Difference between revisions of "2024-12-14 43 -79"

Revision as of 17:42, 21 December 2024

Location

Visitor Parking Lot of Bora Pharmaceuticals in Mississauga

Participants

Pedalpusher
J

Expedition

I was excited to see this hash for Saturday as we were heading up to Toronto for the (Hockey) Buffalo Sabres vs Toronto Maple Leafs game on Sunday and making a long weekend out of it. We had to leave early on Saturday in order to get to Toronto by 11:00 for a food tour at the St. Lawrence Market so we missed the Official Sat Meetup. We were aiming for around 08:15, but got on the road closer to 08:40. Even with the detour to the hash, we still had a good amount of time so the hash was still on. It was an easy drive up to the hash and barely a line to cross into Canada so we made good time up the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) and to the hash. Following the Phone GPS, we had no trouble finding our way (it was practically off the highway anyway), and being a weekend, the parking lots were empty. This parking lot appeared to be a visitor lot that was right next to the entrance driveway, and since I didn't see any no trespassing or Private Property signs, I pulled in and parked right at the hash. Success and this completes another Reverse Regional Achievement for both Country (Canada/US) and State (NY/Ontario) levels.

We then continued on our way to Toronto. We were staying right downtown in the Old Toronto area and had purchased our parking pass for the weekend beforehand. So we just parked in the ramp and walked over to our food tour where we found we were the only people that signed up for the 11am tour! Always pretty sweet to get a private tour. After a very filling food tour, we found our way to the Christmas Market in the Distillery district to check out the shops and found two breweries to have a couple tastings. Glad we got there early as you had to buy tickets after 16:00 and as we were leaving right around then, it was getting very crowded. Perfect time to walk back and check into the hotel to relax for a bit before heading to Cirque du Soleil - ‘Twas the Night Before… in the evening.

After an absolutely fantastic Egyption brunch at Maha's on Sunday, we found another small Christmas market to explore that was more our speed. Less populated and more craft/jewelry than high end clothes/art galleries of the other one the day before. We then found a German place in Union Station for beers and sausages before the early hockey game (17:00). The game started out great and the Sabres were up 2-0 just 3 minutes into the game, were dominating in the first period and they played a solid 29 minutes before falling totally apart. After being up 3-1 midway through the second period, we ended up losing 5-3. This was not unexpected as the Sabres have not made the playoffs in 13 years and while they have been ok this year, this game was the 10th loss in a row...so it looks like another year to the record breaking (NHL) streak. This was my 6th away game, and for locations, I've seen 3 wins and 3 losses (but more wins than losses overall as I've been to a couple places more than once). At least the Bills (Buffalo's American Football team) are doing exceptionally well this year and might go all the way.

We came home on Monday afternoon after having a light brunch around the corner from the hotel and then checking out the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Photos

Pulling into the entrance to get to the parking lot.
Made it!
Parked at the hash, but wanted a better reading. View to the NE toward the building.
View SE and toward the driveway where we came in.
View SW toward the main road.
View NW.
Standard Stupid Grins.
Warmups before the game on Sunday.