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This gives me faith in humanity as well. Lovely note and lovely photo.
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Having lived with as many as 8 cats at one time this one hits hilariously close to home…
Archive for August, 2007
29
Aug
07
links for 2007-08-30
25
Aug
07
East Coast Vacation
Finally, after several hectic months at work I am at the tail end of my first week’s worth of vacation. The bad news is that I spent far too much money – much of the overtime I’ve earned over the past several weeks is now gone into the hands of hotels, restaurants, and car rental places. The good news is that it has been totally worth it.
Paul and I were intending to leave on Monday morning but on Sunday morning, I got an idea – instead of renting a car in Toronto and driving all the way out east, I booked a train to Montreal Sunday night, a hotel for a couple of days in Montreal, and a car at the end of that to use to head for points east as yet undetermined (except that the Bay of Fundy was a general destination). Paul, however, hated the new idea and had a bit of a fit that our plans were changing. He had hoped to spend all of this trip as he did on the previous road trip to Missouri – in a sea of books in the back seat and saw the train as getting in the way of this. He also mentioned later that he was imagining traveling by train to be like traveling by subway – not particularly comfortable which for a 20 minute cross-town trip is fine but a 4 hour trip would be unbearable.
Well, Paul had lunch and digested the new idea along with the pasta he had eaten and got excited about the idea. We packed our bags and by 5:00 were sitting on a train leaving Toronto. Paul, now excited about the trip was looking out the window excitedly at the countryside that passed. A little over four hours later we were pulling into Montreal. Because my company negotiated a really good deal with the Queen Elizabeth Hotel we didn’t have far to walk to get to our room (not, incidentally the one that John and Yoko stayed in for their bed-in) which was good as travel by train always lulls me to sleep and I was ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately, we still had to eat and so we ventured back out. Because it was so late we just grabbed a bit of takeout at Harvey’s which was only notable because apparently every family with kids visiting Montreal happened to be there getting takeout as well.
As we walked back from the hotel, I realized that we had ended up staying in almost exactly the same part of Montreal that my friends and I would visit as a university student dodging the US drinking age of 21. It was strange to be walking down the same streets as a teetotaling parent past the bars and clubs I once stumbled by with a bunch of boisterous college students (and one designated driver who shepherded us around and got to laugh at our expense).
Originally, our plan was to visit the Montreal Science Centre as we’d been planning to make a trip out there to see it for several months now. However, at a reader’s suggestion, we chose instead to go to the Biodome, Insectarium and Botanical Gardens. We spent almost all of Monday there. If you’re not one to mind visiting zoos, it is well worth the trip. On the way back, we decided to check out Old Montreal as I hadn’t seen it before (again, it is very sad but most of my trips to Montreal before moving here were from University and so visiting most of Montreal, let alone Montreal in the daytime is not something I have done). We spent a while wandering the cobblestone streets before we ended up down near the waterfront and came across the science centre. And as it was open until 9:00 (unlike ours that stays open at best until 6PM) we decided to go in and use our reciprocal membership with the Ontario Science Centre to get in for free. And let me tell you, it was worth every penny. Unfortunately, it wasn’t worth much more as unless I am missing something there is only one small room with a few exhibits. We were able to see it all in about 1/2 an hour before we wandered the large building trying to find out where they put the rest of the museum. I was definitely pleased to not have made a special trip out there to see it.
The next morning, we picked up a car and started east. I made the mistake of not stopping for lunch in Lévis figuring that we were bound to find lots of options along the way. Unfortunately I could not have been more wrong. There is not much more, even along the Transcanada Highway between Quebec and New Brunswick, and it wasn’t until we were almost out of Quebec before we were able to find a Subway. After finally eating we continued, south this time, until we ended up at our friend Andrea’s house. We’ve known Andrea and her family, at least in the online sense (well, except for Ron who came for a visit about a year ago), since the early yurt years and so it was really great to have the opportunity to finally meet up in person. The longer I am online, the more I realize that it is a shame that our “blog-neighbours and friends” are not our actual neighbours. It could be so much fun. We stayed far too late not remembering until it was too late that it was an hour later in the Atlantic provinces than in Toronto (thanks for putting up with us, Andrea!). As we drove off, Paul looked out through the sunroof and noticed the stars. I had forgotten that there were more than the 3 stars we see in Toronto (well, 3 stars, countless airplanes, and the CN tower with its new lights that looked cool until someone compared them to the neon lights under some kid’s Honda Civic and now I’m cursed with that image every time I look out our living room window.
