August 9 – Chateau Montebello
45°38′37″ N 74°57′5″ W

Today (Thursday) we started our journey down the Ottawa River to Montreal. Our first stop along the way would be at Montebello, Quebec.

This was Angela & John & Levi’s first “real” trip on Santosha. Going down the 8-step locks & a 15 minute crossing of the Ottawa River yesterday hardly counts as a voyage. 🙂

It was a beautiful day & there was virtually no traffic on the river.

Traveling on the river was quite a change for me after spending over a month on the (much narrower) Rideau River & Canal System.

Levi had a turn at the helm for a while & he handled the boat like a pro.

His mom did a pretty good job too!

John found a comfortable chair & focused on some relaxation. His turn to steer was coming. This is the way to travel!

We arrived at Montebello about 4:00pm. Over the years I have heard lots about this famous hotel/resort but it was my first time here. All I can say is “Wow”.

Photo above & below: the boaters lounge at the marina.

The hotel was opened in 1930 & it is the largest log building in the world. The logs used to construct it came from British Columbia.

This is not an inexpensive place to stay but our cost at the resort’s marina was reasonable as we were on the “BYOB” (bring your own bed) rate plan.

Photo above: full house at the marina – Santosha is out there somewhere.

We had a great dinner in the hotel lounge (Levi was especially happy with his choice) & then we explored the rest of the main lodge area.

Photo below: Outside one of the wings of the main lodge

Photo below: the main lobby/reception area.

Photo below: I think I know these people.

Photo below: the swimming pool. Catherine would really like this 🙂

This is most definitely a place that I will have to come back to with Catherine. (Note to self: better start saving up now).

Cheers!