Dad

I've been in Montreal these past months with my Father. He's fought prostate cancer for 20 years, making him a survivor. He outlived his initial diagnosis by 17 years, allowing him to watch his granddaughters grow up and so much more. I've been so grateful to have been able to spend these last few months with him. Dad died just before Christmas, with his loving wife at his side.

My Daughters were able to come up to Montreal for the memorial and their mother came a week earlier, she too was with Dad when he died.


That's Dad and I in London in 1963.
He played that old National guitar all my life. It's mine now and I cherish it.

The memorial was wonderful with so many old friends and family.

Now it's time to go south,...

But first a quick trip to Toronto.

Quick trip home

I drove back to Nova Scotia and had a lovely night in the pub with my daughters for my birthday. It was great to see them.

it's a wonderful thing when a parent can be so proud and confident in their children.
These two are a great joy in my life.





On the way back to Saint John, where my trailer is stored while I'm in Montreal, I caught up with Patrick and Jessica. Friends from Home that are also on a Land Rover road trip. Originally they were going to catch up with me but being delayed I'll join them in the south in the new year. In the meantime however, they need a new engine. Which is annoying as they just swapped in a thought to be good engine the week before.
A few days in Tony's shop and all was well.
They carried on south and I returned to Montreal.

Old haunts

Having a little free time I took the opportunity to tour around some of my old haunts. All the places I've lived and favorite hangouts.

Montreal in a lovely city to know well, so many great places are hidden away and off the beaten track. And these tend to be the sort of places that don't change with the times as much. One landmark from my youth is the old Westmount train station. Sadly abandoned by the railway and even by the city of Westmount which amazes me. It's a lovely building in an amazing location but it's completely overrun.

I was born in London England and grew up in Montreal. That's me in about 1964 with my mum and her mum. God doesn't she look 1963, just back from
London. I lived in this greystone until my mid teens.

Driving by today the house is largely unchanged except for the neighborhood having become outrageously expensive.

The first house I owned was about a block away, but much less noble! One of only a few wooden houses in Westmount it was a great start for our young family. But it eventually became too small as our family grew and Nova Scotia beckoned.

 I took some pictures of the old wooden house but all you can see are the trees that now surround it. Amazing spot!






I was also very glad to have the opportunity to spend some time with old friends. Here's Geordie goofing with Neil and Sandy.

It's all about the food

I think of myself as a bit of a foodie.

I know, I know, it's so bloody trendy to be a foodie these days, but in the last decade, I've really began to enjoy all aspects of food. And
when I'm in Montreal I have so many favorite places.
The best bagels in the country at St. Viaterur Bagel. I only go late at night and get a dozen white seed (sesame seed) with a tub each of cream chese and lox (smoked salmon).
They'll be hot from the wood fired oven and in my opinion, must be eaten within the hour.
That seems extreme to many who would argue that they're perfectly acceptable as long as they're toasted for breakfast the following morning. I've never had any left by morning,...
There are those who would argue that another, nearby bagel shop is superior, bah! No bagel shops that offer raisin bagels on my list thank you,...

I'm staying with my Dad and his wife and there is a lovely little spot just at the corner.
Toucheh, Italian with a hint of Persian.
We enjoyed a lovely meal there the other night and I was so moved by the community felling.
We were treated with a warmth I've rarely experienced.

Although Montreal is a city with thousands of restaurants, many of which are quite illustrious, many of the spots I love are the little, out of the way gems that I only know from having grown up here. And now you know!

A wonderful example of that is Momesso's.
A little hole in the wall with the most wonderful spicy Italian sausage subs, on great, crusty bread.
Oh man it's good! Plus it's one of the only places I know of where you can still get Brio. I don't drink pop but as a kid, Brio was a staple with pizza. As a kid I was crazy about the real, family run pizzerias in Montreal. the big chains don't stand a chance here. Most of the old family pizzerias are gone now, mine was burned down by,.....

