I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to Ottawa this year. 2024 is a Presidential election year here in the States and the last one was pretty crazy. Am still not sure if I should leave the country two months before a national election, even if it's only across the border into Canada. But fortunately, the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International was in the Spring and it has been far too long since I've experienced TAAFI in person. So I exercised a couple of vacation days, rented a car, and off I went to the Great White North.
The plan was to pick up a mid-sized car that morning, similar to my own, and head out to Toronto. I'd get there between 4 and 5 o'clock and check-in at the hotel. Yeah, I was overly optimistic. It was a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky. But when we went to Enterprise, I discovered that Michigan Avenue had shut down and was torn up, so we had to figure out a backroads route to the rental company. Okay. I could deal with it. Next, the rental place was packed with people picking up rentals to go see the eclipse. Not a bad thing, actually had a pleasant chat with some college students from India who were driving to Niagara Falls to see the sights and stay for the eclipse. When it was my turn, I learned that I had been "upgraded" to a 2023 Ford Explorer. Not a big deal. I do prefer driving cars, but the Explorer is a really nice ride. Then they told me that I couldn't take it out of the country--even though I had been very open about obtaining the rental to go to Canada when I made the reservation. But, spoke to a manager and got the go-ahead to take it to Toronto--I think the fact that I had already purchased the extra 'anything happens to the car, I hand them the steering wheel and walk away' insurance package really worked in my favor. Downside about the Explorer was that the Bluetooth was buggy and when I went to pick up my luggage at the house, I learned that the USB plugs in the car weren't working--neither were the cigarette lighters. I had planned on listening to some audiobooks on the drive and I like to have the option to use the mapping app on my iPhone. Well, half-an-hour's worth of tinkering with the Explorer and I found that the USB-C plug did work, allowing me to play my music through the onboard entertainment system and recharge my smartphone. So I switched cables, gassed up the SUV, and I was on my way... about a half-hour after then I wanted to leave, but okay. Anxiety levels were being managed and I was on the road to Toronto.
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| Pro tip: always record the gas tank level when you pick up the rental car! |
Only other issue I found with the Explorer is that it needed a new drivers side wiperblade, but I didn't discover that until I was almost at Toronto and it wasn't bad enough for me to replace it myself. One really nice feature on the vehicle was that you could switch the digital speedometer from MPH to KPH with two clicks of a button on the steering wheel. Very nice! All-in-all, the Explorer was a really solid ride. As my car is reaching the end of its lifespan, I might consider buying one in the future.
As I hit the road, the day was looking up. Had no problem with customs at the Blue Water Bridge. And when I approached Toronto, it was raining, but not too bad. I made excellent time, arriving at downtown Toronto around 5 p.m.
It became very apparent very quickly that I had been overly optimistic. Because of road closures due to repairs, traffic was backed up everywhere. It took me an hour to find an alternate route and make it to my hotel. An hour to make what was usually a 10 minute drive from the Gardnier Expressway exit. Memorizing the map ahead of time had paid off, kind of, but in the end, the construction had beaten me. I begrudgingly fired up the iPhone and burned some data at the international rates (*shudder*) to figure out where I was and how to make it to the hotel. I was pretty stressed out by the time I arrived. Now the Cambridge Suites? Top notch hotel. First class all the way. I'd gladly stay there again. Expedia really did me right. But navigating through Toronto on a rainy day, approaching dusk, with all that construction and the people walking around, yeah, not the driving experience I hope for.
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| A Toronto landmark no more. |
Ah, but, I was there safe and sound. So I changed clothes, grabbed my umbrella, and walked down to the former location of Marche in order to see what had replaced the restaurant from my childhood. Hopefully, it would be a quality restaurant where I could get a bite to eat and forge some good memories. Maybe even become a new haunt for return trips.
My hopes were dashed when I discovered that the whole section of the building was boarded up. Nothing had taken its place. Sad. Also meant that I had to find another place to eat. Well, I am kind of low-rent and I do enjoy a tasty burger, so I trudged through the rain (fighting the wind with my umbrella) over to Wahlburgers--only to find out that they had been shut down, despite the fact that their Google Maps entry said they were still open. "Will the last person to leave, please update the Google Business account?"
My mood was flagging as I walked back towards the hotel and found a Hero Burger on the way. Not bad. I had good memories of discovering Hero Burger with my brother many years ago. So I sat there and watched some anime on my smartphone while reminiscing about the first time Ted and I ate at the Hero Burger over on Spadina Avenue. But as I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, I still wasn't sure if coming to Toronto was the right choice to make. At the very least, I thought that hopefully tomorrow would be better.
