bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2004-05-31 10:43 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2004-05-31 10:43 pm
Entry tags:
Toronto trip (long)
Highlights (and lowlights) of this past weekend's trip to Toronto.
Friday
Gary (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gmjambear) and I left Rochester about 1:30 PM for Toronto. We used the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls and it took about 15 minutes to clear the border. We hit heavy traffic on the multiplex section of the QEW with Route 403 just past the Burlington Skyway, and again just before Route 427 (both are typical jam-up points in both directions).
As a result we reached the Toolbox with moments to spare, about five minutes to six. Our friends Dan (another Empire Bears member), Brian and Drew (from Bear Towers) were there waiting for us. About 6:15 Kyle, a member of Gen-X Bears Toronto we'd been corresponding with, joined us, and we hopped the TTC Queen streetcar and the subway to the Skydome for a Blue Jays game vs. Texas.
We sat in the Skydeck (level 500 i.e. nosebleed seats) directly behind home plate and opposite the Jumbotron in center field. The game itself was fun to watch although not particularly eventful. We got some nice views of Texas' particularly furry-faced starting pitcher, R.A. Dickey. There were a couple of guys pounding drums off to our right (near first base) in the Skydeck and a few more directly behind us whose cheering got louder and more incoherent as the game wore on. The Jays won 5-4; it would have been 5-1 if the game had been decided after the second inning, but Texas had a three-run homer in the eighth.
After the game we returned to the Box and chatted with some old friends from Bear Buddies Toronto we hadn't seen for a while. Gary met a gentle giant of a black man who I later found out is named John. Meanwhile I met a fellow named James from Cleveland and his friend Brian, who lives in Toronto but often visits Vermont and can't wait for The Breeze (the fast ferry) to arrive as it will cut several hours off his drive. Gary headed for bed about 1 AM as he had effectively been up for 23 of the past 24 hours; I stayed up to have a few drinks and was introduced to some more folks I hadn't met previously, including a fellow named Mark from Carolina Bear Lodge. Once last call rolled around I was more than ready for sleep myself.
Saturday
After a good night's sleep we headed over to Joy Bistro on Queen Street for breakfast with the rest of the Empire Bears, and Brian and Drew. After breakfast and some catching up with Drew, we called up Danny (djjo) to see what the plans for the afternoon/evening were. It seems he and Van (vaneramos) were going for a walk and would be back around three or four. So we sat around and read the papers for a while, then took a trip over to Danny and Bill's (bitterlawngnome) on the TTC.
When we arrived, we met Van as well as Pete (trapezebear) who had come up from Boston. They were all (except for Bill, who was waiting for Daniel, danthered) just leaving to sightsee and have dinner in the Gay Village on Church Street near Wellesley. So we all hopped the Wellesley TTC bus and took a gander at the neighborhood and the University of Toronto campus as we passed.
On arrival at Wellesley station we headed over to a pair of bookstores, one above the other, on Yonge Street. The downstairs bookstore specialized in fantasy and science-fiction books but, unfortunately, was about to close when we arrived. The upstairs bookstore was Glad Day, where I discovered the fourth book in the Leonard and Larry set (How Real Men Do It) was available there. I decided to check if our local bookstore had one rather than buying it there, since I didn't much feel like schlepping anything else around the Village.
We all had dinner at Zelda's, where the wait staff were all dressed in fashionable club wear -- which in one notable case was delightfully close to nothing at all. After dinner we decided to ask some kind passerby to take our picture -- who, as it turned out, was another Empire Bears member from a group just passing by on the way from one store to another in the Village. Just as we were about to pose, Bill and Daniel arrived and we hustled them into the picture. (Pictures to follow tomorrow.) We all then trooped down to Timothy's coffee shop, where we met a nice fellow named Tom from Germany and also caught up with Steven (token_otter). Since Bill and Daniel had driven to the Village they returned to their car, while our growing entourage hopped on the subway at College and caught the streetcar back to the Box.
