The agents were two pleasant young men. One asked, What do you do? I said I'm retired. Why are you going to Montreal? To attend a convention. If you're retired, why do you go to conventions? Well, I do some occasional teaching. They were just killing time while we were electronically vetted.
Driving through this part of Quebec from the Vermont border to Montreal was like being back in the Midwest -- mostly flat land with fields of corn and handsome houses and farms. Miss GPS led us around the city, staying south of the St. Lawrence River, to the Montreal South KOA. This campground is about 15 miles SW of downtown.
Saturday we took a Gray Line Hop On and Off city tour to see Montreal highlights. 
That's Susie up there in the cap. Don't hop off!
We hopped off and had lunch in this area where Marc Chagall decorated a street turned promenade with lots of strings of lots of pink spheres.
We were exposed to art as we drove by the modern art museum. The artist who created this piece of glass art, titled bad hair day (I just made that up), is Dale Chihuly.
This imposing church is St. Joseph's Oratory (I'm using Anglicized names rather than the French, which is usual in Montreal).
Brother Andre started his religious life as a doorkeeper at the University of Notre Dame, across the street from the hill where this church was ultimately built. He later came to lead a worship center on that hill and became a widely sought counselor, spiritual advisor, and healer. His advice to those seeking help was generally, Pray to St. Joseph. (Mary's over-booked; no waiting for Joseph, That's how I would summarize it. Remember the movie, Bruce Almighty? We watched it on TV one night on the road. Bruce (Jim Carey) played God for a time and had more prayers to answer than he could cope with.)
Brother Andre developed such a following that this basilica was built to accommodate it. It was completed in the 1960s. Brother Andre died in 1937 at the age of 91. Over a million people attended his funeral rites, it is said. He was declared a saint in 2010.
We didn't go into the church because it was late in the day and only one or two more buses would stop here this day. I came back the next morning (our hopping tickets were good for two days) and went inside. (The meeting of the American Statistical Association started Sunday afternoon -- geeks and nerds -- so Susie opted to stay at the campground.)
Sunday services were in progress.
This sanctuary in a lower level is called the crypt.
Here's the main sanctuary. Took this picture from the family room, a glassed in room at the back of the cathedral where children can move about and make noise.
Very modern looking.
By way of contrast, here's the Notre Dame Basilica, just a block away from the Convention Center where my meeting was held and where I parked the two days I drove in. I had wanted to see it Sunday, but was turned away by a guard who asked, service, or just look? The Gray Line guide told me later, Just say service. They want you to wait and pay to go in and look.
Early Monday morning, I went in. Was astounded by the sight!
The colors, the woodwork, the statuary, the sheer size. Awesome. I sat for a while just to soak it all in.
The article at the link says that the architect, James O'Donnell, an American, was so overwhelmed by his creation that just before it was completed (in 1879) he converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. The link also lists the artists who created the interior.
Just down the street I stepped into a small café and deli in search of breakfast. Was having difficulty ordering because of the language barrier, so the owner told me to sit down. He'd bring me breakfast. And a fine one it was: two eggs over easy, potatoes, bacon, toast, jam. Perfect. I went back on Tuesday for an encore.
Meeting went well - heard some talks that kind of reinforced some of my views of how statistics should be taught. There were two tribute sessions to statisticians - one who recently died, one who turned 90 and is still going strong - that I have known and been influenced by. Also, some material to work into the book I'm writing. Had a productive meeting with a publisher's rep. The journal I edited, way back in the 80s, has an annual dinner and Susie and I went to that one evening - another chance to see old friends.
One reason we picked the Montreal South KOA was because it was near a train station from which I could commute to downtown. The train had a limited schedule, though, so I just used it once. A couple of friendly agents helped me negotiate the ticket machines and find the return train.
On Wednesday, we took a drive along the St. Lawrence River. Started out with a plan to drive up the south bank, return by the north. After a while it dawned on me that we should have done the opposite. That way the river would always be on our right, which would make for better viewing and opportunities to pull off.
