Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader
March 2025 - Toronto ON
Weekly Recap Jan 4 - Jan 10 Best Coffee
Weekly Recap Jan 11 - Jan 17 Cafe Lucille
Weekly Recap Jan 25 - Jan 31 2025 Cafe Mon Amour
Weekly Recap Mar 8 2025 - Mar 14 2025 Northbound to Toronto ON
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Van Horn TX
Saturday
We slept in a little here in Richardson (Dallas) TX. Some moron had left the alarm clock set for 6 AM.
We had HIlton's Greek Yogurt bowls for breakfast, $10 each, but the server ran them up as cold breakfast at $6 each.
Rainy, cool morning, 9C, a big difference to 28C yesterday when we arrived.
Packed up and on the road around 9:30. It was a lot easier getting out of Dallas on a Saturday morning.
We took a couple of bio breaks, and gas ($34).
Lunch was jerky, ginger, Goo Goo clusters, perfect road trip nosh.
We also took a quick trip to check out Bill Clinton's childhood home in Hope AR. We had a 30 minute delay due to an accident.
We still arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn at 3:30.
NEW - HOPE AR Named for the father who died shortly before his birth, William Jefferson Blythe III later became the 42nd President of the United States. In Hope, the experiences shared with his mother and grandparents in rural Arkansas developed the broad views on race relations, social justice, and public service that defined his presidency and life after the White House. For Bill Clinton, "Hope was home."
First Pentecostal Church North Little Rock.
We just relaxed until dinner.
We ate at the bar, strange server.
John had the flatbread pizza and I had the shrimp tacos.
Sunday
We lost an hour due to Springing forward, to DST.
Our first stop was in Memphis for 1.5 hours.
We've been here before.
1992 Memphis Nashville TN
This was parked beside us in Little Rock.
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Highway 401 rest areas, ONRoute.
John emptied some more stuff from the car and did some laundry.
A gorgeous almost springlike day and John took this photo as he went for a walk along the lake.
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This was parked beside us in Little Rock.
Leaving Memphis.
We passed by signs for Loretta Lynn's Kitchen, we had tried going there in 2017.
We made two bio breaks, including gas ($34) plus a Cracker Barrel stop for some gifts.
We got to the Hilton in Brentwood by 4:30. We were upgraded.
We went down to the bar in the hotel for drinks before dinner. The bartender was interesting, wanting to know about our travels, how old we were and even took a selfie with us to send to his dad in India. They advertise as a whisky bar and prices were ridiculous, $22 for 2 oz.
It is also a burger restaurant, but it was a standard frozen patty, too well-cooked for my liking.
Great hotel, photo from elevator.
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Monday
Monday
Monday Mural Tucson AZ
On check in I was told that we would have free breakfast. We found it in the Honors private suite, it was very good, scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit.
The plan was to leave at 8, it was 8:15 and the temperature was 9C.
Crossing into Kentucky.
First stop for bathroom and gas $19.
NEW - Next stop Louisville to stretch our legs.
We made a stop at the Louisville Slugger Stadium.
Louisville Slugger Field is home to the Louisville Bats professional baseball team, Triple-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. This beautiful ballpark was built into a historic red brick train depot station in 2000 and is centrally located to the Urban Bourbon Trail, Convention Center and city hotels.
We got back on the road and were warned of a delay of 30 minutes near Cincinnati so we made a bathroom and gas break $16.
New billboards for Cracker Barrel.
Lux Mundi (Latin for "Light of the World") is a 52-foot (15.8 m) tall statue of Jesus at Solid Rock Church, a Christian nondenominational church near Monroe, Ohio, in the United States. Designed by Tom Tsuchiya, Lux Mundi replaced the statue King of Kings which was struck by lightning and destroyed by fire in 2010.
The statue shows Jesus stepping forward with a welcoming gesture, a pose inspired by the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John. Facing I-75, the statue stands on a foundation decorated by rocks with a cascading water feature.
Because of its pose and inviting quality (and in reference to its predecessor's nickname "Touchdown Jesus"), Lux Mundi has earned the nickname “Hug Me Jesus”.
Arrived at the DoubleTree in Miamisburg at 5:10 and I was not happy that a room was not ready, he quickly rectified that, but the room was musty and stale. Luckily we could open the window.
Dinner was a joke. Great server, but the food. It took thirty minutes to get our food.
John had a burger, requested medium and it was well done. Server said, "oh no, I told him 4 times it was to be medium, look there's no pink". I had a BLT which was so greasy, I said it was fried. Server said "yes, he did it on the blacktop". She comped the wine and took some of the meals, so we took care of her.
Tuesday
Looks like I did two SIGNS posts this week.
We had packed up last night, and it was still dark when we got up (DST!). We were on the road by 7:45. There was no way we were having their $16 per person breakfast!
242 KM to Michigan.
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We went to a Cracker Barrel in Findlay OH around 10:40.
I also took this mural last March when we were in Toledo for the total eclipse last spring.
Look at that Canadian flag on the GPS!
Never so happy to see that sign!!!
The border was so quiet, no one in front of us. Great customs guy, just asked what we spent, how long we were away. We said how happy we were to be home. He asked if we had any firearms, always a strange question to us. We answered, no we're not American and he replied and WE never will be!!
