Blog followers know that my last post of our trips I devote to interesting pictures I have taken along the way. You might also recall that in Travels With Charlie Part 1 I devoted a post to interesting questions that Charlie asked during the trip. This post will show both.
This sign says it all, I won’t be moving to Toronto.Not moving to Minneapolis either.Found a bunch of these at the airports. Not that my wife will be needed one in the near future but glad to see they are available for those who do need them.Many of the Minneapolis sidewalks have designated areas for bikes. If you walk on them a cyclist might put you in your place. We saw this lovely mural of Bob Dylan entitled “The Times They Are A Changing”. It shows Dylan at 3 stages of life. We found out that he was born in Duluth.No trip to Minneapolis would be complete without a visit to the Mary Tyler Moore statue.
The Target Field (Minneapolis) scoreboard filled us in on some crucial information about the players on both teams. Here are a few tidbits.
Carlos, thank you so much for sharing that sleep advice.I don’t think Willi would be someone with whom I would want to be in a room alone.How did I live without knowing this about Byron?
Now for Charlie’s questions:
As you might know that a common statistic in baseball is how fast a pitch is thrown. Charlie asked: “In Canada do they report the speed of the pitch in MPH or KmPH?”
“If I punched the dashboard really hard would it deploy the airbag?”
“Do you get hit more by rain if you’re running or walking?”
“You know what would be weird? Having Christmas in the summer. Seeing Santa in a bathing suit would be weird. Christmas comes during the summer in Australia”
“Why do people say bless you when they sneeze?”
“How come most major countries have their own language (Italian in Italy, Russian in Russia, Japanese in Japan, etc.) but we speak English. I think we should have a language called American.”
“What’s the first palindrome that comes to mind?” I answered “A man a plan a canal, Panama.” I then asked what did he think of: “racecar”
“Grandpa who do think came first the Reds or the Twins because they have identical C’s”. To explain further see the Twins logo and the Reds logo below.
Minnesota TwinsCincinnati Reds
“Why does TSA have stupid rules like having an old man like you take off his sandals before going through security?” Okay, okay, that was my question not Charlie’s.
Finally this picture of a fan in Toronto prompted a question. As you can see he is wearing a Houston Astros jersey but with the name of their former player George Springer on the back. Springer now plays for the Blue Jays.
Charlie wanted to know: “Do you think he is an Astros fan or a Blue Jays fan?
Another trip has been completed and we are going home to rest. Travel is so exhausting. I don’t think I have enough energy to retire. I better keep working so I can get some rest.
And finally, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, the picture below tells you why all the work involved in putting this trip together was worth it.
Last night we had a wonderful dinner in Toronto with our friend Nick and his partner, Aldo. Nick and I became friends when we met during a trip to Madrid, Spain when we both wanted to experience the country’s culture and study Spanish. Apparently Nick did more studying than I did since he is now fluent. At my current rate of improvement I should be fluent some time around the year 2060. In Spain we were taught by a Reiss Travel blog follower, Angelica, who remains a friend and I affectionately refer to her as my “Spaniard mother”.
Dinner was at Vos Restaurante Argentino-College (847 College St, Toronto, ON M6H 1A1, Canada). They specialize in Argentinian food, great service, but not in great air conditioning. We had a wonderful meal but were too busy talking about life and reminiscing about our times in Spain that I forgot to take any pictures of the food. Patrice did have the presence of mind to take a picture of us but declined a second photo with her in front of the camera.
From left to right: Nick, Aldo, Charlie, Me.
This morning we left the hotel early because of the awful traffic conditions we experienced yesterday. Of course things were much different today (a Saturday) and we got to the airport in about 20 minutes and much too early for our flight.
We couldn’t get a direct flight to Minneapolis so we had a brief layover in Chicago. One wonderful aspect of this part of the trip was that we cleared customs (via the Global Entry system) before we even left Toronto. Many thanks to Charlie’s parents for enrolling him in the Global Entry program and kudos to Charlie for knowing he qualified.
I had a window seat on the flight to Chicago and saw a great view of the Lake Michigan shoreline and of Wrigley Field (see below).
