Restaurants

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Perhaps I Should Have Named My Truck Jekyll and Hyde

Yesterday, I brought my truck into the shop to have several things checked and fixed. I haven’t been driving it much because I knew the front bearings needed work. But, more worrisome, every so often, I would start the truck and it would make a weird electrical-type sound from the passenger side of the engine compartment. When I’d get to my destination, the compartment seemed hotter than it should be and there was an overheated smell.

My mother recommended Centre d’auto Chagnon on Périgny, so I called last week and booked an appointment for first thing yesterday. The mechanic and I went out but we could not reproduce the weird electrical sound. He then did a couple of test drives on his own and also couldn’t get the truck to make the sound. Except for the stuff I’ll enumerate below, he came to the same conclusion as Ken, that the truck is in great condition and he has no reason to believe there is anything wrong in the engine compartment. I basically need to do exploratory surgery (ie. spend tons of time and money running diagnostics) to find what ails my Ranger, if anything. Augh.

My list had:

– The weird sound. Not solved.

– Check front bearings. Checked and only the right one had to be replaced.

– Oil change. Done.

– E-brake light not working properly, please check the fuse. Turns out the e-brake line was shot. They replaced it and now the light is working properly and the e-brake is much more impressive in its ability to keep my truck stationary! 🙂

– Why is the headlight on the passenger side not working when it has been replaced? Turns out it was burned out. So I either didn’t replace it properly, or I have an electrical problem along the lines of my alternator over charging and shorting out things, which could make for an odd electrical sound and cooked smell… The mechanic said that if my light burns out again and the noise comes back, then I should start by having the alternator looked at.

The shop noted that:

– One of my battery posts was broken. Also, the battery failed a load test. I had thought to replace it when I bought the truck, but the load test results were okay, so I didn’t. This time, I went ahead and got a new one, plus a new post.

– My tires needed to be rotated. I had them rotated.

I picked up Moya this afternoon and was advised to take her for a long test drive, at least 50KM round trip, over a variety of roads, and at a variety of speeds to test all my gears. If I got any red flags, I was to either drive back to the garage immediately, or, worst case scenario, call them for a tow.

Of course, my truck performed perfectly on said test drive and I had such a lovely drive through the rural Montrégie under crystal blue skies and coloured trees. 🙂

I took route 112 east all the way to Rougemont, known for its apple orchards. There, I turned around and cut through Marieville to go circle Mont St-Grégoire, site of a lot of érablières/cabanes à sucres (sugar shacks). This mont is one of several that give the otherwise prairie-flat Montérégie its name.

Needless to say, I hadn’t planned on playing tourist today, so I didn’t have my camera. So these shots from my phone will have to do. I’m including a bonus one from an excursion into Montreal yesterday.

There is a Mexican restaurant in Montreal called 'Mex In the City'! LOL

There is a Mexican restaurant in Montreal called ‘Mex In the City’! LOL

Mont St-Grégoire is recognizable as an adorable little lump. The other monts, including St-Hilaire and St-Bruno, are a bit longer and more spread out.

Mont St-Grégoire is recognizable as an adorable little lump. The other monts, including St-Hilaire and St-Bruno, are a bit longer and more spread out.

Mont St-Grégoire

Mont St-Grégoire

I'm just a little late for fall colours, but there are still enough to remind me that we don't get colours like these out west!

I’m just a little late for fall colours, but there are still enough to remind me that we don’t get colours like these out west!

I took this road at random, thinking it would go around Mont St-Grégoire, which it did. But it also took me past one of the érablières I most often visited as a child.

I took this road at random, thinking it would go around Mont St-Grégoire, which it did. But it also took me past one of the érablières I most often visited as a child.

I’m going to make it a point to take the truck out more often in the next few weeks at times when the garage is open in case the noise comes back so that I can drive straight there and have the mechanic listen to it.

