My Visit To Canada

Yesterday someone left a comment on one of my blog postings that I hadn't posted much about my recent trip to Canada with Pat to visit him at his new home. I am going to correct that oversight now. Here is a taste of my five day stay in Pat's hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. 

The video above is us driving through upper New York State among all the wind turbines, which I didn't know existed in such abundance in New York. The last time I saw this many wind turbines was when Pat and I entered Palm Springs, California. I hadn't expected to see that many wind turbines in upper New York State near the Canadian border.

First let me say I am so glad I decided to take this road trip back with Pat to his new home on Hess Street in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Pat though I would be worn out from the nine hour drive but actually it was quite a pleasant drive. Probably because we had such a comfortable vehicle, a Ford Edge SUV.

We didn't actually take a nine hour drive. Instead of leaving directly from my home here in Southern Delaware, we left a day earlier to visit our friend Don McK. in Philadelphia, thus cutting off two hours of our trip to Canada. We always haves a good trip to Philly and visiting our friend Don, even if we were only there overnight. Usually we stay for a week. 

On Friday, March 22nd, we took off for Canada. The weather was nice driving out of Philly but the traffic very congested. Pat decided to take the scenic route, meaning no toll roads. We wanted to see the back country of Pennsylvania and New York. And that we did, only stopping once at a Burger King to feed our faces. 

Once we got to upper New York State we encountered snow and the wind turbines. I like seeing wind turbines on the landscape. This time with snow and not palm trees like we do when we drive into Palm Springs. 

Here we are entering Canada during the snowstorm. Pat said this was first significant snow Canada had this winter. Lucky us! There was an accident further down the road on the QE2, which held up traffic for over an hour. 

We finally got to Pat's small home on Hess Street in Hamilton, Ontario.

Pat's home is the unit on the left with the yellow door. The one in the middle is occupied by the noisy squatters. Probably selling drugs because there is often a steady flow of people in and out of that unit. The house on the right side is occupied by a normal person. 

I had never been to Pat's home before and was curious.  His home (the yellow door on the left) is attached to two other homes. Unfortunately for Pat the home in the middle is occupied by squatters which often keep him up at night with their loud arguments and hammering on their shared wall. Pat says they sleep during the day. I think they're vampires. Pat's home is adorable but not big. I like space. The first night there his next door neighbors were particularly noisy.  I got very little sleep. 

Fortunately a new Hampton Inn

was built just up the street from Pat. I decided to book a room there with a king sized bed and spend the rest of my visit with Pat sleeping in luxury at night. No more drug addled screaming and hollering and banging on the wall right next to where I was sleeping at Pat's house. I got a got rate at the Hampton Inn because I'm a Hilton Honors member (and former employee if that counts for anything). 

Pat and me with the Hampton Inn behind us, just up the street from Pat's house

I talked Pat into staying with me at the Hampton Inn. He asked me "Why did you get a king sized bed?" Pat, ever the minimalist. I told him "When you reserve a room at a hotel you always get a king sized bed." I'm a fitful sleeper and Pat knows very well I've tried to push him out of bed during some of our previous Air B & B stays. Bill had the same problem with me. I don't remember doing this because I'm asleep but it's probably from my youth when I had to share a bed with my two younger brothers until I was fifteen years old.

Me getting ready for bed, one of my brothers (Isaac) is already in bed. My other brother (John) took this picture as a joke because I'm in my underwear. A moment of big embarrassment in the Fifties to be caught in your underwear for a teenager. I hated that bed and sleeping with my brothers. Three in one bed, almost like the Walton family. Photo was taken about 1954.

 Yes, fifteen years old, believe it. I told my Mother I wanted my own bed and even better my own bedroom. She got me a cot the next Christmas which I put in the corner of my shared bedroom with my brothers. But I digress. The king sized bed worked just fine, a fact that Pat can attest to now because I didn't try to push him out of bed once. I think I now have Pat convinced to book a room with a king sized bed when staying at a hotel.

Me and Pat relaxing in our lovely room at the Hamilton, Hampton Inn which was just up the street (a block and a half) from Pat's home

Sometimes one can take this minimalist thing too far. But knowing Pat he would be just as happy sleeping in the back of a pickup truck. 

