Day 101 - Resilience

On the way to Montreal we stopped to let a freight train go by. While we were stopped I looked out of the window and noticed an area that had very few trees. I realized this was part of the area that was devastated during the ice storm in 1998. This stump is one of many that were left behind. After almost 15 years, new growth can be seen. I admire nature's resilience and ability to regenerate but I fear that we often forget the time necessary for this process. As a society we too often take nature's presence for granted when we should be taking care of it.

Day 100 - Tracks

Off to Montreal to help give a SMARTboard workshop to teachers. As you can probably guess from the picture, I'm traveling by train. I always enjoy riding the train. I find it very relaxing and it's nice not to worry about traffic. It also gives me the opportunity to get a little work done or watch a movie. While we were waiting for the train I decided to go out on the tracks and take some pictures. I would have liked to stay longer and try some different angles but I was worried if I stayed too long I might be getting a closer look at the tracks than I really wanted to.

Day 307 - Resourcefulness

Had the chance to visit my old school today to meet with a couple of teachers. As I was driving I remembered the nearby high school and their creative use of an old train. The high school has a football team and they needed changing rooms. Their resourcefulness led them to use two old train cars. They've been renovated inside and spray painted on the outside. I decided to drop by after my meeting, take a closer look and snap a few pictures.

Day 162 - More Quebec Architecture

Planned on taking pictures at our staff party this evening but due to a lame dog (Sadie) we couldn't go. So, I decided to use one of my pictures from our tourist day a couple of weeks ago. This is a picture of our train station. As you can see, the architecture is similar to that of the Chateau Frontenac. It's beautiful inside as well. Just inside the building there is a beautiful stained glass skylight on the ceiling. In the middle is a reversed map of Canada (East is on the left & west on the right) with the railway map and on the outside are all the provincial flags. When the sun shines through you can see the reflection on the granite floor . It's quite a sight.

Day 109 - Transportation Day

Going to Montreal is always an adventure and when I have to go a little further to Laval it almost becomes a transportation day. In one day, I took the train, Metro, taxi and of course travelled a bit by foot. I took this pic while waiting on the platform for my train. Of course, being from out of town I made sure to double check that I was on the right line going in the right direction. Seeing that I don't have to change trains and I go to the end of the line makes it a lot easier for this out of towner. The trip back from Laval was a little more challenging as the train was crowded and for some reason they weren't announcing the name of the stations. Fortunately, I got off on time and didn't have to make any extra trips.
As you may guess from the orange dots, I was on the orange line. Sorry, can't remember the name.

Day 108 - Train Ride

My tech consultant job required me to travel to Montreal to help give a workshop on Monday. Although it's close enough to drive I really do prefer taking the train. It's relaxing, I don't need to worry about traffic and I can work or watch a movie while traveling. In my mind, it's really the way to get from one place to another. I was packing lite so I didn't bring along my camera. Once again, I relied on my handy iPhone. I snapped a few pictures while moving but found they were too blurry. Got this one just as we were leaving from St. Lambert.