Highway 401 rest areas, ONRoute.
A little snow remains, but the temperature was good.
Home Sweet Home! I am waiting for John as I hadn't taken my keys with me.
We didn't take everything out of the car, that can wait.
We were going to order dinner, but we had a couple of steaks and I picked up onions, peppers, mushrooms downstairs, along with milk for morning. I had a cranberry pumpkin (gluten free) loaf in the freezer.
We sorted all the mail. Woo Hoo we received our Ford bribery cheques $200 each.
Wednesday we whiled away the morning on our laptops, caught up on news, Wordle, crossword puzzle.
I went out to get a haircut. It was a gloomy cold day totally unlike yesterday which felt like spring was in the air.
Dirty snow piles are still hanging around, they need some good sunshine to melt them.
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of hype St. Patrick's Day produces. As we drove north through the States every other small town was having parades etc this weekend.
Found in Union Station, which was packed with spring breakers.
Billboard as I walked through the financial district.
I grabbed a few items at Longo's and they are clearly labeling Canadian products.
I went into the LCBO (liquor store) to see if it was true that the shelves had been emptied of US products, yes!!! But there are no empty spaces, there are plenty of local and international wine on the shelves.
John emptied some more stuff from the car and did some laundry.
And our water cooler died, so we ordered a new one.
Thursday John did a grocery order to tide us over. Almost all products were from Canada, I was surprised that the dates were grown right here in Ontario!
Broccolini was from the States, well, we love our vegetables. We are not going to deny ourselves when we can't find a Canadian alternative.
BTW eggs were $4.69 a dozen at Metro.
John set up our new lamp we bought in Masilla NM. The only thing I bought for us other than a Palm Springs mug.
More stuff got put away and I emptied my suitcase.
We received a couple of items, crossbody bag for John, as the small backpack has a habit of being left behind, he can also store his ballcap that often stays behind as well.
I got a small camera, I love using my phone but worry about the battery running out, yes, we have battery packs. I do not enjoy using my big DSLR when we are away, it is too bulky.
Friday
I replaced my weekly rant with a new title "The "EH" List - Made in Canada (and some ranting)"
I added this to my e-mail signature line. John added the other one.
Elbows up!” The phrase is often said to have been inspired by Canadian hockey legend Gordie Howe, who threw his elbows up in the rink to defend himself. In addition to the viral phrase, many Canadians are showing resistance against the U.S.'s policies in other ways.
Inukshuks are popping up.
I went downtown to the $ store and it happened that ComicCon was on. The bus was early so I snapped photos from the bus, not the best seat though, I should have moved.
No, I don't know who any of these characters are.
In local news the Eglington Crosstown LRT opening is delayed (yet again) until September.
COOKING
$20 steak deals and a new Portuguese chicken place opening in Waterworks.
Saturday flatbread pizza and shrimp tacos
Sunday burgers
Monday burger and BLT
Tuesday HOME steak and sauteed vegetables
Wednesday curried chicken - requested by John
Thursday haddock with lemon mustard sauce and broccolini
Friday steak with broccolini
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OTD ON THIS DAY we drove from Apollo Bay to Melbourne Australia.
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WATCHING
We watched a 2025 miniseries Zero Day. In the midst of crisis: how can we discover the truth when it seems that the world is being destroyed by uncontrollable forces? Also, to what extent are conspiracy theories our own inventions or products of our imagination?
All the Old Knives is a 2022 American spy thriller film directed by Janus Metz Pedersen and written by Olen Steinhauer. It is based on Steinhauer's 2015 novel of the same name. In Vienna, Veteran CIA agent Henry is reunited with his former colleague and lover Celia.
I wondered why are spies labelled as knives? Spies are often associated with knives, especially in fictional contexts, because knives are small, concealable, and deadly, making them effective tools for silent assassinations and close-quarters combat, which aligns with the spy's stealthy and tactical nature
Striptease 1986 A stripper and single mother gets dragged into a dangerous situation after a congressman takes a fancy to her.
Woo Hoo I'm watching season 15 of The Great British Baking Show.
READING
I started Forward Slash, a scary thriller that would make the boldest stay away from Internet dating.
My father loved those GooGo oClusters, that brings back memories. I had a cousin who lived in New Hope decades back. Wonder if she's still there. Good eating and reading you have posted.
ReplyDeleteFun to see all your photos from your road trip and know how it feels coming home. We used to go on a lot of road trips but are winding down now. Husband says we still have at least one more in our future. Keeping fingers crossed. Thanks for the super post and wishing you a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great trip home and a good time to get there.
ReplyDeleteMy German friends and I stopped in Hope to see Bill Clinton's house. Somehow we managed to take a picture of some random person's house, thinking it was Bill's house!!!! The neighbors were probably like "What are these three wackos taking pictures of that house for?" We couldn't understand why his childhood home was in such poor condition. ROFLMAO.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that those who are making important decisions here in the US are making such awful ones. Right will eventually win out. I've used all the peaceful methods of dealing with these things, to no avail.
ReplyDeleteI shall, in tribute to Canada, try to read one of the Canada Reads books. That's for bringing this list to my attention.
Welcome home! Another fantastic trip!
ReplyDeleteI was interested to see that you didn't spend any time in Nashville. I would happily go back there, but I can take or leave Memphis!