The Rise of Dumbledore

We're baaack!

No, we're not back in Florida. Actually, we went in the other direction, but I'll get to that in a little bit. First, I need to fill you in on what we've been doing the last few months.

Justin, all furry crew members, and I settled back in to life in Buffalo pretty well. The cats were excited to have litterboxes that didn't move when an unexpected wave passed, I was excited to have a walk-in closet again, and Justin was excited to have a hot shower every morning that didn't require half an hour of messing with a generator.

After a few more months of construction, our flip house in Derby went up for sale and sold in a week, I got a new job selling furniture, and Apollo caught and ate a mouse. (It was a big day for Apollo.) In between the hard work and cleaning up mouse guts, Justin and I had a chance to reflect about our trip. We discussed all of it at length, and eventually we realized a lot of the problems we had during the trip were because of the boat we chose. Now, I'm not saying that Mischief Managed was a bad sailboat. It was in great shape with lots of important equipment, and what it didn't have we added.... I'm saying something much more controversial.

Getting a sailboat was a bad choice for us.

Before all of you sailboaters try to strangle me with your jib sheets and halyards, hear me out. Sailboats are great at what they do: sailing across a beautiful harbor on a sunny day can be an amazing thrill. But that doesn't always mean they're great for long term travel where you're not spending most of your time in convenient, sunny harbors. And when its cold, or windy, or rainy (or a combination of the three) an open cockpit isn't so great. Even Justin admits that before we started this whole thing, many years ago when global warming was still a fact and we had a president who didn't make sweeping government announcements via Twitter, he didn't consider a sailboat to be the only choice. However, after cursory Googling, he felt that the only way to go long distances on a boat without spending an extraordinary amount of money was to get a sailboat.

But then we went on this trip, and we discovered trawlers.

When we reached Elizabeth City, NC, we were feeling a little down. We were freezing cold from driving outside in the wind and rain, and we were a little frustrated with space limits on the boat. Don't get me wrong, we managed to pack a lot of stuff in there, but a many things were difficult to reach. You had to move six Rubbermaid containers, two fenders, and a printer (who packed a printer?!) before you could get to the toilet paper, which is a real pain when you really need it quickly. But then, an amazing contraption pulled up to the Elizabeth City town wall behind us. It was a motor boat, but it wasn't like the little gas guzzling speed boats we had seen before. This was a giant, lumbering, ten-knot max trawler.

We tried not to be too obvious as we gawked at it and then made awkward conversation with its owners. It took a few minutes of thick, syrupy boat compliments before they finally got the hint and invited us onboard.

It was amazing. There were two bathrooms, a full walk-around bed, a real refrigerator that you didn't have to dive into headfirst if you wanted to reach the bottle of mustard that fell to the bottom, and best of all, you could drive from inside. Oh, and there was a bathtub.

We went back to our sailboat in a daze. At first, we thought that this trawler could only be that great because it was bigger than our boat. But then we did some research, and we discovered that due to their shape, even trawlers the size of our boat boast multiple bathrooms, bedrooms, and bathtubs.

Once we got back to Buffalo and had a chance to talk things through, we realized that a trawler would eliminate a lot of the issues we had on this trip. For instance, you can comfortably sit inside and drive behind a conveniently located windshield. Also, the engine rooms on trawlers are enormous, and don't require Justin to contort his body into an expert-level yoga pose every time the engine needs work. Plus, there is way more room for storage, and (hopefully) space for us to take kids on trips someday too.

Yes, I can hear you sailboaters cringing from here. But for us, giving up the sails doesn't mean losing much. We tried to take advantage of the wind any chance we got on this trip, and honestly, we had our sails up more then most of our fellow cruisers. But that's motorsailing, using our boat's motor for most of our speed and adding the sails for a little extra. This whole trip, there were maybe eight hours where we used the sails only and didn't have the motor running (and four of those hours were not by choice.)  When you're hoping to get to a safe anchorage by dark you can't always depend only on the wind, so you need to keep the motor running, and many of the other boaters we met along the trip felt the same way.  So why not get a boat that's more comfortable for us and better at motoring?

So we decided to let someone who really values sailing enjoy our sailboat. Justin drove back down to Florida to do some extra work on Mischief Managed, and we listed the boat for sale in Fort Myers. Meanwhile, we scoured the internet for the perfect trawler.

And finally, we found it.... in Canada.

No, that's not us driving the boat. We're much prettier.

Up in the frigid lands of the great white North that less dramatic people call Canada, was our dream boat. Justin was so excited that he interrupted his drive back to Buffalo to fly up there and check it out. He fell in love with the boat immediately. It was way cheaper than our sailboat, but had everything we wanted. (Even a bathtub!) Before long, our offer was accepted and Justin and I spent several hours arguing about different Harry Potter minutia before finally settling on the perfect name for our pretentious old boat: Dumbledore.