Lake Michigan and the Chicago shoreline.Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
In Minneapolis we are staying at the Four Seasons Hotel which is walking distance from Target Field. This place is gorgeous. There was a slight hiccup on check-in. They had us set up for a room with a king-size bed but without a rollaway. Hmmm, we love Charlie a lot but the thought of all three of us in one bed did not sound inviting. We asked for two queen size beds as we had in Toronto but that was not available. Luckily they found a rollaway and we were in business. From our room we have a great view of the city which includes part of the Mississippi River which separates our location from its twin city, St. Paul.
Part of our city view including a glimpse of the Mississippi River.Charlie enjoying the view from our room.
We didn’t have much of a lunch so we had an early dinner at Murray’s (26 South 6th St, Minneapolis, MN 55402). The establishment is about 80 years old and was recommended by a friend of Patrice. The food, the service, and the air conditioning were all spectacular. We sat at a table from which you could see the below photo. Patrice knowing how old I am said “I bet you know who they are”. I recognized the guy but not the woman. Patrice of course didn’t recognize either because she is too young (ha!).
Eddie Cantor on the left, and actress Joan Davis on the right. If you recognize Cantor you are old, if you recognize both, you are VERY old.
After dinner we walked through “Taste of Minnesota” a monstrous food faire with all sorts of booths to stuff yourself. They only managed to make me sick because we had just had a big dinner. They also had bands and a variety of entertainment venues including a zip line.
Tomorrow will be a happy and sad day. I will leave that for later.
Today we got an “early start” and headed south to Niagara Falls. We were excited about having the honor of making Charlie the first in his family to see this impressive sight. I know we never took his dad and his mom told us that in spite of her being from NYC she never made it to the Falls.
Going to the Falls seemed like a good idea at the time but once we left the hotel I was having second thoughts. The traffic reminded me of Los Angeles and what I thought would be an easy 90 minute drive turned out being 2 hours and for some odd reason the gps took us off the freeway for a bit. I suppose it was to save time but just added an unecessary detour that made me consider using a different app.
Upon arrival to the Falls things got worse. Not too surprising there were hoards of people and parking was limited. We finally found a spot for a mere $35. Then we had the long walk to the boats. We found out that The Maid of The Mist, which Patrice and I used in 2013, is USA based and we’d have to cross the border to board one of their vessels. Instead we were directed to the Niagara City Cruises which is the Canadian equivalent of the Mist. When we got to the ticket office there must have been at least 100 people on line. While waiting I tried to buy tickets online without success. I was then informed that after you purchased your tickets there was 90 minutes wait to board the boat. I left Patrice and Charlie waiting on the ticket line while I waited on the entrance line. My strategy worked somewhat and we got onboard the boat after a grand total of about one hour waiting. Unfortunately we were one of the last passengers to board so going to the top level was not an option. We left it up to Charlie where we should stay and he opted for the very front of the boat. To say this would be considered the “wet zone” would be an understatement. We got soaked. But considering how hot it was today, getting wet was a pleasure.
This is a land-based photo of the Niagara City Cruises boat approaching the Falls. It is easy to see why we got drenched.
After the ride Charlie needed to use the bathroom and I needed a place to sit down. I found a couple of chairs but the people sitting nearby said they were waiting for friends. I told them I needed to sit and would get up when they arrived. They still didn’t want me to sit down. I told them I felt like I was going to pass out and sat down anyway.
Is this a face you can turn down?
it was 4 pm and we had plans to meet friends for dinner at 8 back in Toronto. Four hours to travel 80 miles seemed adequate since it only took us 2 hours to get to the Falls. We didn’t want Charlie to suffer so we stopped to get him a snack. At 4:20 Patrice checked the route back to the hotel and it said 2:23 so we said we better get going. The ride back actually took 3 hours. Even Los Angeles traffic isn’t that bad.
Luckily our friends were very understanding and greeted us warmly at the restaurant. More about that tomorrow. We are exhausted and have to get up early for a flight to Minneapolis via Chicago. Twenty-three stadiums down and soon there will be one more.
After yesterday, nothing could stress me out. If you believe that, you obviously don’t know me.
I woke up early as usual but Charlie’s young body is still on California time. When he finally awoke it was getting close to the time to leave for the ballpark.
