Eastern Canada Trip 2024 Day 9 Thursday June 12 Ottawa to Toronto

LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026

This is the 9^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2024 trip to Eastern Canada. 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 a year later or to add further clarification. These are indicated by “NOW”.

I kept being woken up by that one snorer at Saintlo Jail Hostel. Did a final mini-exploration of the upper floors and checked out. I got to Rideau Station via Rideau Centre. A bit of a maze so I'd have been better off entering from the outside instead of the mall. I took a Line 1 O-Train from Rideau Station to St-Laurent Station. There I transferred from a Megabus/Coach Canada bus from Ottawa to Kingston. The driver had a sense of humour like Westjet workers used to have before they started striving to be more like Air Canada. There was a traffic jam the other way I think caused by a collision. At Kingston I transferred to another such bus to Toronto. On both buses had granola bars and a vitamin drink as makeshift breakfast. There was a minor traffic jam; another collision I think. I walked from Union Coach Terminal to the baggage storage place. At Union subway station I got a 90 minute pass and took a 1 Line train to College Station.

I couldn't check in that early at Neil Wycik Hotel but I could leave my bags. I walked to the Toronto Metropolitan Police Museum. To get in the building I had to go through an airport like check: items on tray, walk through metal detector. The museum is only a small part of the building but it's by donation. I took a 1 Line subway train from College Station to Lawrence Station. I wanted to visit Paradise Comics, which I seem to keep missing on trips but there was a note saying back in 5 minutes. I wandered north along Yonge St and had lunch at McDonald's and visited Hairy Tarantula (games and comics). On the way back, Paradise Comics still had the same note as before.

I continued back to Lawrence Station and got another 90 minute pass. A 1-Line train arrived shortly but its power got cut off apparently due to an incident on the tracks, I finally gave up and left the train and the station and walked to my next destination, BMV. I got a couple of comics trades there. I went to the nearby Eglinton Station, which I was trying to get to before, and took another 1 Line train to St. Clair Station. There was another delay leaving but just a short one. I visited Yonge St.'s Book City. Due to renos I wasn't able to take a westbound 512 streetcar like I'd hoped but instead took a 512 temporary bus. I visited Dundas West's Type Books then Pandemonium (music and DVDs).

Bloor St's Dead Dog Records seems to be gone. I revisited Eyesore Cinema and Doug Miller Books. At Seekers Books I found a bio on the late wrestler/actor Andre the Giant in comic book form. Everyone on the set of The Princess Bride seemed to like him. I visited Bloor St's BMV. Church St's Dead Dog Records had closed for the day. I went to my usual McDonald's near Yonge-Dundas Square, but this time noticed a soda option so I drank that rather than more sugary pop. I revisited Edward St's BMV then spent a few minutes at Yonge-Dundas Square. A woman said (to me?) to put away the camera but I pretended not to hear her.

[NOW; Dead Dog Records is still around; I just misremembered how far west on Bloor it was. The McDonald's in question was the one at 356 Yonge St. Yonge-Dundas Square is now Sankofa Square.]

I checked in at the hotel. My room is on the 13 floor; good thing I'm not superstitious about that. The view is okay but not what you'd expect from that high up. Laundry is on the 4th floor but included in the price of the room.

I've decided to skip the Grand Rapids area tomorrow for a number of reasons: partly to make it easier to meet with friends (one does want to meet tomorrow but hasn't given a specific time or location yet) but more importantly it's two hours each way and there's not a huge margin for error with my timings if I want to get everything done. More importantly, even though I really enjoyed my last visit there many years ago, if weather permits, I think I'd rather just stroll around Toronto some more.