Stanley And MeAfter closing down the Hall, I walked back to Danielle's, stopping at a Poutinerie for dinner. In retrospect, I should have photographed my food. Poutine is a quebecois dish consisting of french fries, with cheese curds, covered in brown gravy. How can you go wrong?
Arriving back at Danielle's, I elected to move my car in order to avoid getting a second parking ticket for being parked on her street after 7:00PM. In the process, I noticed a HUGE puddle of coolant under the car, and that, despite re-filling the coolant, the engine just didn't sound or feel right. I decided then and there that I couldn't risk trying to drive home with the car in it's current state. I was going to have to get it looked at in Toronto. After some rigmarole I won't go into, I found, to my surprise, a mechanic open at 7:00 PM in the evening. They looked at the car right away, and traced the leak to the water pump. I left the car there and they kindly gave me a ride back to Danielle's neighborhood. I had been planning to watch Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. By this time, I had missed the first period, but found a nearby bar where I was able to take in the last two.
Wednesday, I pretty much just sat around waiting for my car to be ready, which it finally was around 9:00PM. Thursday morning, I said my goodbyes and hit the road.
I figured I couldn't be an hour and a half away from Niagara Falls and not go check it out, even though it meant adding a couple hours drive time to my trip home. I'm glad I did, because now I never have to go back.
Seriously, the falls are pretty, but the area around it is a nightmarish tourist hell. If you're in the area, stop by to be able to say you've seen it, but don't plan on spending more than a couple hours. Whatever you do, don't pay the $18 to park in the lot for the day. On the, Canadian side, at least on a weekday, it's no problem to get a metered spot for $1.50 an hour, and you're not going to be there more than 2 hours anyway, remember?
With Niagara Falls behind me, all that lay between me and home was a 12 hour power drive. By 12:30 or 1:00 AM, Central Time, I was pulling into my driveway.
Wow, the last couple months are really kind of a blur. It actually feels weird to be home, to see places that are familiar. Just driving and knowing where I was going felt strange. It's a feeling I've gotten unaccustomed to. It's good to be home and see my awesome friends, but, already, I've got the itch to be on the road again....
Arriving back at Danielle's, I elected to move my car in order to avoid getting a second parking ticket for being parked on her street after 7:00PM. In the process, I noticed a HUGE puddle of coolant under the car, and that, despite re-filling the coolant, the engine just didn't sound or feel right. I decided then and there that I couldn't risk trying to drive home with the car in it's current state. I was going to have to get it looked at in Toronto. After some rigmarole I won't go into, I found, to my surprise, a mechanic open at 7:00 PM in the evening. They looked at the car right away, and traced the leak to the water pump. I left the car there and they kindly gave me a ride back to Danielle's neighborhood. I had been planning to watch Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. By this time, I had missed the first period, but found a nearby bar where I was able to take in the last two.
Wednesday, I pretty much just sat around waiting for my car to be ready, which it finally was around 9:00PM. Thursday morning, I said my goodbyes and hit the road.
I figured I couldn't be an hour and a half away from Niagara Falls and not go check it out, even though it meant adding a couple hours drive time to my trip home. I'm glad I did, because now I never have to go back.
Seriously, the falls are pretty, but the area around it is a nightmarish tourist hell. If you're in the area, stop by to be able to say you've seen it, but don't plan on spending more than a couple hours. Whatever you do, don't pay the $18 to park in the lot for the day. On the, Canadian side, at least on a weekday, it's no problem to get a metered spot for $1.50 an hour, and you're not going to be there more than 2 hours anyway, remember?
With Niagara Falls behind me, all that lay between me and home was a 12 hour power drive. By 12:30 or 1:00 AM, Central Time, I was pulling into my driveway.
Wow, the last couple months are really kind of a blur. It actually feels weird to be home, to see places that are familiar. Just driving and knowing where I was going felt strange. It's a feeling I've gotten unaccustomed to. It's good to be home and see my awesome friends, but, already, I've got the itch to be on the road again....
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