunately after Windsor I was able to hand off driving responsibilities.
Now that we have safely returned we should be able to look through our photos and reflect on the trip, which generally seemed to go well (even if the final 30 hours were rather gruelling).
Oh, and by the time we returned the power was back. This was a very pleasant surprise. And our apartment, which we had loaned to an unknown house sitter was in perfect condition.
Now that we have safely returned we should be able to look through our photos and reflect on the trip, which generally seemed to go well (even if the final 30 hours were rather gruelling).
Oh, and by the time we returned the power was back. This was a very pleasant surprise. And our apartment, which we had loaned to an unknown house sitter was in perfect condition.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 4
We are currently in Antigonish. All was going well until a few minutes ago when a truck threw a stone and chipped the windshield. As you might imagine, Neil is less than pleased with the situation.
Anyway, we will soon be back on the road to be again buffeted by post-hurricaine winds.
Anyway, we will soon be back on the road to be again buffeted by post-hurricaine winds.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 3
It is about 2:30 AM and we are about a half hour away from docking. This is exactly what we didn't want - a middle of the night landing. I guess we wil see what we do when we land. Hopefully we can find something to do for a little while so that we don't have as much night driving.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 2
We are now safely on the Blue Puttees and awaiting our departure. Though we are to leave two hours early it seems that we may only arrive a little early. Anyway, I guess that the arrival and departure times will both be highly dependant on the upcoming weather/hurricane situation.
We have all popped our Gravol and are now getting ready for bed. Hopefully we will get some sleep before we arrive.
We have all popped our Gravol and are now getting ready for bed. Hopefully we will get some sleep before we arrive.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 1
Maybe an hour or two ago we arrived in sunny Port aux Basques (though since then it has become gray and foggy). We made sure to arrive early to make sure that we would catch our ferry which has now been scheduled to depart an hour and a half early. The down side of our early arrival is that we now have a few hours to go before we head out.
Anyway, I guess we have internet and cards to help us pass the time, though time also means more time to think about taking a ferry in a hurricane.
Anyway, I guess we have internet and cards to help us pass the time, though time also means more time to think about taking a ferry in a hurricane.
St. John's to Ramea - 7
We are now post-Ramea. We are now in Stephenville.
At the moment we are in a fast food restaurant eating lunch and checking the Internet.
We will soon be heading across the street to visit a pharmacy to pick up some ferry meds for our second ferry of the day.
At the moment we are in a fast food restaurant eating lunch and checking the Internet.
We will soon be heading across the street to visit a pharmacy to pick up some ferry meds for our second ferry of the day.
St. John's to Ramea - 6
Well, our time in Ramea is just about over. The wedding went very well last night, but we are now up for an early ferry back to Burgeo. Because of the expected rush we have to arrive an hour and a half before the scheduled departure. Yay!
Anyway, Ramea is beautiful. Give it a shot if you have a chance.
Anyway, Ramea is beautiful. Give it a shot if you have a chance.
Friday, August 26, 2011
St. John's to Ramea - 3
OMG, it's just after 5:00 AM and I've already been awake for over 20 minutes, but I guess such sacrifices are necessary if one wants to make it all the way from St. John's to Ramea in a single day.
At the moment I am consuming some pre-trip breakfast (after just taking my pre-trip shower). In a few minutes I will try to help with the pre-trip car load. Then, after final pre-trip good-byes we will likely be on our way.
I am currently curious to know where our first stop will be. My gut says Clarenville, but Goobies is another possibility. I guess our stoping schedule will just depend on our assessment of our needs as our trip progresses.
Anyway, this will likely be the last post until Ramea or the Marine Atlantic. I hope it all works out.
Oh, and based on the it's current predicted path I am not sure if Hurricane Irene will be too likely to impact our crossing on Sunday/Monday.
At the moment I am consuming some pre-trip breakfast (after just taking my pre-trip shower). In a few minutes I will try to help with the pre-trip car load. Then, after final pre-trip good-byes we will likely be on our way.
I am currently curious to know where our first stop will be. My gut says Clarenville, but Goobies is another possibility. I guess our stoping schedule will just depend on our assessment of our needs as our trip progresses.
Anyway, this will likely be the last post until Ramea or the Marine Atlantic. I hope it all works out.
Oh, and based on the it's current predicted path I am not sure if Hurricane Irene will be too likely to impact our crossing on Sunday/Monday.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
St. John's to Ramea - 1
Early tomorrow morning Neil, Rebecca, Jeannette, our friend Steven, and I will be making our way across the island of Newfoundland to Ramea for a friend's wedding. As some of you may know, Ramea is a remote island off the south coast of the island. We will be getting there by ferry from Burgeo, a community is also relatively remote.
At the moment the plan is for the five of us to pile into the car and start the journey early tomorrow morning. As we expect the trip to take close to 12 hours we won't be able to see much along the way. That being said, I don't expect we will be so rushed that we won't be able to stop a few times for refreshment, bathroom, and gas breaks.
Assuming all goes well we will then try to catch the 8:00 PM ferry. I am hoping that the timing of the ferry will mean that we will get to see the sun set over Burgeo and the island in the distance. The other consequence of the timing of the ferry is that our first real view of the island will be the next day when we make our way out of our respective accommodations.
Sadly, we will only have a few hours to explore Ramea (though I am not sure if one really needs more than a few hours given the relatively limited size of the island). Anyway, I hope to get up early enough in the day to see a reasonable portion of the island before we need to return to prepare for the wedding.
The wedding itself should be rather interesting as most of the guests will be in Ramea for the sole purpose of attending the wedding (making it a destination wedding of sorts). I am assuming that this will mean a more robust celebration than if we were all just attending a wedding in our normal places of residence.
