Ontario, Canada – (January – February 2011)

Glen Eden

I finally made it back to Maple Syrup Country and it was time to ski!!!  FINALLY!!!  OH YEAH!!!  Went for a road trip to Glen Eden (a ski resort about 2 hours drive from Toronto City). 

  

WOOHOO was my initial reaction when one of my Canadian mates offered to take me skiing and from far away the slopes didn’t look threatening.  I was totally fearless!  That didn’t last very long though...LOL...

I was talked into going on the learners slope before trying to take on the big ones and thank goodness for that!

I can’t even count the number of times I stacked it on that slope, felt like 10 thousand million times and it was physically PAINFUL!!!  OMG!  The learner’s slope was FREAKING Frightening!!!  LOL!!!  Although I was given some instructions on how to stop, it just wasn’t working for me and I kept on picking up momentum as I was sliding down the slope.  So grateful that I only suffered bruises – I never made it past that learners slope.  Oh well – NEXT TIME!  Just happy that my last few slides on the learners slope were “CRASH FREE” haha...

Despite the crashes it was an AWESOME first skiing experience and I’d totally do it again!!!

NOTE:  SKIING = AWESOME + SCARY!!!  Adrenalin and fear all at the same time ;O)  Let that be a warning for beginner skiers.  Highly recommend getting lessons on skiing before taking on any slope (or just have a mate with you who knows how to ski and can pull you back up after you’ve stacked it)!  Also ski equipment is heavy.  

Mississauga

I spent a day in Mississauga, an industrial city located in Southern Ontario – there’s really only construction to look at.  Notwithstanding, there stands an interesting looking pair of buildings called Absolute World.  They’re nicknamed Marilyn Monroe for obvious reasons (the curves)... LOL...  the buildings however remind me of Salt N Pepper shakers...

 

I also paid a visit to Lake Ontario (Mississauga end) and its adjacent park during my visit and that was nice.  From the shoreline you can see the back drop of the industrial city that surrounds it.  Sorry to say the lake is polluted so people don’t swim in it.  At the time swimming in the lake didn’t look tempting anyway because it was partly frozen and so was I...  haha... 

Toronto City

Honest Ed’s

My Canadian mates introduced me to some very Canadian icons.  One of which was Honest Ed's a landmark discount store located in Toronto City.  It’s been at the same location for over 60 years.

The outside lights are reminiscent of a theatre marquee – PRETTY COOL!

Honest Ed's store reminds me of Australia’s Dollars & Sense store(s) only 100 times bigger.  REALLY!  The store is MASSIVE and covers an entire block.  Mates and I weren’t paying attention to where we were going inside hence ended up lost in this MASSIVE store and going around in circles.  It didn’t matter that I was hanging out with locals – we still ended up astray.  It’s unlikely people exit the same way they enter... LOL...

Best bit about visiting Honest Ed's was reading the cool and funny sayings located both in and outside the store such as "Come in and get lost!"... haha...  These sayings and every piece of store signage is apparently hand-painted.  

 

 

Tim Hortons

In Canada, Tim Hortons is BIGGER than Maccas!!!  Left, right and centre – Tim Hortons is EVERYWHERE – it’s hard to miss it!  It’s Canada’s answer to America’s Starbucks.  Biggest difference is the price. 

Thankfully I have Canadians mates who wanted to show this Aussie a real Canadian bargain ;O) 

For travellers like moi this restaurant is definitely easy on the purse, with hot drinks ranging from $1.00 to $2.00 CAD depending on whether you order small, medium or large.  Extremely hard to find coffee and/or hot chocolate selling at those low prices in Oz.  The hot beverages aren’t exactly the creamiest nor very milky but are nonetheless satisfying when trying to keep warm :O)  Snacks such as donuts and croissants are rather cheap too. 

If it's food and drinks you want at a great deal you’ll get it at Tim Hortons ;O)  AWESOME!

 

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Thank you to my Canadian mates for the catch-ups and for pulling me back up onto my feet again every time I stacked it in skiing... LOL... YOU’RE THE BEST!!!  LET’S CATCH UP AGAIN SOON! 

