Québec City Road Meet - 11 OCTOBER 2014 - Dates and Announcements

[agentsteel53]

In my admittedly limited experience, lodging during major holidays isn't much of a problem in large cities unless there's something else going on.

the availability isn't an issue, but the prices sure get jacked up.

[Janko Dialnice]

I will be out of the office the week before the 11th, the new leading date got my attention. Unfortunately, I already have other commitments for that timeframe, and have already paid for a hotel room for the Halloween weekend.

[froggie]

Carl, when do you intend to make a decision?

[Dr Frankenstein]

When I'm back from vacation on Monday.

[Dr Frankenstein]

So the official date for the meet will be the 11th of October, 2014, with a possibility for a early second date on 20 September if there's enough demand.

I'll go scouting either this weekend or the next.

[jpi]

Like I said, have fun guys, will be sitting this one out, I have a small toy show in East Ridge, TN that day (2 hours from the house)  but I will be there in spirit :-) If by chance anyone is going to Cody's Guntersville meet, Steph and I will see you all there!

[froggie]

Good for the 11th.

[Alps]

Tentative on the 20th for Poutine Coma. May need a 3 day weekend to hit up all the places. (Hey, Thanksgiving is wide open.)

[cu2010]

I'm a maybe for this one.

[vdeane]

I'm good for the 11th.  I'm looking at staying in Trois-Riveries Friday and Saturday and Montreal on Sunday.  Since I still don't have my job situation confirmed I'll be making sure to get a hotel with free cancellation, but once I have the Trois-Riveries one booked I'll be able to say tentative/probable yes.

Any way I should prepare for the language situation since I don't know French?  I'm thinking about how hotels, food, and gas (will probably need to refuel in Quebec at some point unfortunately) will work.  Also, should I bother with converting cash?  I try to use my credit cards (Master Card and Discover) for everything and haven't had issues in the past, but I haven't stayed overnight on my own before in Canada either.

[oscar]

Any way I should prepare for the language situation since I don't know French?  I'm thinking about how hotels, food, and gas (will probably need to refuel in Quebec at some point unfortunately) will work.  Also, should I bother with converting cash?  I try to use my credit cards (Master Card and Discover) for everything and haven't had issues in the past, but I haven't stayed overnight on my own before in Canada either.

Discover rarely works in Canada.  Mastercard is fine and works everywhere that takes credit cards.  I've never had to whip out my Visa card, which (unlike the specific flavor of Mastercard I have) charges exchange fees and has a less favorable cashback bonus, in Canada once I acquired the Mastercard, except when I've temporarily misfiled my Mastercard.  If you don't have a "chip and PIN" card (most U.S.-issued cards aren't), you probably won't be able to pay at the pump and will need to go inside to the cashier to complete the transaction.

I've made multiple trips to Quebec, spending a total of about a month there, and have gotten by OK with about a dozen basic phrases (some of them specific to fast-food ordering, especially "sandwich soulement" to avoid paying for a combo meal you don't want).  Especially on the main roads, businesses can handle transactional English adequately, though you might get into trouble if you try to start a conversation rather than just complete your transaction and go on your way.  Also try to avoid drive-thru lanes, where language is more likely to be a problem if you draw the least-English-fluent worker on duty, and to aggravate the drivers behind you if that happens.  (Even if you've memorized your order, what if they tell you they're out of that item?)  Going inside to order lets you point to the menu item you want, use gestures, and even get help from other customers.

On accommodations, free cancellations are usually possible, though the lowest advertised prices are sometimes non-refundable, like for my recent stay at the Super 8-Yellowknife.  The gotcha to look for is where you can cancel only up to the day before your stay, rather than day of (that's sometimes an issue in the U.S., too).

[Duke87]

When confronting language barriers, have subtle ways of revealing that you're American (such as by letting them get a glance at greenbacks in your wallet). People may be a bit nicer to you since then they'll be more understanding of you not knowing French, they expect Canadians to know some French regardless of where in Canada they're from.

If all else fails, don't feel like you need to communicate in complete sentences. Words and gestures may be able to get the message across. Point at what you want. Bring a pen and paper and draw what you want. Write numbers, they'll recognized those even if you don't know how to say them in French.


Feel free to use your credit card although be aware you will incur a foreign transaction fee whenever you do so. It doesn't hurt to have some Canadian cash in case the card isn't accepted at a particular establishment, but also bear in mind that you have a good shot at getting touristy locations or locations along a major highway to accept US dollars if you're polite about it.

