Texas Invades Canada!

[DandyDon]

{ Now, I am all for posting threads in appropriate fourms - please! - but I would like to see this stay in General Travel. I enjoy traveling to new dive destinations and trying new sites, and I want to share this story with those who have never dived anywhere in Canada, in hopes that some members will consider it. If you move it to Ontario forum, the locals will see something they already know. }

"Travel broadens the mind and deepens the soul." Who siad that? Was it me...?

One of the rewards of living in the high desert, so far from diving that I have to take at least 2 planes each way, is that I might as well go one place as another. Ergo, I'm always looking for something different within practical limits, and - I thought of the Rio St.Lawrence. So did a few other friends - before we could post Singles Trips on SB, so we put it together. Here's my on going reports from my laptop in my motel room to Kiwis back in the lower 48:

Brockville Ontario - just across the river from New York State:

I'm here! Left my casa at 3:30am Texas, drove thru the wilds to the airport, caught the 6am, endured horrible connections thru DFW & ATL, got to Montreal (long story), bargained with car rental agencies to give me a better price than I had reserved with on - saving $50, and headed west on 20, then west on 410. Made it 13 hours travel time - 1 hour ahead of schedule.

Quebec is primarily French speaking, so it helps if to know one's est form ouest; that - or look to see where the sun is gonna' sink. But for loops, knowing ouest was better. The max speed is 100 Kph, and I kept wondering why it felt like I was driving faster than 70, until I noticed that the car's speedometer was in mph. They sell petro in liters, with Cdn$, tell temp in celcius, measure travel by kilometers, post signs in French, and give me a car with mph?!

But I didn't see any cops in the 120 mile trip posted at 100 kph, so I thought I'd just drive. If I'd been stopped, I would have told the dumb turth as it started, but I just zipped thru at 85 mph. No worries, mate.

I was worried about being late, but one of the local gals was the only one to beat me. She met my car with the Lone Star flag flying in the drive and insulted me right away. I suppose that the rest will be in it tonight? But she just poked her head in my door to invite me to delivered pizza, so that's all for now.

After the pizza...

Two more just made it. They lost an aguement with a state trooper, then had to go thru customs twice. Hope their luck improves.

Bu I am tuckered. Too many typos and editing.

Addition...

Okay, another local gal made it in, and the Texas gal and Canuck driver finally showed up around dark:30, and we're still looking for the unknown couple.

Next evening...

We enjoyed a leisurely morning here at the Seaway overlooking the St.L, getting our gear organized and all (You can't say just "Boys and their toys," as it's any serious diver, regardless.) We finally enoyed a nice picnic here at the motel, and the Texas lady did bring the hot mustard I requested, with the Yankee gal furnishing some bodacious, homemade pepper relish. Pretty dang nice, and nice weather to boot. The other couple showed up (Don't remember the names; I'm bad at that.).

Went to Rockport dock after lunch and unloaded all of our toys and tanks to wait for the boat. Wasn't too long of a wait, but we did meet the Penn & WVirginia divers we'd seen loading up at the Seaway this morning as they returned from morning trips, and it turned out a few of us knew each othter. I even knew one. (Mike, maybe, but couldn't swear.)

The local DM in our group had reminded us several times to be sure and have our Passport or Birth Cert ready, as we would have to clear immigration both ways for the American wreck, but one of the group still forgot. (Don't remember the dummy's name, though; I'm bad.) The Penn & WV boys were going to do some shore dives next though, so they adopted our stranded diver.

I enjoyed the parade of large pleasure boats coming by the docks and in for fuel. Expensive crafts, all with lovely French-Canuk gals sunning on the top decks. French folks can be trying at times, but the women do tend to be gorgeous, especially on the expensive boats.

Bottom Time is a super operator, and that's an understatement, nice boat, and the couple running is it is knowledgeable, fun, and gracious. She's gorgeous, too. They're leaving here soon to run the Carribean Explorer, so I hope to see them next year, as well as tomorrow. They even served bakery cookies after each dive!

