international road trip

[kirkcudbright]

I will be in Ottawa Tuesday and Wednesday next week, for meetings and a training on DO-178B(?) certification. foms, con_girl, I'd love to see you, but I don't actually have current email for you.

Then, down to Rochester NY on Thursday, where I get to give the training, on code that I last touched about 6 years ago (Attache Plus for pSOS+). One of our customers has a project or product with an extremely long shelf life, so we're giving a technical refresher course to the poor shlubs who actually have to support and maintain it.

This is going to be in the range of 1100-1200 miles all told, and I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. I'm even contemplating leaving late Monday night, and driving all night. That should make for a nice short border crossing. I just hope my car is up to it; it's 12 years old, with 230,000 miles on it, but still runs well. I've been shopping for new cars, but I'm not going to get one this weekend.

Comments

[chocorua.livejournal.com]

In June, 2004 the bridge at Ogdensburg was pretty quiet early AM and late evening when I used it going to and from Toronto. Don't know if it's ideal for Boston - Ottawa, but it should be OK for Ottawa - Rochester.

[foms.livejournal.com]

I have sent you e-mail to the address from which you posted the Arisia 2006 souvenir book first draft link on the staff list. Also, my telephone number is listed at canada411.ca.

The usual route from the Boston area to Ottawa is through Montreal.
- I-93 to I-89 to the Canadian border
- through a short section of non-divided highway (Quebec Route 133)
- a very short distance on Quebec Route 35
- Quebec Route 10 into Montreal
- find your way through Montreal, probably following Quebec Route 15 (otherwise known as the Decarie Autoroute) to Quebec Route 40
- Quebec Route 40 takes you off the island of Montreal and, at the Quebec-Ontario border, is renamed Ontario Route 417, which takes you into Ottawa.

This has the advantages of starting very near you and north of Boston. It is also very pretty this time of year to leaf-peep in the mountains. Driving through Montreal can be a pain. One can avoid the whole mess by passing south and then west of the city, through Valleyfield, but it is a complicated route and probably not worth it. If you want to stop in Montreal for a meal (~6 hours into the trip, ~2 hours left to Ottawa), this way is ideal.

We have found that I-90 to Syracuse and up I-81 to the Thousand Islands Bridge and then back, eastward, on Ontario Route 401 to Ontario Route 416, into Ottawa, while it takes you a little out of your way, is all very fast superhighway and takes about the same time. It is, however, dull, dull, dull. Nevertheless, you've probably already decided that I-90 is your best route back from Rochester.

Maybe you want to explore back roads. E-mail or telephone. Yeah, that's right. I'll stop, now.

[con-girl.livejournal.com]

Tuesday night is food night for our "veggie cabal" (which is not vegetarian but rather the night that the organic veggies arrive from a local farm and get split amongst us and some friends. We have dinner together. I amsure that you would be welcome if you are interested.

Also, as we have a house we can offer you bed space but who knows whether I will actually be finished with the bathroom by then :)