When we arrived the Empire Bears barnight was in full swing. I pulled out some run cards I had made for the club and some posters I made and started putting them in strategic places around the Box. That done, I had a brief chat with John (the gentle giant Gary had been talking with the previous night) and headed out back to the patio area. There I saw Gary talking with Shawn (2fruition), his partner Jeff, and a friend named Phil who bears a striking resemblance to Peter Paige from Queer as Folk. Nearby were Pete, Van and Danny, and we all kind of gathered in a circle talking and laughing and touching one another for a few precious moments. Around this time we also met Claude (claudecub).
When last call came around, Gary headed upstairs with Dave (cub4bear) while Van, Danny, Pete, our friend Kevin from London, Ontario, and Mark from North Carolina followed me upstairs. Van, Danny, and Pete decided the after-party was a bit much for them and left. Kevin hung around, and he and I were playing with a number of other folks while Gary caught up with Dave in our room. Notably, our mutual friend Mike, alias "Hugger", was hanging out with a muscular young stud named Chris, and the three of us got to playing a bit, also I had some fun with another mutual friend named Michael whom we knew from BBT. At the end of the night as people were taking their leave, I chatted with Kevin and later Dave before Gary and I settled in to bed.
Sunday
Sunday began with the traditional brunch at the Box. After brunch, Gary and I were hanging out on the rear patio with Dan, a new member of the Empire Bears; Wayne, his friend whom he'd met the previous evening, and Hugger. There was also an older gentleman named Bruce who was dressed in a fine linen suit like those favored by Southern gentlemen such as the author Tom Wolfe (according to Gary). He pulled out some clothespins from his little bag of tricks, and first he and then Dan started using them on Hugger. Gary decided to go upstairs, relax, and watch the ball game at this point, so I stayed downstairs and ended up playing with Hugger along with Dan and Wayne. Hugger, of course, started using one of the clothespins on me, which to be honest doesn't do much for me. As Dan and Wayne decided to head off for a picnic in Cawthra Park, Hugger left, and I returned to the room and watched baseball with Gary.
Later in the afternoon we went out in search of a Toronto Argonauts cap for one of Gary's co-workers who wanted one. Unfortunately, this being off-season for the Argos (although as it happened they were actually beginning their pre-season that afternoon in Hamilton), there were no such caps to be found.
By this time it was getting a bit late to do the Cawthra Park picnic. (As it turned out, I discovered later, by the time Dan and Wayne got there the picnic was already breaking up.) So we caught the Ossington bus to the local grocery to pick up some supplies (vanilla ice cream and juices) and headed to Bill and Danny's traditional Sunday dinner.
At dinner were Bill, Danny, and Daniel; Steven and a friend named Sam from Boston; Pierre (raccoon_it), Rod, Monique, Allison, Marian, and Michelle. Dinner was, as usual, festive and full of good conversation.
Afterwards we watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on DVD. It was cheesy, and Gary isn't too fond of it for that reason, but I think it would be perfect for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment -- Tom Servo whistling "There's Got To Be a Morning After" during the attack on the submarine, someone making a remark about the secret of Jekyll and Hyde being steroids, or even a mention of the Driver's License of Dorian Grey. ;-)
We arrived back at the Box in time for one last drink before the bar closed at midnight, and went to bed -- Gary reading the newspaper and me cashing out on the sofa watching TV.
Monday
We decided not to join the rest of the Bears for lunch at the Pickle Barrel, preferring to eat on the road (at Swiss Chalet in Stoney Creek) and try to get to the kennel in time to pick up Brandy. Unfortunately it took us about 4 hours and 20 minutes to clear the border at Lewiston. There were a number of complications, one being that the new security procedures at the border take longer, another being the sheer volume of vehicles, and a third being the closure of the old toll structure on the Canadian side on account of a fatal accident on Sunday in which a church van returning from Toronto to the Bronx ran into the concrete divider of the toll structure (which, ironically, is not actually being used for tolls for eastbound traffic leaving Canada) and overturned. So I had to call the kennel when we stopped to eat and will pick the pup up tomorrow.
