Friday night after work the King & I passed up the opportunity
to go to the Transformed Garden to see the Knicks play the Los Angeles
Clippers. By doing so, we were able to head towards Canada for the
weekend.
After work I took public
transportation out to Long Island. I went to Avis where I rented a
Toyota Camry for the long weekend. I got there just before 7PM. I drove
back home to Astoria where I met up with the King. I picked up my bags
that were packed & we were ready to go. I made a reservation for
us at Super 8 in East Syracuse which was midway to Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada. We arrived there around 1AM. We got a good night sleep then we
continued the journey in the morning. We had to weather some snow that
fell over night. Thankfully it was only a few inches so it didn't slow
us down too much. We finally pulled into the parking lot at the newly renamed Candian Tire Centre, home of the Ottawa Senators at 1:36PM. We had just enough
time to make the opening face off that occurred shortly after 2PM as the
Senators welcomed the New York Rangers to Canada.
As for
the game we saw, the Senators scored first early in the first period to
take a 1-0 lead. The Rangers tied the game at one midway through the
period. The Rangers went ahead for good in the second period as they
found the net twice. The second one came with just 12 seconds to go
which devastated the Senators. The Rangers added another goal late in
the third period as they cruised to a 4-1 victory.
After
the game, I drove us 130 miles to Belleville, Ontario where we went to
see a hockey game on the junior level. We saw the Belleville Bulls take
on the Ottawa 67's in an OHL game at Yardmen Arena. Due to time
constraints, we wound up getting there midway through the first period. I
did the best I could to get us there as soon as possible but we were
forced to drive on a rural road which made it difficult. Once we got
settled in, we enjoyed the rest of the game. The 67's went on to defeat
the Bulls, 2-1.
After the game, I drove another
100 miles to Whitby, Ontario which is 35 miles from Toronto. I booked a
room at Motel 6 there. Upon arrival, we wound up going to have dinner
before we checked in at a restaurant called Kelsey's which is similar to Applebee's here in the States. It was
conveniently located within walking distance. Since we were hungry, it
worked out perfectly for us. The food was excellent. After we finished
eating, we checked in at Motel 6 & we got a good night sleep.
Before
we continued on to Toronto where we went to see the Raptors play the
Lakers at the Air Canada Centre that afternoon, we went to the Sunset Grill for breakfast. It was right next to Kelsey's where we had dinner.
Quite amazingly, I had no idea these restaurants were even there. It was
pure luck.
We got to Toronto at 12:15PM which
gave us time to make the opening tip. We wound up parking at a meter
because the place we used to park at jacked up their price. Let it be
known even on Sunday they charge to park on the street there.
As
for the game we saw, the Lakers outlasted the Raptors, 112-106. After
the game, we drove back through Buffalo which made it possible to meet
up with our pals, Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell for dinner before we
returned home. We wound up eating at Duff's Wings, a local favorite of theirs.
I wound up having a roast beef on weck sandwich which was really good along with their famous wings which were outstanding.
As always, it was great to see these guys again. I want to personally
thank them for making time to join us.
Stay tuned for some more special posts that will finish recapping our adventurous month of January.
Thank you for reading & following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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