Eastern Canada Trip 2024 Day 15 Tuesday June 18 Toronto to Victoria

LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026

This is the 15^th and last 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”.

 With the humidity I slept okay most of the night. I woke up to my alarm and checked out of Neill Wycik Hotel. I walked to the nearest bus stop on Yonge St and took a 320 Toronto Transit bus to Bloor St. Due to construction I had a short hike to the nearest temporary bus stop. I arrived when the 300A Toronto Transit did. I took it to Pearson Airport in Mississauga. I checked in. There was a body scanner but I wasn't the only one to opt out and do the pat down instead; two people ahead of me and one behind me. I grabbed breakfast at Subway. I went with a footlong breakfast sandwich to carry me over the flight.

[NOW: Due to more construction I think the bus detoured around University of Toronto early in the ride but I wasn't able to get good photos of the university because of how dark it was.]

Another flight with some elbowing from the person next to me. Being so squeezed in with long legs I was in a bit of pain so I stood every so often without actually leaving my seat. A guy in the aisle seat offered me a couple of chocolate coated wafers which was nice of him.

 The plane arrived at Victoria Airport, North Saanich a bit early. The bus from the airport to McTavish Exchange wasn't for another 19 minutes and I needed the circulation so I walked to the exchange, where I took a 72 Victoria Transit bus home, getting to my place just before 11 am.

 [NOW; A bit related to my former apartment deleted.]

 The rest of the day is mostly beyond the scope of these reports, though it was surreal to have flown from Toronto to Victoria and still have a lot of the day ahead of me. I'll probably have some final; thoughts later but for now need to recharge.

Eastern Canada Trip 2024 Day 14 Tuesday June 17 Toronto

LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026

This is the 14^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 walked to Yonge-Dundas Square and entered Dundas Station for a daypass; all transportation today Toronto Transit. The ticket from the machine was dated two days earlier so I pressed a button to call for info. No answer. I tested the ticket and it seemed to work. As I started to exit the Station I noticed that the rain had started. After waiting just a bit at Yonge-Dundas Square, I returned to Neill Wycik Hotel early. I had breakfast. By the time I finished the rain had stopped so I walked north along Yonge, noting where a bus stop was. At Bloor-Yonge Station I took a 2 train to Kipling, then gradually walked east back to Bloor-Yonge. It was rainy but it finally stopped; at some point early on I lost the umbrella's bottom handle. En route I accidentally got a Pepsi Zero instead of Pepsi at Dollarama and later got a Pepsi Slurpee at the 7-11 closest to Spadina Station. Back at Bloor-Yonge Station I took a 1 train to Finch Station and walked south, luckily most of this route was downhill. There was a slight detour due to the turn in the path to cross Hwy 401. Ironically you have to cross Yonge via overpass and then cross back at street level right after.

[NOW: Yonge-Dundas Square is now Sankofa Square. ]

I had lunch at the McDonald's closest to Lawrence Station and tried to visit Paradise Comics but once more it wasn't open. I got drinks at two Dollaramas. For the first one youth asked me where I'd been, noting my sunburn. I replied "All over". I visited Yonge's BMV. At a library where I went in for water I promised security not to take pictures. I got a couple trades at ABC Books. I took a 506 streetcar to The Beguiling and got some trades, which meant briefly grabbing a mask. I visited College St.’s She Said Boom! and Balfour Books. Neurotica proved not to be open today so it too missed out this trip. I took a 511 streetcar to Bathurst Station; apparently due to a wait for another streetcar to leave the station there was a long wait before anyone could get off.

[NOW: The McDonald's in question was the one at 3400 Yonge St.]

Bloor's BMV also has a cheap section that I noticed earlier but it too wasn't open today. I briefly visited the main store. My friend Monica had noticed that the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is free at 4:30 third Tuesday of the month but the lineup was huge. I'm not really into more general museums so the line-up far exceeded my interest level, figuring even when it opened it would be hard to get quick pics through the crowds, so I decided to pass. I'm sure I would have found it to be a great museum that I'm not all that into. I much prefer smaller focused museums like the Police Museum: get in, snap 15 minutes of shots, get out. I even found the Royal BC Museum boring the last time I visited, so even if the ROM is great I might not be its target audience.

