This is the third of a series of posts dealing with my third
trip to Eastern Canada. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also,
I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add
further clarification. These are
indicated by “NOW”.
The three women at the hostel were a bit risqué again last night.
However, I was able to tune out outside noises a bit better and managed to get
five to six hours' sleep. It must have been a deep sleep for I was very
refreshed this morning. I walked to Union GO Station and got another daypass,
this time to Hamilton. While there was an express bus there, the train cost the
same so after breakfast at McDonald's at the station I took a Lakeshore West
train (GO Transit) to Aldershot GO Station in Burlington and from there I
transferred to an 18 bus (GO Transit) to City Hall in Hamilton. Checking a few convenience stores on James
St, I found one that sold day buspass for Hamilton Street Railway (HSR; all
buses, no light rail despite the name). I wandered along King St, where a
market was being set up. I noticed this video store that would only price
movies upon request was gone. I wandered further north to the former location
of Video Hits (gone), Heading back south, I visited Copps Coliseum. I asked there if they had any memorabilia related
to the TV series Power Play, which was partly filmed there. The guy at the
ticket counter knew of the show but wasn't sure if they had anything so
directed me to security. The door to security looked a bit forbidding so I
decided not to bother.
[NOW: The hostel, Global Village Backpackers, is now closed as is that McDonald's that was in Union before renovations. The market was Downtown Hamilton Farmers’ Market.
Copps Coliseum is now FirstOntario Centre.]
In Hamilton City Centre I visited Entertainmentdeals.ca (the
woman was seven minutes late opening but still got Penn & Teller: Bulls—t season
8) then went to MacNab Trasnit Terminal, where I took the 35 bus (HSR) to Upper
James St. I visited The Beat Goes On (got True Blood season 5 on blu-ray) then
took a 27 bus (HSR) to Big B Comics. Some of their comics were downstairs but I
couldn't find a light to see the comics and they were talking upstairs (plus
the deal wasn't that good) so I headed off and took another 27 HSR back to MacNab
Transit Terminal. Cheapies was setting up a sidewalk sale. In the meantime I
ordered a $4.99 medium pizza from Gino's Pizza, went to Dr Disc (probably gone
last year), grabbed the pizza and ate at the park separating north and south
lanes on King St E. I sat close to the fountain, though the benches closest to
the fountain had their backs to the fountain. I ate the pizza while shooing
away wasps.
[NOW: Entertainmentdeals.ca and Cheapies are now closed. The park is Gore Park.]
I walked over to Select Video then returned to Cheapies'
now open sidewalk sale and got a couple of DVD sets. I took an eastbound 5 bus
(HSR). I realized that different 5's travelled on different streets so I got
off at Gage St went north to Main St, and walked along Gage until a 1 bus (HSR)
arrived that took me a short ways to Steel City Video, where I bought some DVDs
and DVD sets. I grabbed a pop from the 7-11 and to a 1, then 11 bus (both HSR)
to Van Wagner’s Beach, which was deserted despite the day having turned hot. I
took another 11 HSR to Burlington Transit Centre, getting a transfer when I got
on.
[NOW: Select Video and Steel City Video are now closed. The DVD sets were a collection of Nicolas Cage movies
and a collection of Angelina Jolie movies.]
I used the transfer to take a 3 bus (Burlington Transit) to
Burlington Mall, where I visited Cinema 1, located in the Food Court. I walked
east along Fairview to Appleby Book Ranch, then another Beat Goes On. I took a
21 bus (Burlington Transit) to Burlington GO Station and from there took a
Lakeshore West train (GO Transit) to Oakville GO Station. I accidentally
grabbed an eastbound 4 bus (Oakville Transit; I was heading west) so I quickly
doubled back. No west 4 in sight so I took a 28 bus (Oakville Transit) to
another Beat Goes On. I walked south to Comic Connection on Speer. They had a pop machine with a Let the Lord
Decide button. I tried it and got a Diet Coke; not a favourite but better than
a cherry drink. I walked along the 4 route, beating the 4 bus back to Oakville
GO Station.
[NOW: That Cinema 1 and Appleby Book Ranch is now closed. Comic Connection moved and became Enter the Battlefield.]
There I took the Lakeshore West GO train. Once we were in
Toronto I called my friend Aidan and we arranged a meet for tomorrow. A drunk
was also making calls and I was worried he would disrupt mine, but he was quiet
until I finished my call and then started up again. At Union GO Station I
heading south to the waterfront, then walked north, getting another $4.99 Pizza
Pizza deal; soon after I saw a restaurant called Wayne Gretzky's in a Blue Jays
building (Pst! Wrong sport!). I considered getting a pop at Shoppers Drug Mart
but changed my mine. Back at the hostel, waiting for a terminal, I noticed that
one of the clocks was wrong; the four clocks show different cities and they
have Los Angeles at four hours behind Toronto, not three. I also overheard the woman at the desk trying
to explain to someone on the phone repeatedly that their attempts to book until
September 31 weren't working because Sept only has 30 days.
[NOW: Aidan and I actually ended up meeting during the week
instead.]
