UPDATED: January 28, 2021
All Toronto blog entries are as
sent to friends, with minor modifications.
Well, it seems like most trips I
go on one day is a total disaster and this trip is no exception.
It started out amusing enough actually: in the middle of the night one of the cats (Artemis I think) wanted to hang out and be petted. This happened a number of times during the night though the last time or two it was definitely Grayson, who has different markings.
It started out amusing enough actually: in the middle of the night one of the cats (Artemis I think) wanted to hang out and be petted. This happened a number of times during the night though the last time or two it was definitely Grayson, who has different markings.
[NOW: Artemis has passed away. I don't know about Grayson.]
I took one subway train to St George and another to Union. Crossing over to the Union train station, I bought another daypass before grabbing breakfast at McDonald's. I took a GO train to Pickering (left very little impression on me beyond one half being north of the highway, the other half south), where asking directions to one store proved to take a lot longer than expected. I crossed the highway with the original intent of visiting Blockbuster and Chapters but the rain was coming down good so I doubled back without getting to them. I walked east along Bayly, ironically deciding not to go to Video 99, the store that had cost me a bit of time getting directions, as it was too far out of the way in the rain. Another store wasn't open yet as I headed eat. A bus honked to let me on at one point but I didn't know how close I was to my destination I was so I declined, which may have been a mistake, though by not getting on I crossed to street to Ajax (a pretty industrial town) on foot right after and later crossed a small but nice wooden bridge. I visited Corner Books and Deju Vu discs before heading north to Gnu Books. Heading west to go to the Ajax GO Station I noticed that the LCD screen had stopped working due to the rain and I checked things with my backup camera to see if it was at least taking pictures okay. Unfortunately I chose some sort of security area to check this out and due to an annoyed security guard who didn't connect the dots between the rain and someone fiddling with their camera, had to walk a ways to determine that at this point the camera was in fact working except for the LCD screen at that time.
[NOW: Both subway trains were TTC/Toronto Transit Commsion: Bloor Danforth, now Line 2 , and Yonge-University-Spadina, now line 1. That McDonald's closed during renovations. That Chapters either closed or became a Coles. Video 99, and Ajax's Gnu Books are now closed. What I called Corner Nooks might have been Reader's Discount, now closed. Blockbuster is now defunct.]
I made it to the Ajax GO Station and had lots of time, so because there was no food place in the area that was open, headed south to a pace called On the Run (tried to avoid the muddier areas of the path) before heading back to the GO Station, where I bought some Vanilla Coke at a convenience store. I took a train to Whitby though I had to switch cars because due to construction they weren't letting people out in some cars in Whitby including mine. In Whitby I bought some trade paperbacks (happy all sealed) at Comic Book Addiction before heading east, passing through a small but nice downtown area. I saw a GO bus heading the right direction and got on. The driver was a bit annoyed by how wet the daypass was. I got off at Oshawa Centre in, yes Oshawa, where I went inside to work out the final plans for this part of the trip. Heading east some more I got some DVDs at another branch of Deja Vu and then visited Blockbuster before making my way downtown. There were actually three comic shops in Oshawa's downtown. I bought some comics at Silver Star (some subsequently water damaged), none at Skyfox (few comics, more gaming stuff if memory serves), some at Worlds Collide (also subsequently water damaged). I went to the GO bus station but didn't see any stops for buses heading to the GO train Station in Oshawa so went to a stop I recalled. A bus happily came soon after; when I asked he driver if she stops at the train station she replied "If I have to." Good enough for me in the rain.
[NOW: Comic Book addiction moved north a ways. Again, Blockbuster in now defunct. What I called Silver Star was probably actually Comics Alley, which moved a little ways]
I took one subway train to St George and another to Union. Crossing over to the Union train station, I bought another daypass before grabbing breakfast at McDonald's. I took a GO train to Pickering (left very little impression on me beyond one half being north of the highway, the other half south), where asking directions to one store proved to take a lot longer than expected. I crossed the highway with the original intent of visiting Blockbuster and Chapters but the rain was coming down good so I doubled back without getting to them. I walked east along Bayly, ironically deciding not to go to Video 99, the store that had cost me a bit of time getting directions, as it was too far out of the way in the rain. Another store wasn't open yet as I headed eat. A bus honked to let me on at one point but I didn't know how close I was to my destination I was so I declined, which may have been a mistake, though by not getting on I crossed to street to Ajax (a pretty industrial town) on foot right after and later crossed a small but nice wooden bridge. I visited Corner Books and Deju Vu discs before heading north to Gnu Books. Heading west to go to the Ajax GO Station I noticed that the LCD screen had stopped working due to the rain and I checked things with my backup camera to see if it was at least taking pictures okay. Unfortunately I chose some sort of security area to check this out and due to an annoyed security guard who didn't connect the dots between the rain and someone fiddling with their camera, had to walk a ways to determine that at this point the camera was in fact working except for the LCD screen at that time.
[NOW: Both subway trains were TTC/Toronto Transit Commsion: Bloor Danforth, now Line 2 , and Yonge-University-Spadina, now line 1. That McDonald's closed during renovations. That Chapters either closed or became a Coles. Video 99, and Ajax's Gnu Books are now closed. What I called Corner Nooks might have been Reader's Discount, now closed. Blockbuster is now defunct.]
