Category: Trips

Going where many, many men have gone before

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Two more sleeps, as my wife would say.

.:.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t know how I booked travel before the internet. Actually, I suppose I didn’t really; by the time I started flying anywhere or paying for a hotel the internet was in full bloom. I think the last time I spoke (voluntarily) to a travel agent was in 1997, right after I moved here and needed to book a flight home for my brother’s wedding.

Now, with web 2.0 / social software / whatever geeky term you want to use, it’s gotten even better. TripAdvisor helped us pick hotels in Lake Louise (Moraine Lake, actually) and Jasper that we never would have heard of, though they were both ranked #1 and were far cheaper than the Fairmont options. We did book a stay at the Banff Springs, though; I dare say we’ll need some extravagance at the end of the trip. Flickr gave us an advance taste of places like Emerald Lake and Lake O’Hara, and Chowhound pointed us to to some interesting restaurants that we’d have never considered otherwise.

.:.

By the way, the title is a line from Almost Famous that has nothing whatsoever to do with travel research.

[tags]banff, lake louise, jasper, tripadvisor, flickr, chowhound, fairmont, emerald lake, lake o’hara[/tags]

IEdsel

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

OK, I had to remove the Google Map from the sidebar ’cause Internet Explorer is retarded.

.:.

My poor mother. She’ll have to keep up with both my brother and I as we traipse through Turkey and the Rockies respectively. And on dialup, no less…

[tags]internet explorer sucks, rockies, turkey[/tags]

Once again, an Onion headline becomes reality

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Of all the reprehensible things the Bush administration has done, this is one of the most terrifying: in an article titled Forget Nuremberg: How Bush’s new torture bill eviscerates the promise of Nuremberg, Slate explains how the President has granted himself the authority to “interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions.”

The court system is now emasculated regarding the issue of torture. The executive branch has subverted the judicial branch, and has the legislative branch by the throat. The checks and balances set out by the forefathers Republicans claim to hold so dear are being chipped away, bit by bit.

I fear America is sliding into a period which, not too many years hence, they’ll view as one of the darkest in their history.

.:.

On a lighter note, and in preparation for our trip, I’ve added a little Google Map to the sidebar. It’ll show you where we are, so long as I can get enough signal to update our location on the blackberry.

[tags]bush, torture, nuremberg, geneva conventions, google maps[/tags]

Not booking vacations will mean the terrorist bears have won

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I love doing nothing.

OK, well, we didn’t exactly do nothing today, but pretty close. We went looking for a wide angle lens for our new camera, but couldn’t find the adaptor needed to make it work; it seems to be sold out everywhere. We’re now on the hunt for one before we leave for Alberta next Sunday. We also picked up some clothes at MEC, since we’re not sure what the weather’s going to be like. While we were there some wildlife people were showing a group of kids some animals native to Ontario like badgers, possums and snapping turtles. It was hard to get Nellie out of the store.

After picking up those things and doing a few more errands we came home and have spent nearly the entire day exploring: Nellie in a new book we bought about hiking trails in the Rockies, me on Google Earth. I plan to scour sites like wikitravel and chowhound for travel hints and ideas over the next week. Anybody know any good places to eat in Calgary (or Banff/Lake Louise/Jasper)?

.:.

My brother is also leaving for a trip in the next couple of days. While we explore the mountains, he’ll be in Turkey. There was some concern about the safety of that destination following the explosions at tourist resorts in August, but h’s not scared. What follows is a transcript of an email conversation we had today:

  • Tim: I know you guys are going out west soon. Before I forget, [SWMNBN] and I wanted to say, “Have a super time”. I’ve only been to the Rockies once, and have felt like I should do that again some day. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun.
  • Dan: Thanks! Yeah, a week from now we’ll be packing for our early-Sunday-morning flight. Did you ever reset your travel plans? Or are you still aiming for Turkey?
  • Tim: We’re still going to Turkey. Fuck terrorists.
  • Dan: Exactly. That’s why we’re going to the Rockies. Fuck terrorists. Wait…I meant bears. Fuck bears. I always get those things mixed up.

Word.