Everyone was well prepared for the 67 F water, and the dives on the wrecks were wonderful. 112 feet down and under the first one, 70 feet down on the second. (Don't remeber the names; I'm bad.) Some current, as this is the river, but not challenging. The second one is at the bottom of the active shipping channel, so we waited for a big freighter to pass, less divers get sucked off of the wreck by the turbulance. We then dropped down to the shelve at 30 feet, followed the line over the edge and down to the hulk, and explored - reminding ourselves that we could not screw up and do free ascents from the wreck, less we become boat targets.

After the trip, we took our tanks for fills at the best dive store I've seen this side of Florida, and I've seen a few. You just cannot go in that place without buying something, but I had to help the feller with the currency conversion, as he wasn't charging me enough. Some of the group just started credit card tabs.

Back at the motel, we hung our toys up to dry, then enjoyed a super supper - steak, fish, chicken (I had 2 outa' 3.) and enough veggies to please even this farm boy. The Texas lady talks a lot, but she can cook! There was one more diver still missing, and we thought he just might show up then, but - we ate his part, too. A few mosquitoes, but somone in the group even had skeeter spray. Dang, I love it when I get something right!

And it looks like tomorrow will be better!

Couple of nights later...

We lounged again yesterday morning, working gear, chatting and all, mostly being chummy. And it's better diving when you get to know the people you're diving with. Grabbed another sandwhich out of the Texas gal's room, and we headed down to the docks to watch the pretty gals on the boats coming in for fuel while we waited on our boat. I kept telling the guy running the place that I could stay an extra week and work cheap just to watch the pretty gals, or if I had to have a Green Card, I would work for free. I may have to pay him.

Our boat got hung up on immigration island during the morning run, as one of the divers didn't have his citizenship proof just right or something? Then we finally got to the immigration island, and the Smokey Bears were still in a bad mood. Gave the Texas lass a little hassle about being born Arabic, until they heard it was to a USAF officer's family, and gave one of our Canadians trouble about forgetting he'd been arrested once as a teenager. Hell, I've been arrested several times as a grownup, but they didn't know. Texas doesn't share much information with outsiders.

Did another dive under the swim-under ship, and that was neat. Lots of freshwater sponges this year, the most since the water cleared a few years ago from the zebra mussel infestation. And they're spawning, doing the dirty sponge style. Even a few of another variety that look like Atlantic anemones, and zillions of mussels! A good number of fish, too - brown, green, brownish-green, greenish-brown. Saw a good size pike today, but couldn't get close enough for a picture without being swept out, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. And the cutest little sculpin, an exotic that east mussels, hoping along the bottom by an old anchor.

But the second dive yesterday was on a 100 year old wodden schooner, that has not crumbled like it would in the ocean with wood worms. Pretty neat. Artifacts laying around that have not be taken by vandals; most divers respect the rules. The unknown couple that joined us turned out to be married, but I figured that as an ordained minister, if I can perform marriages, I can grant temporary divorces - which I did for them and the couple running the boat. Didn't last though; they left the weekend as couples.

One of the local ladies is about as feminine and a lady as you'd ever meet, and it was funny seeing her hanging on the line working off deco. No problem, as she's quite the sport, too. I had lots of equipment problems, mostly because I'm still learning, but we came out okay.

Last night, what was that - Sunday, we all went to a pub downtown for great food and brews, and mixed with other divers. It's always fun to establish friend-of-a-friend assocaitions, in case you need to borrow money or something, and I met some friends of the operator that took my family manatee snorkeling in June. Neat. "It's a small world, afterall," but stop that damned Disney music! :dazzler1:

Today, we had the same leisurely start-up, grabbed some pizza-by-slice on the way to the docks, then boarded for a different wooden schooner. My Candybutt Cozumel Warm Water Wuss Texas friend is always getting chilled diving, so I made her a quart of hot chocolate in my spare thermos, made sure she took it, nagged her to drink it, and she was better. Bit of current on the wreck, but we stay down current or inside as we toured it twice. The pictures may come out? I'm digital, so I may tonight, if I'm up to it after packing.
(continued)

