Leaving Windsor Ontario (remember we’re in Canada now) following a decent night sleep and finishing up my blog post about the Detroit game, it was time to venture further East towards Toronto for game 18/30.
I’d decided early in the morning that I’d do another night sleeping in the “Casa del Nitro” so figured staying in the city of Hamilton (shoutout Johnny Football) would be a good bet before I made the 45 minute drive from there on Friday up to Toronto and the hotel I’d booked for myself in that city (more on that later).
There was also this small cloud hanging over me of importing my car to the United States so after some deliberation over the phone with my travel advisor down in Atlanta (shoutout Dave Cohen), it was agreed that I would try to import it that afternoon whilst I had the time and for a bonus (there are more bonuses to come in this entry don’t worry) check out Niagara Falls.
Long story short, the importation went well – pro tip, always buy American cars – so I filled up on the cheaper gas in the USA and returned to Canada to spend my afternoon wandering around and checking out the falls before driving up to Hamilton to find a decent spot to rest – check the pics below although they really don’t do this natural wonder justice.
HOWEVER…. As you’ll see below, I decided Hamilton was probably not the ideal place to sleep in a car for the night, so again decided to roll the dice and go slightly further North to the town of Burlington.
What a treat I was in for.
After having relatively low expectations after Hamilton, I found myself in a “lake-side” oasis, with beautiful neighbourhoods, a nice breeze and plenty of people out and about enjoying good food and quality atmosphere. It kind of reminded me of the beach side communities we have back in Aus (Port Mac etc.) so I found my spot to park and tucked in for the night.
Only to wake up to a GOD DAM PARKING TICKET – can someone analyse this and tell me I’m wrong here? (check photo of sign and citation of the ticket).
Anyway, I’m 50/50 on whether I actually pay the fine, so I’ll just send a sternly worded email in due course (after consulting my legal advisor Nick Hale – chip off the old block).
Despite this minor set back, I powered forward on the 45-minute drive up to the city of Toronto or “The 6” as it is now affectionately known by follows of entertainer Drake (as an FYI the new album dropped today and it is fire).
Arriving at my destination I was quick to check into my hotel, and let me tell you, it was certainly different to what I stayed in last night…
Wanting an early check in, the girl at reception said I could upgrade my room for an extra $50 and be in now. I asked for the fee to be waived and still check in and low and behold, it worked! So I showered (sorry Nitro – you make me stink), and got ready to hit the pavement of Toronto.
As per advice from my man Scott (aka Chug – you might remember him from an early blog post when purchasing the car in Vancouver), first stop was the NHL Hall of Fame.
So as you might know, I’m not a “hockey guy” per se. I mean, I like watching games here and there, and I enjoy the sport so in that sense I am, and given the game is basically rugby on skates most of my friends and I SHOULD be bigger hockey guys, but we simply are not (plus it is probably the most difficult of all North American sports back home to watch when we get daily baseball, NBA and a TON of NFL content).
As with most museums on this trip, I won’t bore you trying to explain it. It was really cool to see the history of hockey, its famous players and much like the “Pro Football Hall of Fame” in Ohio, just how much hockey has defined Canada and Canadian culture.
Check the pics above and below where I’ve also included my top 5 jerseys I saw (in no particular order).
BONUS 1 – I got to stand next to the coolest trophy in sports – the Stanley Cup! Fun fact: There are two Stanley Cups. This one, and one that is the same except the team who wins gets to keep it for a year and drink out of it etc.
BONUS 2 – shoutout Australian Ice Hockey – apparently we’ve made the big time and are now a “Division 1 Country”, beating out the likes of China and South Africa (although I’m not sure how accurate this is in 2018).
After checking out more of the city, I decided it was time to chill and went back to the hotel to relax (read: swim/sauna), before it was time to get ready and hit the Rogers Centre for game 18/30 where the Toronto Blue Jays would welcome our good friends the Detroit Tigers (fun fact – this would be the third game in a row I see the Tigers play).
Arriving at the Toronto Blue Jay’s home park “Rogers Centre”, there was a buzz in the air as it was the beginning of a long weekend for the locals. The stadium itself is a multipurpose dome so as you’ll se on the pictures below it appears very different most of the ballparks in the United States.
The game was a tight affair in the early proceedings, with Detroit building on solid hitting to score a run in the top of the third inning. The hometown Blue Jays wouldn’t have to wait long, with some excellent hitting of their own reeling in three quick runs in the bottom of the fourth. Despite more hits from both teams the score would remain 3-1 until the seventh when Detroit would tack on the run to close the gap to 3-2. It was a tense final few innings, but ultimately the Blue Jays would hold on and win the game 3-2 (hanging Detroit their 9th straight loss in the process).
It was a really fun game to be at, and the little differences to the American MLB games made it unique and enjoyable – see photos of poutine below and also the “Ok Blue Jays” song that is played during the seventh inning stretch.
I’ve had an awesome time in Canada, and tomorrow morning I’ll be taking off South to once again hit Pittsburgh for a few days of boating and fun, before skipping across to Cincinnati for game 19/30, when I see some inter-league play with the local Reds hosting our friends the Chicago White Sox.
Thirty before 30 