Then early on Sunday we will be taking the ferry back to Burgeo and heading up to Port aux Basques to catch the overnight ferry to North Sydney.
Given the number of hours we are to spend travelling, the next three days are likely to be something of a blur. I just hope that we have enough energy to take in a least a few of the sights and enjoy our few hours of down time.
If possible I will try to post while we are in transit, though given our rather full schedule I am not sure if this will be possible. At least after the fact I should have a few photos or comments about what is sure to be an experience heavy trip.
At the moment the plan is for the five of us to pile into the car and start the journey early tomorrow morning. As we expect the trip to take close to 12 hours we won't be able to see much along the way. That being said, I don't expect we will be so rushed that we won't be able to stop a few times for refreshment, bathroom, and gas breaks.
Assuming all goes well we will then try to catch the 8:00 PM ferry. I am hoping that the timing of the ferry will mean that we will get to see the sun set over Burgeo and the island in the distance. The other consequence of the timing of the ferry is that our first real view of the island will be the next day when we make our way out of our respective accommodations.
Sadly, we will only have a few hours to explore Ramea (though I am not sure if one really needs more than a few hours given the relatively limited size of the island). Anyway, I hope to get up early enough in the day to see a reasonable portion of the island before we need to return to prepare for the wedding.
The wedding itself should be rather interesting as most of the guests will be in Ramea for the sole purpose of attending the wedding (making it a destination wedding of sorts). I am assuming that this will mean a more robust celebration than if we were all just attending a wedding in our normal places of residence.
Then early on Sunday we will be taking the ferry back to Burgeo and heading up to Port aux Basques to catch the overnight ferry to North Sydney.
Given the number of hours we are to spend travelling, the next three days are likely to be something of a blur. I just hope that we have enough energy to take in a least a few of the sights and enjoy our few hours of down time.
If possible I will try to post while we are in transit, though given our rather full schedule I am not sure if this will be possible. At least after the fact I should have a few photos or comments about what is sure to be an experience heavy trip.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Back to Newfoundland - 4
About two hours ago we answered the breakfast buffet question with a resounding 'yes.' All three of us then made our way to the restaurant where we did our best to get $16.95 worth of breakfast. Of course, as none of us are complete pigs I don't think that we really succeeded in getting our money's worth, but that being said I think it was probably the right call given the circumstances.
The most interesting thing about the breakfast buffet was perhaps the menu. In addition to standard issue breakfast items like hash browns, sausages, eggs, and bacon, this buffet also had steamed vegetables, roast beef, fish and brewis, mashed potatoes, and a number of dishes that weren't the least bit breakfasty.
In other news, Rebecca just alerted me to the fact that we can now see land from the ferry. I guess this means that we are getting closer. The other nice development is that the fog doesn't seem to be as dense as it was just a few minutes ago. And even nice is that there seems to be blue sky above the land that we can see.
A few minutes ago Kirsten and I made a trip outside. As expected, it was pretty windy.
[Embedded video]
Oh, and as far as I can tell these clips are representative (with the notable exception of the level of light) of the whole crossing).
The most interesting thing about the breakfast buffet was perhaps the menu. In addition to standard issue breakfast items like hash browns, sausages, eggs, and bacon, this buffet also had steamed vegetables, roast beef, fish and brewis, mashed potatoes, and a number of dishes that weren't the least bit breakfasty.
In other news, Rebecca just alerted me to the fact that we can now see land from the ferry. I guess this means that we are getting closer. The other nice development is that the fog doesn't seem to be as dense as it was just a few minutes ago. And even nice is that there seems to be blue sky above the land that we can see.
A few minutes ago Kirsten and I made a trip outside. As expected, it was pretty windy.
[Embedded video]
Oh, and as far as I can tell these clips are representative (with the notable exception of the level of light) of the whole crossing).
Back to Newfoundland - 3
We have now been on the ferry for close to 10 hours and only just been able to obtain an internet connection. Hopefully none of you waited up for my update.
Though the captain warned us of rough seas and we were about 45 minutes late leaving North Sydney, the trip has not been unpleasantly rough.
Right now the big question of the morning is whether or not we will go to the $16.95 per person breakfast buffet. My thought is that if we do decide to make the purchase that we should try to drag the experience out so that we can get a few hours of time out of the experience.
Whatever we decide to do I am sure food will be in all of our futures.
Though the captain warned us of rough seas and we were about 45 minutes late leaving North Sydney, the trip has not been unpleasantly rough.
Right now the big question of the morning is whether or not we will go to the $16.95 per person breakfast buffet. My thought is that if we do decide to make the purchase that we should try to drag the experience out so that we can get a few hours of time out of the experience.
Whatever we decide to do I am sure food will be in all of our futures.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Back to Newfoundland - 2
We are now a few hours into the trip and we have already made it to North Sydney. Instead of checking in as soon as we arrived we decided to head to a local fast food restaurant to get some food and take advantage of their free WiFi.
The trip so far has been largely uneventful. It seems likely that the most exciting aspect of the trip thus far has been some of the Cape Breton coastal scenery or the time when we were driving behind a truck carrying log that was shedding bark clumps as it drove.
And as you can see, we were welcomed to Cape Breton.
As we won't likely have WiFi access in the line to board the ferry I suspect that my next update will be from the ferry. Hopefully nothing particularly exciting will have happened between now than then.
The trip so far has been largely uneventful. It seems likely that the most exciting aspect of the trip thus far has been some of the Cape Breton coastal scenery or the time when we were driving behind a truck carrying log that was shedding bark clumps as it drove.
And as you can see, we were welcomed to Cape Breton.
As we won't likely have WiFi access in the line to board the ferry I suspect that my next update will be from the ferry. Hopefully nothing particularly exciting will have happened between now than then.
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