 I took a 2 train from Museum to Osgoode Station. I revisited Nathan Phillips Square. I got more trades at Edward St's BMV. The Pizza Pizza I ate at last time was gone but I found one near College St. I carried the pizza to Yonge-Dundas Square. A guy, perhaps jokingly, asked for a slice. I declined. Later he and his friend, aside from asking for a slice, made a grab for my camera and then my backpack. They might have been joking or perhaps the backpack was heavier than expected. I moved to a different part of the Square and finished the pizza, then grabbed a drink from Dollarama.

[NOW: That Dollarama is on Dundas St E right across from the square.] 

I was already planning on ending today early because I have to get up around 3 tomorrow but the altercation cemented that plan. I returned to the hotel.

Eastern Canada Trip 2024 Day 13 Monday June 16 Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton

LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026

This is the 13^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”.

Busy day today so decided to skip the free Neill Wycik Hotel breakfast. I walked to Union Station and got a GO Transit daypass. I took a look at the black people exhibit and then took a westbound train (all trains today Lakeshore West/GO Transit) to Port Credit GO Station, Mississauga. I walked south to St. Lawrence Park, Lake Union then explored Lakeshore Blvd briefly before returning to the GO Station.

I took another westbound train to Oakville GO Station, Oakville. I had breakfast at McDonald's across from the station before wandering to Lake Ontario there as well. My route both directions occasionally took me past Sixteen Mile Creek. I returned to the station and took another westbound train to Appleby GO Station, Burlington. I think it was part of this walk that I pulled out the inner lining of one of my shoes that kept wanted to come out the back. I walked to The Beat Goes On. Three minutes after it was supposed to open there was no sign that anyone had even arrived so I walked to Burlington Centre and visited Conspiracy Comics.

I worked my way to Brant Street Pier at Lake Ontario, where you can get some nice views of the area; en route it lightly rained a little. Mostly walking along Brant St, I did a slight side trip to A Different Drummer Books before making my way to Burlington GO Station. I took one more westbound train from there to West Harbour GO Station, Hamilton.

I walked to Frank A. Cooke Transit Terminal (formerly MacNab Transit Terminal) and got on the 27 bus (all buses in Hamilton are Hamilton Railway, which has no trains, just buses). A street person tried to get on the bus with all his stuff but he was denied entry, partly out of concern that his sleeping blanket might have bedbugs. I visited Big B Comics. It was raining when I got out. After a bit of a wait I took a 20 bus to The Beat Goes On; before going in I went to Subway, which was just a few doors down, so easy to get to in the rain. I got an Ice Age sequel Blu-ray at The Beat Goes On. I made it to a bus stop with a shelter, at which point it started raining harder. After a longer wait I took a 43 bus to Lime Ridge Mall.

I put on my poncho for  the short commute from the bus stop to the inside of the mall due to how hard it was raining. I visited Cinema 1 and another Conspiracy Comics. I put on the poncho again and returned to the bus terminal, where I took a 26 bus back to Frank A. Cooke Bus Terminal.

[NOW: Lime Ridge Mall’s Cinema 1 and Conspiracy Comics have since closed.]

By this point Mother Nature had stopped trying to destroy my camera so I was able to casually wander to Gore Park. Despite its name it's actually a pleasant looking park between two streets. There's a nice fountain there. I worked my way to Tabby's Variety, which used to sell DVDs but no longer. I briefly returned downtown. I was going to visit Hamilton Centre but the entrance on the side I wanted to go in was fenced off. I returned to West Harbour GO Centre.

I took an eastbound train. The top floor is supposed to be quiet but a young  woman, a bit drunk I think was a bit loud with first her swearing then then her Joker'esque laugh. I decided for time to skip Enter the Battlefield in Oakville but did get off at Clarkson GO Station, Mississauga.

