Washington D.C. - First Summer Holiday

A few of us decided to take a drive down to Niagara one Saturday afternoon to play some poker at Fallsview casino. Niagara itself does not get good reviews from Torontonians; they all reckon it is dirty, small and boring. I on the other hand enjoyed it immensely, it was full of arcades, haunted houses, wax museums and other attractions like the hershey store, lego store and obviously the falls. Seeing the falls (for the 3rd time) on a sunny clear day was mind blowing! The clarity and thunderous sound of the water is still impressive as always. It was a fun day out and about and I could have easily spent the weekend there.

Traveling to America from Canada is very expensive due to the high airport taxes. I spent 3 days in Washington D.C. but did it on the cheap. The Megabus departed Toronto on Thursday night at 10pm and arrived in Washington D.C. at 11am (we were stuck at the border for an hour) It then departed Washington D.C. at 10pm on Sunday night and arrived back in Toronto at 11am ready for a full day of work. Transport cost: $45CAD return. I stayed 2 nights at Capitol View hostel for $90CAD. Although expensive for a hostel, it was very central, clean and the reviews had been great.

Washington is full of well known museums and landmarks. Here are the small list of activities I engaged in:

State of Congress (Capitol Hill) - The original painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence can be found here along with statues of past presidents. The crypt was built to hold the remains of George Washington but due to his will, he wished to be buried at Mount Venon.
Supreme Court - There were no proceedings on friday so instead, I sat in the public gallery and was given an insight on what the supreme court does and the important people that attends each session.
Library of Congress - This is the largest library collection in the world. It is mainly used by court justice to conduct research before a ruling. The main attraction is the main reading room and open to the public if you are conducting research or an academia. To get into the reading room, I had to go to a different building and provide them with my passport and residential details, fill in an online form and get my photo taken. During the registration, a large sign clearly stated that the main reading is not for tours or visitors. The conversation went like this:

Me: I would like to get a reading card for the main reading room.
Lady: Are you an  academia or researcher?
Me: Nope, just want to have a look around.
Lady: Only researchers or academias are allowed in the reading room.
Me: Umm, I'm researching America.
Lady: She looks at me blankly and accepts my passport as identification.

So here I am in the reading room surrounded by bronze statues and good looking extra smart girls that are required to use this library for their research needs.
I on the other hand is reading a book on the war of 1812 and admiring the dome ceiling and paintings.
I also vistied the following sites during my 3 days 30km walk of the City; I kid you not, I don't think I have ever walked so much in my life.
Air and Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, Washington Monument, World war II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House and Georgetown.

I really need to put pen to paper earlier as old age is getting hold of me. Washington D.C. pics are available here.

Sam

Washington Part1 - 15.2 MB
Washington Part2 - 10.6 MB
Lincoln Memorial - 11.4 MB
Jefferson Memorial - 9.6 MB
White House - 9.6 MB



Capitol Hill

Statue of Freedom

I butchered this painting

Supreme Court

Library of Congress

Air & Space Museum

Museum of Natural History

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

No guns allow

The Man

Jefferson Memorial

White House North Side

White House South Side

It is Officially Spring

March 26th marks the official first day of spring. Now in normal spring conditions, it would probably be 15degrees. No, not in Toronto, the temperature still ranges from 2 to 7 with the occasional days into the double digits. Summer is suppose to be the best here in Toronto; eating, drinking in beer gardens and with more activities going on. I guess it makes sense since Torontonians only get 3 months of warmth a year.

Now I never really understood the joke of cops eating donuts and drinking coffee but I finally got to the bottom of it (I think). Places like Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Second Cup actually want police officers in their shop; this gives them protection should an event occur and in return, coffee and cakes are free for the officers. Good deal eh?

Kayla, Alison and I went tapping for Sap one Saturday afternoon. This is the process when sap is extracted from maple trees, boiled and turned into Maple syrup. 40 litres of pure sap makes 1 litre of maple syrup; what a scam! We got to see the traditional and conventional method of turning sap to syrup. Pure sap has the density of water and basically taste like it too. I bet when the first person said "I'm going to boil this thing we call sap and turn it into a new product called syrup" the whole town laughed. We also went on a very informative tour.

