Not today. The wife and the boy were going off elsewhere to a cottage with another friend, not in the direction of The Hammer. So, we went together in convoy part of the way down Highway 7, a dual-carriageway, back country road. So, up until we parted ways at Highway 62 near Madoc, the boy rode with me and we talked nonstop for about two hours.
We took a quick break, said our good-byes, and the wife took the boy with her. My phone went all snaky. The battery would not charge and the phone kept shutting down. I knew where I was going and the route I more or less planned on taking. So, I settled in for the drive. Eventually, the phone sorted itself out, not that it was much use. Every time it plotted a route to drive and I veered from it, it kept wanting me to backtrack to the original route plotted. The only way it would update the route is if I shut the phone right off and restarted it. It was very odd. It did it all the way to my friend's house.
So, anyway, after parting ways with the family, I settled in to the drive. A long drive. I decided to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. Normally, I try to make the best time on the 401 and jump on the 407 and get to Hamilstone P-D-Q. As an accompaniment to that, I usually get quite irritated. I find many people actually do not know how to drive on a proper highway. I really hate poor quality driving. I am usually quite peeved driving on the highways. Hell, driving in general. I am yelling and offering improbable suggestions to the incompetent drivers I am graciously sharing the road with.
Not today. These back roads are normally only 80 km/h (50 mph). No worries. No hurries. I did not want to get in to my usual fast and furious routine. I took it really easy. Many vehicles passed me. I stopped a few times. Found cheap gas. Other than a few head shakes and a couple of pretty easygoing "look at that knucklehead" comments, I had a very pleasant drive. I know I need to switch over to a 400 series highway at some point. Either the 401 or 407. Well, I am a cheapskate and I am driving alone, so I plan to take the 401. I tune in to local radio, but being a Saturday, the radio stations rarely give traffic reports. Even in the Toronto area, which truly is lame. The 401 going through Toronto is apparently the busiest highway in the world. Well, fine.
I steel myself for an awful drive through The Big Smoke. I come down at Oshawa, what I affectionately call of the one of the circles of the hellhole known as Toronto. What? Traffic is not backed up? I keep clearing the various circles, then I see the Death Star. This is where the wife and I felt we were breaking the back of the evil donkey: Toronto. The Death Star was the top of Toronto, halfway through to the other side.
What is the Death Star? I am not sure what it began its life as, but for some time now it has been posing as offices of Yellow Pages Canada. This is where we usually got slowed down to a crawl in the old days of our frequent visits. We changed our route to take the toll Highway 407 years ago because we hated the drive. It was almost heartening when I saw that imposing evil looking building. I half expected Imperial Stormtroopers to pull up on "speeder bikes" and pull me over for being in a good mood.
at least one death star has survived and is posing as an office building (courtesy toronto.ca)
Nothing. I kept sailing at a respectable speed through Toronto. A couple of very minor slowdowns and when I cleared to the others side, there was a butthead in a white Beamer that did not want to drive behind me, but also did not want to actually drive faster than me every time he passed me, so I moved over to the right and slowed down. No hurries. No worries.
do not think for a moment that that traffic light is not a laser canon
I am in Hamilburg. In city traffic. In a city that turned a great one-way street system in to a steaming pile of chopped spaghetti, but driving was smooth. I make my way up the Jolly Cut. The roads were dry and no one was driving on the cut with me, so I took the long, yet tight turn at 70 km/h (45 mph) for fun. Unless of course that is not the speed limit. If it is not, then of course I did not speed. That would be wrong. Then this is just an embellishment to enrich the story.
I pull up to my friends house, back in to the driveway. I grab my computer and tablet as it is quite cold outside and I do not want electronicicles. I say hi and beeline to the loo. After an inordinately long time and a thorough hand washing, I said a hearty hello. I was relaxed and in good spirits.
A drive that normally takes a long 4-4½ hours with a lot of frustration, took a quick six-and-a-half hours and I felt refreshed. Something to be said about taking it easy.
one last gratuitous photo of a sinister structure
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