Ooh! Today was Canada Day!

Apparently "Canada Day" is declared as such because July 1st is the anniversary date of the day when three North American colonies were super-glued together to form "Canada" in 1867. It seems a little unfair that there's no USA Day today. Instead we get Independence Day in three days and a newspaper called USA Today. I guess that's a fair trade.

Anyway...

In honor of The Great White North's special day, I've decided to re-print my "Canada Travel Journal" from 2009. Which, in turn, is a re-print of a guest-post I made for my Canadian compadre, LeSombre (whose blog is apparently down right now?).

And so, without further ado, here's my trips to Canada...

• My first trip to Canada was escorting the Chelan County Fair Royalty to a parade up in Penticton, BC where the motto of the town is “A Place to Stay Forever.” Since I left after two days, I find their motto to be a bit deceptive. My biggest thrill was seeing the infamous sea monster “Ogopogo” in Lake Okanagan. NOTE: At least it was my biggest thrill until somebody told me that it was a piece of wood floating in the water.
• My next trip to Canada was to visit World Expo 86 in Vancouver with my mother and brother. It was very educational and I learned many things. NOTE: The US Border Patrol doesn't ask any questions after learning that you have your mother in the car with you. Thus the most important thing I learned was a sure-fire way to smuggle drugs across the border, assuming your mother likes road trips.
• My next trip to Canada was to visit World Expo 86 with my friends. I drank too much and ended up with blurry pictures of somebody's bare ass on my camera. The ass may or may not have been mine. NOTE: One thing is for certain, I never went back to that One-Hour-Photo again.
• My next trip to Canada was for a friend's bachelor party in Vancouver. I drank too much, went to no less than six strip clubs, was mistaken for a terrorist, got kicked in the balls, passed out in a motor home, and was very nearly detained by the US Border Patrol trying to get back into the country. NOTE: Do not joke about having girls in the back of your Winnebago when you're asked if you have anything to declare.
• My next six or seven trips to Canada were to strip clubs in Vancouver. I drank too much, but enjoyed the scenery every time. NOTE: Back in the early nineties, the US Dollar was actually worth something. So much so that your lap-dancer was happy to throw a little something extra your way if you tipped in American currency. Those were the days.
• My next trip was to the Hard Rock Cafes in Whistler and Vancouver before they closed, AND to try McPizza at McDonalds, which was only available in Canada at the time. I drank too much, lost my wallet, and was very nearly detained by the US Border Patrol trying to get back into the country. NOTE: Do not say “I went to McCanada for McPizza at McDonalds” when asked for the reason you went to Canada… even if it is true. Especially when all you have for identification is a crappy fax of your birth certificate with your license number scrawled in pink marker at the bottom.
• My next trip was to finish up visits to the remaining Hard Rock Cafes in Kanata, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, and Montreal in 2001. I drank too much, fell in love with Ottawa, made a very unfortunate joke to a US Border Patrol agent, and was detained for an hour while crossing to see Niagara Falls on the US side. NOTE: The US Border Patrol has no sense of humor, especially when said humor concerns a newly-elected president George W. Bush, and an observation comparing American Bush to Canadian Beaver (I, however, found it to be hilarious).
• My next trip to Canada was to Toronto with my then-girlfriend. I drank too much. Period. NOTE: If you want your girlfriend to break up with you, a drunken adventure in Toronto will do the trick.
• My last trip to Canada was to beautiful Victoria Island, BC with my sister in 2003. We both drank too much, were kicked out of a bar for not understanding the “cannot order alcohol without the intent of eating food” law, were kicked out of another bar for an unfortunate incident involving small plastic animals we were collecting from the drinks we were ordering, then got dissed by our waiter while having Afternoon High Tea at The Fairmont Empress Hotel where we were staying. Apparently, it is “inappropriate” to have fun while drinking tea there, as they are really frackin' serious about drinking tea. I had no problems entering the US, but did get sick on the Clipper Ferry back to Seattle. NOTE: A boat is probably not the best way to travel with a hangover.

I've since been to Canada a few times. That I can remember. The latest being a cruise stop in Victoria in 2009... and TequilaCon Vancouver in 2010. Good times. Good times.

So congrats to our neighbor to the north, and here's to many happy Canada Days to come.

And I'm in Boston for one day so I could attend a party for a very good friend who had some extraordinary news that was worth celebrating. Yes, a day trip across the country probably seems odd to most people, but I make trips like this all the time for work, so it's old hat to me.

But before the party tonight, I had an entire day to goof off in Boston.

I started out in Boston Common because there's an Earl of Sandwich shop there. They discontinued The Greatest Sandwich on Earth... The Earl Veggie... but I was hoping to add/subtract ingredients on a boring Caprese sandwich to recreate it. Unfortunately, they didn't have half the stuff to do it, so my day began in failure. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day to walk around and see the monuments...

