Eyelash Adventure: Part 5 - The Final Leg
This is a continuation of the May 2022 adventure known as the Eyelash adventure. Part 1 includes the entry to Canada, and a little venture around Toronto. This is Part 5:
After a dinner in Buck Horn, we headed to Bobcaygeon, Ontario. On the way, I began playing The Tragically Hip's song Bobcaygeon. Terri listened and found it interesting that we were listening to a song, about a 'town' we were about to enter. Bobcaygeon is technically not a 'town' or 'city' however, so entering it, isn't always apparent. In the year 2000, the municipalities within the old Victoria county, including the Village of Bobcaygeon, joined to become one large, spread out City called Kawartha Lakes. It is a very odd political situation, which really doesn't do any justice to the individual communities within the former County. Never the less, Bobcaygeon is now technically just a 'Community' within the City of Kawartha Lakes. Damn Politics!
After stopping to get Ice Cream at the Kawartha Dairy on the North side of Bobcaygeon, we circled around to the South side and checked in at our Motel for the night. The New Rockland Motel. The manager seemed pretty chill, and somewhat comical. I found him very down to earth and fun to talk to. After settling in, Terri and I went out for a little walk through town. However, neither of us were wearing a leash... (notice the unintentionally captured leash sign in the photo).
The Trent-Severn Waterway Locks were right beside the Motel, and was our first walking destination. It was always neat to see the old Pontoon House Boats which are common along the Trent Severn system. I really haven't seen them anywhere else in the world to be honest. But then again, I am not super well traveled or experienced in the boating culture. A Houseboat is essentially a trailer park trailer, with pontoons. They were all the rage in the 80'tys.
It was a lovely Saturday night in Bobcaygeon. People were out enjoying the evening. There were several bars along the main, Bolton Street section of town. Many of them were buzzing with activity. A local Pizza place called Godfather's Pizza seemed busy. And it appeared that a family name of Bigley's was somewhat important in the area as they seemed to own many stores. That being said, the one place that seemed to be drawing us in was a place called Graz. We heard Tragically Hip music emanating from the place, and sure enough there was a Tragically Hip tribute band playing.
The band, The Acoustically Hip, were indeed very good. So good in fact that Terri believed it was The Tragically Hip (the real band) at first. I explained that Gord Downie had passed away. Indeed, The Tragically Hip were a cultural icon for many Canadians. Their music was so deeply rooted in our culture that their last concert was almost a national holiday. The video below shows the playing of the final song in the last concert. A concert, I might add that the CBC broadcasted and live streamed, uninterrupted by advertisements, which was watched by 11.7 million people (roughly one-third of the Canadian population). ALL at the same time. It is fair to say that pretty much everyone in Canada was watching that concert unless they lived under a rock. We are unlikely to ever again see a single band unite so many people. Interestingly enough, these photos were from the very street that was featured in the video link below (scenes shot in Bobcaygeon).
Tragically Hip's Last Song - Played Live across a Nation!
It actually does bring tears to my eyes to know just how much this band meant to me, and also to so many people. Not just Canadians. I know many of my American co-workers were deeply rocked by Gord's passing and the end of The Tragically Hip. Buffalo, NY does share a lot in common with it's Northern border of Canada, so that isn't too surprising. But yeah, if you are unaware of The Tragically Hip, perhaps you should look into them. I will admit that I cried several times writing these last couple paragraphs and watching videos to decide which ones to include in this post.
The Acoustically Hip are indeed very authentic sounding however. For a two piece band, they do a great job replicating the songs. They interact well with the audience too. I very much enjoyed sitting down and watching their whole set. I did toss them a $20 after their act. I was also very impressed that Terri wanted to sit and watch too. I honestly wasn't sure if she would like the loud band, but she did. She wanted to move closer. So very cool! Bonus points for her. :P
This evening was super fun. I haven't had such a great time out in years. The fun part was that I didn't really plan this. And also that I had unintentionally preluded this by playing Bobcaygeon for Terri as we drove into Bobcaygeon. Everything was perfect. Even the sunset was super cool, over the Lock, with the beam of sunlight shining up as the sun set.
After the final song we walked around the corner to the Motel and called it a night. The next day, we stopped at a local place for a lovely Breakfast. The Daylight Diner was a typical small town diner, and had some good food and friendly staff. We then headed out. Since I kind of messed up the original attempt at Monck Road, I attempted it again. We headed back towards Lake Simcoe and I indeed found Monck Road. It was a neat road, and I can see it's charm. It was for sure one of the original roads in the area just based on how windy it was. It was interesting in that it skirted along the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, where it meets the glacial deposits which is now mostly farmland.
It was for sure interesting to explore a road I had never really understood the history of until now. It was a road which was put in place to encourage Eastward expansion and farming and settlement from Orillia. In any case, we carried on. I ended up seeing a pretty cool float plane on Lake Simcoe on the way back. And soon I was on the 404, headed down towards the 401. The plan was to meet my Father at a Breakfast chain restaurant down in Toronto. We were running a little late but not too bad.
Traffic was nuts on the DVP so I avoided it and took the 401. Highway 401 is the Busiest Highway in North America! It was a fun drive, and brought back some memories. These were the highways I used to work on, assisting at accidents and such. It is where I earned my Roadwolf moniker. This is also the highway that a TV documentary series was made about. Heavy Rescue: 401. There is a huge difference between working the roads in Toronto, and working up in the wilderness.
I met with my father and mother in law. They were doing alright all things considered. It was a lovely little lunch, but it was cut short by the restaurant wanting to close. So not too much longer, we were on our way back to the USA. We had a good view of Stelco in Hamilton on the way back. I will admit that Canada does a lot of things right. It is a fairly self sufficient country. A lot of product used in Canada is made in Canada. It is a shame that a powerhouse like the USA, can't have a steel plant which rivals Stelco in Hamilton, or even it's other location near Nanticoke.
For a while now, I suspect that the Climate Change push is all part of the plan for a global communist takeover of the world. Personally I believe that many of those in power see the waste of a capitalist society, and that adds more of a reason to slash needless spending and waste of resources. I also believe that those who are in power, dislike the free market and the ability for anyone to just rise up and create a name for themselves. New money types tend to complicate the ranks. So in a way, I do believe that carbon credits, and companies that buy into the climate crisis, are doing so, in a bit of a scheme to position themselves to still have a say in the game and remain in a position of power once the full socialist system kicks in. But this is just a theory of mine.
In Canada, such a socialist system does tend to exist. Big companies essentially hold a monopoly over specific trades or commodities, and they sub contract smaller companies to help them, or push other non related work off to. This is the case in some industries. Specifically Communications, and any sort of industry that deals with government grants and infrastructure. Consumer goods, arts and food don't specifically fall into this system.
It wasn't long before we were crossing back to the US. It was an amazing little trip, and was very refreshing to visit my homeland again after so long. I hope to travel back again soon enough. I also hope you enjoyed this little 5 part posting on my silly little journey. I hope to have many more adventures to write about on here. Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any comments, corrections or questions.