Find My Country

At the corner of Front Street and Bay Street lies the crown of Toronto’s public transportation system – Union Station. A major transportation hub, with connections to Toronto’s Subway, GO Transit, VIA Rail, Streetcars and Buses, Union Station is the busiest transportation hub in Canada.

A fire destroyed much of downtown Toronto in 1904. This catastrophic event did, however, create enough space for the construction of a major train hub in the downtown area. After a difficult war-time construction period which lasted almost 7 years (1914-1921), and the bankrupcy of one of the train companies (the Grand Trunk Railway), the station was complete. However, the particulars, in a show of true Canadian spirit, spent 3 years fighting over grade seperations. (This is the method by which railway tracks are seperated from roadways through bridges, different track routes, etc..). Finally in 1927, the station was open to the public.

At the opening ceremony, the Prince Edward, the Prince of Whales remarked that we Canadians built our railway stations like how the British built their cathedrals. One can easily understand why. The beautiful structure is from the “Beaux-Art” style of archetecture, which emphasizes symmetry and a multitude of archtectural influences. A first-time visitor to Union Station can’t help but be taken aback by its opulence and the beauty. Everything, from the roof to the floor, is adorned with, what to me is, ceremic art. I have never seen a more beautiful station in Canada or Japan.

Toronto is the polar opposite of Montreal in some respects. Montreal is a town teeming with nightlife, but dead for most of the day. Toronto is filled with activity, from dawn until dusk.

Toronto is the biggest city in Canada – and has a skyline to prove it.

Birds can fly in huge formations, as I saw here in Toronto. Click the picture to see the full version.

Somehow I managed to leave my CF Dongle in Montreal, and can’t copy my pictures off my camera. You’ll be getting a full report about my trip here tomorrow night

In short, I haven’t been mistreated by anyone, everyone is smiling – and the press is having a field day. I can’t believe cutting off the PM’s head could have been anything except the results of a trash-talking session – these guys are former rappers, not military engineers. I hope the press never does a number on me, I can only imagine the sorts of things they would pull from my CEGEP days O_o

.

If you are new here, you might be wondering what Findmycountry.ca is all about. I’ve compiled a list of questions and answers to try to help guide you around the site. You can return to the front page by clicking on the banner at the top, or by clicking here.

1. What is Findmycountry.ca all about?
A: Findmycountry.ca is a my attempt to travel across Canada this year and post the things I learn about my country. This includes the history of the places I go, the people I meet, and other stories I hear which I think are entertaining. It also will (eventually) serve as a travel guide, and a place for people to talk about their own experiences in Canada.

a. So it is just a travel blog?
A: No. I hated the slide shows my aunt and uncle forced me to watch, and I wouldn’t inflict that on anyone. There is some material for tourists, but it is more oriented towards commentary on the places I visit.

2. Who are you?
A: I’m using “The Drifter” as my alias for this website. My general profile is here. You can contact me via email at drifter (at) findmycountry (dot) ca.

3. Why should I care?
A: One, you might be curious about taking a vacation within Canada. Two, if you are like the average Canadian, you are ignorant about Canada (except for a bit about the city and province you live in). More than likely, you slept through history class and the only geography you recall is the general shape of the country. Face it – for the most of us, years of watching American TV means we know more about the U.S. than the rest of Canada. The provincial education system also ensured you were fed historical propaganda from the day you set foot in class (A good example: The Quebec story about Louis Riel vs. the rest of Canada). If you are sick of this, and want to learn the truth about the rest of Canada, you can click here. I don’t pretend to be void of my own slant, but you can rest assured that I do not have any goal except to learn the truth about my own country.

4: Can I see the places you have visited so far?
A: Yes. Either click on the “Places” item above, or here.

5. Are you profitting from this page?
A: No. There will never be advertising on Findmycountry. I have zero sponsors, and its hosting is all paid out of pocket. I may gain some web design work if people like the design, but I am more likely to do so from my other ventures. If I ever want to raise money, I will probably start selling prints of the photos I took.

6. I know this great place that I’d like you to visit…
A: Mail it to me at drifter at findmycountry (dot) ca. If it fits my plans, I will go.

7: What are the coloured blocks down the side?
A: Those represent my mood at the time I am writing. You can read more about this and the mood filter here.

8: What are the maple leaf icons for?
A: Those are the rankings that users give to my posts. This system needs some tweaking because google and Yahoo keep putting random rankings on the page, screwing up the system.

9. Who is “The Minstrel / The Maestro”?
A: A good friend of mine. Originally he was supposed to come with me on this trip, but he has an extraordinary opportunity to record his demo tape. Since it was at the last moment, I couldn’t redo the graphics on the website in time. Now that I am going to spend some time at home during the festival season in Montreal, I plan on fixing that.

10: Why does your Avatar change?
A: The avatar I am using changes depending on whether the day I was posting was hot or cold. The two icons in question are these two:

The S.S. Klondike was a God-send for people who left to find Gold in the Yukon. Prospectors, desperate to shave a few days off their travels, used rickety wood boats to cross the White Horse rapids and reach the Klondike region. As a result, many of these daredevils (read: idiots) found their way to the bottom of a watery grave, and Sir Samuel Benfield Steele (the famous Sam Steele) himself commented that he couldn’t believe that more of them had not been killed. The government cracked down on this practice, only allowing registered vessels to travel up and down the Klondike River. These vessels were, more often than not, sternwheelers.

The S.S. Klondike was commissioned in 1929, long after the Gold Rush had subsided. The original 300-ton SS Klondike was the property of the British Yukon Navigation Company, and could carry 50% more than any other vessel on the Yukon River at the time. However, she was not long for this world. In 1936, pilot error meant she struck a reef and sank. A copy of the ship was launched in 1937, and operated in various forms until 1955.

The S.S. Klondike served, like most of its older Sternwheelers, to move people and supplies from Whitehorse to Dawson City and back. While Whitehorse to Dawson was a relatively short ride (36 hours), the ride back took much longer because the ship would have to move against the current. Sometimes it could take as much as 5 days for the trip back from Dawson to Whitehorse. (Compare this to today’s ‘agonizing’ 7 hour drive).