We got things together and headed down to the Sunset Grill (205 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3G7) for breakfast. The place was highly recommended and located next door to our hotel. We walked by the place last night and the possibility of having French toast was a winner for Charlie. It was a great meal. I opted for the French toast cheesecake (see below)
French Toast Cheesecake (French Toast with cream cheese filling and blueberries). It was obscenely good and came with a complementary dose of insulin.
Then it was a short walk to the Rogers Centre for the game and my stressful event. In today’s computer age we no longer deal with tickets. Everything is digital. I received the link for the tickets but couldn’t make it work. I have used the Ballpark App numerous times and it has always worked great. Today was the exception. I asked one of the Blue Jay staff for the location of the Will Call booth figuring they could help me get some printed tickets. Unfortunately she looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language (possilbly I was speaking American and that was the problem). She then directed us to a ticket help area and I saw something I’d never seen before (see below).
“Mobile Ticket Support”. There were several similar windows at this location.
The clerk there quickly righted the ship and we were back on our way into the stadium. At least, so we thought. I put the ticket image up to the sensor and it said “I don’t think so”. So it was back to mobile help. This time we were good to go and got to our seats as they were singing “Oh Canada”. We missed the Star Spangled Banner but I’ve already heard that enough times for two lifetimes.
The game was great. The Rogers Centre Stadium (named after local businessman Edward “Ted” Rogers) was beautiful. Fans were a delight. We have traveled a fair amount and one thing I frequently tell people is that Australia and Canada are two places I love visiting because the people don’t seem to hate Americans. I think the Blue Jays were especially kind to the American team on July 4th permitting Mauricio Dubon (Honduras), Jeremy Pena (Dominican Republic), Framber Valdez (Dominican Republic) to have great games.
After the game we decided to go to the CN Tower. It was literally steps from the stadium. The line was huge and we were hot and sweaty so decided to defer our visit. We went back to the hotel and after a shower and brief rest we went to dinner.
My friend, Nick, recommended we go to Pai (18 Duncan St, Toronto, ON M5H 3G8), a Thai restaurant walking distance from our hotel. The food was amazing.
Pad Thai was superb.Gai (chicken) Satay was also amazing.
From there we walked back to the CN Tower. The line was again very long but now being cooler and well fed we were in a much better mood to deal with the crowd. The wait was worth it. We saw amazing views of the city.
CN Tower.
When completed (in 1976) it was the tallest tower in the world at 1815 feet and remained #1 until 2007. I am not crazy about heights so I have zero interest in seeing the new #1.
Here is a video of our ride on the elevator to the viewing deck.
CN Tower Elevator.A glimpse of the view behind the three of us.
It was fun viewing the city from the tower but the most enjoyable aspect was that Charlie had a good time. We are now chilling at the hotel and getting ready for a big day tomorrow.
View of the CN Tower from our hotel room.
We promised to show Charlie something even more spectacular than the CN Tower and which took much longer to construct and has been viewed by millions more people. Check in tomorrow to find out just what it is.
Loyal followers of this blog will recall that last year we took our grandson, Charlie, on a baseball trip. We previously took his older brother, Owen, on trips to Canada and Panama. Last year was Charlie’s first excursion with us and because he is a big baseball fan we invited him to join us on our quest to see all 30 MLB parks. Last year we visited Dallas, Texas and saw the Astros beat the Rangers in a very exciting game. My most vivid memory from that game was the 3 women sitting in front of us who drove from Houston to see their Astros. They went bananas when Jose Altuve hit a crucial home run late in the game. They stood up and sang “Jose, Jose, Jose” to the music of Ricky Martin’s hit “Ole, Ole, Ole”. Even more exciting than that was seeing Astros manager Dusty Baker in the hotel lobby. Charlie got to chat with the skipper and get a baseball signed.
From there we traveled to Chicago and saw the Blue Jays beat the White Sox. The Cubs were out of town so we had to be satisfied with a tour of Wrigley Field.
This trip we will see the Blue Jays again but this time it will at Rogers Centre, their home park in Toronto.
Since we will be leaving the country we made very sure that Charlie had his passport. I realized that for Canadian travel you can use your passport card instead of a regular passport (see below).
