I slept OK but was wide awake at 0515 - figuring that would help me in the long run, I got ready to depart. Since the hotel restaurant didn't open until 0700, I did some reading. Once seated, I got some good food and felt quite satisfied when I departed the Quality Inn at 0730. Ottawa, here I come! Actually, though, I had all day to reach the concert venue... I drove north on I-89. It was raining lightly and I entertained myself with audiobooks. With almost no traffic and no cars waiting at the checkpoint, I crossed the US/Canada border just after 0800. From there, I continued north on QC-133 until I reached Pike River. Wanting some Canadian currency, I went inside a little store there (Magasin General Pike River). Next, I steered northeast via Chemin des Rivieres, Chemin de la Grande Ligne, QC-227, Rang Kempt and QC-104. During the drive, I spent a lot of time listening to my Glass Tiger CDs - getting revved up for the concert! Perhaps you are wondering why I would be taking this rather rural route on my way to a concert in Ottawa. During my recent visits to Montreal, I noticed several “pimple” shaped hills to the east of the highway and thought they might be fun to climb. The terrain in southern Quebec is so flat (think Indiana) that anything above the grade is intriguing… This morning, I had a chance to hike to the summit of one of them, Mont Saint Gregoire! Since I’d stayed overnight in Burlington, I didn’t have a long drive and was on the trail by 0900. It has been raining during my drive but the “mountain” (it’s only 250 meters tall) weather was only misty with 40 F temps. I completed a full circuit in about an hour and enjoyed the good viewpoints - on a clear day, the Green Mountains, Adirondacks and other “pimple peaks” nearby would be visible. About the only terrain I was able to see clearly, though, was the Montreal skyline with Mont Royal behind it. That was still pretty nice, as were the images of scattered farmhouses and church steeples in the area. I saw only a few other hikers during my visit and everyone (all all the signs) were Québécois - fortunately, my Duolingo practicing helped me understand some of it. I was finished at 1000 (roughly two miles of hiking). Overall, this activity turned out to be a nice break from my drive - I’m glad the weather was good! After getting cleaned up and changed (1010), I left the parking area and used some back roads to drive towards the eastern side of the mountain. The views were actually better on that side because there were fewer trees. Next, I got on QC-227 and used it to drive north to Autoroute 10. From there, I drove west to the east side of the Saint Lawrence River. With Google Maps, I had picked a parking area that appeared to have access to a trail - the app put me on A15 but I had trouble figuring out how to get off the highway at the correct location. Also, I was stymied at times by local drivers getting in my way at exactly the "wrong" moment. Eventually, though, I was able to get parked in a spot near Cap sur Mer (1115). I haven’t had a chance to do a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago yet but I’ve been working on the Canadian “extension” for a few years. While visiting the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal last year, I found one of the Camino shells (and the official start) for the Chemin des Sanctuaries. Adding some optional distance from the gravesite of Owen Coogan (in Cote des Neiges), my previous walking efforts had gotten me almost all the way across the St. Lawrence River. However, the route I’d chosen for my last walk (across Ils Ste. Helene) seemed to dead end in the middle of the channel. From the map, it appeared that there was only one way to cross the river from Ils Notre Dame and it required me to walk either the Pont Jacques Cartier or Victoria Bridge. This afternoon, I first attacked the problem by walking on the bike trail in Longueil that paralleled the canal used by shipping traffic - there were actually some large tanker ships coming through during my visit (wow!). From that location, I discovered that the Pont Jacques Cartier was too high to access from the pathway and that the Victoria Bridge was too far away. I figured out, though, that I might be able to kayak the route if I could get to the water’s edge from both sides. Working north and south from the boat launch site, I also located a sign for the Chemin next to the Ferry Landing at Port de Plaisance, which means I’ve got a return spot for continuing north on the Chemin in the future. Once I was done with this Recce (1245), I got