Fall – The Experience

Boston is one of the loveliest cities with yummy seafood, amazing architecture, and undoubtedly wonderful people, it’s 4th time already for Mazda, all bitty visits, and yet again some other time to rock in as 10 hours later it’s gonna be the first time experience forever. Excited!!!

Firstly sleeplessness. Then the blank head. Above all hurry. Gotta a 7 pm class to catch at York University for whom Mazda offered a ride to Toronto from Boston. Why would it miss an if-not-now-then-never chance to drive to another country all by itself? No flight, no cruise, no rail. Not any other public transport. Just on its wheels. All it has is a PA registered license, an H1B owner with a visiting Canadian visa, and zero thoughts on how immigration gonna be while driving self. 560 miles. 8.5 hours without breaks excluding immigration stuff. Those are the moments it enjoys. Nerve-racking. Let’s go.

Zoooooooom.

Half an hour and on I-90 already that will take to Niagara waterfalls where we would cross one of the prettiest arch bridges Lewiston-Queenston. Can’t wait. Pit stop for fuel. Daily chores and of course we need breakfast but never make another mistake of grabbing from McD. Just not my stuff. Back on track. Nice weather. Melody songs. Smooth ride and fall colors as we pass through just got better. Springfield. Albany. Utica. Refill  ⛽️ but no food.

Maybe (excitement + fright) happiness just killed it. Syracuse. Buffalo and Niagara Falls. New York is a beautiful state. Every city has its pride. 5+ hours drive-thru showcased its picturesqueness. I only wish to capture these shots in Canon but ain’t got no time. 40mph once we are in the Niagara Falls area to experience the drive on the arch bridge.

Difficult to concentrate on the surroundings when the left brain gets Maps while the right one imagines the whereabouts and is aware it is a highline entering from an exit ramp 5 sec later. Boooom. Biggg flag and Bienvenue au Canada. We are already in.

Can’t imagine such a humongous arch bridge passing in seconds, moreover, it’s just one more car behind us. Expected to be a heavily occupied bridge all the time. And no checking out of the USA?? Watta relief after all the stuff we go through in airport security check. Downside no snap.

We couldn’t even pull out our immigration documents, so we halted right in the immigration line of cars, pulled stuff out, and ready to enter

C•A•N•A•D•A.

All smiles and excited wishes Good morning to the Immigration officer who doesn’t even care to open up. Ya I know it’s afternoon, just still awestruck that I am in a different country in my own Mazda without any hassle. He just didn’t take it right. Probably his wife didn’t serve poutine with French fries.

We had a 4-minute conversation before our documents were collected from ‘if they say GM back in my part of the world in the afternoon’ to ‘your teachers got it all wrong’. I forcibly passed- Canadian vs American or probably Indian. Omg. Did I sigh? Yup. Back in the mood. Yay!! ?? Canada ?? maple and maple. It’s just as free, easy, and cheap as McD Drive paying a $ 3.50 IPASS toll. 6 minutes past the bridge, I am on Canadian road reading “Welcome to Ontario” with a big ??. Here again  ?? and there big again  ??. I know I have the same feeling here catching up with so many flags. West all over sure is so crazy about flags.

Canada it is.

Not much different from America. Or perhaps I shouldn’t even call 51st State? but it’s a different country. Hurray! Before we fly on Queens Elizabeth way, why would even miss an early chance to have a glimpse of much-awaited Niagara’s stunning Canadian view when we have a full 2.5 hours to go to class? ‘U’ turn and back to Niagara. The only mistake I don’t wanna do or at least hope is that I don’t cross the border unknowingly and stuck in immigration. So drive slow, got a couple of amazing views on the way but when we are on the spot. Sure it’s not that easy. Parking is a pain in a..no..b…ya.. brain. Don’t wanna take a chance. So head back.

One hour drive. Peak traffic time. So it’s gonna be 1.5 hours. KMPH gonna be strange for a while. QE Way is one of the perfect roadways in Canada with Lake Ontario views. Man. The Great Lakes of America cannot be called lakes. They are so huge, that ships can sail through and can hear waves. Forget about the other side of the shoreline. Coming back to traffic. Umm, ya may think it’s better south. Honks and close moves and sure lot of cars. And hey hi there PA car, so you been driving too all the way?

