Post Toronto

It is no wonder the wishes of the west are of little importance to the government of Canada.  Most of the people in Canada are in Toronto.  I cannot believe the size of that city!   It seems to go on forever and it is crowded.  While we were white-knuckling our way down the highway into the city trying desperately to keep up with the traffic at the same time dodging the homicidal maniacs driving alongside us we could see the opposing lanes not moving at all due to the volume of traffic.  There will be no one in Toronto this weekend we figured.  Ha!

Donna, a remarkable young lady that we met on our China trip, hosted us.  http://www.donnasironmanjourney.ca She put us up for the entire time we were in Toronto and did not even blink when we showed up at her door white-faced, shaking and crying from Toronto city driving.  Driving in Toronto is similar to Running the bulls at Pamplona except, unlike the bulls; the drivers here are paranoid schizophrenic, homicidal maniac, suicidal, borderline personalities. 

On Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast with Telen’s old friends Lee and Mike.  Breakfast was at nine AM and we did not leave the restaurant until noon.  The waitress was asking us if we wanted the lunch menu.   We weren’t eating the whole time, but I did drink a lot of coffee.  By the time we left I could barely walk from all the shaking.

Saturday was the hottest day of the year in Toronto with Humidex warnings and the weather office suggesting that you stay inside with air conditioning and lots of fluids.   So, we went for a bike ride tour of the city.  We saw all the tourist sites of Toronto – Queen’s Quay, the CN tower, Cherry beach etc etc. We also saw the Caribana – a Mardi gras type of parade put on by the Caribbean community here.  There were some costumes that were remarkable for being so elaborate that they needed wheels and some costumes that were remarkable for their brevity.  Because of the heat and humidity there was a steady stream of people being carted away with heat exhaustion.  The other probable cause may have been extreme hunger – the air was filled with an odor that reminded me of my college days. 

The CN tower seems to be a little like driving a hummer or wearing lots of leather and driving a Harley.  Trying really hard to prove to everyone how cool or tough you are.  If you really are cool or tough you don’t need to write it out for everyone else to read.  The world’s largest lake, the world’s largest fresh-water island, the world’s longest fresh-water beach, the second largest country in the world, the world’s tallest useless free-standing phallic symbol.

Are we going for the world’s most insecure country?

On Monday of the long weekend went to the touristiest place in the world:  Niagara Falls.  This makes no sense.   Go riding on the hottest day of the year and going sightseeing on the busiest weekend of the summer.  I think the heat and crowds have turned my brain to Jell-o. 

Niagara Falls is truly remarkable!  It is hard to comprehend just how powerful it is.  The amount of water, the sound and the sheer size is over-whelming.  So are the crowds.  The journey there was well worth it.

Telen and some guy at Niagara Falls

Today I had one of the best rides of the trip.  I rode the Loyalist Parkway to Kingston.  The day was a little cooler, the winds were light and the road had really wide shoulders.  There was very little traffic and even a little seven-minute ferry ride!  The Loyalist Parkway runs along the Lake Ontario waterfront so the breeze coming off the water was cooling.  At the end of the ride, as I was coming into Kingston, I still had some kick left and managed to crank it up and look good for Telen who was waiting in a parking lot for my arrival.  She was so impressed that she could not help rolling her eyes and shaking her head in approval.

Ruby on the Loyalist Parkway

Telen writes:

I was really stressed driving in the 12 lane Hwy 401 in Toronto.  I had a death grip on the steering wheel the whole time.  Rand tried to help by keeping his “back seat driver’s comments” to a minimum! 

It was a pleasure to visit friends who offered us such wonderful hospitality.  Niagara Falls never ceases to amaze though.

This is the bicentennial year celebrating the 1812 war between Canada and the States.  Apparently Canada and the US both declare they won the war so I am rather confused.  Today as we travelled east from Toronto towards Kingston, we witnessed numerous historical sites dating back to late 1700’s.  Every street seems to have the Canadian flag flying in front of the houses.  A sense of patriotism fills my heart.