That night we stayed in a nearby hotel, getting in at 11:00 just as the front desk was closing (who knew they had hotels without all-night front desks). This would not have normally been a problem were it not for the fact that I had not thought to mention that I wanted a nonsmoking room (my company requires for my business travel that I use an online booking system that automatically knows my preferences and so I never think to ask for non-smoking). Anyway, we got to the room and it reeked of cigarettes and there was no way to change the room – and frankly we were exhausted anyway.
I woke up at about 5:00 (which was 4:00 in Toronto!) tired of the smell and ready to leave. I got ready as much as I could and then woke up Paul and got him ready as well and after a quick breakfast we were out the door and heading towards the ocean. Special thanks ought to go to google maps for the directions we got. Apparently to get from Andrea’s house to Hopewell Cape requires spending most of the time on small farm roads and even about 10 km of dirt roads. What do I know – it could be the fastest way but I think I was the only one who took that way – no other cars were caked with the layer of dust that ours was covered in. After a quick lunch we headed down to the water and spent the rest of the day – or at least until we had to leave the beach as the tide was coming in and soon where we were standing would be under 30 feet or more of water. While Paul’s intent in going here was to look for rocks and fossils, we ended up spending just as much time looking for hermit crabs and other denizens of tide pools as we did looking for fossils (we found none anyway).
At the end of the day we headed back to Moncton where we stopped at a hotel and asked if they had any rooms. “We have one left” said the clerk. And fortunately, that room happened to be a nonsmoking room. As we were checking in the clerk promised Paul a “welcome gift” and headed off to get it but then came back looking disappointed. As it turns out, the “welcome gifts” whatever they might be were totally gone. Instead, we were offered a free pay per view movie. And so, after a quick vegetarian dinner we headed back to watch The Last Mimzy – a huge hit with Paul and one I’d highly recommend as well.
The next day we made plans to head for Nova Scotia. I emailed Bruce Murray and later talked on the phone making plans to possibly stop there that night. He suggested we head for the area around Parrsboro if we were looking for fossils, and so we headed that way. On the way we followed signs to Joggins where we ended up spending the whole day at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs. This time we not only found hermit crabs but also managed to find several cool fossils. We brought four home, but unfortunately the best one we found, of the bark of a large coal-age tree, was too big and heavy to bring home. Still, we got a few photos.
. Before long, I realized we were going to be spending so long here that our chances of making it up to see Bruce and his family were pretty slim and I let Bruce know we probably couldn’t make it. We stayed until the tide had come much of the way in and headed back up to the car and started for Parrsboro where we saw that there might be a hotel. By the time we got there, though, Paul decided we could keep on going and we headed further down the twisting road. About 1/2 hour later we stopped at a small family restaurant to get dinner. When I looked at Paul I noticed he looked exhausted and he whispered that he felt really ill. And so we left the restaurant before ordering and got back in the car where Paul promptly fell asleep. I figured he either was car sick (he was writing a story as we travelled down this winding, hilly road), or at worst, a case of food poisoning. Planning for the worst, I headed for Truro with the thought we might actually stop in Halifax. The hope being that if Paul was sick, I could be in a hotel with room service where I wouldn’t have to go out to get anything.
About 8:00 I stopped in Truro and woke Paul up at a Tim Hortons to see if he was hungry. It took a heroic effort but I got him to open one eye enough that he could tell me he wanted a bagel. I picked one up, asked him how he felt (better) and gave him the bagel. He ate one bite and then promptly fell back asleep. I continued on to Halifax, and an hour later we arrived at the first hotel. I woke Paul up – he was hugely disoriented and not sure if he’d slept all the next day or what time it was. No luck at the first two hotels and so we ended up spending a bit too much money on the hotel I’m now in. We checked in, sent down for room service and then got ready for bed.
Friday, Paul’s 9th Birthday, it rained all day. My plans for wandering the streets of Halifax were somewhat screwed up and so we ended up going to the Discovery Centre and, when it turned out that that was only large enough to keep us busy for a couple hours, headed over to Museum of Natural History where we spent another couple hours before grabbing lunch and heading back to the hotel, where after a short trip out to a fabulous Childrens’ Bookstore to get a few birthday books, we settled back in the hotel to watch an animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s the BFG on Youtube before heading to bed – or rather before I went to sleep and Paul read his new books.
In a few minutes I’m going to wake up Paul and we’re going to be heading back. We’ve booked another hotel in eastern Quebec for tonight and then Sunday night we’re heading back to Toronto. Overall, this has been a huge success. Probably one of the best vacations I’ve had. It’s weird to think that this will be one of Paul’s childhood memories. I know, it sounds obvious, but I never imagined myself playing a part in anyone’s childhood memories but my own and it really changes one’s perspective as to how one chooses to act and what one chooses to do.