In one village the GPS showed me a waterfront park, so we found our way down a little lane to that. The park featured a tribute to a pioneer woman. Because the statue was under repair, there was no information about who she was. Susie called to another person in the park: Do you speak English? He said he did. We asked about the pioneer woman. He didn't know who she was but she had shot some Indians back in pioneer days. She's toting a rifle up there on her pedestal.
And here's her view of the river.
Not long after this stop we saw a sign for a ferry. Love those car ferries. We could cross the river and thus continue our trip with the river always on our right. The way was not well marked, but we found the ferry and took it across the river.
The landing point was on an island just off the north shore. We drove around the island, looking for a place for lunch. In one village two old guys and a school girl told us in a mix of French and English, that it was right up the road, second stop, turn left. We couldn't find it. We kept driving on up the river and checked out a couple more villages. No luck. Drove through some very nice areas, though, featuring large, gorgeous estates bordering the river. Finally found some lunch and soon after reached our goal, one of the few bridges across this stretch of the river. We crossed and headed back toward Montreal.
Oh, the roadside café we found featured six (!) life-size cow heads, animated - their heads swayed back and forth, back and forth, ... .
Coming back we came across this impressive church in Pierreville.
Most every crossroads and hamlet in the area was named for a Saint. At last, some respect.
Finding Saint Robert took us off the river road (on the north bank, it's called the King's Road; on the south bank, it's called the Navigator's Route). I used the GPS to work our way south. Most of this area is a grid with diagonal roads relative to North-South, East-West. We zigged and zagged, often on some pretty minor roads, but eventually got home. GPS is wonderful. Would never have done this sort of boon-docking before.
Thursday, as we prepared to leave and HEAD HOME the living room slide-out would not retract. Oh, no! I went to the office to ask for a reference to an RV repair shop. The lady on the desk said, I'll call our handyman, Bernard - an employee of the park. He came over and quickly found that the long bar that the motor turns to move the slide-out was broken - twisted like a pretzel. Something had jammed the slide-out - I don't recall it sticking and me forcing a closure - and the force of the motor twisted the bar until it broke. What now? Bernard said, I think I've got a replacement in my shop. And he did! He put the new bar in. The slide-out wouldn't move. Bernard went looking and found what looks to be a half-inch piece of a rivet that had broken off and lodged in a bad place. Now, everything worked. Best service ever!, I think.
So, we headed west toward Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, from where we would cross the border into the upper peninsula of Michigan. Getting out of Montreal was difficult due to construction and traffic. In hindsight, I realize our GPS is outdated. Looking at the atlas later, there looked to be a better way. Live and learn.
If you want to check your Ontario map, our route was highway 17. We started counting the miles and deciding when we wanted to get home. The only particular goal is to make a stop in Denver to see son Jeff and family. On day two of this trek had probably our longest day - 375 miles. That got us to a KOA in S.S. Marie. One of the best parks we've been in. The owner couple is a former USAF Thunderbird pilot and his wife, a champion dog trainer. One service they offered was to weigh your motor home. (They'll also help train your dog.) Knowing its weight and how it is distributed over the six tires is important for safety and reliability. I've read articles about the importance of knowing your motor home's weight, but never had Tuzi weighed. Thought about it often as we drove by truck weighing stations, but wasn't sure they would weigh us. Just relied on the assumption that Allegro and Michelin had us set up properly. The weighing showed we were within limits, though a little unbalanced, left vs. right. (That's not a political statement.)
Crossing the bridge into Michigan, USA, was very slow.
Here's where Lakes Superior and Huron connect. The word, sault, means rapids or falls.
The Border!
My copilot.
Once we got to the Customs agent, he just had a few questions and we were good to go. Which reminds me: the day before we had stopped at a roadside stand and bought some fruit and vegetables. While chatting with the KOA owner, the subject of border crossing came up and he asked if we had fruit or vegetables. Oh, oh. He said, those will probably be confiscated, if they ask. Susie said, Could we leave the food with you? He said, OK. He had an employee who was in a tight situation and could use the food. So, that's what we did.
Next stop: a campground on Lake Michigamme where we stayed once before, several years ago.
Susie and Rob
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