Tour Lady: Now where can you find Maple leaf?
Me: (thinking in my head) On the floor.
Little Boy: On the flag!
Tour Lady: Yes, now where else can we find the Maple leaf?
Little Girl: On the pennie
Tour Lady: Yes!
Us: (walks away)

Canada's national sport was lacrosse before ice hockey took reign. Toronto has one of the best team in the NLL (National Lacrosse League). The average salary for a lacrosse player is around $14,000CAD; this means they are still required to retain their full-time job. Image your teacher turning up to class all bruised because he got into a fight the night before. These are your everyday accountants, builders, bankers who play this sport for the love of it.
The game is fast, high scoring and aggressive. I will be signing up for an introduction course in lacrosse for my next Canadian experience.

About 10 years ago, do you remember watching TV and seeing emo girls in tight shorts skating around in circles whilst trying to push opposing teams out of the rink?
Well, this sport does exist and it wasn't just an act to get girls wearing next to nothing and on roller skates.
Roller derby is a very female dominant sport in Canada and USA; there are currently 31 teams in the Canadian derby girl’s league. It was quite a turn on watching girls roughing it out with one another.
The unique crowd also made the whole event colourful and
entertaining. Hippy mums, bogan dads, alternative, emo, hipster and punk kids.

Everyone has been cosmic bowling. It’s basically bowling with disco lights and trance music. We went one Friday night to show off our mad skills. The night was a failure, tacky music, dive venue, under aged teens drinking; the cops even made it an effort to patrol the venue for intoxicated teens.

Working in the entertainment sector always has it perks and this time it was 4 tickets to the Toronto Marlies game. These semi-professionals work their asses off when their on the ice hoping to be one day called into the Maple Leafs. For a population of 6 million and only 1 first grade NHL team, the Marlies should technically be the B team but like all sporting fixtures, there are always chokers.

Today, we went for an hour and a half drive North to the town of St Jacobs. The St Jacobs farmers market is quite a unique attraction because the town includes the Mennonites community. Mennonites are similar to Amish and Mormons; in regards that they have their own community and a lot will still travel by horse & carriage.
The market is filled with fresh organic produce, homemade cakes, weird arts & crafts and of course fake goods; markets are grand.
We finished the afternoon off with chicken wings at the infamous Morty’s pub; although delicious, the heavy feeling of just a chicken diet is quite unpleasant.

Buncey, Meatloaf, Nicole and FiFi, sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate your oldness.

What an essay, time for a beer

Sam

Cosmic Bowling - 10.4 MB
Roller Girls - 10.5 MB 

Checking for Sap

Red Riding Hood Making Syrup

Awesome

Pow!

Actually Pretty Crap

The Girls getting ready

Go Girls Go!

I need a new camera

Crap Photo

Inside St Jacobs Market

I am very Canadian eh

Another weekend in the cabins with no running water with Tom, Kayla, Jade and Terry. Now this cabin belonged to Terry; he spent the last 3 years building it. The location was very secluded; we had to drive 3hrs East and hike 1 hour in the snow to get to our destination. Since the surrounding land was family owned, there were no signs of civilization. Quiet, peaceful, calm, paranoia. This is Canada and there's nothing more satisfying than clearing snow off beaver ponds and engaging in a bit of ice hockey.

I was also given the opportunity to cut down a 30ft birch tree and yelling "Timber!" as it fell; very satisfying. Great food, great company, epic location.

The AHL (American Hockey League) is one level below the NHL. A lot of players in the NHL would have work their way through the ranks in the AHL. It is still a professional league so their skills and watchability of the games are as high. I managed to score free tickets to this game so we can indulge in watered down beers.

Weekends come and go so it was time to do something scenic 1.5hr west of toronto to the scarborough bluffs. The bluffs are described as a "Geological Wonder" as it spans 14 kilometres alone the shorline of Lake Ontario. The day was a mess due to poor planning and getting lost. Then the worst thing happened; we broke down! Scarborough is so small that there is literally nothing around, the car had to be towed and we were stranded on foot. A taxi would have cost in excess of $100. Luckily we were armed with two hip flasks and started to make our way toward the Bluffs. 3 bums walking down residential streets drinking out of hip flasks and buying cakes from kids trying to fund raise for sickkids.ca. We looked very creepy. At the end of the day, we did not make it to the Bluffs and the journey home took nearly 2 hours.