I walked to Altered States Comics, a further distance than expected. Realizing I probably didn't have time to reach the next train, I grabbed dinner from a McDonald's before returning to the station. The train I now wanted to catch was 18 minutes late. I tried to kill time with WiFi on my phone, but there was no connection to GO Transit WiFi, at least in the part of the station I was at.

The train finally arrived and presumably to make up time became express after Port Credit. I got off back at Union Station, Toronto and made my way to Yonge-Dundas Square. Because the rain and wind had nearly wrecked my umbrella, I got a spare umbrella from the underground PATH. The earlier umbrella served me well, but it probably can't protect my camera if it rains tomorrow.

[NOW: Yonge-Dundas Square is now Sankofa Square. It did rain the next day]

I walked to my usual McDonald's in the area just to get soda water. I then returned to the hotel. This ends the sidetrips part of the trip.

[NOW: The McDonald's in question was the one at 356 Yonge St.]
 

Eastern Canada Trip 2024 Day 12 Sunday June 15 Toronto including Toronto Islands.

LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026

This is the 12^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”.

First off, my Chromebook isn't charging; I don't know if I'll be able to do trip reports every remaining day of the trip before I get home but I'll try.

[NOW: I managed to keep it working the rest of the trip.]

I left Neill Wycik Hotel (which uses literal keys by the way) and walked to the 7-11 at Yonge and College; it was locked. I walked to the one at College and Spadina and it too was locked but the person inside soon let me in. I suspect that for safety reasons, street people are being kept out. I walked to Augusta and got more photos of the plant car, then again visited the Al Waxman statue at Bellevue Park Square. I walked to Yonge-Dundas Square, then grabbed breakfast at the hotel. I asked for Coke and the lady gave me Canada Dry, but I decided to go with it anyway.

[NOW: The first 7-11 has closed. Yonge-Dundas Square is now Sankofa Square.]

I rushed to Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. More people there than expected for the 8 am ferry, probably due to a Dragonboat race. I took the Centre Island Ferry to the Toronto Islands, specially the island called  either Centre Island or Centreville Island. I got photos of the not-yet-open (for the day) Centreville Amusement Park. I crossed a bridge to the largest island, which is also called Centre Island except on the east side, where it's Ward's Island. The centremost beach has multiple names. I headed west and got pics of an old fashioned bus and the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. I wanted to get photos of Hanlan's Point Beach early. It's a clothing optional beach so if you want to be able to sneak in photos you need to do so when no one's around. They greatly expanded it since I was here last. I managed to get some pics in until I got close to the traditional area, where I saw a few people, so I put my camera away until I left the area.

[NOW: Probably the name most used for the centremost beach is Centre Island Beach.]

Heading east I saw people playing disc golf. I visited a few smaller islands off the larger one: a yacht club one, Snake Island (never seen snakes there), and the residential Algonquin Island. Some residences had art displays at the front, though there wasn’t enough time to visit every street. Returning to what was now Ward's Island, I visited the Ward's Island Ferry Terminal and then made my way to Ward's Island Beach. A group was playing music too loud but I was tired so I rested and had my lunch anyway. I briefly changed into swimwear and did a short swim in Lake Ontario. I worked my way back to the west side, walking along various beaches. A little ways past the lighthouse the path becomes rainbow coloured noting the historical use of the area. Since that was right by part of the expanded area of the clothing optional beach, a woman new to the Islands said that a naked guy came close to her when she was taking pictures and asked if that was normal, so I explained which sections of the larger island were clothing optional and which weren't.

After more walking I managed to get to Hanlan's Point Ferry Dock just before a ferry was supposed to leave, only due to some change that ferry's first trip from that dock wasn't until 7:30 pm. I walked quickly back to Centre Island Ferry Dock. I had just missed one ferry but probably wouldn't have gotten on because there was already a long wait for the next ferry. Some park workers at a concession booth tried to sell food and drink to people in line. I thought that was a bit tacky. Despite a lot of people ahead of me in line I managed to make the next ferry back to the mainland. I walked to CN Tower and then to Queen St, visiting Silver Snail Comics in its new location (got a comic trade) and Type Books. I walked to 2019's hostel Parkdale Hostellerie again and then headed east along King St.