[tags]rockies, banff, lake louise, jasper, google earth, wikitravel, chowhound, turkey, fuck terrorists[/tags]

Happiness is laziness & italian food

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Here’s why I am exceedingly happy at the moment:

  • I’ve had an afternoon to vegetate and regain some energy. I considered going in to the office, but I knew I’d be of absolutely no use. So I hung out with the cats and caught up on stuff around the house instead.
  • Nellie’s home!
  • I have decided not to do any work on my next course — quantitative methods — until we get back from Alberta. That means no studying for 2 weeks.
  • We’re going to Fieramosca for dinner.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

[tags]tranquility, quantitative methods, fieramosca[/tags]

Head down

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

From now ’til the 28th of this month I shall be very busy indeed, as I have to write a 40-page paper for the course I’m doing now. The topic is Intellectual Property vs. Public Health. This is not something that will just flow from my fingertips. Fortunately I’m rarely at a loss for (typed) words.

The film festival booklets are released the day after I submit the paper, so I can concentrate on that for an hour or so before I have to get back to the rest of my course work. I should wrap that up the day before the festival actually starts; once it’s over I’m off to the course intensive for a week. I then have thirteen luxurious days to relax (unless the gods are against me and I have to start my next course right away) before we jet off to the Rockies.

So yeah. See you in October.

[tags]intellectual property, public health, toronto international film festival, rockies[/tags]

"And like that…[they're] gone"

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The Brits have been seen off back to London. We dropped them at the airport this afternoon after spending the day enjoying Ontario. We wandered around Elora for a while, checking out the gorge and a few shops (including Stÿll, which I think is worth making the trip back for) before jumping in the car and heading to a nearby lake. It wasn’t as impressive as we’d hoped; we just drove along it until we found a spot where we could walk down to the shore. It wasn’t the nicest lake, so we just jumped back in the car (but not before I snagged a chocolate milkshake from a walk-up snack bar) and made for a town. We passed through a little rain — as it turned out, the only rain we encountered; pretty lucky as the forecast had been calling for storms — before reaching Orangeville. We poked our heads into an art gallery, a chocolate shop and a restaurant for lunch (it used to be a pub, or so my pub guide said, but it had been replaced by a restaurant…which I think may have made me sick…anyhoo) before getting back in the car and heading south. We arrived at Pearson in good time, got our guests checked in and on their way, looking for a pub on which to watch the footie match (which Germany lost after Italy scored very late in extra time).

We jumped back into the car once more (after I searched frantically for my Blackberry, which I — whew! — found on the floor) and I fought back post-lunch nausea long enough to return the car to a downtown Hertz, squish onto a subway and get home in time for some prime-time chilling. By the way, I like Toronto a lot less when I have to drive in it.

TimmyD blogged the whole affair on The Plummet Onions. It was great to have them here, great to show them a little more of Toronto, and great to know that it wouldn’t be too much longer before we see them again.

.:.

Recent tidbits:

.:.

Finally, I’m sad to say that Ash, the tiny-but-fierce cat and companion to our friends CBGB passed away this weekend. She was ancient and storied, like all great legends. I’ll miss her padding around CBGB’s place, I’ll always smile when I think about how she fell asleep on my lap on the way to Collingwood, and I’ll always laugh when I think about poor Ed having to pick her up with hockey gloves. Hopefully the smiles & laughter will come as easily to CBGB as missing her will.

R.I.P., Ash.

[tags]elora, styll, orangeville, indietits, philosopher’s walk. polaris prize, tornado, ash cat[/tags]

Waterfall (and I don't mean Tom)

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’s surprisingly pleasant sleeping next to rushing water. I had visions of being kept awake by a dull roar and a constant need to urinate, but it was actually really nice. The bed, while comfortable, squealed like a choir of rusty crickets if I so much as moved my head.

Still and all, I managed a decent sleep, and we’re up now, hoping to take advantage of the last day of our vecation before it rains. Wish us luck.

[tags]elora, river gorge[/tags]

I suck at pool

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

After an unspectacular (though, in the grand scheme of things, probably pretty good for such a tiny town) meal, we set out to have a drink before returning to our rooms. Being 10:00 the hotel bar was closed (!), but they directed us to a place up the street.

It was a pool hall / sports bar kinda place…cheap beer, free pool and TVs tuned to wrestling. We decided to play some pool; I suck, as it turns out. I’ve just never really played. I managed to win the second game by sinking three in a row, but then lost the last one by scratching on the 8-ball. Ah well. The best part was that the bartender gave us a bunch of free credits on the jukebox, so TimmyD and I went to town. It seems that I play better to Soundgarden.

[tags]elora, bar, jukebox[/tags]