Pictures will follow as I get time. It was great meeting all these people and I hope we'll be able to find a decent meeting place once the Box is gone.
Friday
Gary (
gmjambear) and I left Rochester about 1:30 PM for Toronto. We used the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls and it took about 15 minutes to clear the border. We hit heavy traffic on the multiplex section of the QEW with Route 403 just past the Burlington Skyway, and again just before Route 427 (both are typical jam-up points in both directions). As a result we reached the Toolbox with moments to spare, about five minutes to six. Our friends Dan (another Empire Bears member), Brian and Drew (from Bear Towers) were there waiting for us. About 6:15 Kyle, a member of Gen-X Bears Toronto we'd been corresponding with, joined us, and we hopped the TTC Queen streetcar and the subway to the Skydome for a Blue Jays game vs. Texas.
We sat in the Skydeck (level 500 i.e. nosebleed seats) directly behind home plate and opposite the Jumbotron in center field. The game itself was fun to watch although not particularly eventful. We got some nice views of Texas' particularly furry-faced starting pitcher, R.A. Dickey. There were a couple of guys pounding drums off to our right (near first base) in the Skydeck and a few more directly behind us whose cheering got louder and more incoherent as the game wore on. The Jays won 5-4; it would have been 5-1 if the game had been decided after the second inning, but Texas had a three-run homer in the eighth.
After the game we returned to the Box and chatted with some old friends from Bear Buddies Toronto we hadn't seen for a while. Gary met a gentle giant of a black man who I later found out is named John. Meanwhile I met a fellow named James from Cleveland and his friend Brian, who lives in Toronto but often visits Vermont and can't wait for The Breeze (the fast ferry) to arrive as it will cut several hours off his drive. Gary headed for bed about 1 AM as he had effectively been up for 23 of the past 24 hours; I stayed up to have a few drinks and was introduced to some more folks I hadn't met previously, including a fellow named Mark from Carolina Bear Lodge. Once last call rolled around I was more than ready for sleep myself.
Saturday
After a good night's sleep we headed over to Joy Bistro on Queen Street for breakfast with the rest of the Empire Bears, and Brian and Drew. After breakfast and some catching up with Drew, we called up Danny (
djjo) to see what the plans for the afternoon/evening were. It seems he and Van (vaneramos) were going for a walk and would be back around three or four. So we sat around and read the papers for a while, then took a trip over to Danny and Bill's (bitterlawngnome) on the TTC.When we arrived, we met Van as well as Pete (
trapezebear) who had come up from Boston. They were all (except for Bill, who was waiting for Daniel, danthered) just leaving to sightsee and have dinner in the Gay Village on Church Street near Wellesley. So we all hopped the Wellesley TTC bus and took a gander at the neighborhood and the University of Toronto campus as we passed. On arrival at Wellesley station we headed over to a pair of bookstores, one above the other, on Yonge Street. The downstairs bookstore specialized in fantasy and science-fiction books but, unfortunately, was about to close when we arrived. The upstairs bookstore was Glad Day, where I discovered the fourth book in the Leonard and Larry set (How Real Men Do It) was available there. I decided to check if our local bookstore had one rather than buying it there, since I didn't much feel like schlepping anything else around the Village.