I was a little disappointed that the first time I would get to see the boat was when we started the trip to bring it to Buffalo, but due to a series of convenient circumstances, I found myself suddenly facing a three-day weekend! Justin and I dumped a week's worth of cat food in the automatic feeder, packed our bags, and took off.

The drive up was fairly uneventful. It was a little awkward explaining to the border patrol officer that we were headed to Quebec City to look at a boat. "No, not a fishing boat...Like, a boat you can live on... It's basically a yacht, okay? We're bougie Americans here to buy a yacht."

We knew we were really in Quebec when we noticed that all of the signs were in both English and French. I'm sure my high school French teacher would be proud that I was able to understand just about all of the signs without peeking at the English.

I guess I didn't really need to translate the stop sign.

It was rainy and dreary getting in, but it was neat driving over a bridge I would be going under in a few short months!

At least I didn't have to drive through this rain in an open cockpit.

We got to Quebec City on the later side, so we went to get a quick dinner before checking in to our hotel. At the restaurant, I decided to attempt to be polite and speak the native language. The host asked how many were in our party, and I said, very proudly in French, "deux!" The host responded "Oh, you speak English?" I was immediately crushed. It took one measly syllable for them to find me out and realize I'm not a native French speaker. I'm sorry, Madame Guillet, I have failed you and those many years in high school you tried to teach me to speak French without a Syracuse accent.

I decided to cheer myself up and celebrate my arrival in Canada by ordering poutine. (For those who don't know, poutine is french fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds.) I think my arteries are still clogged. I also discovered that Canadians are obsessed with rotisserie chicken, and in Canada, barbecue sauce and gravy are the same thing.

I will never look at a fry the same way again.

The next day, we got up and drove to the Quebec Yacht Club so I could meet our new boat.

And here it is in all of its nautical glory.

This boat is very secretive. It's keeping a lot under wraps.

I clambered up onto the boat, which was still parked on land because winter never ends in Canada.

One of my favorite parts of this new boat and one of the first things I noticed was the swim platform. I'm so excited to be able to sit on it and dangle my feet in the water as we drive along.

My butt will sit on this.

Next, I wandered around the outside of the boat. There were no booms smacking me in the face, no lines for me to trip on, and no shrouds for me to run into. 

Don't worry. We'll clean the side decks. 

This boat even has a luxuriously big poop deck!

You're not actually supposed to poop on the poop deck. 

I didn't get any good pictures of the fly bridge (that's the tippy top part of the boat) but it has two nice benches, plenty of room for a table, and a super comfy chair and steering wheel. Plus, once the boat gets in the water, we'll be able to put up the custom canvas enclosure so we won't have to drive in the rain ever again. 

I walked around to the front and explored the roomy bow, and the beautiful electric windlass, which comes complete with two ginormous anchors and a super-long (and super-expensive to add) anchor chain!

This is where you do the Titanic arms out thing.

Then I went in, and I felt like I was walking into a TARDIS. (For those of you who don't know, a TARDIS is a spaceship/time machine that's bigger on the inside. Also, go watch all of Doctor Who.) 

The kitchen is Billy Fucillo HUGE with an upright fridge, a four burner store and real cabinets!

That counter space though....

I can't wait to fill that freezer with meat.... (That's what she said?)

At the front of the boat is a gigantic V-berth, completely equipped with a hanging locker (closet for you landlubbers) and tons of drawers underneath. 

We might put a litter box under here somewhere...

And the front V-berth has its own private head (aka bathroom.)

Bad lighting not included. 

And finally, I went into the second bedroom. I had to keep reminding myself that this gargantuan boat was two feet shorter than Mischief Managed. I stepped down into the room, and found myself facing drawers and lockers that seemed to go on for miles. 

Think of how many shoes I could fit in there...

There is a full-size bed that I don't have to leap up on, and when cats want to jump into it, they won't have to claw up my face. 

That ladder leads to a back door because one door wasn't enough.

Oh yeah. And there's a bathtub. 

The pinnacle of luxury.

Next, we went back to the cockpit, and I got a chance to sit in the captain's seat. I was thrilled to find that the seat was high enough and far enough forward that short little me could sit and still see where I'm driving. 

My butt will go here too. 

Then, Justin pointed out one of my favorite parts of the boat. 

Not that kind of thruster. 

This boat has bow and stern thrusters! For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to park a boat before, it's quite an experience. Unlike a car, a boat can't just stop, so you can't always line yourself up nicely when you're trying to pull into a slip somewhere. The wind and currents constantly move you in every single direction except where you need to go. Thrusters easily push your boat through the water, making parking much easier to control. No longer will we have to delicately navigate tricky docks and slips. We can just pull up alongside, turn on the thrusters, and slide right in.

And finally, Justin pulled up the panels in the floor of the kitchen to reveal his favorite part of the boat: the humungogigantic (I'm running out of synonyms for very very big) engine room. That's right, it's an actual room. There was plenty of space for Justin to work, eat a snack, take a nap, maybe knit a sweater, do some jumping jacks.... 

No cats will be allowed in here, no matter how interesting it is or how many fun hiding places there may be.