[NOW: I didn’t go in the Parkdale Hostellerie, but because I stayed there before I wanted to pass by it.]

I had dinner at a McDonald's on Joe Shuster Way. I don't normally eat dinner at a McDonald's which doesn't offer refills but I wanted a receipt that said Joe Shuster Way. Back on King, got a trade and a few other things at a Dollarama. I eventually turned off of King and revisited Nathan Phillips Square and Yonge-Dundas Square (same games there as last night). Tired from all the walking I decided to call it an early night and returned to the hotel just after 7:30.

Eastern Canada Trip 2024 Day 11 Saturday June 14 Toronto, Barrie

LAST UPDATED: January 3, 2026

This is the 11^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 walked from Neill Wycik Hotel to Yonge-Dundas Square, then to the Free Palestine encampment at the University of Toronto, then to outside Wilson Hall before working my way back to Neill Wycik Hotel for breakfast. I walked to Union Station and got a day pass from a machine. Booking online is a lot cheaper but I don't want banking info on my phone, and I like having tickets as souvenirs. I briefly walked to the waterfront and then returned to Union Station. I rode a GO train from there to Allendale Waterfront GO Station, Barrie. Big B Comics was closer than expected. I got a trade there. I headed north getting shots of  some of the parks at Kempenfelt Bay (Lake Simcoe). I walked to Rivendell Books. They did have a trade I regretted not buying new, but even though the trade was only about five years old for B&W reprints of colour material, they wanted nearly double the original price.

[NOW: Yonge-Dundas Square is now Sankofa Square.]

I walked to Video Time and got some Blu-rays. I walked to BJ's Collectibles. Mostly music with a few DVDs. I didn't buy anything there nor at Kerry's Books. I grabbed lunch at McDonald's and checked wifi there, realizing that I wanted to take a later train back. I went to Barrie Transit Center and got bus schedules as souvenirs. I walked to Kempenfelt Bay and found a spot by the water to watch an airshow. I had no idea before arriving in Barrie that an airshow was happening today but since there was I definitely wanted to see it. Of course we get airshows in Victoria too, but it's a different view, plus I'm not likely to randomly get to see this particular show again. At least one of the plans was from World War II and one plane was flying just under the speed of sound. A helicopter was also involved plus the requisite planes flying in tandem and creating effects like a jetstream heart.  My camera's Sports mode was very useful for that plane.

[NOW: The McDonald's  in question was the one on Dunlop St W.]

Finally things seemed to come to an end though the planes seemed to continue to fly and do stunts. So my one quibble with the show was that it shouldn't outstay its welcome. I decided to just let myself explore and get shots of the planes as the view permitted, as I only had so much time left. At the north end of the bay I saw the police arrest someone. I wandered around the downtown area and vicinity, mainly getting shots. Then I started heading south along the bay. By this point the planes were gone. I made it back to Allendale Waterfront GO Station half an hour before the next train was supposed to leave. But it arrived half an hour beforehand and people were already snagging seats so I reluctantly left the sunny weather to ensure I got a good seat.

To make the time not a total loss I wrote some of this report using my phone during the wait. It finally took off. There was a fare check mid way, plus an emergency on the floor below (of course I always sit on the top floor of the double-decker train. I got off at Union GO Station, Toronto and headed north, grabbing dinner at Yonge St's southernmost McDonald's, which also had a soda dispenser. I briefly sat at Yonge-Dundas Square, moving locations because as soon as I sat down the first time, someone with smoker's body odour sat by me. People were playing games there: chess, Connect 4, mini-golf, ping pong. I walked back to the hotel but didn't want to go in right away so I walked east a ways before turning back.