On Ile d’Orleans. I love it here so much I’ve started to inquire about renting a room. It’s a place that feels like everything summer should be. Last week I was in Montreal again. This time the city proper in a wonderful apartment on Boulevard St. Laurent in the Mile End area. The apartment was everything I needed and wanted- as have many of the other apartments and homes I’ve stayed in, but! I think I’m my best self as a car dweller. And this is why: I am constantly battling my inner inertia- which is so, so, strong- if it weren’t inert it would be strong enough to move mountains. If I have the space to lounge and relax, lounge and relax I will, and I will become the number one procrastinator. I will win all the awards in that category. However, in the car, I can’t really lounge and relax- I mean, it’s very comfy and sometimes in the right weather I’ll read a book in my bed with the back open or take a nap- but that’s just it. I won’t watch 10 hours of Netflix back there.
Anyway, so I’m back on Ile d’Orleans, I arrived super late and still had the pass key from the last time I was at the camp ground so I just let myself in and found a spot. I was nervous about whether this was ok, I wouldn’t even care about being arrested (on my bucket list- but just for 24 hours, I’m not interested in a long prison sentence), but it’s the unsettling though of someone banging on my window in the middle of the night and demanding answers or identification or whatever. So, I called another camp ground in Montreal to get their opinion on whether this would be ok and was told that I would probably not be sued. That was a surprising and unexpected possibility to, well, trespassing. Anyway, none of those things happened, and I kind of think I could’ve left before the offices even opened and I could maybe do that every night and never pay to stay there. Tonight, though, I plan to sleep on the wharf. Now that I’ve graduated to car sleeping and enjoy it, I’m most happy when I’m car sleeping for free. And I’ve already met a few interesting characters/friends who live close to the wharf so I don’t feel completely alone.
So, what have I been doing here instead of watching too much TV? I definitely have not been working as much as I should. Instead, I’ve been touring the cideries (non fizzy, non sweet, mostly delicious), eating cheese (just regular old soft cheese that was made somewhere else in Quebec), and lots of strawberries (island specialty, I was told to look for auto cueillette which is, you know, picking them yourself but I’m not interested in that right now- it’s hot and also- been there done that- are the fields different here than in the US? Probably, but I’ll stress that it’s been very hot and I came here to escape the heat so I’ve been buying already picked berries, which are a refreshingly normal size not like the ones from home which are big as a baby’s head). Another thing I love about this island- so many flowers, there’s not as much concern with a perfectly manicured lawn and instead there’s a wild beauty to the landscaping. And also, so many benches and little spots to sit and gaze at the St. Lawrence. The man that first told me about sleeping on the wharf- Paul- he touted the main benefit as waking up on the water, he’s lived here his whole life and similar to others that I’ve spoken with - they share a love and reverence for this river.
Well, there’s probably a ton more to write but I guess I need to get to the work I haven’t been doing all week. Though, I would like to mention the Israeli parking garage owner in Montreal. But I can’t right now, it’s just too much. So, next time.