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.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Ontario
Toronto’s Hockey Hall of Fame
It’s hard for non-Canadians to understand just how popular ice hockey is in Canada. It’s bigger than football (soccer) in Europe. Bigger than cricket in India. Bigger even than NFL or college football in the USA. Canadians consider hockey to be THEIR game, and that is reflected in Canadian culture. If two Canadians meet somewhere, chances are they’ll probably talk about hockey.
Most young boys (and probably girls today) learn to skate, hold a hockey stick, and handle a puck while you skate. When I was in grade school, my friends and I would often play hockey on a small patch of ice my dad made for us every winter. We were clearly amateurs, but it was a lot of fun …
Tagged hockey, Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / Food / North America / Ontario
Cheese is surprisingly popular in Canada, much of it originating in Quebec. So it’s unusual to see a cheese factory outside of that province. In …
Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, Ontario
An interesting place to visit near Thunder Bay is the Thunder Oak Cheese Farm. Here you have the opportunity to see Dutch-style Gouda cheese being made, and have the chance to sample or buy some interesting Gouda flavors. The farm is located a few miles south of the city of Thunder Bay.
The Thunder Oak Cheese Farm is run by the Schep Family, who immigrated from Holland and have been making fine Gouda in Canada since 1995. The Scheps have their own Holstein dairy herd from which their natural (no preservatives or color added) Gouda is made.
Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, Thunder Bay
Cheese is surprisingly popular in Canada, much of it originating in Quebec. So it’s unusual to see a cheese factory outside of that province. In …
Tagged Cheese, farm, Gouda, Thunder Oak Cheese Farm
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Nova Scotia
The walk offers some nice views of the harbor, and of ships and sailboats moving about — even of a lighthouse on an island. There’s the sound of gulls and of waves crashing, and …
A Walk along Halifax’s Waterfront
I enjoyed my visit to Halifax, although I’d have to say it’s not one of the prettier cities in Canada. An exception to this impression was my walk along the city’s waterfront, which is a lovely place.
The city has a terrific 6-km boardwalk known as the HarbourWalk which stretches along the main highlights of harbor and which is said to be one of the longest boardwalks in the world. It’s flat and easy to do, and walking this stretch is most pleasant on a nice summer day.
Harbourwalk, Halifax Waterfront
The walk offers some nice views of the harbor, and of ships and sailboats moving about — even of a lighthouse on an island. There’s the sound of gulls and of waves crashing, and …
“Pic of the Week”, November 27, 2020: Grain Elevators, Thunder Bay
There are eight massive grain elevators in the Port of Thunder Bay, situated on the western shore of Lake Superior. Trains bring much of the bounty from the Canadian prairies to Thunder Bay — wheat, durum, canola, feed grains, peas and other crops, as well as grain by-products (smaller amounts are also shipped to Churchill and Vancouver). These foods are temporarily stored in these enormous structures before being loaded onto ships that then make their way through the St. Lawrence Seaway, bound to countless ports around the world.
The Port of Thunder Bay has the largest grain storage capacity in North America, currently handling about 6 million tons of grain each year (though capable of more). Ship loading rates range from …
Nov 26, 2020
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“Pic of the Week”, November 13, 2020: Lupins, Thunder Bay
In my travels I’ve come across three places where lupins were growing in abundance. 1) South Island of New Zealand, 2) Ushuaia, in southern Patagonia, and, 3) Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior’s western shore. I’m sure there are other places that love and grow lots of lupins, but these are my observations.
Many of the ditches and roadsides in Thunder Bay had a thick growth of these colorful flowers, as you can see in these photos.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)
Nov 12, 2020
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“Pic of the Week”, November 6, 2020: Old Burying Grounds, Halifax
As you walk down Barrington street in Halifax, you’ll pass the Old Burying Ground. I guess “burying ground” sounds a little better than cemetery. But it is old, especially by Canadian standards, with graves dating back more than 250 years. The Burying Ground was established the same year as Halifax was founded and the cemetery was closed to new graves in 1844.
There are some 12,000 people interred here, but only about 1200 headstones remain. Most of the names of those buried here are unfamiliar, but I bet there are many colorful stories about some of these residents. For example, General Robert Ross rests here — it was he who lead the successful raid of Washington DC in 1814 (War …
Nov 5, 2020
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.All Trips / Eastern Canada / North America / Nova Scotia
There’s still something compelling about the tragic story of the Titanic that resonates with people, and which continues to draw them to museums and …
Fairview Cemetery, Halifax
Halifax might seem an odd place to find the graves of many of those who perished when the RMS Titanic sank more than a century ago, but it was from this city that most of the rescue efforts went forth into that infamous night, and it was here that many of the drowned and frozen bodies were delivered. There are at least 150 Titanic graves in Halifax which can be found in the following cemeteries: Fairview (121), Mount Olivet (19) and Baron de Hirsch (10). Each cemetery has informational plaques indicating the location of the grave sites.
Fairview Cemetery, Halifax
There’s still something compelling about the tragic story of the Titanic that resonates with people, and which continues to draw them to museums and …
Tagged Fairview Cemetery, graves, Halifax, Titanic
“Pic of the Week”, September 18, 2020: Halifax City Hall
A nice open space in Halifax is the grounds of this attractive Victorian building, City Hall.
City Hall was built between 1887 and 1890 and is one of the oldest public buildings in Nova Scotia. It’s built of sandstone and has a clock tower, with clocks facing north and south. Nova Scotians like to get full use of their real estate investments, and the building still functions as City Hall to this day. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.
There were a number of these very comfortable looking Adirondack chairs on the grounds of City Hall. A pleasant place to sit on a warm summer day.
As you’d expect of a mature city, a War Memorial is nearby.
(Clock on thumbnails …
Sep 17, 2020
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