the Niagara in Montreal (pictures!)

Niagara at the dock in Montreal, looking down to the ship from the sidewalk. (picture by Jaimy)


From further over towards the Science Center, the Cirque Du Soleil tents are visible in the background (to the left, large yellow and blue tents). (picture by Jaimy)One thing that took a bit of time to get used to was being spoken to in French, even by stop signs!
When ashore, act silly. Some members of Charlie Watch ham it up in an alley (right to left: Neil, myself and Pip [Phil]. Picture by Jaimy)
This is the garden that we discovered a few days later. A lovely place. (picture by Jaimy)

A picture at last!

Here's a picture of the Niagara, taken in Oswego, NY by Goldy, a wonderful lady who was working with the HarborFest, came to visit us and just kept coming back. Until I get myself in gear and put my pictures up, here's one she sent me. Smashing, no?

Home again

Here I am at home again, sitting in my room and listening to the birds outside of my window.
It's odd to have solid ground under my feet and a flat bed that doesn't swing like my hammock; this morning I woke up lying on my back sideways across the bed, just so the dip in the matress would feel like my hammock! Oh dear, scarred for life it seems.
We got back into Erie, PA on the 4th, and then had two days off. A handful of people (mostly volunteers who live in Erie) left the ship that evening, and others drifted off. It was nice to be back, but there were tears and hugs and promises to keep in touch.
On the 5th Neil, Phil and I drove around town, visiting and poking around some fun shops, savoring time together.
Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa came on the 6th, and we looked through the museum and ship some more before leaving. It was hard to turn away and say goodbye to all my shipmates, who were like family, but I know that we'll cross paths again somehow, hopefully next year!

Phil's grandparents and aunt and uncle had a bonfire, which mom and dad and I went to, that was fun, then on the 7th we headed home.

Last night we went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the community college, which was fun. Tonight we're going to have a bonfire, maybe wade in the creek when Katie gets here, and generally have fun and try to not melt in the heat.

Life ashore is good too, I've been breathing in deep the earthy smells of grass, trees and dirt. How exotic they seem, after pine tar, wood, sweat and manila rope!
Alas, I miss the ship, but I'm glad to be home.

Homeward Bound

We're now in Port Colborne, Ontario, so back in Canada with"eh" in every sentence and high roam rates on my cell phone, ah well.
Today is my watch's day off, so I wandered around the car show (!!) and then hied my way to the marina and computer.
Oswigo was nice, there was a charming little maritime museum that was right on the dock where we were tied up, so I got to spend some down time exploring that, as well as enjoying the beautiful fireworks we had one evening.

Port Colborne is a cute little place, they've got a canal days festival going on so there are lots of little booths set up along the main drag and another tall ship and some tugboats near where we are. I'm hoping to get a tour of the other ship today, it's a schooner, steel hulled, but it's still pretty nice, though of course nowhere near as wonderful as Niagara!

I can't believe how fast this month has gone by, time seems so different here. It's hard to believe that we'll be back in Erie in a few days and I'll be going back home. The ship is a world apart from anything else, when you spend time close (very close!) to the same people for any amount of time and share so many experiences it's a very different way of getting to know people, the bond between shipmates is something that is truly different than anything else I've ever experienced.

Although I almost don't want to leave because we're going back home, I can't wait to sail again. Port visits are fun, but they drag on and on, when we're sailing it's so different, everything just fits differently, I don't know how to describe it.

I've been considering extending my time, though I do know that there's another life waiting for me back home, and I do look forward to that as well.
It's been a good month, and I hope to come back again as an apprentice next year for the Great Lakes Challenge, a huge tall ships race, that would be exciting!

But now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day off, much love to all.