Here are the top stories at 7:30 a.m.: Many Vermont real estate professionals are hoping a drop in mortgage interest rates will spur a wave of home buying in early spring.  Vermont's neighbor to the north is celebrating a very big birthday this year. Quebec City is 400...

Vermont's neighbor to the north is celebrating a very big birthday this year. Quebec City is 400. From Washington, Elizabeth Wynne Johnson has this story about the 17th Century French explorer who founded the city, and his legacy on both sides of the US-Canada border.

The replica canal schooner Lois McClure, and its crew have spent part of this summer traveling up the St. Lawrence River.

Celebrations will take place tomorrow in Quebec City as Quebeckers mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of their city, and Vermont will be well represented by the crew of the replica schooner Lois McClure. Art Cohn, director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is aboard the ship. He speaks with VPR's Mitch Wertlieb.

In a few weeks, a reproduction of a 19th century boat that plied the waters of Lake Champlain will set sail for Quebec City. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum's replica canal schooner, the Lois McClure, will visit Quebec to help mark the city's 400th anniversary. As VPR's Ross Sneyd reports, the festivities in Quebec also start the observation of a big anniversary in the Champlain Valley.