We didn’t rack up a whole lot of miles this week, but we did
hit some major milestones (like, we are in CANADA now, baby!) Our stops this
week were Burlington (marina), Valcour Island (anchor), Treadwell Bay (anchor),
St Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (free dock) and Chambly, Quebec (free dock).
We spent a couple of days in Burlington, and our friends
Mary Kay and Charlie drove over for a visit and to take us shopping. Burlington
is our last major US town before 2 months in Canada, so it was time for a last
orgy of American-style consumerism. We hit Costco, Trader Joe’s, West Marine,
and Bed Bath and Beyond, and we hit them hard. Mary Kay will cruise with us for
a while, but Charlie only had a day free, so we poked over to the New York side
and anchored out at Valcour Island for the night.
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Looking across Lake Champlain from Vermont
to Adirondacks on the NY side |
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| The waterfront pedestrian way in Burlington |
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| The open market area in Burlington |
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| Provisioned up for Canada |
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| View from our slip at Burlington Community Boathouse |
Valcour Island is almost all state park land and has a dozen
cozy little coves to anchor in and miles of hiking trails. A lot of the trails
were a bit flooded from the high lake levels, but we took a nice little hike up
to an old lighthouse on the bluff and had sunset cocktails with
Nomadic Spirit and
God's Grace at a campsite with picnic
table on the beach.
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| The lighthouse at Valcour Island |
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| Hiking with loopers Ken and Celeste from God's Grace |
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| BellaGatto at anchor |
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| Docktails with our crew, Charlie and MaryKaye along with fellow loopers from God's Grace and Nomadc Spirit |
In the morning, we took Charlie back the 15 miles to
Burlington and topped off the fuel tank at Shelburne Bay Boatyard. Diesel there
was $3.10 per gallon versus the five bucks or so per gallon it is in Canada, so
we filled it all the way to the brim. Then back to Valcour Island to rejoin Nomadic Spirit for another peaceful
night (actually it was windy and rainy, but we were tucked away in a nice
little spot).
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| 65 and 100% rain! Oh yes, and some fog. |
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| Navigating through the fog with the radar on |
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| Little to no visibility |
The next morning, we headed north along the New York side to
Treadwell Bay where we anchored out at Point au Roche State Park and Bella got
to do a major 5-mile trail hike and some swimming. At 65 degrees, the water is
a bit cold for humans still, but Bella thought it was just fine. That night we
got together with Nomadic Spirit and
planned our Canada strategy. We would lie to be around Montreal by Canada Day
(July 1) and hopefully to Ottawa by July 5, so it’s time to get a move on.
The next morning we got up early and again headed north
along the New York shore to Rouse’s Point, NY which is right at the border, and
did some last minute housekeeping chores (filling the water, pumping the head,
and offloading trash and recycling) before the border crossing. I don’t know
why I was expecting the third degree and a bunch of inspections and red tape,
but crossing into Canada was a piece of cake. The customs officers were
friendly and efficient, and in 15 minutes we were cleared for a 60 day stay.
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| Bella is always ready to fetch a stick |
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| Hiking at Point au Roche State Park |
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| Point au Roche State Park |
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| Dramatic sunset on Treadwell Bay |
We
then went up the Richelieu River (down current actually) to the lovely little
village of St Jean-sur-Richelieu where we tied up to the free dock right in
downtown. We had not expected to get there until mid-afternoon, but with the
quick Customs stop and the boost from the current, we made it in time to go out
for lunch. Of course we had to get poutine, the french fry, gravy, and cheese
curd concoction that is the official artery clogging food of Canada. We also
walked over to visit the first lock in the Chambly canal system, 9 locks that
will take us to the level of the St. Lawrence River in Sorel. These locks are run
by Parks Canada (the equivalent of our National Park Service) and are historic attractions
as well as navigation facilities. They are very small, and most are still
operated by hand.
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