Yes I have experienced curling and I now have so much respect for the sport. The rules and purpose of the game is very similar to lawn bowls. When throwing the stones down the curling sheet towards the house, you have to spin the stone slightly while trying to keep your balance when pushing off the hacks. Somehow I managed to get a spot for us at a fancy private club; we were by far the youngest and looked out of place. I on the other hand do not own a set of track pants so I opted to wear shorts, little did I know that it was about -5 degrees on the ice!

One of my partners in crime Tom have departed the shores of Canada back to his Home town. He will be dearly missed. Its hard to find people to likes to engage in random stupid activities for no absolute reason.

The next few weeks will include lacrosse, paint balling and maybe cosmic bowling

a plus

Sam

Terry's Cabin Photo Montage- 37.2 MB
Inside Cabin - 15.2 MB
Tree Swing - 8.7 MB
Chopping Tree - 6.7 MB
Goodbye Cabin - 11.5 MB
Hobo Running - 3.8 MB

Pre 1 hour hike to the cabin

Enough food to last a week

Breakfast for the hard working

Beaver pond hockey

Canadian Family

Journey home

Flying Newfie and German

Spirit's still there

Toronto Marlies and Pittsburgh

Tom with Duke

Summer is fast approaching

Mazda Fail!

Hanging out in someones front lawn

Classy Bar in Scarborough

Pro Curler

Pro Nothing

Jade and I sweeping

Winter Fun

Winter in Canada is supposed to be depressing. It is cold for 6 months of the year. The only way to get out of the winter blues is to constantly keep active during the evenings. Every region would host a winter wonderland to boost the spirit of its residence. So long as you are dressed for the occasion, the cool air is refreshing and welcoming.

I spent 2 nights in a cabin 2hrs north of Toronto. It was an organized trip as part of the Toronto outdoor club. The cabin was rustic with no running water; obviously no showers with an outhouse with no doors. It was my first time cross country skiing and although I picked it up fairly quickly, I was ill prepared for the 10km 4hr route; my legs and arms were in pain. After a break for food, vodka and beers, out we went again for some tubing. The powder was so fresh that each step would bring you at least knee deep in snow.
The next day, we skied another 3km, unsuccessfully went caving since none of us brought flashlights and drove back into Toronto, followed by a nice hot shower and comfort food.

Work has still been extremely busy so the boss tried to bribe us with centre court front row seat tickets to the NBA. I took the offer because I don't think I can ever justify 240CAD if I were to buy it for myself and the fact that the raptors are having a horrible season.

I have also experienced my first public transport breakdown. When in london, tube delays are expected but when the subway in Toronto breaks down, they don't have enough buses to accommodate the people. I guess all their money was spent on snowplows, dump trucks and salt machines. The mood is dark, people are grumpy and aggressive; I on the other hand stand writing this blog with a stupid grin.

I've also been trying to go snowboarding every weekend to improve my elite skills but I walk away from every session with some kind of injury; whether it be sprained wrists, pulled groin or sore chest. The half pipe was the winner, I caught an edge and smashed myself on the hard ice. No gym for 2 more weeks.

To add to the failure list, I met a girl at a Vietnamese restaurant. We will call her 'Pho Girl'. After communicating with Pho Girl for a bit, she picked me up from my place one Saturday at midnight and we went for a drink. The night ended with me trying to steal a kiss....DENIED!
The next day, we went for a movie then chatted away over a beer. Again, the night ended with me trying again for a kiss....DENIED! A week later, Pho Girl asked if I wanted to go night boarding and I kindly accepted. We boarded from 4pm till 9pm then went for a burger and a pint guinness. She dropped me off around midnight and I figured I'll try my luck one final time and.........you guessed it, DENIED!
I think I am in the friend zone. Persistence is the key so I may consider trying again in a few weeks.
Updated Toronto photos here

Sam

Outside Cabin - 11.5 MB
Inside Cabin - 9.6 MB
Pre Ski - 8.6 MB
Post Ski - 11.5 MB
Tobogganing - 4.8 MB
Caving - 7.7 MB

Arrival at the Cabin

First Night

Fresh Powder

Tobogganing

Drinks 1

Drinks 2

Drinks 3

Drinks 4

On to the caves

Wrong Step

Awesome seats








Damn stats people