Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Some times there just aren’t words

There are times when what you want to say cannot be translated into words. There are things you see that cannot be described. There are things that a photo will never do justice too. Unfortunately those are things you can only keep in your mind. No number of words would do it justice. And sometimes I get to have those moments.
So this week I have made two border crossings and I have made my first visit to the USA on this trip. And I have to say that I do really dislike the USA, so far. The people tend to be more self cantered, ruder and pushier. Minneapolis was kind of cool though. They have a wonderful above ground network of bridges to enable you to go around the city in the middle of the cold winter without ever going outside. And unlike the cities that put it underground you still get to see the outside world. Chicago was cool merely for the fact it’s GOTHAM CITY!!!!!! And I had a few happy fan boy moments. They also have a wicked bean, which is great for photography. Biggest problem is the smog. It is horrible. And I was kind of glad to be out of there. I also got to see 1 million US$ in $1 bills in a cube at the Federal Reserve. Curiously the Federal Reserve would let me in with my bag but the Chicago public library would not!
I had a choice to make on Wednesday. Detroit in the USA or Windsor, just on the other side of the river. I had planned to spend half a day in both but when it turned out that I couldn’t do that on my greyhound pass a plan b came into play. After reading and talking to some people, I decided to head to Windsor. Everyone I spoke to warned me of the fact that the down town of Detroit is rough. The burbs are all that are ok but apparnrlty the down town is horrible. Well I decided to go to Windsor. Visited the home of Canadian Club, got some fabulous photos of Detroit from over the river and explored the town.
Thursday I celebrated my 25th birthday. In original planning I was spending the day by myself, but I was fortunate that one of my friends, based in Toronto was able to spend the day with me. This was a good thing. After a 06:00 call to home to speak to my parents, we used the TTC and headed out to his place. We then headed to Negara Falls. This is one of those times that words and photos will never do it justice. We did the walk behind the falls, where you get closer than the maid of the mist and you can go at your own pace. Its, well, amazing. The sheer power of the falls. The falls themselves are largely untouched by commercialism; the same cannot be said for the surrounds. Some of the most garish and ridiculous tourist attractions great you in Niagara fall.
To be completely honest about Toronto, besides the cool sports venues and unique designs and the CN tower, it’s quite a dull city. But hey, it’s the biggest in Canada.
Well it was then on the road again the following day after some comedy & beers in the evening, this time to Perth ON. We have jokingly said that I got lost. Wrong Perth and all that jazz. To enhance the joke I kind of want to visit Melbourne FL but that’s an awfully long way away. I was greeted by Darrel and Chris in Perth and we headed out to camp Opemekon. Once again, another time where I think I am kind of lost for words to describe the sight and do it justice. The camp site is a fairly standard scout camp, with high ropes, kitchens, fire pits and cabins. But the view out onto the lake and the bay that it sits on is magnificent. The Opemekon Rover Crew cabin was being opened offiacly on the weekend, and that was part of the reason for me being there. Well I helped a little in the construction of the sign to go up on the building and helped with some touch ups to the paint job. It was good to use that part of my skill set that have kind of been neglected for a while. After a lovely weekend at the camp site we headed to Ottawa and explored some of the sights and took in some of the views of the city. Ottawa is a nice place, with lots of cool architecture and one hell of a skating rink during the winter months. It is defiantly worth a visit in my opinion, even just for the war museum, which I visited in 07.
Well today I had another day where I think the words for today probably just don’t do it justice. I headed from Ottawa to Montreal. For anyone who knows me, my French is limited, to say the least. Well it turns out that I can generally muddle my way though signage and figure out what is written. But more interestedly I think, is the fact that a number of times today, when I greeted some one with bonjour they rattle of a string of French at me which I have no idea what it means. Well in one situation I was able to figure it out and just kind of played along and completed a retail transaction without speaking a word of English. It was quite surreal!
Well I am now sitting on the bus zooming along the road to Boston. The references to Drop Kicks and Great big sea come to mind, but I do quite look forward to visiting such a historic town.
The other thing that I realized is that I have apparently seen the northern lights. The light in the sky in Alberta and Saskatchewan at midnight I have been informed by some Canadians recently that I have witness them. Well once again I thought it was odd and I couldn’t find the words to describe what I saw. Well I guess that’s what happens sometimes.
Well two weeks left of this madness, and the last 5 days of the madness isn’t actually all that bad. Sort of. If you ever want to hear some different parts of stories elaborated let me know and I will do my best to do so.
Some times, there just arnt any words, that could do justice to this world.

2 comments:

kitmonster said...

I love that you entirely didn't realize you were seeing the aurora. Sort of green and pink wobbly lines? Very cool. The get brighter as you go further north, but I've seen them as far south as Keats Island (about level with Byng)

mccoy54wru said...

Nice post Mr Gonzo. I hope you enjoyed Boston. I like that city a lot having visited several times in my old DEC days. Stay well. Travel safe. love TOF.