July 25, 2017

Oh, Canada… 1,551 Miles Later

Home! Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Ontario and Quebec. Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and New Baltimore. Lots of adventures. Many great people! 1,551 miles. A bit of a whirlwind, but lots of fun.ORBZ9654

One of the highlights of the trip was looking at local architecture in each of the places I stayed. Some was good, some was ghastly, and some places had a selection of both.

I had gone on the trip with the intention of buying on both sides of the border, but I didn’t actually buy anything! There were plenty of things I could have purchased, like these amazing huge demi-johns for dirt cheap, IMG_3230but I couldn’t imagine lugging them around for the next 1,000 miles, and then the logistics of storing and shipping them left me cold. I actually saw a lot of these from late 1800’s versions up to contemporary versions.

Here are some of my favourite shots from the trip.

Practically the only place at Niagara Falls without tons of people!IMG_3220

So many new buildings and so much construction in Toronto, but some wonderful little places tucked in-between.IMG_3250

Abandoned steel-hulled ship IMG_3235

The Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. Stunning exhibit on Japanese textiles.IMG_3257

Literal front-row seat to the Hare Krishna parade in Toronto.IMG_3292

Driving the Trans-Canada Highway. IMG_3298

Canadian House of Parliament in OttawaIMG_3304

Marking the 150th Anniversary of Canada with porcelain roses, fleur de lis and feathers representing the English, French and First Nations people who lived in Ottawa at the time of the nation’s confederation.IMG_3314

I remember seeing this on other trips and I call them “The Butter People.”
It is meant to represent the flow of man’s emotions through time.
IMG_3337

Expo ‘67 exhibition at the McCord Museum. IMG_3351

Combining business and pleasure, visiting the Rare Book and Architecture Collections at McGill University. Such fun!! (Such a dork!)IMG_3372

Making a pilgrimage to visit the resting place of Sir William Osler, MD. And his massive book collection. I published a book about him a few years ago, from a 1934 manuscript we found in our archives, so I feel a special bond with him.IMG_3392

Street performers in Montreal. OZOZ9251

Visiting the Centre of Canadian Architecture to see a book about Hall Pleasants Pennington, who designed the house I recently wrote about. More on this later.IMG_3558

Long stretches on the open road with gorgeous scenery.IMG_3534

Very excited to go to Hudson, NY again, but very disappointed that NOTHING was open! And no hours listed. IMG_3544

Hard to tell, but Figue was really excited to have me home. She’s been a Velcro baby for the past few days. image

All in all, the trip was great and I had a lot of fun. I don’t mind long drives, so the hours spent sailing along good roads through beautiful country, contemplating life, were just what I needed to do to decompress.

8 comments:

  1. I bet Figure really missed you! And I am glad you enjoyed the road trip, under the right circumstances they can be so relaxing.

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  2. Butter people was my first thought too. Welcome back!

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  3. Thanks for the lovely tour!
    Road trips are always enjoyable, and add a personal dimension to travel.

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  4. A recent issue of a magazine geared toward working women featured an article about Marijuana Moms and their career choice of cultivating cannabis. Someone mentioned Canada planning to legalize recreational use nationwide. An article on the internet published in April indicated the goal was to have a July 2017 deadline. Well Meg, was there a cannabis countdown clock or was the popularity of this bud's for you evident on the street?

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  5. Hey keep posting such good and meaningful articles.

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  6. Meg Sorry to hear that Hudson NY was closed. I can only speculate the weekends Sat Sun are busy but an internet intel search (IIS) revealed Esty has an office there in an old sawmill. U did not know this ??? I would have knocked on their door to talk my way in and well....

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  7. I missed this one! Dang! Artie - who writes the wonderful Colour Outside The Lines lives in Niagara Falls. He would have loved to take you around to all the antique haunts and wonderful old houses! DANG!!!!!!!

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  8. Great design the making of facility living?

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