Mileage: 64,988
Time: 7:44
Temperature: 64º
Weather: Partly cloudy
First let me say that the InterContinental Hotel in Montreal was an experience. We both agreed that it was amazing. The towels, the linens, the pillows and the service--all beyond our expectations. For example, the following phrase has n-e-v-e-r come out of my mouth before: "I called the bellman this morning at 7:15 to pick up our luggage and to bring the car around." Chances are I will never say that phrase again, but it was fun to say it this morning!
We had some initial difficulty getting our GPS to find a signal. This is always a problem when we are surrounded by tall buildings, and downtown Montreal definitely fits that description. Once we got a signal, we were able to quickly leave the city. Dave pointed out that the lanes coming into downtown Montreal were bumper to bumper and once again our lanes, leaving the city, were zooming along. He decided that the best way to explain it was to say: "Going to Work Lanes. Retired and Going to Have Fun Lanes." We smiled at the exit signs reading: "Waterloo." Reminded us of home.
It was fun to watch the topography and the land use change as we drove farther east. The land became hillier and more wooded as we drove on. As we drove closer to the town of Sherbrooke, Dave played a song called Barrett's Privateers recorded by a favorite Canadian folk singer, Stan Rogers. (Click HERE to see the lyrics) As we drove east of Sherbrooke we encountered farm ground--corn and soybeans. We also saw sheep, horses and dairy farms.
We were blessed with perfect weather. There was some fog initially, but that burned off and left us with a blue sky and very comfortable temperatures. That means: It's a top down on the convertible day. Around 10:10 we pulled over and put the top down, slathered ourselves with sunscreen and put our hats on and took off. We drove through lots of tiny little municipalities on a road called Route des Sommets. (Translates: Summit Drive). Our first stop was in La Patrie. As we were driving into town we passed a business called Guitabec Inc with a picture of a guitar. We stopped at a little municipal park. There was a sign that told a bit about the area. We couldn't leave without driving back to Guitabec in hopes that we would be able to see what they had. No luck. There was no evidence of a showroom.
The area that we were driving through is known for its bike routes. It looked like a great place to bike. There is a nice wide bike lane. We were mildly amused to notice that the expression on people's faces seemed to vary from a wide grin to a grimace. There was definitely a correlation to whether they were zooming down the hill or grinding up the hill. We also saw quite a few trees that had turned.
We stopped around noon in a spot called Lac Megantic. We stopped and climbed to the top of a lookout and took some pictures to share with you. It was beautiful. For those of you that are Revolutionary War buffs this is an important spot for Colonel Benedict Arnold.
We crossed back into the United States at 1:18. We crossed over near Armstrong. Our crossing was more thorough than passing into Canada. We both thought that it was probably due to the increased terror threat. We followed two motorhomes and a car. The border guard walked through the motorhomes and had those of us in cars open our trunks.
The scenery in this part of Maine was stunning. There were times when it felt as if we were driving between green walls as the trees were so close to the road. We passed more ponds and small lakes than you could shake a stick at. The one that very nearly gave me whiplash was called "Parlin Pond." When I first saw it, I read it as "Palin Pond." 
We followed the Kennebec and Dead River for a quite a distance. For more information about the Dead River and its significance to Benedict Arnold click HERE.
My favorite sign of the day was outside a church and read: Bear Hunters and Trappers Welcome! (Dave insists that I share with you his comment: "This must be the church that Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear, attends." I'll pause now for you to groan. "Hey, that's a great joke!" says Mr. Latta.)
We got to Augusta around 4:30. Our room tonight is functional. We've got a load of laundry in the machine and another one waiting to hit the washer. Tomorrow we will head to our cottage on the island. If you are curious about where it is take a look on a map of Maine--We are south of Acadia and north of Kennebunkport. We are right on the coast. "Larger" communities around us are Rockland and Camden. There is a finger that sticks out into the ocean ending with Port Clyde. If you back step your way up that peninsula, you will see Spruce Head, that is very close to the island. Or, you could click on this link and just read about it!
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