back in my car, crossed on Pont Jacques Cartier and successfully exited onto surface streets on Ils Ste. Helene. Reaching the Biodome (a place I'd visited before), I crossed a smaller bridge to the site of the 1976 Olympic Games and took a gamble (1300) that I'd be able to park there without getting towed or a ticket (it ended up working out). I spent the next 45 minutes trying to connect my earlier walk to the western edge of the shipping canal. Eventually, I found myself almost opposite the boat launch in Longueil. There was a bit of “will someone try to stop me?” in a few places but I accomplished my goal. Also saw lots of interesting landmarks for the Olympics and Grand Prix. Altogether, I walked about six miles and can now continue the Chemin towards Ste. Anne de Beaupre. Best part of today: the weather was nice and I didn’t see many other people - I’d call that a good afternoon outdoors! Finished with my Montreal activities (1400), I drove back up to the Pont Jacques Cartier and headed west. Once off the bridge on the west side, I used surface streets (Avenue De Lorimer, Notre Dame Street East) to get on QC-136. Later, I got on A20, where I encountered lots of traffic, speed cameras, etc. - After using A13 to reach the Trans Canada Highway, the speed gradually picked up and the weather improved. I had beautiful clear skies overhead! For part of the journey, I thought back to my last time in this part of Canada (see JUL 1991) and imagined all the things that have changed for the terrain and in my life... During the drive, I encountered some construction, especially when I was crossing the Lake of the Two Mountains. At some point, the highway became ON-417 to continue west to Ottawa. Out the window, I saw lots of Canada Geese (multiple flocks) who were busily flying south. It was nice to find that many fewer people were using the same highway and I just had to be careful with speed. I arrived at the Travelodge Ottawa East at 1600. After quickly changing clothes, I left the hotel (1700) and drove west on ON-417 - time for my concert! Unfortunately, I got in a big traffic jam and it took a while to get near the National Arts Centre. It also took a bit of time for me to find the entrance to the parking garage for the NAC (Elgin Street in Ottawa) - during this time, I got very close to a public demonstration (against the Gaza Conflict). Once parked, I scouted out the venue before walking to the nearby Nando's Peri-Peri for dinner and a beer (sat down at 1745). The place had some good food and atmosphere. Once I was finished (1815), I walked around near the Rideau Canal (next to the NAC). There were lots of nice views of Canada's Capital City by night. Once back inside the NAC, I explored some more before finding a seat to wait for the concert to begin (I was ready at 1900). We were cleared for entry into the Babs Asper Theatre at 1915 and I soon found my seat at Balcony Centre. The opening act (started at 1945) was a lady named Erica Ehm. I didn't recognize her but I think she was the Canadian equivalent of an MTV VJ (for a TV channel called “MuchMusic”). In any case, she was some kind of teen idol for the ladies in attendance. I’ll admit that a lot of that Canadian ‘80s fandom nostalgia stuff was lost on me and I kept thinking of Robin Sherbatsky and “Let’s Go to the Mall”. After a 15 minute "intermission" (2030 to 2045), Glass Tiger came out on stage! It took 38 years for me to make it to one of their live performances but they did not disappoint tonight! The band played many, many of the songs I’ve known and loved since the ‘80s and almost everyone was singing loudly with Alan Frew. There were actually only a few acoustic differences between the live and the albums I’ve got - I thought that was great because sometimes the signature sounds are lost with age… I didn’t know some of their newer music but those tunes were just as catchy as the rest. Watching the band in the sold venue an even bigger treat than I’d expected - those Canadians love their hometown bands! Overall, the local flavor of seeing a "hometown"(ish) musical group was definitely entertaining. I didn't really want the show to end but, eventually, it did (2230). It took a lot of effort and patience to depart the parking garage (after a delay due to so many cars having the same idea) - I eventually got on the road (surface streets along the Rideau Canal) and made it back to my hotel by 2330. Still feeling jazzed up from my busy day, I spent time reading and blogging until going to sleep at 0015. Glad to have made the (long) trip for this concert!