We all had dinner at Zelda's, where the wait staff were all dressed in fashionable club wear -- which in one notable case was delightfully close to nothing at all. After dinner we decided to ask some kind passerby to take our picture -- who, as it turned out, was another Empire Bears member from a group just passing by on the way from one store to another in the Village. Just as we were about to pose, Bill and Daniel arrived and we hustled them into the picture. (Pictures to follow tomorrow.) We all then trooped down to Timothy's coffee shop, where we met a nice fellow named Tom from Germany and also caught up with Steven (
token_otter). Since Bill and Daniel had driven to the Village they returned to their car, while our growing entourage hopped on the subway at College and caught the streetcar back to the Box.When we arrived the Empire Bears barnight was in full swing. I pulled out some run cards I had made for the club and some posters I made and started putting them in strategic places around the Box. That done, I had a brief chat with John (the gentle giant Gary had been talking with the previous night) and headed out back to the patio area. There I saw Gary talking with Shawn (
2fruition), his partner Jeff, and a friend named Phil who bears a striking resemblance to Peter Paige from Queer as Folk. Nearby were Pete, Van and Danny, and we all kind of gathered in a circle talking and laughing and touching one another for a few precious moments. Around this time we also met Claude (claudecub).When last call came around, Gary headed upstairs with Dave (
cub4bear) while Van, Danny, Pete, our friend Kevin from London, Ontario, and Mark from North Carolina followed me upstairs. Van, Danny, and Pete decided the after-party was a bit much for them and left. Kevin hung around, and he and I were playing with a number of other folks while Gary caught up with Dave in our room. Notably, our mutual friend Mike, alias "Hugger", was hanging out with a muscular young stud named Chris, and the three of us got to playing a bit, also I had some fun with another mutual friend named Michael whom we knew from BBT. At the end of the night as people were taking their leave, I chatted with Kevin and later Dave before Gary and I settled in to bed.Sunday
Sunday began with the traditional brunch at the Box. After brunch, Gary and I were hanging out on the rear patio with Dan, a new member of the Empire Bears; Wayne, his friend whom he'd met the previous evening, and Hugger. There was also an older gentleman named Bruce who was dressed in a fine linen suit like those favored by Southern gentlemen such as the author Tom Wolfe (according to Gary). He pulled out some clothespins from his little bag of tricks, and first he and then Dan started using them on Hugger. Gary decided to go upstairs, relax, and watch the ball game at this point, so I stayed downstairs and ended up playing with Hugger along with Dan and Wayne. Hugger, of course, started using one of the clothespins on me, which to be honest doesn't do much for me. As Dan and Wayne decided to head off for a picnic in Cawthra Park, Hugger left, and I returned to the room and watched baseball with Gary.
Later in the afternoon we went out in search of a Toronto Argonauts cap for one of Gary's co-workers who wanted one. Unfortunately, this being off-season for the Argos (although as it happened they were actually beginning their pre-season that afternoon in Hamilton), there were no such caps to be found.
By this time it was getting a bit late to do the Cawthra Park picnic. (As it turned out, I discovered later, by the time Dan and Wayne got there the picnic was already breaking up.) So we caught the Ossington bus to the local grocery to pick up some supplies (vanilla ice cream and juices) and headed to Bill and Danny's traditional Sunday dinner.
At dinner were Bill, Danny, and Daniel; Steven and a friend named Sam from Boston; Pierre (
raccoon_it), Rod, Monique, Allison, Marian, and Michelle. Dinner was, as usual, festive and full of good conversation.Afterwards we watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on DVD. It was cheesy, and Gary isn't too fond of it for that reason, but I think it would be perfect for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment -- Tom Servo whistling "There's Got To Be a Morning After" during the attack on the submarine, someone making a remark about the secret of Jekyll and Hyde being steroids, or even a mention of the Driver's License of Dorian Grey. ;-)
We arrived back at the Box in time for one last drink before the bar closed at midnight, and went to bed -- Gary reading the newspaper and me cashing out on the sofa watching TV.
Monday
We decided not to join the rest of the Bears for lunch at the Pickle Barrel, preferring to eat on the road (at Swiss Chalet in Stoney Creek) and try to get to the kennel in time to pick up Brandy. Unfortunately it took us about 4 hours and 20 minutes to clear the border at Lewiston. There were a number of complications, one being that the new security procedures at the border take longer, another being the sheer volume of vehicles, and a third being the closure of the old toll structure on the Canadian side on account of a fatal accident on Sunday in which a church van returning from Toronto to the Bronx ran into the concrete divider of the toll structure (which, ironically, is not actually being used for tolls for eastbound traffic leaving Canada) and overturned. So I had to call the kennel when we stopped to eat and will pick the pup up tomorrow.
Pictures will follow as I get time. It was great meeting all these people and I hope we'll be able to find a decent meeting place once the Box is gone.