LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026
People who've received trip reports in past years may recall me
referring to what I call "planned spontaneity" which means planning a
framework for a day in advance and then changing it in ways so that the
basic idea is still there but things happen entirely differently. That
was very much in force today. If you look at the timetable you can see
how I got from it to what I did but things changed quite a bit. Glad I
booked a room to myself. Slept a lot better as a result.
I
left Wilson Hall around 5:30 and walked through the University of
Toronto a little. I had breakfast at McDonald's across from the ROM
(Royal Ontario Museum, not to be confused with Rom, a Specknight whose
comic book adventures are far better known than the original toy he was
based on). I walked to Bloor-Yonge Station and got a Toronto Transit
daypass, though I didn't use it right away. I walked north along Yonge
St for around two hours, crossing over into Vaughan at Steeles. I walked
a little ways further and then crossed the street to the east side,
which was Markham. I walked back to Steeles and crossed back over to
Vaughan. I just missed a 960 express bus but a 60 bus was right behind
it and possibly got me a window seat that I wouldn't have gotten
otherwise (some of you may recall I tried to do this in 2019 but
couldn't get a good seat). I took photos of the north/Vaughan side of
Steeles. I got off at Pioneer Village Station. The bus stop is on the
Toronto side but I suspect that where you get on the subway train is in
Vaughan; you can enter the tunnel via either city. I took a 1 train
south (thus Toronto).to St. Andrew Station. I took photos of Canada's
Walk of Fame, but there's a lot of construction in Toronto and some of
squares of the Walk were covered unfortunately the square where the Walk
pays tribute to itself.
I met up with my
friend Monica. I'll say this, and not just because she's getting these
reports: in my last active year in government, I dealt with some
unpleasant directors. The only one from that year (2008) that I
respected and still respect was her. She was always nice to me. We went
for lunch at a place nearby whose name I can't recall (I could look it
up but want to plow through this) and she treated me to lunch. We parted
ways and I took a 1 train from Union Station to Bloor-Yonge Station. I
walked east along Bloor St E, crossing the Prince Edward Viaduct where
it becomes Danforth St. Many areas of Toronto are ethnic themed. In the
Greektown area I visited Book City and Re: Reading, got a pop from
Circle K, and walked to Circus Books and Music.
[NOW: I think it was Kellys Landing we had lunch at.]
I
took a 2 train from Donlands Station to Kennedy Station, in the
Scarborough area of Toronto. I was supposed to get off a stop sooner
(Warden) to make my way to the Scarborough Comic Room, but didn't notice
that in time. Also it would have added an hour of my time. I took a 43B
bus to near Kennedy Commons where I got some shows on DVDs and Blu-ray,
including the Blu-ray of the 00s Superman cartoon. It was after that
that I realized that while I wanted to see the Comic Room, it was more
trouble than it was worth to get there (I tried to get there in 2019 but
they weren't open and there was a long wait for a bus). The 3 Line
light rail had been demolished in preparation for expanding the 2 Line
in a similar direction, so with more buses, it was too much of a
time eater; I don't know if the number 3 will be used for a new line in
the future. I took a 2 Line subway train to Dufferin Station.
Walking
along Bloor St W, I got some DVDs at Eyesore Video, then visited
Monkey's Paw Books, Zoinks! Books and Music, and Doug Miller Books (I
miss its late mascot Bumpkin the rabbit). I took a look at what had
replaced Honest Ed's and was horrified. I could understand not keeping
the old them, but the tall building is so bland that it actually stands
out from its surrounding buildings in its blandness. It was as if the
designers were actively trying to be blander than the buildings housing
the other businesses in the area.
I visited
Seekers Books, the Bloor St branch of BMV (Books Magazines Videos) and
Thunderstrike Comics. I left Bloor for Bay St Video (probably the last
truly traditional video rental business in Toronto) then on Yonge
visited ABC Books before having dinner at the same McDonald's as
yesterday, I visited the Edward St BMV and then returned to
Yonge-Dundas Square briefly. I walked along Dundas St to Spadina.. I
could have walked the rest of the walk to the hotel, but in case this is
the last day I get to ride Toronto Transit this trip, I waited longer
than I hoped for a 510 streetcar. The first one was packed but there was
another one right behind it so I took that instead back to Wilson Hall.
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