A Drive To Canada
Monica and I gave Montreal a proper visit, staying not too far from the Cathedral of Notre Dame for two nights. In 7th Grade, when I took French, I had thought I should visit Montreal. (It took longer than anticipated.)
The Botanical Garden had an excellent Chinese Garden with hand-crafted lanterns from Shanghai containing LEDs. Subways were excellent-- what Minneapolis-Saint Paul would consider if it were reflective. We ate well, as we sought out French cooking. I do not often order escargot and bison in a restaurant full of antique radios. We also sought out donuts, as I am a fan of Tim Horton's. I was surprised to hear more English than French, but we mostly spoke to the bilingual employees of hotels, museums and restaurants.
Baseball in Montreal seems to have failed. There was a statue of Jackie Robinson wearing an Expos jersey near the stadium (and Olympic Park). Of course, Jackie Robinson was dead before the team formed in Montreal, and now the Expos team is dead too, unless you are a Washington Nationals fan. I found a playoff game on TV and they spoke of "circuits," the French word for home run. Did you realize that the French had a different word for home run? Why? Another channel was showing CSI- Les Experts.
We did not tour Rogers Stadium in Toronto, but did go inside the adjoining Renaissance Hotel, and looked down on it from Canada's National Tower. On a clear day, you can see Niagra Falls from there. Our highlights included watching the Second City comedy troupe and going the the shoe museum. Ancient shoes and 1970s style pieces were both fun to view. We also saw creative ceramics by younger artists nearby and ate well at a Korea Town restaurant near the subway and our parked car.
Surprisingly, there was an apparent drug murder a block away from our parked car. Neighborhood young adults were talking about it and Monica found out more online. "Here!?," one asked in surprise to the other. I had told Monica that here (near Bathurst station) seemed like a very safe neighborhood to park the car. I imagine it usually is a very safe place.
Our drive started inauspiciously, as Monica very nearly hit a deer in her first ten minutes of driving in Northwestern Wisconsin. The deer just stood there, even as she swerved past it. Our first night was in Iron Mountain, Michigan of the Upper Peninsula, birthplace of football coach, Steve Mariucci. I wrongly assumed the hockey Mariucci (John) was born there as this seemed to be a winter sports and ski area. Night two was in Sudbury. Then, we found freeway through Ottawa to Montreal. We saw lakes and fall trees everywhere. Several of the lakes were great-- Superior, Huron, Erie. The trees were mostly evergreen until we hit Quebec, where they were mostly deciduous. Lots of maple leafs.
As we stopped on our way to Toronto, we locked the keys in the car. "Who's fault was that?," the gas station woman asked. I said, "It was my fault." She said to Monica, "Good. Otherwise, you would never hear the end of it." One Canadian suggested calling the CAA, when I asked if someone had a Slim Jim. "You can buy one from that shelf right over there." I was not talented at operating the Slim Jim, but after twenty minutes, a Canadian stopped by to help, and it took him a mere minute and a half to unlock the car.
We stopped at Niagra Falls, mailed postcards, then drove on to Cleveland, to Chicago, and home. The US drive went quite a bit quicker, as it was mostly on interstate roads.
In Chicago, we spent the evening wandering near the Clybourn rail station after watching a Second City Comedy School Level C Improv recital. This was fun, though we would have preferred the sold out main stage. Finding the station and the car later on was tricky-- no maps at the station or in the train, and my Internet printout said "Arlington Heights" rather than "Arlington Park". It was a nice, warm night and we enjoyed the walk and these areas of Chicago. We happened upon a "Five Guys" where we ate. Taxis were available to rescue us when lost or confused. We took two.
Our best hotel was in Montreal. Wotif.com has found me nice downtown hotels (usually with kitchenettes) throughout Australia, in San Francisco and now in Montreal. We stopped at some Motel 6's as well, mostly because they are dog friendly. Travel Lodge and Knights Inn ranked lower, but we had good experiences everywhere.