I made it to the Ajax GO Station and had lots of time, so because there was no food place in the area that was open, headed south to a pace called On the Run (tried to avoid the muddier areas of the path) before heading back to the GO Station, where I bought some Vanilla Coke at a convenience store. I took a train to Whitby though I had to switch cars because due to construction they weren't letting people out in some cars in Whitby including mine. In Whitby I bought some trade paperbacks (happy all sealed) at Comic Book Addiction before heading east, passing through a small but nice downtown area. I saw a GO bus heading the right direction and got on. The driver was a bit annoyed by how wet the daypass was. I got off at Oshawa Centre in, yes Oshawa, where I went inside to work out the final plans for this part of the trip. Heading east some more I got some DVDs at another branch of Deja Vu and then visited Blockbuster before making my way downtown. There were actually three comic shops in Oshawa's downtown. I bought some comics at Silver Star (some subsequently water damaged), none at Skyfox (few comics, more gaming stuff if memory serves), some at Worlds Collide (also subsequently water damaged). I went to the GO bus station but didn't see any stops for buses heading to the GO train Station in Oshawa so went to a stop I recalled. A bus happily came soon after; when I asked he driver if she stops at the train station she replied "If I have to." Good enough for me in the rain.
[NOW: Comic Book addiction moved north a ways. Again, Blockbuster in now defunct. What I called Silver Star was probably actually Comics Alley, which moved a little ways]
I took the GO train back went and my camera quit on me so I had to use my backup camera. I want to say I had been to Scarborough but wasn't up to exploring so in Scarborough Station I got off the train and then right back on. After the train arrived at Union, I took the subway to Sheppard in North York, where I ate dinner at the McDonald's at the subway station. There I found that my main camera did work but soon noticed that even through the viewfinder the images were a bit fuzzy.
[NOW: It was the now 1 Line/TTC that I took.]
I took the subway north some more to Finch where I accidentally took a bus to Yonge and Centre Ave rather than Yonge and Centre St, which is further north. I checked my memory card and determined that my main camera wasn't taking good enough photos to continue using. Not sure how salvageable it is. I took a bus from Centre Ave to Centre St. Getting off to bus put me in Thornhill, greater Markham. Crossing the street to Vaughan, I walked a little ways to a small but pleasant looking park called Orchard Pond Park. Returning to the bus stop I took a bus north to Richmond Hill Centre in Richmond Hill (around this time noticing that a zipper at the bottom of by sack was becoming unzipped. I didn't feel like walking to Indigo as originally planned so mainly stayed at the bus station except to briefly visit a covered overpass that would have led me to Home Depot had I fully crossed it.
I took the subway north some more to Finch where I accidentally took a bus to Yonge and Centre Ave rather than Yonge and Centre St, which is further north. I checked my memory card and determined that my main camera wasn't taking good enough photos to continue using. Not sure how salvageable it is. I took a bus from Centre Ave to Centre St. Getting off to bus put me in Thornhill, greater Markham. Crossing the street to Vaughan, I walked a little ways to a small but pleasant looking park called Orchard Pond Park. Returning to the bus stop I took a bus north to Richmond Hill Centre in Richmond Hill (around this time noticing that a zipper at the bottom of by sack was becoming unzipped. I didn't feel like walking to Indigo as originally planned so mainly stayed at the bus station except to briefly visit a covered overpass that would have led me to Home Depot had I fully crossed it.
[The train was again the now 1/TTC. The bus likely York Region Transit.]
I took a bus back to Finch station and then took the subway south, having to move at one point because a conductor needed my seat. I found during this trip the style of the next station messages was grating on me (e.g. "The next station is Bloor, Bloor Station. You are now arriving at Bloor, Bloor station). Not sure why the redundancy is needed. One of the rechargeable batteries I'd used up earlier also went missing. Anyway, I got off at Dundas because I recalled there was the Future Shop there and I had purchased my good camera at the Saanich branch. I got lucky in a way and spent *a lot* of money to get a replacement camera of the exact type. My backup camera is pretty decent as a backup, but the screen's not as big, there's something just a bit off with the images, and it takes a couple tries to turn on. However, rather than risk the rain destroying another of the same type of camera I continued to use the backup for the rest of the day. I took one subway train to Bloor, Bloor station and another to Ossington, Ossington Station.
I took a bus back to Finch station and then took the subway south, having to move at one point because a conductor needed my seat. I found during this trip the style of the next station messages was grating on me (e.g. "The next station is Bloor, Bloor Station. You are now arriving at Bloor, Bloor station). Not sure why the redundancy is needed. One of the rechargeable batteries I'd used up earlier also went missing. Anyway, I got off at Dundas because I recalled there was the Future Shop there and I had purchased my good camera at the Saanich branch. I got lucky in a way and spent *a lot* of money to get a replacement camera of the exact type. My backup camera is pretty decent as a backup, but the screen's not as big, there's something just a bit off with the images, and it takes a couple tries to turn on. However, rather than risk the rain destroying another of the same type of camera I continued to use the backup for the rest of the day. I took one subway train to Bloor, Bloor station and another to Ossington, Ossington Station.
[NOW: The bus was again likely York Region Transit. The south and north trains were the now 1/TTC while the train to Ossington was the now 2/TTC. Future Shop is now closed; the Saanich one is now a Best Buy.]
Back at Aidan's place I dropped some stuff off and decided to have a second dinner to de-stress, grabbing pizza at a nearby chain and couple of cans of Vanilla Coke from a nearby convenience store.
Back at Aidan's place I dropped some stuff off and decided to have a second dinner to de-stress, grabbing pizza at a nearby chain and couple of cans of Vanilla Coke from a nearby convenience store.
[NOW: The store was likely a Bloor Mini Mart.]
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