Sunday, September 21, 2014

Quick Trip

You might of noticed I was gone for a few days. Yearly visit to  Gabe's parents in Canada.

We go every September. It's still warm up there ( not this visit) and we celebrate his parents anniversary and his mother's birthday. They don't travel to the states anymore and it's the only time we get to see them.

Gabe did an upgrade on the GPS and found out once the upgrade was done our Canadian map was gone. Major issue. The hotel we stayed last year with Max was gone along with any route we took. There are limited places to stay with Max and we needed to not only get a Canadian map back in the Garmin but find a place to stay.

A new map installed, which you know was an additional cost Gabe went to the travel booking sites to find a place where we could stay. He will not spend a hundred dollars a night on a place and it also had to be somewhat close to  where his parents live. He did find a place at a good price and so that part of the trip was taken care of. More about the hotel later.

We always leave in the middle of the night to travel. It was 3:30 this time so we could get through the city without much of a problem. There's always traffic on the LIE and traffic is awful around the city so it was nice to get on the NY Turnpike and head north. I wondered what people thought when they saw a truck with a Florida plate heading north!

I picked up a few books before we left on places we could check out with Max. That was a waste of time. Gabe said he wasn't a milkman and we don't do little "stops". It's lets get on the road and get there. I did get to see Plattsburgh. We needed to walk Max and it was a good time to fill up the truck with gas. Gas is cheaper in the states so this was the last stop before crossing the border.

We walked around and I took a few photos and we were in the historical part of town. I managed to get a few photos and off we went. If you want to see photos I added them to shutterfly.


There wasn't a line to get in at the border and we  gave the guard our passports and Max's papers from the vet. The usual questions and then the last question was a surprise. The guard asked if we owned guns. We have never owned a gun of any kind in our life! The guard asked - no rifles, shotguns? We said no. When we were on our way we wondered why he asked us. Then Gabe thought it was because of Max. The guard saw a Lab and since they are know as hunters the guard assumed Gabe hunted. It might be a normal question that they ask now but it totally surprised us.

We couldn't check into the hotel before 3 and we got there around 2:30. When we pulled up the place on the outside was a dump. It was next to a major highway and with heavy road noise I knew I would't get any sleep. The only place to walk Max was the cemetery in the back of the hotel.

When he booked via one of the web sites he had to pay in full and we were stuck there, for better or worse. The worse came when he told me our room was on the second floor. We pulled to the side of the hotel and there were stairs but they were the open type. No back on the step and steps had holes . Gabe knew I wasn't a happy camper and said he would take Max up and see how he handled the steps. I went up with them- the stairs swayed- not a good sign. The walkway to the room was a ledge that looked like it was going to fall apart at any time. Heading back down the stairs swayed and Max freaked out at the top. Gabe got him to come down but that was it for all of us. We needed a room on the first floor or we were out of there and on our way back home.

 In the office Gabe asked for a new room on the first floor and was told the rooms on the first floor were newly redone and no dogs were allowed. Gabe was ready to cancel and noticed carpeted stairs inside the building and came back and said lets see what the room is like and bring Max in. Why the desk clerk didn't tell him that when he checked in is something we will never understand. Stupidity has no borders.

We didn't bring any bags just Max and after checking out the room we decided to stay the night and if we had any problems would be out the next day. To our surprise it was quiet, didn't hear any road noise. Gabe said  it was creepy walking Max in a graveyard in the night but he was ok with it, we stayed the extra nights.

Gabe's mother called before we left and told us there weren't any parking spots for visitors. The owners of the building are adding another complex for assisted living. This presented another hurdle for us. 

We drove to Longueuil in the morning and weren't sure what we were going to do. Before we took Max for a walk Gabe stopped at the complex and asked the lady at the desk if there was  a place we could park. She told Gabe that his father made arrangements to move his car to the construction site and we would take his spot in the apartment complex. No dogs are allowed in the building and since the truck was parked right outside their window we could keep an eye on Max.





Max didn't get any sleep while waiting for us, any little noise his head was out the window checking out what was happening.


We had a nice two day visit and ended with a wonderful dinner at their favorite place- St. Huberts.


I did pick up a cup of Tim Horton's coffee which I love and went to the grocery store to pick up some for home.  The grocery stores are fabulous. If I lived up there I would be there all the time. 

Another early start for the trip home. I was smart- I packed warm clothes it was 31 degrees when we left.

Weather like that glad we are headed to Florida soon!









17 comments:

  1. Dottie- see if you can hit the reply button. Maybe that will help.

    FYI- Google did a security upgrade. I had a issue when we were in Canada. They wouldn't believe it was me logging in and I was closed out.

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  2. I so enjoyed your pictures......just one thing wrong....I didn't see you in a one of them. Max is a good sport!!! The problem with hotel rooms and having a dog is what drove us to a travel trailer. Good looking truck!!