[vdeane]

Discover rarely works in Canada.  Mastercard is fine and works everywhere that takes credit cards.  I've never had to whip out my Visa card, which (unlike the specific flavor of Mastercard I have) charges exchange fees and has a less favorable cashback bonus, in Canada once I acquired the Mastercard, except when I've temporarily misfiled my Mastercard.  If you don't have a "chip and PIN" card (most U.S.-issued cards aren't), you probably won't be able to pay at the pump and will need to go inside to the cashier to complete the transaction.

My Discover card has a higher limit, so being stuck with Mastercard is annoying but I can deal with it as long as I don't have to deal with cash only places.  I really don't feel like losing money to the exchange rate; the one I can get from the bank is significantly worse than my credit card's, and I don't travel to Canada often enough to justify keeping Canadian cash around.  Having to pay inside for gas is gonna be a huge problem though.  Higher prices plus prices in liters plus an exchange rate means that I have absolutely no clue how much it will cost to fill the car up (not that I ever have a clue even without those factors).  That, combined with my lack of French, could be problematic.  Unfortunately, it isn't an issue that will go away anytime soon, since Visa refuses to adopt chip-and-pin, and the other card issuers have decided that if Visa won't switch, that they'll just be chip-and-signature instead.

I've made multiple trips to Quebec, spending a total of about a month there, and have gotten by OK with about a dozen basic phrases (some of them specific to fast-food ordering, especially "sandwich soulement" to avoid paying for a combo meal you don't want).  Especially on the main roads, businesses can handle transactional English adequately, though you might get into trouble if you try to start a conversation rather than just complete your transaction and go on your way.  Also try to avoid drive-thru lanes, where language is more likely to be a problem if you draw the least-English-fluent worker on duty, and to aggravate the drivers behind you if that happens.  (Even if you've memorized your order, what if they tell you they're out of that item?)  Going inside to order lets you point to the menu item you want, use gestures, and even get help from other customers.

I don't even have that.  Fortunately, I don't use drive thru lanes (I don't understand the popularity; if the restaurant messes up the order, you're screwed, and who wants to make a mess in their car eating anyways?).

On accommodations, free cancellations are usually possible, though the lowest advertised prices are sometimes non-refundable, like for my recent stay at the Super 8-Yellowknife.  The gotcha to look for is where you can cancel only up to the day before your stay, rather than day of (that's sometimes an issue in the U.S., too).

Hotels.com makes it obvious which ones have free cancellation.  When is not the issue (I very much doubt the issue with my job will drag out that long, especially since the test results just came out today) at least as long as customs doesn't take issue with me staying in Trois-Rivieres for a trip to Quebec City (I'm not sure how to answer the "where are you going" question).

Also: I do not have any road maps of Quebec.  Does anyone have an atlas they can recommend?

[agentsteel53]

seriously, just learn "bonjour", "au revoir", "merci" and "s'il vous plait" and the rest can be done in poor English, hand gestures, etc.

I've been to many countries where I don't speak a lick of the language (mainly Slavic-language ones... completely baffling to me) and gotten around just fine with those four. 

[hbelkins]

(I very much doubt the issue with my job will drag out that long, especially since the test results just came out today)

Issue with your job? Are you wondering if you'll make your probationary period?

There was someone who was hired for the job I do in another office who started the same day I did. He didn't make his probation and I never heard why.

Only a few weeks before my probationary period was set to expire, I was responsible for a huge groundbreaking event involving the governor. Talk about nervous ... I was afraid that something would go terribly wrong, I'd be held responsible, and I'd lose my job. It was needless worry. The day went off without a hitch and I made probation.

[oscar]

Having to pay inside for gas is gonna be a huge problem though.  Higher prices plus prices in liters plus an exchange rate means that I have absolutely no clue how much it will cost to fill the car up (not that I ever have a clue even without those factors).

Just multiply liters by 4 to get gallons, and assume a 1:1 net exchange rate (after bank/card issuer fees) between Canadian and U.S. dollars, and you should be close enough.  I've been more precise when reporting here on Canadian gas prices, but the quick-and-dirty method is good enough to distinguish between merely high prices (not that your state is exactly a mecca of low gas prices, either) and the outrageous prices you can find far, far from the Autoroutes.

[oscar]

seriously, just learn "bonjour", "au revoir", "merci" and "s'il vous plait" and the rest can be done in poor English, hand gestures, etc.

You can add "merci beaucoup" (thank you very much) and "toilette?" (where's the bathroom?). 

