Visiting Montréal: Staunch Crossing

“Strangers are an unexpected boon to travel.” – Old Sean

Again North

After leaving New York City, I started driving north, intending to cross into Canada. My next assignment involved me visiting Montréal. I drove through the evening and night, stopping for a half-dozen hours to sleep in my rental car. Despite a shivery evening, I was comfortable enough sleeping in northern New York State.

However, crossing the border into Canada proved mildly stressful. After weaving through the impressively wooded backcountry, I arrived at the boundary.

On the United States side, I was waved through with barely a glance. But the Canadian side was suspicious and tense.

I generally expect border control to be a little bit of a hassle. That’s part of life. However, I didn’t expect three grim men decked out in winter gear glaring at me. The gradually ratcheted up the diction until they were borderline offensive. I had to unpack every bag I owned, spreading out my gear in the car’s trunk, rolling out all my unused clothes.

“Have you ever been arrested?  How many times have you been arrested?  What’s on this laptop?  What’s illegal on this laptop?  You got some porn coming in from this laptop?  How many drugs have you got?  What kind of drugs are these?  Tell me where you’re staying?  Who with? Where do you know them from?”

No. Zero times. Work folders. Nothing. Nope. Nope. No drugs. Those are multivitamins, it says on the bottle. A hotel in Montréal. Nobody. I… Online, I guess?

Tiny god below. I spent nearly half an hour explaining the mundane.

Welcome to Canada.

Enter the Sunsnows

Despite the stereotype of Canadian politeness being thoughouly dismantled, I eventually got through.

Following my small delay, I began skating over the icy ground on my way to Montréal. However, I quickly realized I had a new miscalculation hindering me.

My dashboard warnings indicated I was at risk due to extremely low tire pressure. It turns out that Texas tire air-levels aren’t very accommodating when put in sub-zero countries.

I found myself in a minor bind, since I had no Canadian cash available. Air pump machines didn’t have a method for taking a card, so I ended up inside a gas station trying to trade a US 20 dollar bill for a roll of Canadian small change.

But my worry was unneeded. Some gallant man at a gas station sidled up behind me, said bonjour and passed me two dollars of Canadian change.

Thanks, random Canadian.

Entering Montréal

After my car could drive safely again, I arrived in Montréal. The city is uniformly beautiful in the winter. Freezing, yes, but beautiful.

The St. Lawrence River, while not completely frozen, is a rambunctious crash of broken ice flows slamming and churning their way ocean-ward.

I spent my first hours pattering around the numerous ice-skating rinks near Vieux-Port de Montréal. After enjoying my time here, I headed into the interior of the city where I enjoyed a unique little dish called a “Pizzaghetti.” This is a noodle-heavy pizza-styled monstrosity which is undoubtedly filling. Still, it felt like an abomination.

Afterwards, I had some time enjoying maple candy before wandering past Habitat 67’s strange architecture. Later on, I made my way through the famed Biodome. I warmed up briefly at at Otaku lounge, walked through Royal Mount Park and made sure to walk inside the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal.

Afterwards, I found a McDonalds to lay down my head briefly. I attended the shop for WI-FI, since my phone plan doesn’t function in Canada.

I only spent a single full day visiting Montréal. When the morning arrives, I’ll be working towards Toronto.

So until then,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written January 17th 2019

Read more about visiting Montréal and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Destination Info.

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