5.37

It is York University. Pleasant evening college atmosphere. Yes. Canadian girls look great. Parking paid. Hit room. Hi friends. Excuse me. Flat on the bed. Much needed. Refresh time. Move the car to a safe location, I mean yes free parking. Walk around. Breathe in the college air. Back to the room. Yummy pizza and Grrrrrrrrrrr.

13 hours of sleep to rejuvenate and back on wheels. Quick lunch and time to hit Toronto Downtown. BlueJays everywhere. Rogers Center is going crazy. Lovely time to visit. Toronto Railway Museum is a great start. A roundhouse with a turntable is a beautiful concept to accommodate multiple railroads in a very small area. Street Performances are on a high scale everywhere due to the large crowds and sure they provide a great time for everyone around.

And it’s time for the centerpiece.

CN tower.

Just not 360 but Edge Walk to experience the fall. It is one of the best thrilling experiences and extreme adventure. Lake Ontario. Rogers Center. Billy Bishop Airport. Union Station. Ripleys. Yonge square. First Canadian. All of them way down under 1170 ft. Not any different from my other octoventures  (October + Adventures, iSANs word?), it’s a lot windy than usual, still sufficient to permit Edge Walk to potentiate Adrenaline levels. The guide had to pull me out of the building to make a first step on the ramp when combined with wind thrust and fear burst. I wouldn’t say a cakewalk walk but sure did enjoy thoroughly all the views and stunts once we understood that these chords going to hold a fully occupied school bus and we wouldn’t be air-dropped but could be pulled back even in a fall. Can’t believe an hour passed so quickly.

Yonge street. Longest street in the world. And then there is Times Square. Yes. Yonge-Dundas square. Lovely place. Can just sit for hours enjoying all the performances around. And perfect time to catch up an old friend with a Red Bull. End of the day it’s Blue Jays leading the Indians by 5-1. Party time.

Good morning ☀️ and it’s my favorite part

Drive-thru 401 along the banks of Lake Ontario. Hit Thousand Islands Park and enter back to temp-home land. Go Pro ready. Fuel check. Tim Hortons bagel binge. Fall colors are stunning all the way and the Sun is just perfect. A couple of roads- not taken to drive close to Lake. It has beautiful views and the beaches are just lovely that I wish I could live here forever. Thousand Islands Park is just impressive in its way. Rocky beaches. Tiny islands. Trails. Fauna. Exhibits and wineries. Not the stuff for a day. Already missed being in Canada and it got worse when the “Exit 137 to USA” sign showed up. One thing on the missed list –  Canadian gorgeous dollar bills but managed to grab the “Canada EH! “ magnetic strip. Canada amused me so much, for sure another visit.

Immigration is cool again. Pretty lady officer. Smiles. Usual 3 questions. No car check-up and thus pulled back from all of my cheerful mood. Fall colors are still lovely as always but m just too tired to enjoy. 2:30 hours past Syracuse. 0 miles to the empty tank. Thank god this gas station is working. A quick nap and then back on track. 4 hours to catch heavy Z’s in my well-cushioned warm blanket. But this drive is gonna be long. Beautiful sunset but heavy eyes. I wouldn’t miss again to catch the sunset on the beautiful Whitney Point pit stop if only I could back up on the highway.

Like Coconut water in the hot Sun, it was a moment to cheer for 25000 miles on Mazda when both “Welcome to Pennsylvania” and “Thank you. Visit again-  New York ” appeared.

Next 4 hours. 6 stops.

To catch up with sleep. hunger. fuel. darkness and the worst thing to happen on PA roads – Rain. At 9:36 PM, I gathered the last few blocks of energy crossing the I76 toll booth. 9:47. Keys jingled. 49. Grrrrrrrrrr. Uff. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Nothing could beat the satisfaction of 16 hours of straight sleep. Like I have all the energy now to win this world and ya perhaps write about this stuff.

It’s been ages already. Ya sure why not after all the follow-ups we do to collect photos from friends after the trip? Gonna need more for my video. Alexa. Trigger message to Pirr. “Send videos. Ni bancha kaal mokta” Sorry I din understand that. Sure you cannot Alexa. Who else can please?

Acquaint with Canada more here :

Namaste!!!