Canadian Vacation

Toronto was cold. Went to Hockey Hall of Fame (sporty), Casa Loma (fancy), CN Tower (tall), and CBC Museum (small).

The old home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They now play at the new Air Canada Centre. This building kind of reminded me of the back of Styx's Paradise Theater album. An old building one vibrant with life now vacant and lonely.
The Hockey Hall of Fame. This is simply part of the complex. Most of it is underground. This building used to be an old bank building which now houses...
...the Stanley Cup. I don't know why the photo came out blurry. I did get to touch it. Not quite the same as a contact dance though.
Downtown Toronto from the CN Tower.
Skydome from the CN Tower.
The CN Tower, the world's tallest structure. They say on a clear day you can see across Lake Ontario. This was not a clear day. You can't even see the top of the tower from the ground. It is taller than you can see here. It is lost in the mist of a cloudy day.
The entrance to Casa Loma, the former grand residence of Canadian rich guy Sir Henry Pellatt. He went broke and had to sell. Couldn't get the whole place in one photo, so this is all you're gonna get.
This is how rich people bathe, with a shower overhead and jets all around. This was the most popular thing in Casa Loma for photos.
The Second City, breeding ground of many comedians, some great, mostly Canadian, like Dan Aykroyd, Joe Flaherty, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Martin Short, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mocherie, Kathy Greenwood...
This makes sense if you are a fan of that rat bastard baseball club that beat the Phillies in the 1993 World Series or own the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour album.
I took this photo to prove that my hotel in Toronto was smack dab in the middle of the gay part of Toronto, the Queer Quarter, if you will. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The hotel didn't advertise this fact, so it was a surprise to me. Downstairs from the offices of ACT was this bar called Mary's. The slogan if (I swear I'm not making this up) "Eat, drink, and be Mary." Across the street was a place called Zippers. You can figure out that reference on your own.

Ruminations on Toronto. It is like the New York City of Canada. I guess it's the Big Maple Glazed Doughnut. I was just thankful to be back in Ontario where it was all English all the time. The day I got into town was the warmest of the trip. It was like +5°C. I kind of like the Celsius scale. In winter it's really convenient. When the temperature is above zero, it's warm. When it's below zero, it's cold. Of course it's all relative, since 0°C = +32°F. Found Strongbow again at a pub called Duke of Argyle. Nice little subway system. Unlike the one in Montréal where I couldn't understand a word (French, you know), I used the subway in Toronto. Because of my expert packing and another use of my ingenious disposable underwear and socks scheme, I was able to bring back souvenirs such as a University of Toronto sweatshirt, a Canadian Olympic curling shirt and Team Canada scarf. Some may scoff at my brilliant disposable clothes idea, but damn it, it works.

On the Sunday I was to return I had some time to kill before I had to head back to the Lester B. Pearson Airport (he was a prime minister, now he's an airport), so I took the trip down to Niagara and took in the falls. I planned it so I could spend an hour or so at the falls and make it back in plenty of time to get the car back by 2:00. The only thing that would throw a spanner in the works would be a big accident somewhere on the QEW. Wouldn't you just know it. A big accident on the way back just past Hamilton. I got the car back a little late and then it was back on Air Canada and back to the States. So it was goodbye to the snow, CBC, TSN, Tim Nortons, Esso, The Simpsons in French, contact dancing, Beavertails (not related to contact dancing), the Globe and Mail, curling...

Two shots of the Horseshoe Falls part of Niagara Falls. I would imagine that with the incredible volume of water going over the edge that it would have to get pretty damn cold for Niagara Falls ever to freeze, if it's even possible at all.