Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Eastern Canada Trip 2013 Day 3 Saturday September 14 Toronto, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville

UPDATED: February 10, 2021

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 reonvations. 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 amd 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: Appleby Book Ranch is now closed.]

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.]

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