Hi All...Ben here,
For this blog, Wendy (Izzy's daughter) offered to help me write it as I’ve been suffering a bout of writers cramp. So please excuse if her bias is obvious below. This is Wendy. She takes me for walks, too.
She and Jim live in Colorado and came to visit us. My pal Neva had to stay home in the Doggie Hotel. As the summer comes into full bloom, Wendy & Jim joined us June 23 at his brother David and Debby’s house in Burlington, VT 
for a 2 week respite by land and boat. Initially the five of us left the boat in a local marina and overnighted at David & Debby’s house to get the local feel for Burlington and catch up with the family. Here's a picture I took of Wendy, David, Jim, Izzy Jeff and Debby having margaritas.
They live in a nice green area with lots of trees to squirt on,
and while they mentioned very cold winters, I saw none of it on the perfect 70+ degree days of my visit there. Mostly I held down the fort at the house while Wendy, Jim, Izzy and Jeff ventured into town – making frequent stops to the Harley-Davidson shop
to check in on the very hard-working Pearson duo in their high selling season.
Sometimes I'd go too and sit in the shade of a big tree and wait for them.
This is my view.
One afternoon Wendy and Izzy lunched with longtime friends and ex-Irvine neighbor Bruce McIntosh, his wife Ella and their two tweener girls, sipping lemonade along the picturesque Burlington outdoor mall. 
Then they went to the lake and dipped in the cold Champlain water.
Doesn't look like Wendy was going to stay in for a swim! Bruce and Izzy were getting a laugh out of that!
Izzy & Jeff hung out with cousins Janice & Jim Campbell for breakfast & dinner one day,and caught up on the family news.
They joined us on the boat for a nightcap and promised each other to get together again before another 27 years pass. (Yikes! That's 189 dog years!) The next morning by our door we found a bottle of yummy maple syrup they brought to us from their trees. Izzy made pancakes a couple of days later and I even got to taste one with that tasty syrup!
The motorcycle enthusiasts toured the lush green hills on Wednesday afternoon with a trip to Stowe.
Back at the house, we all enjoyed one very raucous evening of the Name Game. The crew topped off the visit with Harley Bike Night at a local watering hole where Jim and David squared off in a battle of the wills to be the “slow ride contest” champion. Brothers…
I noticed there was a good deal of boat maintenance going on since handyman Jim had arrived. I’m not sure whether it was planned, but I suspect Jeff had been building his list for a while, in anticipation of Jim’s arrival. There was oil changing, rudder fixing, and I’m not even sure what else…. Anyway Jim didn’t seem to mind. Here he is learning to make the Flemish Coil.
We left Burlington Friday June 26, steaming toward Quebec. That evening we encountered the biggest (but thankfully fastest moving) storm we’ve seen to date, while attempting to dock at Rouse’s Point, NY. One minute we were all smiles and chit chat,
and the next was like a scene out of The Deadliest Catch – rain pummeling us sideways, Jeff screaming into the radio to the dock master and relaying back to us, everyone scrambling to put their raincoats on and get out of the wind. Luckily the storm passed in under 10 minutes, leaving all us soaked, breathless and a little shell-shocked. The crew recovered quickly with a bottle of wine and a nice Italian meal at the dockside restaurant, then took a walk in the little town where they had some paper cut out people in the park.
I wasn't allowed to pee on these.
On Saturday we cleared Canadian customs (yes even Jim) and headed into the Great White, French North.
Wendy kept asking why the heck these people spoke French.
No answer seemed to suffice. “Cest la vie” is what I say to that. I found out that I am a "chien" when we walked by this doggie boutique with a real dog in the window looking for business like an Amsterdam hooker. They do things differently in Quebec.
This day we “locked down” 7 out of 10 locks to arrive in time for dinner in a town named Chambly.
Here's Wendy tending the line on the stern of the boat as we went through one of the locks.
I expressed my interest in the pretty French girls in shorts working the locks with a few barks. I like these locks!
Wendy got some exercise riding Izzy’s bike along the path following the waterway between the locks.
All of the locks here in the Chambly Canal are opened by hand like this.
Here's Jim at the helm going through one of the narrow bridges into a lock. Good driving, Jim! He catches on quickly!
After dinner and a night on the boat in Chambly, I packed up my beret and jumped into the rent-a-car with Wendy , Jim, Izzy and Jeff for a 2-hour drive to Quebec City. Izzy had reserved 2 nights at the “Hotel du Vieux” in the heart of old town.