[Alps]

Having to pay inside for gas is gonna be a huge problem though.  Higher prices plus prices in liters plus an exchange rate means that I have absolutely no clue how much it will cost to fill the car up (not that I ever have a clue even without those factors).

Just multiply liters by 4 to get gallons, and assume a 1:1 net exchange rate (after bank/card issuer fees) between Canadian and U.S. dollars, and you should be close enough.  I've been more precise when reporting here on Canadian gas prices, but the quick-and-dirty method is good enough to distinguish between merely high prices (not that your state is exactly a mecca of low gas prices, either) and the outrageous prices you can find far, far from the Autoroutes.

For reference, good Ontario prices are around 1.259/L, and Quebec is around 1.349/L.

[Duke87]

For metric gasoline, know your car, do the math ahead of time, and just memorize the result. If I'm at 1/4 tank it's about 9 gallons to fill up which is about 35 liters. So if it's simpler to just request a dollar amount, and assuming your gas tank is similar in size to mine, go for 40$ and that will get you most of the way full but leaving enough room that you don't risk getting all the way full before you've reached that amount.

If you're looking to fill it up you can overestimate and then go back inside afterward to square away the difference, assuming the clerk knows enough English to handle this.

[AsphaltPlanet]

It's rare to have to pre-pay for gas in Canada anyways.  At most filling stations you can just fill with whatever it takes and then pay later.

[oscar]

I'm an almost certain "yes" for October 11, barring unforeseen emergencies in the next few weeks.

I'm already doing some preliminary scheming on how to get up there (probably finish up US 202 between western Connecticut and northern Maine), and what to do in the week between the Quebec and Merritt Parkway meets aside from touristy stuff in Quebec city.  From what I can glean here, and from the MTQ site without knowing much French, there are new freeway segments of A-73 north and south of Quebec city I haven't driven, as well as QC 185 (future additions to A-85) which I can cover coming up from Maine.  But more new km-age on A-73, A-20 (east of exit 527), and A-70 apparently won't open until next year at the earliest.  What about A-5 north of Gatineau, and also freeway extensions of 400-series highways and ON 69 in Ontario if I swing that far west on my way to the Merritt Parkway?  Anything else I'm missing?

The southern A-73 extension to St. Georges (most still under construction) seems a little far away to work into a meet itinerary, but otherwise could be a candidate.  The completed northern A-73 extension seems uninteresting, and other A-route extension projects are definitely out of range.  (Other projects, not picked up by the magic search term "prolongement", I don't know.)  I'd cover those on my own in any case, either before or after the meet.

[AsphaltPlanet]

There haven't been any openings in Ontario since 2012 on either the 417, 11 or 69/400 corridors.  By October, the 12km 404 extension up to Ravenshoe Road should be open, if you do swing that far west, and I'd think that the new A-5 alignment up around Wakefield should finally be finished, but I don't know anything specifically about that project since I was up that way last year.

[vdeane]

(I very much doubt the issue with my job will drag out that long, especially since the test results just came out today)

Issue with your job? Are you wondering if you'll make your probationary period?

There was someone who was hired for the job I do in another office who started the same day I did. He didn't make his probation and I never heard why.

Only a few weeks before my probationary period was set to expire, I was responsible for a huge groundbreaking event involving the governor. Talk about nervous ... I was afraid that something would go terribly wrong, I'd be held responsible, and I'd lose my job. It was needless worry. The day went off without a hitch and I made probation.

I'm still provisional.  The civil service test results just came out yesterday (I got 100), so we've moved along and the likelihood that there won't be an issue is now much higher, but there are six people with veterans credits above me on the list, so we need at least four of them to say they're not interested in my job.  The way it works in NY is that someone who's provisional is basically a glorified temp with benefits whose only advantage over someone off the street is being able to bypass being interviewed for the permanent position if they're reachable on the eligibility list when it comes out.  My year long probationary period doesn't even start until permanent appointment, and I accrue no seniority for my time as a provisional employee.

It's rare to have to pre-pay for gas in Canada anyways.  At most filling stations you can just fill with whatever it takes and then pay later.

Lucky.  In the US you almost always have to pre-pay.  Is there just less gasoline theft up north?

[Duke87]

Lucky.  In the US you almost always have to pre-pay.  Is there just less gasoline theft up north?

Probably. In Canada people tend to be more trusting of each other than in much of the US. And they can be because people are more honest. The US tends to have a culture of "It's okay to screw someone over so long as I can get away with it". Canadians aren't like that.

[mtantillo]

I'm in for the 11th. Looking forward to it!