Departure Day is a fun day

Departure day was FUN! This is the second time that Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) has been onboard a ship with me on departure day. The last time was June 2023 . She was onboard the Oakglen with me for a little trip to Quebec City. There were ships ahead of us and we had to anchor so by the time we made our way back up the seaway, it was time for me to get off the Oakglen and go join my next ship which happened to be the Spruceglen. Having Lorraine on board during the last 12 hours just makes everything more fun. Lorraine had a tire appointment to put new summer tires on the pretty red car and could only leave Tremblant after her 16h00 appointment. She called me shortly after 19h00 (7pm) and said she was curious about the GPS directions. She asked if there was a bridge from the north shore to the south shore in Sorel. I said, there wasn't a bridge. Neither of us knew that there was a ferry. We looked up the ferry schedule and saw that there was a crossing every 60 minutes in the evening. Lorraine realized she wasn't going to make the on the hour departure and decided to take the Lafontaine tunnel to cross under the river to the south shore. The Sorel dock where we load this fine powder product is busy with lots of oversized trucks and vehicles, miles of pipes with the occasional place that has a flame released, a great location for a sci-fi film. You can only join or leave a ship by security guard cars. Lorraine called me and said she was at the gate and they would be bringing her to the ship. I stood outside and saw the security guard come around the corner with so many lights flashing it was like a parade and the car was carrying a celebrity. The AB (wheelsman) on watch quickly climbed down the ladder to take Lorraine's little overnight bag and carry it back up.

Here comes Lorraine in the security guard car with lights flashing announcing her arrival.

I think this will be a fun photo to use in one of the Stowaway Adventures of Mitchell Mouse book series. Ever since I wrote a children’s book I see things through the eyes of a Stowaway Mouse.

I made spaghetti and meat sauce for my last supper on board and saved a portion of the meat sauce and roasted spinach for both Lorraine and I. We reheated it and ate it in the crew's messroom. She commented how good the spinach was. I said one of the crew mentioned the same thing and he went so far as to ask how I prepare the spinach. I said it's easy. A little olive oil, Adobo and roast it in the oven. A couple of crew members joined us and Lorraine laughed when one exclaimed "OMG there are still cookies left. For my last day I made a double batch of Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I also made a strawberry-blueberry trifle. For lunch I made beef quesadillas. I had some cubed beef that I cooked while I made my curried beef for Monday night. Usually I order beef flats which are huge pieces and I cut my beef cubes myself. I didn't want to defrost the beef side flat in case the other cook didn't want to use it, so I used two packages of the ready cubed beef from the freezer. When I opened the bag I was immediately reminded why I don't like the pre-cubed beef that we get. There was so much fat in it. I separated the good pieces from the fatty pieces. I am not against beef that has some fat on it, but it is not good in my stew or curried beef. For those recipes I like a leaner cube of beef. By the time I separated the beef I had just enough of the leaner pieces for my curry beef which was the second choice with the first choice of baked salmon on the Monday night supper menu. I challenged myself to think of something to do with the less lean pieces of beef that I had put aside. I put them in a roasting bag with beef bouillon. There was a can of beef bouillon in the dry store and I thought it would keep the little pieces from drying out. I put them in the oven and when they came out 90 minutes later they were no longer the discarded little pieces that didn't make the cut for the curry, but a delicious little bite of beef waiting to be used in a recipe. I separated the beef from the juice (which was very flavorful) and I put them in the fridge for Tuesday's lunch of beef quesadillas.

I wanted to make a crew favorite before I left. The double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies made it to the end of the day.

I have my emergency meal (butter chicken) in the freezer which I will take out to defrost for the new cook and he can use it for Wednesday's lunch.  I also still had chicken a la king in the freezer as an emergency meal which I decided to use Tuesday to make chicken pot pie. I had some leftover Turkey and added that to the chicken a la king. I made 12 chicken/turkey pot pies and was a little worried that I didn't have enough, but what a surprise when everyone went for the Beef quesadillas. The beef quesadillas were very well received. I filled them with the beef which was very tender after I broke it down in the food processor. I added fried onions, fried peppers, cheddar cheese and curd cheese. I grilled them on the flat top and they came out beautifully, offering sour cream, salsa and fresh avocado. I had quite a few chicken /turkey pot pies and decided to put them as a second choice with the spaghetti supper. If I serve something at supper that I already offered for lunch I always put it on the menu board with "part 2" after the item indicating that it is a leftover.

It’s nice when I can leave a fridge full of food and inspiration for the cook coming on board. On the floor in the grey bin is the butter chicken that I had frozen for an emergency meal. I defrosted it for the cook so he would have a nice easy lunch. I defrosted a case of chicken underneath with a note to bake the chicken to add to the sauce. The butter chicken sauce was in a container and a bag. I chose a container that was too small and had to put the balance in a freezer bag.

I used the beef quesadillas filling to make a salad bowl. I put a little homemade ranch dressing. It was my lunch and delicious.

The supper was easy to clean up and my day was done! I usually get overtime pay to clean the stove and oven but I offered the OT to my second cook. He said he would like it. He did an amazing job and I started packing up my personal items.

