Riding the Rails across the West

The Assinaboine River Valley in Saskatchewan

The Prairies west of Winnipeg

Through the forests of N. Ontario

Every promotional line on Via Rail’s website that describes “The Canadian” is true.  It’s a 4,466-kilometre train journey across five provinces between Toronto and Vancouver.  Over four nights and three days, I saw exactly what was promised:  the lakes of Northern Ontario, lush boreal forest, the vast expanse of the Prairies and the magnificent Rocky Mountains.  The landscape was draped in the golden colours of the early fall and, for the most part, in brilliant sunshine.

Avec J - P , un nouvel ami de Shawinigan ,Québec

Here are some observations and highlights:

·       Meeting people from all over Canada and the United States. A common comment from fellow passengers: “taking this trip was on my bucket list.”

Big sky in Alberta

·       Relaxing afternoons observing the scenery from the dome car.

Sunrise east of Edmonton

·       Great food and conversation in the dining car.

 

·       No rushing and being off the grid with little or no cell
or internet service.

 

·       Signs of the Canadian economy on the move as we stopped frequently to allow freight trains to pass.

Moving goods from west to east

The trip across the west was a pleasurable way to complete my two-year adventure of working in and exploring Toronto and parts east.

Farmland in Northern Alberta



Pyramid Creek Falls between Valemount and Blue River, BC

Heading south to Vancouver on the last, and only, damp day of the trip

Toronto: The city of “the”

The TTC at Union Station on Front St.

In this blog, I haven’t written much about Toronto itself as I have concentrated on reviews of my travels to parts east. So, during a Labour Day weekend walk in one of Toronto’s many neighbourhoods, this time in Yorkville, I took stock of some of my impressions over last two years in Canada’s largest city. 

One thing that comes to mind is how folks here often use the in front of place names, streets, communities and sports teams. Topping the list for me is the TTC.  People say “I’m taking the TTC,” or “the streetcar” or “the subway.” The TTC is the Toronto Transit Commission, the operator of the subway, streetcar and bus system.

The Gardiner

For drivers, the constant worry in the GTA – the Greater Toronto Area – is the traffic tie-ups on the Gardiner (the expressway along the lakeshore) or the DVP (Don Valley Parkway along the city’s east side connecting the Gardiner and the 401, the highway across the northern part of the city) or the QEW (the highway linking Toronto with Hamilton and Niagara Falls.)

Bay and King: The Financial District

Queens Quay at York

Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods – some 140 of them.  A few to mention include: The Danforth, The Beaches, The Annex, The Entertainment District, The Financial District and The Harbourfront (my neighbourhood, south of the Gardiner.) Early during my time here, a Toronto local told me “no one lives south of the Gardiner.”  I guess she hadn’t noticed the explosion of waterfront condos. And since moving here in October 2013, the waterfront is now connected to the rest of downtown by an extension of the PATH, Toronto's underground pedestrian walkway that links 30 kilometres of shopping, services and entertainment.

The Jays on a July 2015 afternoon

In terms of sports, it’s all about the Jays – especially this summer with everyone on the Jays bandwagon – and the Leafs and the Raptors. But there are also the Argos and the Marlies. By the way, the Leafs and Raptors play in The ACC. I’ve managed to see all the teams in action, except the Marlies.

The Ex on a hot and hazy early evening

I’ve been to two editions of The CNE or simply The Ex, Toronto’s annual summer fair that was founded in 1879 and renamed to Canadian National Exhibition in 1912.

From the Toronto Island Ferry

And of course, almost never out of sight during my downtown walks, is Toronto’s iconic landmark that punctuates the city’s skyline and is a way-finding marker – The CN Tower.


Cleveland Road Trip

CLEVELAND, OHIO – Here is a recap of a late summer 2015 road trip (Aug. 28 to 30) from Toronto, Ontario to Cleveland, Ohio by former TORONTO 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Organizing Committee employees Sam COREA (CAN) and Brian McANDREW (CAN).

Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field

By the Numbers:

One Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland

One Cleveland casino

Two Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie)

 

Two countries (Canada and USA)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Two baseball games (Cleveland Indians and Buffalo Bisons)



Two post-game fireworks displays

Three days

Three Great Lakes cities: Buffalo, Erie and Cleveland

Downtown Buffalo

Three States: New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio

A pub in Erie



Four Interstate Highways: I-90, I-190, I-290 and I-79
 

Four post-secondary institutions: Cleveland State University, Case Western University, Canisius College, University of Buffalo

Four sports stadiums: Progressive Field, Q Arena and FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland; Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo


Five $1-ball park hot dogs

The Terminal Tower in Cleveland

Six micro-brewery samplings

 

20 original Anchor Bar Buffalo chicken wings


60 hours


1,000 kilometres

GNS sc/bm

(Written in the Games News Service style)

 

The summer of TORONTO 2015

The TORONTO sign at City Hall is a big hit.

The reason why I came to T.O. nearly two years ago has wrapped up with the conclusion of the TORONTO 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games.  All the planning, meetings and writing culminated with the successful delivery of the Games. Athletes competed, medals were won and our press clients had the required services and facilities to tell the stories of the Games.




Most of my time was spent in the two main press centres – at CIBC Pan Am Park (Exhibition Place) for the Pan Am Games and at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel for the Parapan Am Games – with long hours inside the press workrooms each day.  But, I did manage to make it to Nathan Phillips Square at Toronto City Hall twice for PANAMANIA concerts (the arts and culture festival) and the nightly fireworks. 