Example of a Passport Card complements of our friends at Wikipedia.
I didn’t want to have the hassle of carting around the regular passport so I just brought the card. Patrice stupidly brought both saying “Just in case”. Well one of us was indeed stupid, and it wasn’t Patrice. When we went to check it we were told that the passport card is only valid for entrance by land and sea, not by air.
I immediately dropped everything and headed home in panic mode to get my passport repeatedly saying to myself “I am an idiot, I am an idiot.” Good thing Patrice wasn’t with me because she’d would have been saying “Yes, you certainly are, you certainly are!” No, she wouldn’t say that, she’d yell it.
If you’re not familiar with LAX the American Airlines terminal could not be located further away from the place where you pick up cabs (an area named LAX-it). So I took off running keeping my eyes open for a taxi dropping off a fare nearby. Initially I saw a car that had some sort of transport lettering on the side but the driver said he wasn’t a taxi. I next saw a couple getting out of a car; I asked if it was an Uber but they said no. I started to run again. Then I saw someone getting out of a Tesla. I asked if it was an Uber and they say YES! I was in business. I knocked on the passenger side window and opened the door asking if he was an Uber driver to which he said “No!” I asked again in disbelief to which he again said no but this time he added, “I’m a Lyft driver”. I hopped in, told the driver my situation and begged him to take me home and return to LAX for a cash payment (not a time to mess with the Lyft app). He agreed and we were off. Traffic wasn’t bad going home. He kept obsessing about putting my address into his gps and I just wanted him to drive as quickly and as safely as possible.
Luckily I was able to shut off the alarm and open the garage door when we were approaching our place. I grabbed the passport and rushed back to the Uber, (I mean Lyft), resetting the house alarm from the car. The trip back wasn’t as easy. Traffic wasn’t horrible but it was definitely heavier than my first ride to LAX this morning. When we arrived at LAX, cars were at a standstill and I received a message from Patrice saying that they cut off check-in one hour before the flight. My Uber, darn I mean my Lyft, was due to arrive at terminal 4 at 7:15 only 40 minutes before our flight. I texted Patrice, “What are our options?” She didn’t reply, I presume because the options she was considering were divorce or murder.
The Lyft driver (see, I can learn from my mistakes) dropped me off. I handed him enough cash for him to take the rest of the morning off and have a great story for his wife when he got home. I sprinted to check-in and found Patrice and Charlie right where I had left them. It was then a sprint to the Bradley terminal gate 159. For some reason apparently you can no longer check-in at Bradley for American Airlines flights. So off we went, Patrice, Charlie and me running to the international terminal. I took Patrice’s backpack and my own to allow them to run ahead. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get there much quicker than I was (amazing how fast someone can run when they’ve made the bonehead move of the century).
We arrived at Bradley and learned something very helpful for this and future flights. Previously after checking in we would walk to the right to go through security. Today we saw there’s also an entrance on the left and it had virtually no travelers so we got through security in no time.
Then there was the run to the gate. Signs said gates 151-159 this way. Of course 159 was the last gate. I’m still in sprint mode and my thoughts were 1. Are we going to make it to the plane? and 2. I’m I going to have a heart attack?
We made it! We boarded and took our seats. Patrice sat with Charlie and I sat across the aisle with a pilot hitching a ride home to Chicago. I explained what happened and apologized if he had to breathe through his nose. He then told me he had Covid 3 weeks ago and couldn’t smell a thing. There’s a sobering thought for you.
Our flight from Chicago to Toronto was much less eventful. After check-in at the hotel we had a lovely dinner at Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar Front Street (200 Front St W Unit #G001, Toronto, ON M5V 3J1). Apparently this is a local chain but we found it very good. The entrance to the restaurant has a sign that says they make their pasta daily. We thought it was delicious. Charlie, being the Italian cuisine expert, of course ordered the chicken tenders.
We are now relaxing at the hotel ready for the umpire to yell “Play ball!”
By the way, I’ve apologized to Charlie and Patrice for my stupidity this morning. They both forgave me for being an idiot.
Patrice here: He is definitely an idiot but still quite lovable.
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