I always take pictures of the galley, fridge, freezer, and dry store when I leave. the new stove and flat top are such a nice addition to the Spruceglen. I hope that I can go back. It is a great galley. The light colored floor makes the galley brighter.

The dry store is full with lots of choices for the new cook

I always like having lots of onions.

The Spruceglen has a huge freezer.

This is my room with the forward facing window. the bathroom is off to the lefthand side of the photo.

Wednesday morning, departure day was exciting but until I see my relief, I am hesitant to celebrate. They have a system with the security guards that they only pick up crew members every two hours. I was excited to see the new cook come and thought Lorraine and I could get in the car and go catch a ridge but they security guard drove off and came back to pick us up at one of the scheduled pickup at 09h00. Lorraine and I were already down on the dock and had a few moments to exchange a few words with the new cook. Lorraine went down the ladder first and I heard her laughing with the new cook. I felt good knowing right away that the new cook had a good sense of humor and this made me happy for the crew I was leaving. I introduced myself to the cook and he said "I know you, I follow your stories online" He climbed the ladder and went on to begin his day.

The new cook climbing onboard

I love a shadow photo. The two portholes are galley portholes.

There goes my luggage over the side

Waiting for the 09h00 security guard pick up.

Just before 09h00 we saw another crew member come down the ladder. He mentioned that he was going to the Rona (Hardware store) . We offered him a ride. Lorraine and I had no time restraints and said he could do his shopping and we would drive him back to the ship. While he was in the store Lorraine and I sat in the summer outdoor furniture display. It immediately brought back memories from the years when we had the restaurant. We would have one day off a week during the busy ski/golf seasons. We would take the one day off a week to run errands and have some fun. We would often go to Costo or Sams club in the US. These days off were filled with activity and we would often take a moment in the big box stores to sit in the beautiful patio furniture, the displays designed with the plants strategically placed so you could imagine sitting in your backyard. It was a moment in an imaginary oasis.

Sitting in the Rona Hardware store outdoor furniture display. The crew member was quick picking up the items he needed but we could have sat longer in the comfortable display.

While we were sitting there I got a message from a Captain from the Sorel Ferry. He had written a comment on one of my photos saying that he was next door to us on the Ferry. Lorraine and I had decided to take the Ferry home so I wrote to the Ferry Capt asking if he was going to be navigating. He wrote back and said he was in the office but to let him know when we arrived at the Ferry. Our timing turned out to be perfect as our first glimpse of the Ferry was just getting ready to load. The Captain came from the office and said he could take us on a tour of the wheelhouse during the crossing. We left the pretty red car in its front row position on the ferry and made our way to the wheelhouse. It was interesting and fun. We saw the galley and the wheelhouse. met the crew and got the VIP treatment. We got some pictures of the Spruceglen that I had just departed. The Sorel Ferry was such a positive experience. We will definitely take it again. It saves a lot of time and avoids the Montreal big city traffic.

The Ferry Capt commented on one of my photos and said he was just next door to us. I wrote to him asking if he was working Wednesday morning. We met him on the crossing. It was fun.

We arrived at the perfect time. They were just loading the Ferry.

It was a chance to take the pretty red car for a boat ride.

We got to visit the wheelhouse of the Ferry. We got the VIP treatment

We got the perfect view of the Spruceglen as we crossed the river on the Sorel Ferry.

From one ship to the next. The Spruceglen is in the distance.

We passed the Gilles Villeneuve Museum in Berthierville, Quebec shortly after exciting the Ferry. Seeing it made me think of my dad. He used to love watching the Formula One Racing.

We made the two-plus hours trip to our home town Tremblant. We stopped for lunch along the way. It was a beautiful day and would have been nice to go for a walk but I mentioned to Lorraine that I was tired. I had been up since 04h30. Lorraine took me on a tour of our pretty little town. It was a wonderful first day off. Lorraine and I will leave on Friday to make our way to the Algonac, MI book signing/Meet and greet. We will have books with us for purchase. Bring the books you already purchased and I will be happy to sign them. We look forward to meeting you there. Lorraine asked me to tell you that we will be going to the US Post office if you would like to order the original cookbook or children's book. We will be happy to mail them. The new book "More Recipes and Stories as we Navigate Healthier Eating" is available for pre-order. We are taking pre-orders until June 1st so that we know how many books to order to have printed. It's an exciting time. We are planning some other book signing/meet and greets in the next couple of months and will keep you posted. Have a wonderful day.

We stopped for a moment on the side of the road to roll down the windows and open the sunroof. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

We are looking forward to this event. You can bring your books to be signed. We will also have the original cookbook “Recipes and Stories as I Sail Through my Day “ and the children’s book “The Stowaway Adventures” for purchase

You can pre-order the new book “More Recipes and Stories as we Navigate Healthier Eating” We will not print the book until after June 1st when we have the pre-orders and we know the number of books that we need to have printed. We are excited about the new book that will feature recipes prepared without sugar, flour and grains. You can pre-order your copy. Just click on the following link

More Recipes & Stories As We Navigate Healthier Eating – Ship to Shore Chef

We will have both of these books for purchase at the Algonac MI book signing/meet and greet. We will also be happy to mail you your copy.