Other highlights were seeing my first wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby games which enhanced my appreciation for para-sport.


Wheelchair basketball: CAN vs. MEX at Ryerson.



Wheelchair rugby: CAN vs. USA at Mississauga.

Canadian star Zak Madell interviewed by our Games News Service.

With Olympic medallist Charmaine Crooks -- we first met in 2001!

I enjoyed the opportunity to meet some new Games gypsies and to reconnect with former colleagues from the Games circuit. As with any multisport Games experience – the TORONTO 2015 Games are my sixth multisport event – there are highs and lows as you work the event. The real appreciation of what was accomplished comes with time.  

The Pan Am Opening Ceremony on July 10.

The 'pine-cone' cauldron.

A daytime look at the now famous TORONTO sign. It's remaining at City Hall for now.

A theatre buff’s guide to musicals and plays in NYC

The task: see as many shows as possible in three days in New York City.  The players: two British Columbians on a work assignment in Toronto. The result: mission accomplished!

A couple of hams taking a bite out
of the Big Apple

This trip on the first weekend in May came together rather quickly when Erin McInnis and I decided to hit Broadway one more time before we’re in full TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games mode. No visits to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building or museums on the agenda for this trip. The focus was theatre. Thanks to Erin’s research, we had our hit list – past Tony Award Winners, a revival and this year’s Tony nominees – and every show at a discount.

Tip 1:  Go to the TKTS Discount Booth at South Street Seaport for same-day discount tickets for evening shows and next-day tickets for matinees.

Tip 2: Once you purchase a ticket at the flagship TKTS location in Times Square, keep the stub and jump the queue into a short-cut line the next day. We met two locals from New Jersey in the line-up (who said they grew up with the real "Jersey Boys") who had just discovered this benefit.

It took some work, but we saw five shows – three evening performances and two matinees. Here's a quick recap of the revival, play and musicals:

On the Town  You can’t go wrong with this classic about three sailors and their 24-hour adventure in New York, New York (it’s a helluva town).  It’s a Tony 2015 nominee for best musical revival.

 

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder:  The 2014 Tony winner for best musical. This is a quick-paced, funny, operetta-style story of an heir to a family fortune who sets eliminate the relatives who stand in his way. The relatives are all played by the same actor. 

It's only $17-cocktails on a Saturday
evening at the historic Algonquin

It’s Only a Play:  This one is totally Broadway – a play about the aftermath of the opening night of a play. It’s a treat to see pros Nathan Lane and Stockard Channing exchange barbs. I was looking forward to seeing Matthew Broderick, but his alternate was on the stage for this performance. Of note in this show is 2015 Tony nominee Micah Stock (featured actor).

Something Rotten.  This show is filled with comedy, big show-stopping numbers and moving sets as we discover the birth of the musical in the Shakespearean era. There’s nothing rotten to report here with 10 Tony nominations this year including best musical.

Avenue Q  Winner of the 2004 Tony for best musical and best score. A story of discovery, social issues and acceptance, told with music and puppets.

 

On Monday, with no matinees available, it was time for a walk in Little Italy and along the Highline. This is worth seeing as it is a great example of urban renewal. The Highline is an out-of-use railroad trestle that’s been transformed into walkway – a trail above Manhattan.

 

 

Side note – I wasn’t overwhelmed by the hoopla and fan experience around Madison Square Garden for a Rangers playoff hockey game. I expected more! And no, we didn't spend $250 to see the game.

 

 

Fine spring weather in May. Perfect for a Sunday walk in Central Park. The best time to visit NYC!

 

Planning is underway for another NYC task – how many shows can one see in 48 hours? I may find out in September.

 

Chicago – home of the skyscraper

I found this descriptive quote in a brochure that sums up my view of Chicago – “the city of broad shoulders and vertical dreams.”

View from 360 Chicago, top of the John Hancock Tower

 

Most of my spring 2015 trip to this Great Lakes, mid-west city (I was taken to task by a native of Chicago when I called it a city in the east) was focused on discovering the volume of tall buildings.

Willis (Sears) Tower in the centre

So, why does this “second city” ("second" to New York, "second" built in the same site) have so many skyscrapers or cloud busters?  After the great fire of 1871 wiped out the Chicago, the landscape was a blank canvas. It became the centre for innovative architects with towering ambitions who participated in many contests to build recognizable landmarks.

The construction continued through the 20^th Century with modern office towers, company headquarters, mail-order distribution centres and eventually condominiums (Marina City – the first urban residential city within a city in 1963) stretching the skyline along Lake Michigan. 

The theme – taller was better. For a quarter century, the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) was the tallest in the world. 

Trump Tower on the Chicago River

 

Marina City

 And in this century, the building hasn’t stopped with the latest triumph – the 98-storey Trump Tower. However, I was told by my local tour guide that the large TRUMP letters gleaming onto the Chicago River are a source of controversy for the locals.

 I took two walking tours, an architectural river cruise and a trip to one of the observation decks in the sky – great ways to see, explore and learn more about Chicago’s vertical masterpieces.

Speaking of masterpieces, the Art Institute of Chicago is filled with famous paintings and works from around the world.

 

 For a Canadian, one of the best Americana experiences is a baseball game on a sunny afternoon. The 101-year-old Wrigley Field is the iconic place to do that.

 

 Chicago is no slouch when it comes to live theatre with plenty of choices. I took in two plays – a comedy/drama and a musical.

 As the song says – Chicago is my kind of town.