The bulk of the boat is immaculate, but there are a few things we want to work on, mostly because we're high-maintenance and needy. Justin is going to install the inverter from Mischief Managed on this new boat, and we're going to buy a furnace so the boat can be toasty warm everywhere we go. Like our sailboat, we'll have to re-paint the bottom, but we're pretty sure we won't have to remove nearly as many paint layers. I hate the couch in the living room, but I conveniently work at Raymour and Flanigan now, so I can pick up something super nice at a great discount. Also, there is a weird penis-looking thing on the front of the boat that's supposed to increase fuel efficiency, but in reality it just looks dumb and needs to be taken off. 

But you'll never be any less of a boat without it. 

I am so excited to get this boat in the water. Unfortunately, buying a boat is like buying a house, so we can't take it home yet. That will be some time in July. (Coincidentally, there will probably be another blog post out around that time...)

Since we had to stay on land, we decided to spend the day exploring Quebec City. The old part of the city was beautiful, with European style stone buildings lining narrow stone streets. Walking around the touristy shops felt like exploring Diagon Alley. 

I liked pretending all the people were witches and wizards. They looked at me funny when I said I forgot my wand. 

I am normally able to restrain myself when I go shopping in places like this, but I discovered a cider store with some super delicious plum hard cider, and I couldn't resist. 

We grabbed lunch at a café at the top of a hill overlooking the little shops. It was a really neat view just outside the restaurant. 

Is that Hogwarts in the distance? No. It's just Canada. 

This time I didn't bother trying to speak French to the host at the restaurant, but I did decide to order some French-ish food. I got a super delicious ham and cheese and mushroom crepe. Also, we discovered that people in Quebec like to dip their fries in mayonnaise. Ew. 

I know this looks like mush, but it was super yummy. 

After lunch we drove a few minutes out of the city to the Parc de la Chute-Montmercy to visit the Montmercy waterfall.

I am wearing two coats in this picture.

I was able to read enough French to figure out where to go once we parked, and I even learned a new French word: "téléphérique," which means "cable car." Why did I learn this particular word? Because we got to ride a cable car up to the top of the falls!

There was a person fishing down there. It looked very cold.

Once the cable car dropped us off, we got to cross a small suspension bridge over the top of the waterfall. 

Those ropes below the bridge were for a zip line that was closed. I was bummed.

After crossing the bridge, we got to see some incredible views of Quebec City. It was exciting to look out over the river that we will take our new boat down in a few months. 

Don't trip!

There were stairs that you could take to get to the bottom of the waterfall, but it was pretty cold and I didn't want to get soaked from waterfall spit. (Plus, there were a lot of stairs and I am super out of shape right now.)

My butt and thighs were very unhappy with me.

After the waterfall we visited the La Citadel, which is an active military base at the edge of the old part of the city. Normally, I don't like guided tours, but this time it was necessary. (Mostly because I almost got arrested by some Canadian soldiers when I tried to stroll into the fort unsupervised.)

Our tour guide was very entertaining, and unlike most tour guides, more informative than a Wikipedia article. For instance, I learned that there is a royal family of goats living in Quebec. Luckily, I'm a grown up now and it's totally fine that my goat fact is probably the only piece of information I will retain from that tour. 

This is the oldest building in Canada. The British didn't think it was good enough to knock down. 

Oh, wait! I also remember that this cannon's name is Rachel. 

We can't fit a cannon on our new boat. We measured. 

At one corner of La Citadel, we were able to get another incredible view of the city. 

Our new boat will be in that water soon too. 

We managed to leave La Citadel without being arrested by the Canadian military. Unfortunately, I also did not get to pet any goats.

That night, we had a delicious dinner and Justin was offered more mayonnaise with his fries. The next morning we woke up early to begin the long drive back to Buffalo. It was a bright, clear day, however, and we haven't had many of those to enjoy yet in Buffalo, so we made a slight detour to the Mont Royale park overlooking Montreal. We parked the car at a great scenic spot and got an amazing view of the city from above. 

We will not be going under that bridge. 

After seeing this incredible view, I couldn't wait to climb to the summit. I had read (in French) on the website that the peak was a short walk away from the parking lot with another great vantage point. I forced my very reluctant thighs up a few flights of steps and steep paths, excited to reach the top of the mountain Montreal was literally named after. 

Unfortunately, I guess my French isn't as good as I thought it was. It turns out the only thing we got a view of at the top of the mountain was this cell tower. 

I don't know how to say "cell tower" in French.

We climbed down the mountain and got back in the car for the rest of the ride home. Unfortunately, the border patrol officer was very uninterested in our new purchase and didn't particularly care to hear us brag about it. But unlike him, you can't just wave us on our way. You're stuck reading this blog post until the end. (Or until you set your phone down and do something else.) 

We are so excited about this boat. I don't know exactly where it will take us, and I don't know when we'll go, but I know the adventures will be super awesome. And indoors. 

tl;dr: We bought a new motor boat in Quebec