musings

After yesterday’s peanut butter and blackberry jelly sandwiches (standard packed lunches in US schools) we had to have some beans. Not like Heinz though, it turned out. They were darker and had chunks of pork fat floating round in the sauce. Not as repulsive as they looked, but not very tasty. No wonder they eat peanut butter sandwiches instead.

Said our goodbyes to Jay and rolled on through Pennsylvania and into New York State. Got off the freeway for something to eat and plumped for a Pizza Hut. Discovered that Tuesday was family day when all pizzas were virtually half price. Thus we had two large with “the works” on them. Very delicious and filling. Four big slices for less than $2 including drinks.

Pushing on we soon reached Niagara Falls. It was dark but the falls are illuminated from the other side. Colours changed continuously. Unfortunately it was raining hard but it was still a fantastic view. No one expected to come across them so quickly - they were only yards from the car-park and the rest of the city. The spray from the water crashing down on the rocks at the bottom rose high into the air and it could be seen as a cloud for miles.

We didn’t hang round in the rain, but decided to head on for Toronto. The bridge to Canada was only half a mile away. There we had to stop and get our passports stamped at the customs post. Drove on the Q E W (Queen Elizabeth Way?) to Toronto. Scenery similar to US for the most part. Road signs had crowns on the top. Seatbelt wearing was compulsory.

Almost immediately took a liking to Toronto - clean, nice modern buildings and expensive shops. People seemed “intelligent looking”. Hard to define why. Young, neatly dressed; no slobs. Moneywise suggested Albert Hall for good jazz so we sought and entered same. Canadian law: must sit down to drink. Serve by waitress. Very expensive prices and 4% surcharge for US dollars. $3.60 odd for a pitcher of gnats piss. Jazz was lousy too, so we left.

It was cold outside - too cold to wander round on foot. Drove to another recommended place - the Bull and Bush. Book incorrect again. Not “English-style” at all. Deserted. Shôn had to spend the last minutes of his birthday quietly sitting there without merrymaking.

Later, it took us ages to find a place to sleep. Ended up travelling 50 miles the nearest KOA. So cold that I kept all my clothes on including jacket. Still froze.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 21st, 1976 at 8:57 pm and is filed under travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.