Monday – Toronto, Ontario
Hah, I finally did NOT wake up at 6am, mind you getting to bed at 5 did help that process along 🙂 After arising, just after midday it was a slow old afternoon. I had received an email from my parents yesterday advising me of some old family friends from when I was a kid, that now live in Toronto and maybe I could look them up.
I had asked for an actual address and phone number and today I got them. I called the number and spoke to Yvonne, who was extremely surprised to hear from me 🙂 She had always kept in touch with my parents and invited me around. It was eventually established that there was a spare bed, so I would go visit late this afternoon 🙂 One of her daughters was still in town, the other was in Fort Erie, down south a way.
During the day, 340 the genius managed to get my Thunderbird email client working correctly. I have been using Gmail to send and receive. I always could receive with TB, but never send, so that was annoying, although having the email while offline was a bonus sometimes, so it was still useful. But, it was just a small setting and a change of ports in the account settings and Bob’s your uncle, it all works hunky dory 🙂 Thanks m8, I have been racking my brains on and off for nearly a year!
Another little job that needed doing that 340 helped me with was to go to a local electronics shop and pick up a battery for my Tyre Watch monitor, so off we go in the Mustang, after checking out some local wildlife, to get one.
It works, great stuff, finally eveything on the bike is working correctly 🙂
So, later on after a bit of a mix up, I phoned Yvonne to say I was coming and wrote the directions down on a bit of paper, no GPS remember 🙂 Right away I head off in the wrong bleeding direction somehow, it was also peak hour traffic, not good.
But, I had a feeling I was going the wrong way, I had only a 15km trip, but I somehow needed to find the 401 expressway. I pulled over into a bus stop and I spotted a chap jogging and asked for some help. He said, sure anything for a fellow Aussie, he had seen the flag etc 🙂 Great stuff and thanks for the tip Andrew, much appreciated, I just needed to turn right at the next lights and I would find the on ramp. As I was supposed to be getting met at the street entrance at 5.30, I was sort of in a hurry, but it was already 5.30 and I had travelled an extra 5 miles the wrong way, oops!
Finally on the expressway and heading east and I found the place around 6pm, just a tad late. I met up with Yvonne and after securing the bike in the basement and bringing all my gear up 3 flights of stairs, we chatted a while before having a great chicken dinner, with vegies for a change 🙂 Later on Alison, her daughter who was working late dropped in for a few hours and we sort of went through some old photos of the times in Hong Kong and generally chatted.
It was a great night, no alchohol for me this time, just water, but it was gone 1am before we retired 🙂
Nice meeting you again, even though my memories from the early 60s are a bit foggy, it was still great to catch up, I am glad I did so. Now, all my mum and dad have to do is take some time out and also come and visit you over here, you hear that 🙂
Day – 17 miles and 27 km
Trip – 18,546 miles and 29,847 km
Cheers
TravellingStrom
TravellingStrom 