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On 4/6/24 we started our adventure to play in Montreal and drive down early on the 8th to a little boarder village Abercorn to catch the full 3.5 minutes of totality.

The first day in Montreal was a bit of culture shock for me. I was raised in the heartland, so I never knew what it felt like to be in a place where my language was the minority. Since Montreal is a very multi-cultural city, most everyone in the city could speak English as well. That eased my anxiety a lot.

We took the train from Broussard into the city. It was extremely affordable to take public transit. And we didn’t have the headache of trying to drive around an unfamiliar city, not to mention trying to find parking. Right out of the Metro station I notice the Christ Church Cathedral. It was open to visitors, and they had a pianist playing. It was a very beautiful place. You can check it out HERE.

After roaming around the city we came across a cigar lounge. Met a very nice young man who was excited to tell us that he was accepted into the Canadian service. We had a nice rest from all the walking and enjoyed some coffee with our smoke.

After that we had to kill some time before we headed to what was my surprise. Patrick kept it very secret and boy was it a fun one. It was a speakeasy that had a murder mystery game. You have 6 suspects, and each suspect has 3 whimsical cocktails to choose from. When you choose one of the cocktails, you get a clue to help you solve the mystery. Needless to say, after 3 cocktails each, we were feeling pretty good when we left there. We stopped at an Ethiopian restaurant as has become our tradition when visiting a city (mainly because we love it and that’s the only place you’ll find it).

On Sunday, Patrick had found Exporail, a locomotive museum. They have A LOT of restored trains to look at and some of them you can actually go inside. It wasn’t really my thing, but it was fun to see him be able to be a big kid. I did end up enjoying myself more than I had expected. Being able to ‘board’ these trains was like a step into the past. They just don’t make things like they used to. And now after this museum, that is completely true. If you’re interested in this, I’ll drop the link HERE.

After the Train Museum we visited the gay village. It was a very big strip with all kinds of shops, food, bars, and clubs. Basically, anything you could want (just about) is there. I have an interest in the leather scene, so it was nice to be able to visit shops that had the gear available. I think I’ll just wait till I lose a bit of weight and visit Chicago full formal.

After a bitchin’ burger, we decided to call it a night. We had to get up a little early so we could beat potential traffic and get our spot at the tiny park for the Eclipse.

The drive down to Abercorn was nice. No traffic issues and we were able to secure a spot at the park no problem. The skies were clear and the sun felt nice. Since we got there early, we decided to take a walk around the little village. We found little plaques in front of some of the buildings and learned about how during prohibition, Vermonters would cross over to enjoy the nightlife Abercorn could provide. I found a link HERE if you’re interested.