Jan 18 2007
To Canada for a Winter
Christmas in the Cold
After landing and sleeping for 16 hours, we were ready to enjoy Canada. The festive season was filled with many family gatherings and much delicious food. Upon introducing Nadine to most of my family it dawned on me that I have a rather large family as there were many events to attend.
Becoming somewhat of a christmas tradition, we played a game of Carcassone, a clever tile-based board game. While I didn’t win this season, I am a force to be reckoned with I reckon. Much respect to Nadine’s first effort out and dealing with me when I’m in ‘game mode’.
After the family Christmas visits died down, Justin and Miriam treated Nadine and I to a day at the OSC and dinner in T.O.
Ontario Science Centre
Marvel Superheroes had an exhibit on at the centre which was our main draw for the day. The exhibit taught us how to become super using science. Together, we yelled at the Sentinel, shook hands with Mr. Freeze, took control of Dr. Octopus, saw what the Human Torch sees, and turned into the Incredible Hulk. Nadine also took the time to realize one of her greatest visions, “The Zack Machine” if you see him in any upcoming Marvel movie releases please let Nadine or I know!
There was another bizarre exhibit which I don’t think anyone could explain eloquently. It’s about smashing things, loud noises, feathers everywhere, and robotic arms. At one point, we thought we lost Jere to another dimension forever.
Toronto Shenanigans
We made our way to Toronto to visit the CN Tower and the AGO. We met up with one of Nadine’s old friends who happened to be travelling through Canada during our time. The day was full of adventure including Nadine galavanting with a stoned street person, seeing some famous geese, and getting trapped in a revolving door.
Speaker’s Corner was a treat for the Aussies, having no similar social phenomenon to compare it to, they took the plunge and paid their loonie. If you happened to see three crazy Australians on Speaker’s Corner recently, let me know. Especially if one was speaking some nonsense about ‘Shawpers Drug Mart’.
Niagara Falls
Amidst the chaos, Nadine and I managed to sneak away to Niagara Falls for a night. We found a spectacular deal on a last minute hotel reservation website. We had an amazing falls-view room for the night.
We also saw the falls close up, really close up. We went behind the falls through a series of underground elevators and tunnels to see things from a new perspective. Later that night we went up to the Skylon tower for a dinner revolution, and off to the casino to lose some money!
Windsor/Detroit
We took a trip down memory lane to my childhood home back in Windsor. Thanks to Graeme’s Walky-Talkies we were able to maintain radio communication with my brother’s car; over. However, there isn’t too much to see in Windsor, and the town is a little more run down than I remember it.
Aside is a photo of my brother and I in the alley at our old stomping grounds. However, things are not quite as care-free and innocent as they used to be. We were promptly warned that the current owners would likely call the cops if we kept hanging around the house.
Since we were in Windsor with a tourist, it was a given that we would visit Detroit. After seeing downtown Detroit from the safety of our car, we rode down the I-75 to Oakland Mall for a delicious meal from Olga’s Kitchen.
On the way home, there was an big accident with an armoured vehicle on the road forcing us to get off at 8 Mile. I think we were all a little nervous driving through the back roads hoping to get back on the highway as soon as possible. However, no crazies approached our car this time and we made it back safely. We did not see Eminem on 8 mile, although we did see many scarier thugs.
On Snow
Despite being an abnormally warm winter season we did manage to catch one or two days of decent snow. Nadine made the tiniest snowman that you can see to your right. She also managed to surprised me with a snowball in the face after I finished taking her picture, how pleasant! For her first time playing in the snow she was definitely no snow angel.
And all the rest…
Our holiday did not end there, we made many visits up to Guelph, and I ran into an old friend on campus. We had the pleasure of watching Guelph Storm stomp the Kitchener Rangers 2-1, in an Ontario Hockey League game.
I got the chance to catch up with a few friends from high school, but unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to see everyone on the list. Sorry Marcia and Crazy Meg, I blame poor time-management skills and am very sorry!
Thanks to my wonderful family and friends for making the trip back home so adventurous and memorable.
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