As we approached Franconia Notch, a scenic portion of the White Mountains, we noticed that motorcycle drivers had pulled over to the side of the road to put on their rain gear. We wondered, at that moment, if we should put the top up on the convertible. We looked at each other for just a brief moment, knew what the other was thinking, and proceeded without another word about it. We were two women determined to get to The Montreal Jazz Festival… with the top down. As we drove higher into the low cloud cover in the mountains, the temperature kept dropping. We started the day off at 82 degrees, and now was 65 degrees. At this point there are goose bumps on my arms, but I decided that until they also show up on my legs I won’t even consider putting on my jacket. Then my dear friend, Charlene, reaches forward and flicks a switch. ”Are you kidding me… this whole time we could have had heated seats?” Ahhh, that was much better. Then we see it… the sign that says “Danger – Cross Winds.” “Hold on!” she said (Charlene, not Navi Girl). With Charlene holding on tight to the steering wheel, that little car plowed through the wind chamber like the story book train that said “I think I can… I think I can.”
A few hours later, we arrived at the Canadian border. ”Can you believe we made it here with only $1.25 in tolls and less than a tank of gas? I pay $3.00 just to get over the bridge in Boston.” We pulled up to the Customs window and presented our passports. We were asked the routine questions of “What brings you to Montreal? Do you have any explosives, fire arms, alcohol, or cigarettes? How long will you be staying?” After the interrogation, we were allowed to enter Canada. I am sure that Charlene was glad to drive away without getting a hands-on body check like she did at the airport just a couple of months before! Anticipating commuter traffic, we figured we should be at the hotel within the hour.
The downtown portion of Montreal was dressed up for the festival with signage, bright colored flags, and stages. It was all very impressive. Once we arrived at the press room, we collected information packets about this grand festival. The numbers were staggering… 658 total jazz performances were offered during this year’s festival and 346 of them were free! Thirty countries were represented and approximately 3,000 musicians performed. We were a bit late for our concert and, since this concert was being filmed for television, we had to wait to be seated between sets.
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