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    1. When we went to St. Hubert's I asked the waitress to take a photo of all of us. I have a 35 mm digital and she just couldn't get it right. She was so nice and I didn't want to embarrass her so I told her it was ok.

      I've been after Gabe for YEARS to get a Travel Van- he won't get one. Gregory even told him it was a good idea for us to travel but he's SO stubborn so we end up in places like the above.

      At least when we travel to Florida it's one night in a motel and we stay in the same one one the way down which is nice- coming back is a pain.

      Have fun on your trip!

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  3. Loved this story.....so very glad that you had a nice time. Too bad about the hotel. You just never know what you are going to find. You should really look into the travel van. At least you have your Florida home, so this is a good thing. Thanks for this wonderful blog. I saw the pictures and they are great. You take great pictures.

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  4. Myra- when we pulled up I though- bed bugs! It looked like that kind of place. The first thing I did was strip of the sheets to do my investigation-it was clean. If I saw any droppings I was out of there asap!

    He won't get a van. I spot them on the road and say how nice they but that's as far as it goes. Gabe doesn't like to travel. He's happy going in his caves and on the boat.

    Glad you liked the photos- I didn't get to take many. We were either on the road or at his mother's place.

    Maybe we should buy a van together and travel? LOL

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    1. Ugh, I can remember when we used to drive to Florida to visit my brother, we would stay in those flea bag motels. One time I was just about ready to sleep in the car...I always check for bedbugs also. Yep, we get a van and then a little van for the dogs.

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  5. Hoo boy what a start you had-why do these companies do this when you upgrade their stuff? Glad you could get another one. Good grief-then the hotel and the rickety stairs? Yeah they should have told you they have an inside stairway. Glad the room was quiet but it must have been downright creepy walking Max in a cemetery!

    LOVED your photos. My ex-father in law used to go to Plattsburg all the time for work. That monument is beautiful-the eagle looks so real atop it.

    Gabe's parents have a nice little apartment huh? And I can only imagine how much torture it was for you in those amazing grocery stores and you couldn't bring much home......RATS! I'd be scoping out the grocery stores too.....I'd rather food shop than other shopping.

    I missed you while you were gone! Looks like you had nice weather-the sky in the Plattsburg photos is so crystal blue.

    One trip down, the big one south ahead........

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    1. Yeah and did I hear ALL about it when the map was gone! Gregory gave him a lifetime upgrade BUT there was no mention that any map outside the US would be deleted.Took a few days to get that straighten out. As soon as I saw the stairs I knew there would be an issue.Carol, if I went inside with him I would of sew the stairs IN the building and there wouldn't have been all the drama. As far as the cemetery as least there weren't any poop Nazi's! God forbid if the dog poops on anyones property- I kept a poop bag from the dog park, if he went on someone's lawn I would take out the bag- did I use it? Only people who really know me know that answer.

      Plattsburg was nice- would of liked to snoop around but you know- gotta get on the road! The park was kinda weird. Signs all around - no smoking. The park benches were bolted down.

      Their place is perfect for them- kitchen is so small but she never liked to cook so no problem with that. The grocery store- OMG I keep thinking off the good stuff I didn't get.

      It was COLD up there! Low 40's and 30's at night. Florida weather sounds good to me.

      Yeah- one more to go. No roach motel this time ( I hope)

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  6. Wow, what an ordeal. That wasn't very nice of the clerk not to tell you about the stairs inside. I would of been scared to death to use the outside stairs. Glad your back home safe & sound. Loved the photos!

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    1. I'm so happy to be back. I had no idea what they were saying up there- LOL! I don't speak french.

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  7. Sorry to hear your hotel in Montreal was so nasty. I guess you can't always tell what you will get when booking on the net. Glad it turned out ok in the end. I'm with you with being nervous about hotel rooms!

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    1. Hi Angela- I owe you a email- I haven't forgotten you!

      The only thing I can say about it - the breakfast was really good and was included in the price! ( It's always about the food with me (smile)

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  8. I grew up in Central Florida and went to college in North Florida. I always love to hear about someone traveling to or living in my home state.

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    1. It's a new experience for us! As you can see my hubby is a cave diver, thus why we are in North Florida. We now own a home in Lake City. I like that it's cooler in the winter but still warm and NO snow!

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  9. A heads up on the indoor stairs would have been nice. As for the Florida plates heading north... you're going the wrong way! I'm glad you and Gabe had a nice visit with his Mom and Dad. Next stop... Florida! Linda, I can't believe the summer is over. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were enjoying the warm weather and our walk around the village!
    ~Dawn

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    1. Yes cousin of mine- the house will be all yours soon!

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  10. Linda I'm so sorry your room wasn't up to snuff. I'm glad max is happy to be out of the truck. I know Leda is counting down the days to your return. The pictures of Mom and Dad are beautiful.

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