And as for me, this has been a fabulous vacation. I’ve been wanting to see the east coast since we moved to Toronto. I’m always dying to travel but never having the time to do it except for business lately. I also was able to relax more than I have in months. There was a point as I was on the beach in Joggins that I realized just how stressed out I had been. The point came from a simple motion: squatting down to see a tidepool and then, a minute or two later standing up. On this trip, for the first time in months, I got lightheaded when standing up too fast as I always used to before this latest project. Why did this change? My normal blood pressure range has always been on the low side and when I stand up, the blood runs to my feet and I feel lightheaded. However, lately, my blood pressure has actually been on the high side (in March it was surprisingly high moving me to go back to being vegan, quitting regular caffeine consumption, and to lose (thus far – still working) 30 lbs, a few weeks ago I checked it again and it was normal but on the high side of normal. At the discovery centre yesterday I checked it and it was back down to the lower end of normal as it always should be. Obviously, though I don’t always feel stressed by my job (I tend to think of it as excited and enthusiastic in most cases), I may be taking it too seriously. I expect when I return to work it will be a bit calmer as most of my work was done when I left last week.
Next week we have another small road trip planned but mostly we’ll be hanging out and relaxing in Toronto with Sage. And now it’s almost 7:00 – time to get ready, go eat breakfast, and head towards home.
10
Aug
07
links for 2007-08-11
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This is totally unbelievable. The man has proven it is totally possible to speak out of both sides of one’s mouth.
07
Aug
07
What’re you listening to?
I need some new music – heard anything good lately? Bonus question – are you a member of napster.ca and want to share some playlists?
07
Aug
07
More cycling
Yep, that’s me, the guy who has spent the entire summer doing nothing but working and cycling to/from work. Okay, that’s not entirely true but it really is beginning to seem like it. I have not had a full holiday weekend this summer and this weekend I worked two of the three days. Still I have managed to have a bit of fun.
Last weekend, Paul and I packed our bags (okay – my bags, his stuff) and hopped on our bikes and headed for the beach. Most of the trip is off-road so it made for a nearly stress-free ride. Though he starts every ride a bit wobbly and unsure of himself he is improving a great deal and by the end of each ride is very pleased with himself. This was his longest trip yet – about 20 km round trip though we took it slowly and stopped here and there for everything from veggie dogs by the side of the path to Mayan Hot Chocolate. The day after I mark IBikeTO’s link to a video about how to fix a flat, intending to go back to it later, I go on a 40 km bike ride. 25 km into a beautiful ride, you guessed it, I get a flat. After flailing about checking the Wal Mart I broke down in front of for something to fix it with, I locked my bike up, took off the front tire, and headed for what seemed to be the one shop open on Sunday to get it fixed. $15 and an hour later (time enough for a quick lunch and a decaf coffee at Timothy’s patio), I headed back to my bike to reassemble it and head home. When I got home I noticed that now there was a post about the Community Bike Network having classes on how to do basic repairs. I’ve just signed up so hopefully next week I’ll be starting on that one.
And from the “Todd is really an immature twit who needs saving from himself every now and again” files. This morning I was grumpily riding to work and had just turned on to a relatively busy street. A few minutes in a guy in a civic blows by me at great speed and minimal distance putting me right over the edge. I resolve to catch him at the next light and give him a piece of my mind. Fortunately, he was making a right turn and I couldn’t catch him. But wait! He turned and was about to make another left turn. I sat fuming for about 20 seconds while he waited to make his turn before deciding that really, I did need to let him know he needed to watch where he was going. I hopped back on my bike, turned right and all but jumped on the pedals to catch him. My bike, shocked at the stupidity of its rider panicked and threw its chain off giving the driver ample time to get away while I put the chain back on. I had to remain content with Rob Gordonesque fantasies instead which was far better for all concerned. And really that’s all us sensitive boys are up for anyway. Anyone who has met me will tell you that anything beyond that is so out of character for me that doing so would warp the fabric of the universe resulting in…Well, resulting in things like chains leaping off of chainrings with no apparent cause.
Elsewhere in my biking I would like to announce to whomever it is that controls serendipity and general “messages from the universe” that I get it – you can stop with the hints about bike repair.
04
Aug
07
links for 2007-08-05
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Thinking of taking this ride when my vacation comes. It’s a shame I missed the “real” tour when the whole group of people went together on this a few months back.
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I really need to learn how to do this. So far I’ve just been relying on luck.
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