 

[DandyDon]

The second wreck was another wooden schooner in hard current, so we had to be careful to follow directions on how to get to it without being swept away, down one side carefully, crawling up the other side, around again, then - the flight over the wreck and away. Had to always remember to veer right along the wall; if you veered straigt, you'd come up in the shipping channel. Bad enough to hear a freighter come by - "Thump, thump, thump, thump..." and just maybe get some turbulance, but you sure don't want to bob up in front of one!

We all made it back to the boat, though, then back to the dock to unload and sort out equipment. The other DM in the group and I had to operate on our regs, as he'd loaned me 120 cf DIN tanks and a DIN reg, but we kept it all sterile. Lots of hugs and goodbyes until next time, and most hit the various roads. A few of us are staying over tonight before flying home. Who knows what we'll get into tonight?

Next morning...

Those Smokey Bears working for U.S. Immigration are an okay lot, I guess. The one we got the first day claimed he knew the Texas county where I was born, but wasn't chatty. The young storm trooper we got the second day was just a jerk, but maybe they're trained that way - to be rude and watch our reactions. I was much more polite to them than I am overpaid TSA agents.

We had to clear the Canadada immigration agents on the way back 2 days, and the second day - he made lady Texas and I get out for a chat. Friendly chat, though. We think he was hitting on one of us, but we're not sure which. I don't think either of us were interested.

Now it's time to hit the 401 to Montreal, and see what Canadadan luggage screeners think of 19 cf pony bottles in luggage. Got a dinner date in Dallas tonight!

That night late...

Okay, I have been advised that the wrecks were:
Saturday: The Keystorm, The American
Sunday: The Keystorm, The Kinghorn
Monday: The Gaskin, The Lilly Parson - and was that a wild ride. Good current practice, in an overhead environment, with outcroppings. "When you see a big rock coming up in your mask, go around it."

I think I mentioned that if one finds it necessary to drive up or down the Rio St.Lawrence in Quebec (pronounced "key-bek"), it's good to know that "est" is short for "east," and "ouest" is "not east" - similar to the Spanish words. Their ancestors had a lot of cross border invasions and inter-marriages in the middle ages, so they have some ligual similarities. {How French words got into the English language is another political story.} Yet, regardless of what you thought you learned in Daddy Bush's war, "sortie" does not mean "flight," so when you see that on a hiway sign, you don't have to worry about planes. "Sortie" means "salina" or "exit."

I zoomed back est towards Montreal's compact international airport, still trying to figure out what Kilometers had to do with miles, making 70-80 mph in a 100 kph area. As I entered the outskirts, I finally determined that if one punches enough of the right buttons, the odomometer magically jumps to kph - and I'm hear to tell you, blending with the traffic will run you way over the suggested speed limit! Had to refuel the red Grand Prix with petro sold in liters, in Canaddidan dollors, so I have no idea what that was exactly, but I turned the car in with the tank full and all the pieces intact. Avis Corp seemed pleased.

I always try to be courteous to the airport, airline, and government employees I encounter as I jump thru the hoops known as the travel system, but I don't encounter many terminal workers, and the airline people are always pretty nice less they get a bad report - especially once Delta agents see my FF-card & status. But then, I'm paying the payrolls of all these people, including the Smokey Bears & Cubs - of any nation I travel to! Ergo, I find it difficult to hold myself in check when I have to put up with rude behavior, incompetence, or inappropriateness.

I arrived at U.S. customs in Montreal at 12n only to learn that they take a 5 minute break every day from 11:50am to 12:20pm to receive worldwide advisories broadcast to them from the Lord High Smokey somewhere, so when I finally cleared that step - the Canadadian equivalents to TSA agents were still enjoying their recreational hour, laughing, joking, grabbing butt - serious anti-terror endeavors. I was the first one to approach a newly reopened luggage screening gate, where the agent swabbed one of my two oversized gear & clothes bags for chemicals - on the outside only, before telling me to put both of them on the belt. So much for my $10 process.