Ah, used vehicles are always fun. 🙂 So far, I haven’t had to put anything into this truck that feels excessive, and, even with the cost of purchase, I’m still at well less than what my car would have cost in payments alone for the last year of the loan. All is good!

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Little Italy and Jean Talon Market, Montreal

Blog reader and occasional commenter Thierry wanted to meet up with me today to talk about some of the practical aspects of setting out on the road full-time in Canada. As he is based in a part of the city where my mother shops frequently, I asked if she was due for an excursion, hoping to get a ride in so that I could take public transportation out. Yup. So she dropped me off in Little Italy near the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Thierry.

As I had about an hour to kill, I decided to do some shopping. This being Sunday, a lot was closed, but the Italian grocery store Milano on St-Laurent was open so I decided to go pick up some treats. On the way there, I passed Anatol, a spice merchant. Being out of turmeric, I was tempted to go in, but I had a feeling my budget wouldn’t survive this shop. 🙂

Milano’s is a couple of doors down:

This store reminded me of one of my favourite shops in Ottawa’s Byward Market that I used to frequent often. It was full to the brim with wonderful products straight from Italy, as well as offering a full deli, cheese counter, fruit and vegetable section, and some North American groceries. Mindful that I would have to carry everything for hours, I made some careful choices of pesto, biscotti, gnocchi, Jerusalem couscous, and this awesome multi-coloured pasta:

I’ve been wanting to try squid ink pasta for some time, so this seemed like a non-intimidating introduction.

Heading back to the restaurant, I snapped a pic of iconic Montreal architecture:

Montreal is famous for these row houses with the huge exterior staircases in the front. Common lore from the time when the Church ruled Quebec with an iron fist claims that the staircases are outside so that neighbours could keep an eye on who was going into the houses to reduce moral depravity.

The other, more logical, claim has to do with the climate. While it might not make sense to have a big slippery staircase outside a building where it’s winter six months of the year, it does make sense to not waste energy heating an enclosed staircase.

I met Thierry at the appointed hour where I taught him the first lesson of his future life: that you need to be flexible in your plans. As it turns out, the restaurant was closed at lunch time! We walked around a little looking for a non-crowded place and he ended up directing us to the SoupeSoup lunch counter on Casgrain. It’s a tiny place serving up salads, soups, sandwiches, coffees, and desserts. The food was excellent and this was a great place to linger and chat.

After, we crossed the street to finish up the conversation at Jean-Talon Market, a large year-round market offering some of the best products from all over Quebec.

In the summer, there are a lot of exterior vendors, but there is an enclosed year-round space, too.

After Thierry left, I wandered around for a bit and finally splurged on some creamed honey and maple syrup, and ended up paying several dollars less than the sticker price because the vendor was closing up for the season!

There is something wrong with the maple syrup can. Can you guess what it is?

It was starting to spit after this, so I decided it was time to start heading for home. Tomorrow, I will introduce you to Montreal’s métro system!

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Visit With An Old Friend

One of my best friends from high school now lives in Australia. We just happened to be in the same time zone and a short distance apart this month! This is a gal I go way back with. We have so many inside jokes and war stories and travel history that our friendship is the kind that can pick up at any time. It took a while for us to piece together the last time we saw each other, disbelieving that it was during our trip to Colorado in ’96. No, it was more recently than that, and definitely post 9/11 as I remember her breaking the news to me that one of our former classmates died in the attacks.

We met for lunch at the Boston Pizza in Saint-Bruno simply because the mall is about equi-distance for both of us and BP is the only sit down restaurant there.  We spent the afternoon together, trying to cram into four hours all those years apart. Needless to say, we failed.

Of all my friends from high school, she is the one I relate to the most. We’re both single gals in our early 30s who are dedicated travelers. We’re far from our families and are trying to reconcile the dreams we have for our lives with the expectations society has for us.

Her schedule is really tight for this trip, but we hope to squeeze in a coffee date next week. Otherwise, I just may have to go visit her in Australia myself!

