Observations From the Road
I recently took a week off from the rat race and took a nice long driving trip to various places in the U.S. and Canada. I have to say that during a nice 1700-plus mile trip like that, you have a lot of time to think. And see things. Things that don't make sense. But then again, when you think about it (and I have), much of what we do doesn't really make sense, but we do them anyway. That's all for the Philosophy Corner, now back to the dumb jokes...
I started out in Philadelphia, where the mayor got into some hot water on that particular weekend because he decided that the best way to do the work of the people of the City of Brotherly Love... was to wait in line to buy an iPhone. This in a city with a huge murder problem, not to mention the fact that they have the Phillies... who just lost their 10,000th game all-time. Apparently, Mayor Street felt that he was trying to prove a point about being able to do the work of the people without necessarily having to be in City Hall, but all it came off as was a giant PR misstep. Okay, it's nice to have the latest in new technology; hell, it's nice to be able to AFFORD it. However, if I'm Average Philadelphian, I don't need to know that the mayor has an iPhone, and I certainly don't need to SEE HIM PERSONALLY WAITING FOR ONE.
That's okay, though; I'm sure they have other things on their minds. How else can you explain their driving habits when in New Jersey? This was brought to my attention by some talk show hosts on a New Jersey radio station (as in "not New York, not Philadelphia..." There, that oughta give it away without me ID'ing it...) Apparently, PA Driver, who when in PA drives like a total maniac as you would know from reading this blog, when in New Jersey suddenly becomes SnailMan. In the passing lane. Now, New Jersey Driver has no problem doing 80 no matter WHERE he or she is driving, as I can also tell you from personal experience, but in their home state, I'm sure nothing galls them more than the desire to go 80 being stifled by PA Driver going 65 in the left lane and getting passed. I now can corroborate these talk show hosts' claims, as on my way up the AC Expressway, I repeatedly had to pass several PA Drivers on the right doing my normal just-above-the-speed-limit. Nothing like hearing a good truism when it actually IS the truth...
After that, it was a quick shot through Delaware, where everything is tax-free but they'll get you with a $3 toll if you try to leave the state on I-95, to Maryland. I've been to Maryland many times, but never its capital, and Annapolis is quite a lovely city, mostly for the fact that its center hasn't changed all that much in the last century or two. Still 2-3 story buildings and a state capitol that looks more like a museum in a park than a real seat of government.
After coming back through Syracuse for a day of rest, it was up to Canada for the outdoors portion of the trip. Which meant camping. Which meant rain. For the first night anyway, and then things became quite nice weatherwise for the rest of the trip. I went to Ottawa and got to see the changing of the guard, which of course is ceremonial but what a ceremony. The great thing about Parliament Hill and its surroundings is that there's a lot of history in such a small area, and if you aren't well-versed in Canadian history, like, oh, just about EVERY American, you can learn a lot of things you didn't know.
From there, I went to Trenton... no, not back to New Jersey, but Trenton, Ontario. And if that's not confusing enough, I had to cross the Mississippi to get there. Don't believe me? Here's proof...
Not quite sure what's going on there, but I would say that if we can have two Red Rivers in the U.S. alone, we can probably have another Mississippi River in another country. It's not like you can copyright a body of water...
After another night of camping, it was off to Toronto. Toronto is easily one of the most exciting cities in the world, and a place everyone should go to. If you've been to NYC, you can handle Toronto; the only difference is you have to be on the lookout for streetcars and that lighted "X" above the road means "yield to pedestrians." Yes, there is a subway and buses and LOTS of taxis, but you can walk most places in the general downtown area, although after two nights of sleeping on the hard earth prior to such walking might make your back a bit sore. It certainly did for mine. Queen Street was my destination on that particular Friday night, the club and bar district. After seeing that my first choice was packed, I went to Rivoli, which has a pool hall on the second floor, a very nice modern social bar look when you first walk in the door... and live bands in the back. On this night, I got to see a pair of excellent Canadian groups, the Dress Whites and Fact or Fiction. While radio plays the 800th single off Nickelback's album, one might want to divert their attention to lesser-known bands like these just to get the realization that there is great rock in Canada, just like anywhere else.
I almost overlooked something... before my trip to Rivoli, I ate at the Loose Moose, the sports bar next to the Rogers Centre (nee Skydome). I had some "sliders" (a la White Castle) there, but the burgers tasted different. The next day in Hamilton on my way home, I ate at what I presume to be a Canadian-only burger chain called Harvey's and the burgers seemed to be very similar, as in not like American hamburgers. Well, in the case of Harvey's, a little Net research found that their burgers are charcoal-broiled over an open flame. All I know is they were EXCELLENT. We have Canadian-style bacon (otherwise known as "ham"), now we have Canadian-style hamburgers.
I also managed to deftly navigate the metric-English conversions, although I have to say that Ontario Driver can't seem to navigate the legal-illegal conversion, as in if the speed limit is 100 km/h, 120 km/h is TOO MUCH. Luckily, PA Driver hasn't made an appearance in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), or else that would not make for fun driving. As for gas, well, I think the gas prices are the same as here. All I know is I got $30 of gas at $1.04 a liter and the car didn't run out of gas for a good few hundred miles. That's all I have to go on...
