Articles are posted chronologically from most recent to oldest
May: 1-4 5-6 7 8-11 12-14 15-16 17-18 19-27 April: 24-27 24
Enjoy!
May
30 - 31
We traveled to St. Andre campground outside Montreal in the city of St. Nicholas which was on the other side of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The campground required a minimum stay of 3 nights so we set up camp for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The next day would be a very busy day. In the morning we tour the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. seeing mainly 14th & 15th century European Art viewing a few great pieces. We particularly like the sculpture and painting pictured below. After the museum, we headed for St. Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. They were having confirmation at the time so we waited and then took pictures. The cathedral is very impressive on it's attempt to create a scale model of St. Peters Basilica in Rome. In the afternoon we visited the L'Oratoire of St. Joseph. This magnificent structure was envisioned by Bro. Andre, CSC and was built to replace a small stone chapel he himself built near the site. While parked in the handicapped spot in the courtyard, we were entertained by the carillon, playing some familiar tunes. Immediately upon entering the crypt of the church one is transported into a dark, serene prayerful mileu. There are large banks of votive candles everywhere along with a 20 foot high stack of canes and crutches from grateful of devotees of St. Joseph and Blessed Bro. Andre. We attended Mass in French at 4:30 and then started our tour of the basilica. The views from several levels of the basilica would have been spectacular were it not for fog, rain and low clouds. There are three levels to the Basilica, we started in the crypt and then went to the third floor to learn about Blessed Bro. Andre. There is an exhibition, depicting his life and works along with his heart. We then proceeded to the middle floor which was the church proper. We actually had trouble finding it due to a series of elevators and escalators. The basilica's architecture is very modern, stark, angular with it's pillarless interior volume creating a feeling of human insignificance and the grandeur of God. After several pictures we returned to our campground, stopping for a pizza at a french restaurant. Continued in the June section.
May 28 -29
We finally left Buffalo, on Wednesday, after waiting for a DHL delivery the previous day. The package was sitting in the DHL area from Friday and got delivered about 4:30 PM on Tuesday. They promised 3 PM delivery. When I questioned the driver about this, his remark was "you are lucky you even got it today." When I asked to sign for the package to verify delivery time he refused. So much for DHL, never again. I'll use Big Brown in the future. We decided to take the scenic route called the "Seaway Trail" a national scenic byway along the St. Lawrence Seaway. There are several lighthouses along the way and we stopped at two of them. (see pictures below). We spent the night at Bedford Creek Marina and Campground in Sacket, NY. The next morning we took off for Canada, traveling through the 1000 islands in the St. Lawrence Seaway and finally crossing at the International Bridge. That evening we spent at the Summer's Nest campground in Casselman, ON. The campground had great facilities and was run by a couple who wintered in Florida. The sunset was spectacular! (see photo below). On Thursday we set off for Ottawa to see the House of Parliament and the many sites. However it was not to be. Parliament was blocked off from every directions by police. We drove round and round with Garmina (our GPS) shouting, "recalculating recalculating" We never did see the house of parliament but I got a great shot of it in my outside mirror. We were so discussed that we just left town and headed for a campground near Montreal.
We traveled to St. Andre campground outside Montreal in the city of St. Nicholas which was on the other side of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The campground required a minimum stay of 3 nights so we set up camp for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The next day would be a very busy day. In the morning we tour the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. seeing mainly 14th & 15th century European Art viewing a few great pieces. We particularly like the sculpture and painting pictured below. After the museum, we headed for St. Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral. They were having confirmation at the time so we waited and then took pictures. The cathedral is very impressive on it's attempt to create a scale model of St. Peters Basilica in Rome. In the afternoon we visited the L'Oratoire of St. Joseph. This magnificent structure was envisioned by Bro. Andre, CSC and was built to replace a small stone chapel he himself built near the site. While parked in the handicapped spot in the courtyard, we were entertained by the carillon, playing some familiar tunes. Immediately upon entering the crypt of the church one is transported into a dark, serene prayerful mileu. There are large banks of votive candles everywhere along with a 20 foot high stack of canes and crutches from grateful of devotees of St. Joseph and Blessed Bro. Andre. We attended Mass in French at 4:30 and then started our tour of the basilica. The views from several levels of the basilica would have been spectacular were it not for fog, rain and low clouds. There are three levels to the Basilica, we started in the crypt and then went to the third floor to learn about Blessed Bro. Andre. There is an exhibition, depicting his life and works along with his heart. We then proceeded to the middle floor which was the church proper. We actually had trouble finding it due to a series of elevators and escalators. The basilica's architecture is very modern, stark, angular with it's pillarless interior volume creating a feeling of human insignificance and the grandeur of God. After several pictures we returned to our campground, stopping for a pizza at a french restaurant. Continued in the June section.
 Fine Art Museum |
 Fine Art Museum |
 St Mary Queen of the World |
 St. Mary Queen of the World Baldachino |
 St. Mary Queen of the World Baldachino |
 Fine Art Museum |
 Renoir |
 St. Joseph Crypt |
 Altar Cross St. Joseph Oratoire |
 St. Joseph Oratoire Inside Basilica |
May 28 -29
We finally left Buffalo, on Wednesday, after waiting for a DHL delivery the previous day. The package was sitting in the DHL area from Friday and got delivered about 4:30 PM on Tuesday. They promised 3 PM delivery. When I questioned the driver about this, his remark was "you are lucky you even got it today." When I asked to sign for the package to verify delivery time he refused. So much for DHL, never again. I'll use Big Brown in the future. We decided to take the scenic route called the "Seaway Trail" a national scenic byway along the St. Lawrence Seaway. There are several lighthouses along the way and we stopped at two of them. (see pictures below). We spent the night at Bedford Creek Marina and Campground in Sacket, NY. The next morning we took off for Canada, traveling through the 1000 islands in the St. Lawrence Seaway and finally crossing at the International Bridge. That evening we spent at the Summer's Nest campground in Casselman, ON. The campground had great facilities and was run by a couple who wintered in Florida. The sunset was spectacular! (see photo below). On Thursday we set off for Ottawa to see the House of Parliament and the many sites. However it was not to be. Parliament was blocked off from every directions by police. We drove round and round with Garmina (our GPS) shouting, "recalculating recalculating" We never did see the house of parliament but I got a great shot of it in my outside mirror. We were so discussed that we just left town and headed for a campground near Montreal.
 Charolette Genesee |
 Sodus Lighthouse |
 Sodus Lighthouse |
 Summer's Nest Casselman, ON |
 Parliament |
George
was cold all the time. 
