July 2022 - Toronto ON
TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) investigates a video of subway surfers riding on top of trains.
T Stands For is hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard
June 2022 - Toronto ON
Found downtown recently.
And some ciders we had recently.
I'm linking up at Monday Mural
June 2022 - London ON
More from our few days in London ON.
There are many boarded up business in London. The pandemic did not help an already declining downtown. The boardings have been colourfully painted.
Flame of Hope Sir Frederick Grant Banting - Canadian doctor who invented insulin.
July 2022 - Toronto ON
When we are planning a road trip (or any trip) we like to do spreadsheets and itinerary detailed plans. For us the planning is fun. I am always looking for strange and odd road side spots to stop. I like to know about the different foods that are unique to the area.
We are driving to Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) (you can fly). It is a 20 hour drive that we are taking 4 days to do. We will drive through Quebec to New Brunswick and then into Nova Scotia. Then the ferry to NL.
We have driven to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI, click here, so we are making different stops this time.
We flew in 2013 to visit Cape Breton Island NS, click on this link.
You do not drive in the Maritimes after dark due to the danger of moose on the road.
We have 2 time zone changes - NB and NS are in Atlantic Daylight Savings Time (AST) 1 hour ahead (Toronto) and NL is Newfoundland Daylight Savings Time (NST) is 1.5 hours ahead of Toronto.
We are giving ourselves a free day in Sydney Nova Scotia as a contingency as catching the ferry is a hard stop.
The challenge with NL is the number of ferries you have to rely on and plan according to those schedules.
You can take a ferry to Newfoundland from Labrador and Quebec (the Northern part that borders Labrador).
Over 95% of all visitors to Newfoundland arrive by ferry to Newfoundland from a ferry that departs from the small community of North Sydney, Nova Scotia, that’s situated on the north of Cape Breton. It’s important to note that there are two ferries to choose from when departing from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and they take you to very different locations, so be sure to choose the right ferry to Newfoundland.
We chose North Sydney NS to Port aux Basques (PAB) NL 7 hours approx. $250 one way with a car and cabin. We chose a cabin ($50) although we are sailing during the day. The ferry departs at 12:15 PM and you board 2 hours earlier at 10:15 so we will overnight in North Sydney.
Then we had to determine what we wanted to do and see, decide how long we were going to be there. We are not in a hurry, the joys of being retired! We really wanted to go to Labrador, although you typically only go for a day or two. Again there is a ferry involved.
The ferry crossing from Newfoundland to Labrador is approximately 1.5 hours, and provides an opportunity for viewing seabirds, whales and icebergs. St Barbe - Blanc Sablon Ferry Service.
You disembark at Blanc Sablon, Quebec, just a few minutes drive from the Labrador-Quebec provincial border. It's an easy 1.5 hour drive to Red Bay, but you may want to make some stops along the way.
So once again we were grappling with logistics of timing - where to stay and what ferry to catch back and forth? Did we want to go to Labrador for an overnight stay?
This region of Newfoundland, known as the Viking Trail, offers much for the traveller -- including World Heritage Sites at L'Anse au Meadows and Gros Morne National Park. Everyone says you MUST do Gros Morne.
NEXT STEPS - book remaining hotels.
UPDATE hotels booked for Sep 28 in PAB and 29 in North Sydney NS.
TO DO
Load arriveCAN app in case we decide to go into the States on the drive home.
Pack passports just in case.
Check DSLR cameras - yes we are bringing them. We haven't used them in over 3 years as we use our phone cameras. But since we will be driving it will be handy to have them. Mine has a 70 - 300 mm lens which is a medium telephoto lens great for travel photography.
July 2022 - Toronto ON
John had his almost last physio.
I booked Stratford ON theatre tickets for the end of the month. This was a birthday tradition until the pandemic.
Monday John golfed and I went downtown. The island airport bus is now using our downtown spot making it crowded. It is usually parked at the Royal York Hotel, but it is being used for filming, something called Flint, according to the sandwich boards.
I am wondering what they are doing here under the Gardner??
John golfed on Wednesday and I did a grocery shop at Longo's.
I did a post on our the pathetic lump we have as the newly re-elected premier of Ontario.
Plumbing company figured out they had John's last name spelled incorrectly on the last invoice ($450), they fixed it and we paid it.
Friday was Canada Day so we just vegged.
Saturday chicken wings and fries
Sunday slow cooker pot roast carrots mashed potatoes and cauliflower
Monday chicken curry
Tuesday rotisserie chicken salad with this salad dressing. I used up the hard taco shells we didn't like. I threw them out.
Wednesday leftover chicken became fajitas.
Thursday hamburgers and chips.
Friday steak with broccolini mushrooms and onions
I did also make chicken stock out of bones that were in the freezer.
READING
I gave up on Eleanor Roosevelt's volume 1 biography.