From the ski slopes to the coast, we had a nice drive down but still think the roads in Quebec rival those we found in Mississippi for the worst.  Patches, expansion joints, potholes, etc.  And we decided to just stay on Hwy 15 and go through downtown Montreal to get to the RV park.  It was a little crazy, but we made it.

The park is another KOA on the south side of the St. Lawrence in the suburb of St. Philippe.  It is a typical KOA with all the amenities and hookups.  And close to town.

Having arrived early in the afternoon, we decided to go back into town to the top of Mount Royal, the namesake of the city.  The road up to the top went through the real city streets and close to the campus of McGill University.  The drive was interesting and busy as it was approaching rush hour.  But again, we made it.

The park on the summit has great views of the city and the parking lot was crowded with buses as the tourists got out to check out the scene.  We decided to take the walk up to the peak and see the Cross of Mount Royal.  This is a 100 ft tall lighted cross that can be seen across the city.  And a decent walk away from the crowds. 

Back to the RV park and a plan for the next day.  Since it rained overnight, we stayed in and got caught up on business, diaries, and the blog.  In the afternoon, we took the subway in and walked through the city streets to the Vieux Porte (Old Port).   It was crowded with lots of touristy things to do.   We watched a bungie jumper go off the top of a construction crane set up for the jump.  The jumper went headfirst into the water before bouncing back.  Another jumper stood on the platform for a long time with the crowd encouraging her (we think) to jump before giving up! 

Then back into the streets and an early dinner at a street-side creperie, called Chez Suzette.  We had not had crepes yet even after being in Quebec for almost 2 weeks!   The meal was fun and very good.  And we enjoyed watching the people go by!

Then on through town and into some shops again with the crowds.  We saw the Place d’Arms and the Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal.  Beautiful old buildings, so old and grand!  An amazing city.   We ended the day with a gelato and headed back to the subway.

The next day was Sunday, so we had a nice and somewhat formal (for us) breakfast then headed back to the subway for the La Jardin Botanical.  It is rated in the top 10 gardens in all North America.

We started in the green houses which house the tropicals.  Since that is our neck of the woods, we knew many of the plants, but the signage was excellent, and we learned still quite a bit.  There were orchids, ferns, palms, fruit and spice plants, cacti and begonias!  Gail particularly enjoyed the orchids.

Then on to the outside gardens.  We headed to the rose garden, and we were pleasantly surprised when we also found an aquatic plant area.  We had never seen this type of display. On around to large water areas and then back by the edible, medicinal, drought resistant plants and more.  If you like gardens we would definitely recommend it.  We spent about 5 hours there!

It is next door to the Olympic Park.  So, we saw parts of that on the way from the gardens and back to the subway.  Montreal hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics (Nadia Comaneci and Bruce Jenner were highlights) There is a nice display of all the athletes by country and all the winners of each sport.   Very nicely done.

The next day we took off toward Ottawa but stayed south of the city on Hwy 30 as it went back across the St. Lawrence River and as it merges with the Ottawa River.  The drive was smooth and mostly through the countryside. We only had to go 110 miles, and we arrived at the campground early.  Even though our site was free, they still charged us an early arrival fee.  A first for us.  But instead of trying to kill a couple of hours somewhere else, we paid the $30 and got settled.

Our first stop was into Ottawa to see the capital.  It was June 30 and the next day, July 1^st, is Canada Day (similar to the 4^th of July in the US).  It was very crowded in the city.  But we found a parking spot and went for a walk around to see the sites.

The Parliament building was undergoing major work so the work sites were fenced off and we couldn’t see much close up.  And all the photos have tower cranes in the shots!  But still an amazing building and much different from Washington DC.  The capital is located on a high bluff overlooking the Ottawa River and a formidable sight. 

We continued the walk around to the Kiweki Point that overlooks the river.  The park is dedicated to the original Algonquin indigenous tribes and was very nicely done. 

Then after a quick hot dog and a water, we took off for the market streets.  First a stop at the National Gallery of Canada to see Maman, the giant spider statue, and then across the street to the Notre Dame Cathedral.  A stroll through the Byward Market to investigate the shops and finally a photo op at the OTTAWA sign!

On the way back to the RV, we found there was a Best Buy in Orleans and decided to stop.  We had been hemming and hawing about buying a Starlink Mini for the RV to improve our internet and wifi connections.  And they had one in stock, and it was on sale.  So, we did it.  Got it set up and aligned with the satellite and, viola!, we had contact with outer space!  

The next day was the actual Canada Day.  But the weather was supposed to rain and we didn’t want to go back into Ottawa to see the “BIG” fireworks with the “BIG” crowds, so we decide to check out the festivities in the town next to the RV park.  After doing some chores and playing with the Starlink, we went for a drive into Rockland.  The streets were blocked for the city activities, and we decided not to park.  But we saw approximately where the fireworks would be and headed back to the RV park and up the hill overlooking the town to see if there might be a suitable place to go to see them out of the crowds.

Just as we hoped, there was a new housing development with the streets laid out and mostly paved that looked perfect!  We stayed up late and went up the hill at about 9:30. And we quickly discovered that we were not the only ones wanting to see the fireworks here!  But we got backed into a nice spot and waited.  The mosquitoes were out in force, so we stayed in the Jeep.  Right at 10:00 the sky lit up.  We got out but quickly got back in the Jeep!  The fireworks were right where we had predicted, and we were in a perfect spot.  And the fireworks were magnificent!  Definitely worth staying up past our bedtime!  And Happy Canada Day to all.

So, we made it through Quebec and into Ontario and are now heading to the Toronto area.  Toronto is a big city with lots to do.  Plus, some friends to visit.  So, we’ll save that for the next blog!  Come along, eh!