Along that note, it should be mentioned that this trip was done rather inexpensively, thus proving that you don't have to spend much money to go places where things are done a little bit differently than in your boring old neck of the woods. In the case of Canada, you'll soon need a passport to get back from there but it's well worth it.
I started out in Philadelphia, where the mayor got into some hot water on that particular weekend because he decided that the best way to do the work of the people of the City of Brotherly Love... was to wait in line to buy an iPhone. This in a city with a huge murder problem, not to mention the fact that they have the Phillies... who just lost their 10,000th game all-time. Apparently, Mayor Street felt that he was trying to prove a point about being able to do the work of the people without necessarily having to be in City Hall, but all it came off as was a giant PR misstep. Okay, it's nice to have the latest in new technology; hell, it's nice to be able to AFFORD it. However, if I'm Average Philadelphian, I don't need to know that the mayor has an iPhone, and I certainly don't need to SEE HIM PERSONALLY WAITING FOR ONE.
That's okay, though; I'm sure they have other things on their minds. How else can you explain their driving habits when in New Jersey? This was brought to my attention by some talk show hosts on a New Jersey radio station (as in "not New York, not Philadelphia..." There, that oughta give it away without me ID'ing it...) Apparently, PA Driver, who when in PA drives like a total maniac as you would know from reading this blog, when in New Jersey suddenly becomes SnailMan. In the passing lane. Now, New Jersey Driver has no problem doing 80 no matter WHERE he or she is driving, as I can also tell you from personal experience, but in their home state, I'm sure nothing galls them more than the desire to go 80 being stifled by PA Driver going 65 in the left lane and getting passed. I now can corroborate these talk show hosts' claims, as on my way up the AC Expressway, I repeatedly had to pass several PA Drivers on the right doing my normal just-above-the-speed-limit. Nothing like hearing a good truism when it actually IS the truth...
After that, it was a quick shot through Delaware, where everything is tax-free but they'll get you with a $3 toll if you try to leave the state on I-95, to Maryland. I've been to Maryland many times, but never its capital, and Annapolis is quite a lovely city, mostly for the fact that its center hasn't changed all that much in the last century or two. Still 2-3 story buildings and a state capitol that looks more like a museum in a park than a real seat of government.
After coming back through Syracuse for a day of rest, it was up to Canada for the outdoors portion of the trip. Which meant camping. Which meant rain. For the first night anyway, and then things became quite nice weatherwise for the rest of the trip. I went to Ottawa and got to see the changing of the guard, which of course is ceremonial but what a ceremony. The great thing about Parliament Hill and its surroundings is that there's a lot of history in such a small area, and if you aren't well-versed in Canadian history, like, oh, just about EVERY American, you can learn a lot of things you didn't know.
From there, I went to Trenton... no, not back to New Jersey, but Trenton, Ontario. And if that's not confusing enough, I had to cross the Mississippi to get there. Don't believe me? Here's proof...
Not quite sure what's going on there, but I would say that if we can have two Red Rivers in the U.S. alone, we can probably have another Mississippi River in another country. It's not like you can copyright a body of water...
After another night of camping, it was off to Toronto. Toronto is easily one of the most exciting cities in the world, and a place everyone should go to. If you've been to NYC, you can handle Toronto; the only difference is you have to be on the lookout for streetcars and that lighted "X" above the road means "yield to pedestrians." Yes, there is a subway and buses and LOTS of taxis, but you can walk most places in the general downtown area, although after two nights of sleeping on the hard earth prior to such walking might make your back a bit sore. It certainly did for mine. Queen Street was my destination on that particular Friday night, the club and bar district. After seeing that my first choice was packed, I went to Rivoli, which has a pool hall on the second floor, a very nice modern social bar look when you first walk in the door... and live bands in the back. On this night, I got to see a pair of excellent Canadian groups, the Dress Whites and Fact or Fiction. While radio plays the 800th single off Nickelback's album, one might want to divert their attention to lesser-known bands like these just to get the realization that there is great rock in Canada, just like anywhere else.
I almost overlooked something... before my trip to Rivoli, I ate at the Loose Moose, the sports bar next to the Rogers Centre (nee Skydome). I had some "sliders" (a la White Castle) there, but the burgers tasted different. The next day in Hamilton on my way home, I ate at what I presume to be a Canadian-only burger chain called Harvey's and the burgers seemed to be very similar, as in not like American hamburgers. Well, in the case of Harvey's, a little Net research found that their burgers are charcoal-broiled over an open flame. All I know is they were EXCELLENT. We have Canadian-style bacon (otherwise known as "ham"), now we have Canadian-style hamburgers.
I also managed to deftly navigate the metric-English conversions, although I have to say that Ontario Driver can't seem to navigate the legal-illegal conversion, as in if the speed limit is 100 km/h, 120 km/h is TOO MUCH. Luckily, PA Driver hasn't made an appearance in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), or else that would not make for fun driving. As for gas, well, I think the gas prices are the same as here. All I know is I got $30 of gas at $1.04 a liter and the car didn't run out of gas for a good few hundred miles. That's all I have to go on...
Along that note, it should be mentioned that this trip was done rather inexpensively, thus proving that you don't have to spend much money to go places where things are done a little bit differently than in your boring old neck of the woods. In the case of Canada, you'll soon need a passport to get back from there but it's well worth it.
posted by Dave | 6:37 PM
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