I was held up at the next screening gate for carry-on bags of course, where my most precious Scuba gear is always inspected, and it's always a puzzel to try to guess what these agents will want to confiscate to take home with them? This one took my Cable Ties! Can someone give me a hint why they could justify taking my Cable Ties? They afraid I might secure something, or connect them end to end to make a cable almost as long as the telephone cord for my laptop? Jeez!

And it's all a bluff and a waste. If a bad guy wanted to make a weapon, it'd take less than one minute to use metal fatigue on an aluminum soft drink can to start a skilled tear and fold, creating a point suitable for puncturing any jugliar vein. In that minute, his buddy bad guy could use his 80 cf scuba tank, valve removed per TSA safety rules for carry-on luggage, to batter down a cockpit door. And they took my cable ties?! At least I got to keep my nail clippers, so I could open my peanut bags.

Scheduled a 2-1/2 hour layover in DFw to have dinner with a friend. When I went back thru screening, my lap top went in one tray, my lap top carrier in a second, my boots in a third, my hat in a fourth, my pocket stuff in a fith, and my roll-on with my reg, 2 computers, 2 cameras, etc. First time they didn't inspect it. Actually, I don't think anyone was watching the screen.

Oh, yeah - my pony bottle rode thru in checked luggage. No problems.

Dragged my luggage out to the courtesy shuttle in Lubbock tonight, and the driver loaded the bags for me, as he does for everyone. I was the first to be dropped off, as I have a reserved space just inside the gate, as after he put my bags in my pickup, he said:
"Well, goodnight, Mr.Henderson."
Me, loud enough that the other 10 people could hear: "Don't I always tip you?"
"Yes sir, with a $2 bill."
Loud again: "Okay, here's 2 of them." I hope they heard me; I know that most of them want to conveniently not think of it. But you better believe I always get good service there.

Let's see - 3 weeks and it's time for the North
Carolina wrecks... :new_smili

 

[getwet2]

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.:thumbs_up

 

[scubagirl15]

Holy Dandy, that's quite the ride you had! Thanks for the report!

Those freighters are unnerving when they go by while you're under, aren't they?! I just think of them as "future dive sites". LOL

 

[DandyDon]

Holy Dandy, that's quite the ride you had! Thanks for the report!

Those freighters are unnerving when they go by while you're under, aren't they?! I just think of them as "future dive sites". LOL

You know, I had my beannie down over my ears, and I usually didn't hear them.

When one came by during our surface interval, we'd chant: "Sink, sink, sink, sink."

The recreational boaters and jet skiers worried me. One day, while waiting at the dock, I saw a boat with a big dive flag anchored just 1/4 mile off shore, diving one of the wooden schooners. I'd walked up to the boaters come up in for petro and say:

"Howdy. Say, do you know what that big red & white flag means on that boat over yonder?" Many didn't.

 

[sharkdiver00]

the definite yellow tinge of envy is creeping as I read.... hope you had a great time with the fellow Canucks... it's always great diving there L) thanks for sharing the trip report

 

[Scott Riemer]

Nice report Don, long, but nice! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us.

 

[DandyDon]

Nice report Don, long, but nice! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us.

Yeah, it was a little long. Sorry, but didn't have time to write a short one.

I don't think I missed a day greeting new Intros, though. Just unplugged my motel phone and plugged in my new travel puter.

 

[headhunter]

That's not a report, it's a story! And a mighty good one, I might add!

I didn't catch this report until just now, but better late than never!

Thanks for writing that up Don. It was a lot of fun reading it.

Christian

 

[Kayla]

Thanks for taking the time to post this, I enjoyed reading it! Sounds like you had a great time, thats awesome..... but I'm more then a little jealous!!