These "cheese" Sky Flakes crackers were delicious, courtesy of C during her trip to the Philippines back in May. Apparently, they also make a chocolate flavor of Sky Flakes. One of TC's friends was eating some at school; they were brought back from the Motherland as well.
Fresh strawberries picked by TC in C's garden...
And wait, what's this?
Let's open it up, shall we?
If you didn't already know, Canadians are REALLY into ice hockey. Here in San Diego, no one really gives a $#@% about the Gulls. Well, this was FarmerJohn's beloved box of hockey cards from back in the day (I LOVE his blingy Jeepney shirt!).
FJ bought these cards in the late 70's/early 80's(when he was still in grade school). These highlighted cards are of none other than the man himsef, Wayne Gretzky.
Some of these are his rookie cards too. For collectors out there, that means something. Bert was excited to see this but it was also cool seeing FJ get excited about these cards.
Well, later that afternoon, we finally packed up their minivan to begin our trek across the Great White North. One of our stops was in the town of Espanola (off the Island) to buy gas. Macs is a convenience store; some with gas stations. Kind of like 7-11.
Earlier that month (June), Canada had just released their "new" bills. They felt like "plastic" and parts of it are "see through". There are also holograms on there and other types of things to hopefully discourage counterfeiters.
Wow, why can't American money look this cool?
I don't remember where we were but see that dome thing? There is salt inside which they use to put on the roads to melt the snow.
This was one of the maple candies I bought at the Manitoulin Chocolate Works. It's just pure maple syrup molded into the shape of a maple leaf. It was the perfect size to enjoy a bit of maple flavor. It wasn't overly sweet and it lasted a while too.
Again, I don't know where we were, but this was at a complete stop in some really small town. Construction workers held up stop signs while heavy machinery moved either debris or materials from one place to another. While we were waiting in the car, these cute dogs were barking frantically at all the cars.
Now this little one here was quite brave! He went all the way up to the edge of the road and was absolutely howling at everyone. It was pretty funny to see this feisty dog!
Our next stop would be Sturgeon Falls...
Home of the Fiddle Festival yo!
It was time for a much needed bathroom break. To give you a sense of how much we were on the road...From Manitoulin Island to Sudbury = 2 hours. This was about four hours in. We had four and a half more hours to go! A very reliable place to get your coffee and donuts on (as well as using their bathroom facilities, or shall we say 'washroom') is Tim Horton's, so that is where we went.
Bert's maple donut and coffee. Not pictured is my cappuccino slushie. It felt good to stretch out our legs and take a little break!
Across the street from "Timmy's" was an old fashioned dining car. I forget the name, but it was French and they had signs for poutine!
This was an A & W (of root beer fame) burger place; we don't have these in San Diego but they are located in some parts of the States.
The torpedo sandwiches Bert and I got for our trip (turkey and chicken coldcuts with mayo, lettuce, and tomato). We actually ate this parked on the side of the freeway! These were too "bready" and I ended up eating mainly the filling. We also ate fresh fruit and snacked on chips along the way.
This was our view!
Still quite a ways to go.
Okay, next to Colonel Hoagie, a 50's style diner in North Bay...
was this rather interestingly named "Adult Store". Hmmm...
We passed by the corporate office of President's Choice, a Canadian food brand (they make great chips!).
Approaching the small town of Mattawa, located in Northeastern Ontario. "Mattawa" means "meeting of the waters" in Objiwe.
Mattawa is one of the towns referenced in one of Johnny Cash's hit song, "I've Been Everywhere" (it's mentioned at the :53 mark):
Mattawa was once primarily a logging town and it is still an important industry. One of Mattawa's attractions are their wooden statues scattered along their main drag.
From wikipedia's entry on "Mattawa, Ontario"
"Mattawa is the site of many large wooden statues depicting local historical figures, such as Champlain,Pierre-Esprit Radisson, Médard des Groseilliers, and others. The Mattawa District Museum prominently features a 17 ft (5.2 m) statue of Big Joe Mufferaw, a regional folk hero. The statues are placed widely throughout Mattawa, and in two locations outside the town on nearby Highway 17."
Here's a few of them...
According to C and her husband, there are more than twenty statues (more info and locations here). We saw about ten during our quick drive through the town.
Another stop at Tim Horton's hours later.
Even though it was the dead of night, we got some Tim Bits (aka donut holes)...
We were dead tired! Sugar and caffeine pick up please!
We arrived in Ottawa at C's best friend's home around 1:30 am! We made it!
Day 4 recap:
In Search of Butter Tarts
Dewy's Redneck Grill
and this post!
The next day would be spent enjoying the nation's capitol city and sampling foods at the famous Byward Market.
2 comments:
Tim Horton's is a fun place. I really love this post. Showing local events, signs and storefronts that others may take for granted is a peek into life everywhere. This was a great vacation.
HI C - Talk about ubiquitous...there are TH's literally everywhere in Canada! They are quite reliable in their quality of coffee and donuts. We stopped at many Timmys' during our trip.
I do like taking photos of local signs and establishments. It makes our trips more "vivid" for me.
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