We are getting quite the reputation for being rainmakers and this expedition was no exception. The rain followed us up the freeway and into the city. Wet, but with spirits un-dampened, the team headed out to watch a free outdoor Cirque de Soliel show under the freeway overpass. I know, it sounds weird. And if you’ve seen Cirque you know it was. But in a good way, they said. The performers came right up close to us as we stood under the overpass.
The next day’s damp and dingy weather, combined with the abundance of kitsch stores lining the Rue St-Jean, ignited the shopping spirits in everyone.
Jim tried on Hush Puppies, Izzy & Wendy found the sweatshirt and rain slicker sales, Jeff scoped out t-shirt stores and watering holes. We came, we saw, we spent some Loonies.
By Tuesday we were back on the water headed toward Montreal. Blue skies made for some nice bikini watching off the starboard side as local boaters buzzed by.
Some cool dudes on Wave Runners enjoyed jumping our wake.
Izzy and I were chillin' on the flybridge.
Jeff's ponytail is getting long,eh? (that's Canadian)
We arrived in Montreal to quite the scene on Canada Day, July 1.
Hundreds of thousands of locals had flooded the streets to meet us and celebrate the day with French rock bands, a fireworks extravaganza and the start of the worlds’ largest jazz festival. We stayed smack in the middle of it all.
Over the next few days, I kept the rain at bay with some hard meditation – barely. It came late at night every night, but left the days cloudy and pleasant. The foursome enjoyed a city tour by bus one day
as well as bicycling on the VERY new city-wide bike share program, BIXI.
The team was wooed by the innovative promise of BIXI – where you rent special bikes at self-service locations around the city for just $5/day. There is a catch -- finding an empty drop-off location within the 30 minute time frame they give you to drop it!
It became a scramble at one point that almost caused everyone to miss the city bus tour.
One touristy highlight for Wendy and Jim was a Jetboat Rapids tour
– a ½ hour thrill ride through the Lachine class 4 and 5 rapids that soaked them to the bone! Definitely worth a try for any Montreal visitor.
On the last day in Montreal, Jim’s uncle Ken & Norma Lynn Pearson came down from Ottawa for an afternoon in the city,
dinner in Greek town and a walk through the Jazz festival. Jim and Norma Lynn played bongos with the band at one stage. 
Everyone was amazed how much music was offered for free, and how polite and orderly the Canadians appeared at such a large event.
Saturday morning Jim and Wendy left for home, leaving me some well-needed peace and quiet with I & J.
We sure get a lot of visitors! But I give them all a lick and enjoy how easily I can convince them to give me an errant piece of cheese or sausage. And sometimes I can even con a short walk out of some of them. Thanks Jim!
She and Jim live in Colorado and came to visit us. My pal Neva had to stay home in the Doggie Hotel. As the summer comes into full bloom, Wendy & Jim joined us June 23 at his brother David and Debby’s house in Burlington, VT for a 2 week respite by land and boat. Initially the five of us left the boat in a local marina and overnighted at David & Debby’s house to get the local feel for Burlington and catch up with the family. Here's a picture I took of Wendy, David, Jim, Izzy Jeff and Debby having margaritas. They live in a nice green area with lots of trees to squirt on, and while they mentioned very cold winters, I saw none of it on the perfect 70+ degree days of my visit there. Mostly I held down the fort at the house while Wendy, Jim, Izzy and Jeff ventured into town – making frequent stops to the Harley-Davidson shop to check in on the very hard-working Pearson duo in their high selling season. Sometimes I'd go too and sit in the shade of a big tree and wait for them. This is my view. One afternoon Wendy and Izzy lunched with longtime friends and ex-Irvine neighbor Bruce McIntosh, his wife Ella and their two tweener girls, sipping lemonade along the picturesque Burlington outdoor mall. Then they went to the lake and dipped in the cold Champlain water.Doesn't look like Wendy was going to stay in for a swim! Bruce and Izzy were getting a laugh out of that! Izzy & Jeff hung out with cousins Janice & Jim Campbell for breakfast & dinner one day,and caught up on the family news. They joined us on the boat for a nightcap and promised each other to get together again before another 27 years pass. (Yikes! That's 189 dog years!) The next morning by our door we found a bottle of yummy maple syrup they brought to us from their trees. Izzy made pancakes a couple of days later and I even got to taste one with that tasty syrup!The motorcycle enthusiasts toured the lush green hills on Wednesday afternoon with a trip to Stowe.
Back at the house, we all enjoyed one very raucous evening of the Name Game. The crew topped off the visit with Harley Bike Night at a local watering hole where Jim and David squared off in a battle of the wills to be the “slow ride contest” champion. Brothers…I noticed there was a good deal of boat maintenance going on since handyman Jim had arrived. I’m not sure whether it was planned, but I suspect Jeff had been building his list for a while, in anticipation of Jim’s arrival. There was oil changing, rudder fixing, and I’m not even sure what else…. Anyway Jim didn’t seem to mind. Here he is learning to make the Flemish Coil.
