Eastern Canada Trip 2016 Day 9 Wednesday June 22: Toronto, Guelph, Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo

UPDATED: February 11, 2021

This is the 9th of a series of posts dealing with my 2016 trip to Toronto, Montreal, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  These are indicated by “NOW”.

First off, tomorrow's report will be later than usually due to prebooked bus. I got up around 5:30, walked to McDonald's for breakfast, walked along Yonge to Bloor, took the 1/Yonge-University-Spadina train (TTC/Toronto Transit Commission) from Bloor Station back to Dundas Station. I walked to Toronto Coach Terminal. I had wondered while my itinerary said my bus left at 7:15 but my ticket said 7. As I gradually realized during the Greyhound trip, I had meant to book an express bus to Kitchener but accidentally booked the longer run through Guelph. I did briefly step foot in Guelph during a break but it meant I arrived at Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener later than planned.

 

[NOW: The hostel I stayed at, now closed, was Backpackers on Dundas.]

I bought a Grand River Transit/GRT daypass. All buses until the next Greyhound were GRT. A screen suggested a bit of a wait for my bus so I went on a short walk. Returning I noticed the time remaining was longer. Basically there were supposed to be two times but the first wasn't lit up. One bus was late so I might not have missed the bus. The bus in question, 200 finally arrived and I took it to Cambridge Centre in Cambridge. In the mall I visited Book Express and Cinema 1. There's a skating rink in the mall. Very near the mall I got a DVD series from Beat Goes On. Returning to the bus stop I took a 51 bus to Queen St which has a cute village. I visited Video 99 and The Vault. The latter has lots of movies up my alley. A bit pricey but I did find one set I could afford. I took another 51 then a 200 to Fairview Park Terminal in Kitchener, where I accidentally left my maps on the bus and was too foggy to react fast enough to retrieve them before the bus left. I bought another DVD at Beat Goes On and also visited Buy & Sell Video. Back at the bus stop I took another 200 bus to Waterloo. I grabbed a couple maps at the Waterloo Public Library. Orange Monkey isn't open on Wednesdays. I visited Waterloo Park, Old Goat Books, and Carry On Comics (skipping Words Worth Books for time) before taking a 7 bus to another Beat Goes On. More DVDs.

[NOW: Video 99 and The Vault were in the Hespeler area of Cambridge. The Vault has moved to Ripley. Book Express and Video 99 have closed. The Waterloo Beat Goes On has moved/merged with a location I didn't get to.]

I ate a late lunch at McDonald's before taking a 7 bus back to Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener; I actually rang the bell the stop before but the driver didn't stop, maybe a little distracted by an assistant dog that wasn't entirely behaved. I visited KW Bookstore, A Second Look Books and Music (bought a couple DVD sets), Encore Records (just music, no movies) Far Out Flicks (they had a buy one, get one half price deal but I only found one set I wanted), Lookin’ for Heroes. There was another 204 bus I could have taken to yet another Beat Goes On but I had spent too much time shopping, not enough looking around (fewer photos today than usual) so I skipped that. I walked to Victoria Park and then wandered King St (where some of the stores I had visited were on). I grabbed a couple maps from the Visitor Welcome Center inside City Hall. Visited City Pawnbrokers. Some sort of market place had a lower level greenery that you could look at from above but judging from the lack of people probably couldn't access. I grabbed a drink from Dollarama (cooler today so this was my first non-meal drink). I returned to Charles Street Terminal.

[NOW: The market place was in fact called Market Square.]

The Greyhound got there shortly before time to leave; same driver. I had to fight sleep on the bus. When I got off, I nearly left my camera case, but someone noticed. I grabbed dinner at McDonald's and rested briefly at Yonge-Dundas Square before returning to Backpackers on Dundas.

[NOW: I did in fact end up leaving my camera case on a bus during an Okanagan trip April 2017. I had my aunt pick it up but bought another case which is more sand and water resistant before I saw her again.]