Eastern United States – (December 2010 – January 2011)

New Jersey

I was hoping for SNOW on Christmas aka a White Christmas.  It didn’t quite happen on Christmas day, but came it did on Boxing Day ... better late than never I suppose :O)

I was so excited!!!  It snowed all day Boxing Day and boy did it make for challenging driving!  Cars were travelling between 20-40km/hr and some were even sliding on the roads.  YIKES!

That Boxing Day snow fall was the record breaking BLIZZARD that hit the East Coast of the USA.  I woke up on 27 December 2010 to 3-4 feet high snow.  WOW for me, but not so wow for the locals :O/      

Being a winter novice I was L.O.V.I.N.G being surrounded by what could only be described as a sea of whipped eggs whites :O)  LOL...  Days before, I had upgraded my jacket to a down (stuffed feathered) jacket so the -5 to -10 degrees celsius weather was bearable.  Thank goodness!!!

Due to the mad weather, getting from A to B was no easy feat for anyone.  Some places around NJ had to wait several weeks before their roads were ploughed down for driving again.  Planes couldn’t even take off or land in the affected areas.  My SBD HQ training plans weren’t going to happen... as always the Plan B card needed to be played so with that in mind, rather than trying to fight with the snow, I played with it instead :O)  FUN FUN FUN!!!  Mr Snowman had to be put together!

There were no slopes near to where I was staying so basically no tobogganing or skiing for me (at this stage of my travelling, I didn’t think I would ever get to ski)... just a lot of walking and making snowballs for target practice on fences.    

Atlantic City, New Jersey

When snow on the roads had cleared up I visited Atlantic City (i.e. the Las Vegas of the East Coast of USA).   

The city didn’t quite live up to its catch phrase “always turned on”... I reckon it was the cold weather that scared a lot of the would-be gamblers away so the place looked abandoned and switched off.  It was nice having the place to myself though :O) 

Besides the casinos, Atlantic City is full of direct factory outlets and because it’s a city in NJ, clothes and shoes aren’t taxed so shopping is cheaper than NYC.

The highlight for me was seeing the snow on the beach that welcomes the Atlantic Ocean.  WOW!!!       

  

New York City

NYC is addictive... thus I had to visit it again before leaving East USA.  Besides I needed a good feed and NYC is the city for it :O)

Gastronomical bliss included NYC pizza followed by chocolate and caramel fondue with banana fritters and strawberries... hmm...

I finally got to taste the Korean Fried Chicken Desiree and our NYC mates kept raving on about too – YUMMO!!!  Had that along with the BEST corn on the cob ever – Korean style!  The Mono + Mono Korean restaurant can be found at Midtown NYC in a very obscure location – if you blink you may miss the entrance...  Not sure I’d be able to find it on my own.  Thank goodness I went with a friend who knew where to go.  Mono + Mono is worth finding – food was GREAT!

 

This time around Central Park was snow capped white and the lakes were freezing up.  Very much a contrast to the shades of bright colours it was painted with in November.

 

 

Across the street from Central Park are the Apple Store, Trump Tower and the FAO Schwarz Toy Store (i.e. the toy store that appeared in the movie Big starring Tom Hanks).  Expect to spend BIG if buying toys from this store... OMG!!!  Prices for a big stuffed animal are $500+ USD!  FAR OUT!!!  Notwithstanding the mad prices for toys, lollies, etc, the store is COOL!!!  Felt like such a BIG KID...  LOL... best bit was playing a few notes on the BIG piano :O)... SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FUN!

Christmas was in the air and the Rockefeller Centre tree was finally up and beaming with lights.  

 

Mates and I attempted to check out the Statue of Liberty but it was a cold, foggy and snowy night thus visibility was limited.  We could only just make out her outline in the mist holding the torch light.       

We made a detour to the World Trade Centre memorial site and also checked out the Wall Street Bull, a NYC icon symbolising “aggressive financial optimism and prosperity”.  As its name suggests it’s located at Wall Street, Manhattan NYC.  It’s HUGE topping 4 metres in height.  

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Thankyou to the family and friends for braving the winter chills to catch up with me.  You’re AWESOME!!!  See you next time it’s warmer ;O)