During our five day stay in Hamilton we visited several excellent vegan food restaurants. At night we watched all three of the Denzel Washington "Equalizer" movies. One day we visited Pat's friends in Port Dover and had lunch with them. 

Lunch in Port Dover with Pat's friends Deb and Paul

I wasn't much of a vegan until I met Pat. But I have to say since I met Pat I've enjoyed many a vegan meals at some really good vegan restaurants. There was one in Hamilton called "Happy Holligan's" that I really enjoyed. I always ask what the soup of the day is. This day they told me it was "Dill Pickle Soup." What? Now that was a new one. Always the one up for a new taste adventure (except anything connected with seafood), I ordered the dill pickle soup. Guess what? It was delicious! 

Dill pickle soup at Happy Hooligan's Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Me at Happy Hooligan's before the dill pickle soup

When Pat and I go on holiday together, perhaps to others what we do may not seem interesting or exciting but to us, we always have a good time. Just being together with this wonderful man, wherever we go, is a major treat for me. For my whole adult life, until I met Pat, I traveled alone. Some years ago I decided not to travel alone any more, just not the same as traveling with a friend or friends. Oh I've traveled with a friend and friends but those "friends" were more interested in looking for sexual encounters than they were with being with me. Interesting fact, they're all dead now. Coincidence? For me, all the years I visited Provincetown, I enjoyed getting away to a nice location where I was free to be myself. But even though Provincetown was gay friendly, I was never truly happy there being by myself and even worse when I went and/or took friend with me. They disappeared shortly after we landed at the airport, only to show up at the day of departure. Pat is interested in being with me. How novel. But I digress again. I am so fortunate at this time of my life to have a friend like Pat who I can travel with and we enjoy each other's company.  Can you imagine one of my other friends of the past enjoying a grocery shopping trip like the one below?

 

It's almost comical isn't it? No wonder they ditched me as soon as we landed. Dull Ron. 

Some other exciting things we did was shop at Home Depot. Every time I talk to Pat on FaceTime I see that hanging plant pot behind him with a dead plant. I was determined to get a nice philodendron to put in that pot. I did have to almost force Pat to go to Home Depot but I got the plants.

Me shopping at Home Depot for Pat's hanging plants

Another one an ivy plant for his other hanging plant, this one I couldn't see on my FaceTime calls with Pat. I am a Plant Guy. However, I have calmed down since my peak in the Eighties. I had my workplace at the bank a regular forest of hanging plants. Talk about excess.

Of course I could never visit Canada without a visit to Toronto, the Glass Canyon City. Pat used to live in Toronto. He moved several years ago to Hamilton because he said Toronto, with all those glass encased skyscrapers was becoming a city without character. Depersonalized. I like Toronto but I understand what Pat means. He loves Hamilton. I like Hamilton too. I think the comparison is like New York City and Philadelphia. New York is cool but Philadelphia is really cool. Philadelphia is livable. New York, for both of us, is too depersonalized. 

Then, too soon as always, it was time to depart Canada. I'm always sad when I have to leave Pat but especially now since I'm coming home here to an empty house. I always had Bill waiting for me before, not that he's gone it is especially sad  for me. 

Pat took this short video of me going through the TSA Pre Check line at the Buffalo Airport.

You can catch a glimpse of me right at the end with the hat and my black jacket. 

Before I forget, I did something this trip I always meant to do but never did. I traveled light and I mean light. I didn't have a change of shirts or pants. Only two sets of underwear and socks and my medications and my chargers for my Apple Watch and iPhone. I managed! I will do this on future trips.

The flight back was on time but there was a hitch. Isn't there always? When we arrived at Philadelphia International Airport we couldn't deplane because the JetWay didn't work. The Jet Way is that connector to the airplane at the airport that we passengers get into the building. That was a forty-five minute delay. Other than that delay, I had a wonderful trip. This trip was perfect because it got my mind off of the loss of Bill. Always when I returned from holidays like this I would share my experiences with Bill. Now there was no one here at Casa Tipton-Kelly to share my memories of my trip to Canada with Pat. Except all of you of course, my faithful blog readers.

Have a great day!