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Home Never Felt So Good

I packed up all my stuff from the house this afternoon, then did a Tim Hortons run for a quick dinner. When I got back, my mother was still out gallivanting, so I decided to get level on my own. The asphalt was still showing the marks of where the boards were, so getting leveled wasn’t too bad. It’s just a bit awkward since the driveway just got repaved and each time I turn the wheels, I damage the surface a little, so I have to get in with as few turns as possible.

Once level, I hooked up power, filled the fresh water tank, and got unpacked. I just have the food left, but the fridge will take into tomorrow to get cold. I gave it a head start on propane before leaving Boucherville this afternoon.

I am really irked that even though I cleaned and dried every nook and cranny of the fridge, there was still mould in it when I opened it up today. So I had to clean it again. I hope I never have to empty and turn off the fridge again like that, but if I do, I will figure out a way to securely leave the door ajar.

This weekend’s plans may change a little since my mother wants to finish up what we need to do to make it possible for Tabitha and Neelix to finally have their long overdue homecoming. But I am still going to squeeze in some time to work on the overhang. Miranda otherwise looking pretty good is a big motivator.

The service tech at Boisvert probably thought that cleaning and waxing the truck part was a small thing, but it’s major for me because it’s one less thing to do. Have you ever felt you had so much to do that you couldn’t get started on anything? That’s how the exterior project felt for me until I saw Miranda yesterday. I mean, I can even see myself in the hubcaps! Even rePoliglowing is no big deal now that the rig has been power washed already. Boisvert Ford made up for a lot of the frustration left by the morons and I am very grateful to them.

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Quick Round Trip Into the Laurentians

This afternoon, I set off for Deux-Montagnes, on the north shore of the Saint-Lawrence in the Laurentians, to help an aunt with her computer issues (she’s a Mac user, obviously).

I had fewer than 70km to drive to get there and it took me two hours. It’s amazing that there is a bridge linking PEI to the mainland, but there is not yet a tunnel or bridge linking the two shores of the Saint-Lawrence to bypass Montreal. What a nightmare of construction, potholes, traffic, suicidal and murderous drivers, construction, more potholes, more construction, and more crazy drivers. I have got to stop taking the 10/Champlain Bridge/Décarie Expressway/40 west route. It was good back in the day (and the most direct route to Ottawa/Gatineau), but it has been a nightmare for many years now.

The trip back was slightly better, but I had dinner first to let the bulk of the rush hour traffic go past. I tried out Tako Sushi in Saint-Eustache as it was on the way home and I liked the name (tako is Japanese for octopus, my favourite kind of nigiri).

It was good, if a little expensive, but I was given three pieces of octopus instead of the two that came with the order. I didn’t ask why, but I checked the bill and I was definitely charged only for two. How nice of them!

The spicy tuna roll was good, too, but I could have done without the tempura. And I really like the mango roll (rice, nori, mango) in lieu of cucumber. Mango in sushi really works for me even if it’s not traditional.

The miso soup was hearty, but had way too many mushrooms. I’ve decided that since miso soup is usually close to $4, I am going to stop ordering it in restaurants and get an extra nigiri instead.

For the drive home, I took the 13 south, amazed that the 13 north was at an absolute standstill. The 40 was backed up several kilometres before the exit, so I continued on the 13 to the 20 to grab the Honoré-Mercier bridge to take me to the 30 on the South Shore. Traffic on that route was slow, but better than on the 20 in the other direction, which was also at a standstill.

I still managed to miss my exit after the bridge because there was too much traffic for me to merge into the left lane and I had to get off at the next exit in the wrong direction and loop around. I got all the lights through Sainte-Catherine/Saint-Constant/Delson. Needless to say, I was thrilled to get onto the 30 and speed eastward. Forget grabbing the 10 (construction), so I took the next exit, Grande-Allée, to arrive at my mother’s via Salaberry Boulevard (basically the ‘back roads’ way). All told, the drive back took only 75 minutes.

My mother and I did some renos when I got in. I’m now off to collapse.