It was a nice way to spend anniversary number number four. A next trip is already determined-- the Grand Canyon.
The Botanical Garden had an excellent Chinese Garden with hand-crafted lanterns from Shanghai containing LEDs. Subways were excellent-- what Minneapolis-Saint Paul would consider if it were reflective. We ate well, as we sought out French cooking. I do not often order escargot and bison in a restaurant full of antique radios. We also sought out donuts, as I am a fan of Tim Horton's. I was surprised to hear more English than French, but we mostly spoke to the bilingual employees of hotels, museums and restaurants.
Baseball in Montreal seems to have failed. There was a statue of Jackie Robinson wearing an Expos jersey near the stadium (and Olympic Park). Of course, Jackie Robinson was dead before the team formed in Montreal, and now the Expos team is dead too, unless you are a Washington Nationals fan. I found a playoff game on TV and they spoke of "circuits," the French word for home run. Did you realize that the French had a different word for home run? Why? Another channel was showing CSI- Les Experts.
We did not tour Rogers Stadium in Toronto, but did go inside the adjoining Renaissance Hotel, and looked down on it from Canada's National Tower. On a clear day, you can see Niagra Falls from there. Our highlights included watching the Second City comedy troupe and going the the shoe museum. Ancient shoes and 1970s style pieces were both fun to view. We also saw creative ceramics by younger artists nearby and ate well at a Korea Town restaurant near the subway and our parked car.
Surprisingly, there was an apparent drug murder a block away from our parked car. Neighborhood young adults were talking about it and Monica found out more online. "Here!?," one asked in surprise to the other. I had told Monica that here (near Bathurst station) seemed like a very safe neighborhood to park the car. I imagine it usually is a very safe place.
Our drive started inauspiciously, as Monica very nearly hit a deer in her first ten minutes of driving in Northwestern Wisconsin. The deer just stood there, even as she swerved past it. Our first night was in Iron Mountain, Michigan of the Upper Peninsula, birthplace of football coach, Steve Mariucci. I wrongly assumed the hockey Mariucci (John) was born there as this seemed to be a winter sports and ski area. Night two was in Sudbury. Then, we found freeway through Ottawa to Montreal. We saw lakes and fall trees everywhere. Several of the lakes were great-- Superior, Huron, Erie. The trees were mostly evergreen until we hit Quebec, where they were mostly deciduous. Lots of maple leafs.
As we stopped on our way to Toronto, we locked the keys in the car. "Who's fault was that?," the gas station woman asked. I said, "It was my fault." She said to Monica, "Good. Otherwise, you would never hear the end of it." One Canadian suggested calling the CAA, when I asked if someone had a Slim Jim. "You can buy one from that shelf right over there." I was not talented at operating the Slim Jim, but after twenty minutes, a Canadian stopped by to help, and it took him a mere minute and a half to unlock the car.
We stopped at Niagra Falls, mailed postcards, then drove on to Cleveland, to Chicago, and home. The US drive went quite a bit quicker, as it was mostly on interstate roads.
In Chicago, we spent the evening wandering near the Clybourn rail station after watching a Second City Comedy School Level C Improv recital. This was fun, though we would have preferred the sold out main stage. Finding the station and the car later on was tricky-- no maps at the station or in the train, and my Internet printout said "Arlington Heights" rather than "Arlington Park". It was a nice, warm night and we enjoyed the walk and these areas of Chicago. We happened upon a "Five Guys" where we ate. Taxis were available to rescue us when lost or confused. We took two.
Our best hotel was in Montreal. Wotif.com has found me nice downtown hotels (usually with kitchenettes) throughout Australia, in San Francisco and now in Montreal. We stopped at some Motel 6's as well, mostly because they are dog friendly. Travel Lodge and Knights Inn ranked lower, but we had good experiences everywhere.
It was a nice way to spend anniversary number number four. A next trip is already determined-- the Grand Canyon.
posted by David Rasmussen at 2:16 PM
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