Smoked meat, now we're at the heart of the Montreal food scene. absolutely every Montrealer has their favorite spot, and each has powerful arguments for their loyalty. For me there are two types of smoked meat joints. The big old delis, like Dunn's, Snowden deli and Ben's, the latter being my favorite, now long since demolished. And the little joints Schwartz's, Lester's and The Main Deli, my smoked meat of choice.

The last spot I'll tell you about is a true, classic greasy spoon! A simply marvelous experience you mustn't miss, if your doctor will allow you! Cosmo's This is the ultimate breakfast. In summer, enjoy sitting on the sidewalk with everyone who knows, and in winter share the tiny 8 person counter with the real die hards. Be prepared to chat with both the staff and the patrons. You may be the only person not known by name, but not the next time.
There's even a documentary about the place and Tony the patriarch, who sadly passed away in the summer of 2013.

Montreal

I couldn't say I got an early start, but it afforded a lovely late breakfast with Neil and his wife at a
local favorite, lost the name,.....hmmm.
While saying our goodbyes, Neil proposed we try to improve the nasty gaps in the tilt (canvas roof) on the Rover. The canvas has shrunk badly and scoops massive amounts of air into my left ear. Well and Geordie's right.


With such a late start and really crappy weather, I opted for a more southerly route and to stay
somewhere in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
I didn't really get far enough south for spectacular vistas, but it was a nice drive the following day through a few passes.






Crossed Champlain Bridge into Montreal and went straight to my favorite Souvlaki joint. Villa Du Souvlaki.
I've been eating here for about 33 years! Still the best anywhere.

Later I spent a wonderful evening with friends, enjoying their new hot tub until very late,...

Into America

Last minute wiring.

On the road at last, sort of.

I'm taking a side trip to Montreal, my old home town to visit some friends, but most importantly my father who is not well. So I've left the Argosy in Saint John and headed for the USA.

It's a much nicer drive to Montreal through northern Maine than the ridiculous northern route through Canada. This also gives me another chance to have a beer with Dr. Neil Fisher, whose works at the University of Maine.
A beautiful, bright sunny day, and a speedy run to the border at Calais Maine. Yes, speedy, without the coach, it's tempting to run a bit quick, will have to curb that.
Once in Maine it was an easy run down the Airline, Route 9, which used to be a pretty ratty road, but it's lovely now.



Dropped into Dr. Fisher's lab mid afternoon and got a tour.
I just love this place, Neil has the coolest job!
Besides the ocean radar research, he deploys buoys throughout the Gulf of Maine that record all matter of science stuff, but coolest of all, submarines!
YES, I said submarines, Neil has these little yellow subs, which have no propulsion, rather they glide by compressing
a balloon of air in the nosecone, thus reducing it's buoyancy so it sinks, or glides because it has wings. collecting data all the while, as it reaches it's predetermined depth, it lets the balloon expand again, increasing it's buoyancy and rises to the surface, again on a glide path. Then it surfaces, zaps all the data it's collected by cell phone to the central server, get a GPS fix on it's location, instructions from the server and submerges for another cycle, so very, very cool!

After the tour, well, off to the pub!
Great spot, Woodman's in Orono Maine. We were met there by Jim, great guy and fellow

Rover enthusiast.
I had an amazing steak and a sampling of local beers.

The night ended a bit late,...

In with the new

Back on the road!

Setting up a Salisbury (Dana 60) rear end is a long process. It's in, new ring and pinion, bearings, seals and flange.
Dialed in with a perfect contact patch and preload.  Love it!
While the truck was on the hoist lot's of other maintenance was undertaken. The entire front end rebuilt, drive shafts, transfer case, emergency brake, new shocks.
One extra modification was the addition of 30mm wheel spacers. The truck has pretty big tires and they hit the springs when turning sharp. I could set the steering stops to avoid that but I want to maximize the turning ability. The

spacers fix that and widen the overall stance which will improve handling.
Unfortunately when the spacers arrived they were for the later coil spring Land Rovers. Nothing a visit to good friend Peter McKelvey and his well equipped machine shop couldn't fix.
Just needed to cut off an extra flange real Land Rovers don't need.
I just got in from road testing, what an amazing difference!
Off to Montreal,...