We left Burlington Friday June 26, steaming toward Quebec. That evening we encountered the biggest (but thankfully fastest moving) storm we’ve seen to date, while attempting to dock at Rouse’s Point, NY. One minute we were all smiles and chit chat,and the next was like a scene out of The Deadliest Catch – rain pummeling us sideways, Jeff screaming into the radio to the dock master and relaying back to us, everyone scrambling to put their raincoats on and get out of the wind. Luckily the storm passed in under 10 minutes, leaving all us soaked, breathless and a little shell-shocked. The crew recovered quickly with a bottle of wine and a nice Italian meal at the dockside restaurant, then took a walk in the little town where they had some paper cut out people in the park. I wasn't allowed to pee on these.On Saturday we cleared Canadian customs (yes even Jim) and headed into the Great White, French North.
Wendy kept asking why the heck these people spoke French. No answer seemed to suffice. “Cest la vie” is what I say to that. I found out that I am a "chien" when we walked by this doggie boutique with a real dog in the window looking for business like an Amsterdam hooker. They do things differently in Quebec.This day we “locked down” 7 out of 10 locks to arrive in time for dinner in a town named Chambly. Here's Wendy tending the line on the stern of the boat as we went through one of the locks. I expressed my interest in the pretty French girls in shorts working the locks with a few barks. I like these locks! Wendy got some exercise riding Izzy’s bike along the path following the waterway between the locks. All of the locks here in the Chambly Canal are opened by hand like this.Here's Jim at the helm going through one of the narrow bridges into a lock. Good driving, Jim! He catches on quickly!After dinner and a night on the boat in Chambly, I packed up my beret and jumped into the rent-a-car with Wendy , Jim, Izzy and Jeff for a 2-hour drive to Quebec City. Izzy had reserved 2 nights at the “Hotel du Vieux” in the heart of old town. We are getting quite the reputation for being rainmakers and this expedition was no exception. The rain followed us up the freeway and into the city. Wet, but with spirits un-dampened, the team headed out to watch a free outdoor Cirque de Soliel show under the freeway overpass. I know, it sounds weird. And if you’ve seen Cirque you know it was. But in a good way, they said. The performers came right up close to us as we stood under the overpass. The next day’s damp and dingy weather, combined with the abundance of kitsch stores lining the Rue St-Jean, ignited the shopping spirits in everyone. Jim tried on Hush Puppies, Izzy & Wendy found the sweatshirt and rain slicker sales, Jeff scoped out t-shirt stores and watering holes. We came, we saw, we spent some Loonies.By Tuesday we were back on the water headed toward Montreal. Blue skies made for some nice bikini watching off the starboard side as local boaters buzzed by.
Some cool dudes on Wave Runners enjoyed jumping our wake.Izzy and I were chillin' on the flybridge.Jeff's ponytail is getting long,eh? (that's Canadian) We arrived in Montreal to quite the scene on Canada Day, July 1. Hundreds of thousands of locals had flooded the streets to meet us and celebrate the day with French rock bands, a fireworks extravaganza and the start of the worlds’ largest jazz festival. We stayed smack in the middle of it all. Over the next few days, I kept the rain at bay with some hard meditation – barely. It came late at night every night, but left the days cloudy and pleasant. The foursome enjoyed a city tour by bus one day as well as bicycling on the VERY new city-wide bike share program, BIXI. The team was wooed by the innovative promise of BIXI – where you rent special bikes at self-service locations around the city for just $5/day. There is a catch -- finding an empty drop-off location within the 30 minute time frame they give you to drop it! It became a scramble at one point that almost caused everyone to miss the city bus tour.One touristy highlight for Wendy and Jim was a Jetboat Rapids tour
– a ½ hour thrill ride through the Lachine class 4 and 5 rapids that soaked them to the bone! Definitely worth a try for any Montreal visitor.On the last day in Montreal, Jim’s uncle Ken & Norma Lynn Pearson came down from Ottawa for an afternoon in the city,
dinner in Greek town and a walk through the Jazz festival. Jim and Norma Lynn played bongos with the band at one stage. Everyone was amazed how much music was offered for free, and how polite and orderly the Canadians appeared at such a large event.Saturday morning Jim and Wendy left for home, leaving me some well-needed peace and quiet with I & J.
We sure get a lot of visitors! But I give them all a lick and enjoy how easily I can convince them to give me an errant piece of cheese or sausage. And sometimes I can even con a short walk out of some of them. Thanks Jim! Love,
Ben
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