Freedom Way
Mike embarks from Montreal on Canada Day, for a roadtrip to visit NYC during US Independence Day.
This is Mike George coming at you live from Montreal. I am getting ready to go on a road trip to New York City today. Before I get started, I’m doing a quick "safety check" to make sure I have all my important things: my passport, my work permit, my cigarettes, and my weed. Fortunately, the air conditioning in the car is working for the moment, so I am in a good place.
It has been forever since I’ve been to New York. I have some dear friends from Steubenville and Wright State down there that I hope to see. Every trip to New York comes with a new adventure, new people to meet, and new boys to schmooze.
Right now, I am parked in the middle of Westmount. It is Canada Day, and it is beautiful but f***ing hot as balls —about 30 degrees outside. I’m doing the American thing right now, just chilling in my car with the air conditioning jam-packed.
Today is also the unofficial Moving Day in Montreal. 1 July is when the city is rife with moving crews. Fortunately for all of us, they are usually buff Quebec boys who are fabulous to look at; maybe we will pass some on the way.
I am going to hit the road now and take you guys across the Champlain Bridge. I am doing this without the aid of my GPS, so you get to experience me wandering around blindly. I have a decent sense of navigation, but I’m glad I don’t live in the Plateau; the arbitrary one-way streets there are confusing and you have to be vigilant.
I’m currently heading toward the 15 South. Navigating Montreal expressways "free-ball style" is a bit of a chaotic mess, similar to driving in Pittsburgh. I just had a stressful moment with a cop behind me — I get paranoid with police nowadays — but I made the light for the freeway.
While Quebec drivers can be aggressive and sometimes distracted, I find they are generally nice; they will usually let you over if your lane is "dangling off a cliff".
As we move along at about 15 miles per hour, we are passing the Atwater and St. Henri regions, which is the old industrial district of Montreal. You can see the beautiful skyline, a mixture of old churches and warehouse buildings.
We are now approaching the construction site of the new Champlain Bridge, which is being built right next to the old one. There is a lot of construction equipment and a Hydro Quebec transmission line project happening simultaneously.
We are officially off of Montreal Island now. I am going to bid adieu to you all. Happy Canada Day to those in Canada, and for those in the US, happy Independence Day on the 4th. Enjoy your freedoms; they are ever so precious these days. Have a good weekend and be safe.