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

Memorial for the Boston Massacre.

Then it was off to the Granary Burying Ground, which is my favorite of Boston's beautiful old cemeteries that's filled with beautiful tombstones (and home to many famous dead people like Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere)...

Death being more common back then, some of the tombstones are kinda comical.

A lot of tattoo ideas to be found here!

I've been to Boston several times, so I wanted to find a museum I'd never been to before. That ended up being the Boston Athenæum, which is a beautiful private library that allows the public to look around. They also have a small exhibit of wonderful works that explain their part in the creation of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Pictures weren't allowed on the inside, but I did snap a photo of the entrance, which is equally cool...

From there I was off to a wonderful little shop called The Printing Office of Edes & Gill. They've got a terrific old letterpress that's still in operation. Every time I visit I buy a new souvenir piece, because there's nothing quite so beautiful as a letterpress print...

Seriously worth a stop if you're ever walking The Freedom Trail in Boston.

The print shop is located on the Paul Revere Mall, where his statue has been defaced with a dreaded Bruins jersey...

Rebel that he was, I like to think he would be a Blackhawks fan!

Since I didn't get my Earl of Sandwich, I headed to Mike's Famous Pastries for the next best thing... cannoli! Not only does it taste amazing, but I love the way they box it up with hand-tied string. You see a lot of these boxes carried by tourists as you wander around the city. Fortunately, the line was only out the door instead of down the block, so it was only a 20 minute wait...

That's a Crushed Caramel Pecan on the left and an Oreo Cookie on the right.

A lot of jealous looks from people when they see the box you'll be carrying!

And then it was time to head out to Somerville so I could meet up with Justin, an online buddy I was very glad to finally meet in person. He suggested an ice cream at J.P. Licks, which didn't take much convincing...

Pretty frickin' amazing ice cream, if we're being honest here.

Since my ride to the party missed their flight into Boston and was going to be late, I was left with a couple of hours to kill. Lucky me, my friend Dave just happened to be in from London! I haven't seen him since Davedon in 2009, so this was a happy (if not totally bizarre) coincidence. We decided to eat at Boston's premiere brick oven pizzeria since 1926, Regina's...

There was a line to get in, of course. But totally worth the wait.

Dave had The Giambotta, which has everything but the kitchen sink. I had mozzarella and feta cheese.

Still needing to kill some time, Dave and I decided to take a walk through the Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall. I love the place not only for the sheer variety of food, but for the decor. Each stall has it's own signage, and most of it is very well done...

So much nicer than the boring signs you usually see now-a-days.

Outside there was a juggler risking his life with some kind of show. He was capable (and funny!) if this is your thing, but I was hoping for chainsaws...

Probably not sharp knives, but you could still poke an eye out.

My friends finally landed, so it was time to say goodbye to Dave and head back to my hotel so I could get cleaned up. Along the way, I saw Boston's beautiful old State House building with a spot of sunset light on it...

Now that's a beautiful building! Though I've never been inside.

Boston is a city that's kinda a strange place for me to be right now. Yes, it's home to my beloved Red Sox baseball... but it's also home to Bruins hockey, which is currently battling it out with my beloved Chicago Blackhawks for the Stanley Cup (wearing my Blackhawks jersey is probably out of the question). The good news is that I managed to find a Jarod Saltalamacchia T-Shirt and a not-LEGO Lil' Salty action figure this trip...

SALTALAMACCHIA!!!

Other than that, it was all good. The party was fantastic, I loved running into my friends, and my trip was a total success.

Until I realize that it's now close to midnight and I have a flight at 7:00am tomorrow morning. Blargh.

Good bye Boston.

When it comes to our inevitable arrival at a paperless, all-digital world, I'm a big supporter. I really hate having to cart around a stack of cards and bits of paper when traveling, because it's entirely too easy to forget something or, even worse, lose something important.

The problem is that I'm constantly being met with failure in my attempts to "go digital."

Like today, for instance, as I attempt to fly to Boston.

First I go to reserve parking. The place I like best, SeaTac Park, has long had online reservations that can be verified with your email address instead of having to print out a confirmation. It's a great system. When it works...

This really sucks, because you can't get the best rate unless you pre-book online. I've brought it up the last three times I've parked there, but it never gets fixed. I always have to remind them again when I leave so I can get the discount and, if I forget, then I'm shit-out-of-luck.

But the problems don't stop there.

When I go to use Alaska Airlines' new "Passbook" feature on their iPhone app because Passbook is a really great iPhone feature, it won't let me...

This pisses me off because not only do I already have a Mileage Plan number on my account... but I also think it's fucking stupid that you're required to have one in the first place. What the hell does a mileage plan have to do with checking in for a flight? People fly without mileage plans every damn day.

So off I go to Alaska Airlines' website so I can add my mileage number back on my account. Except, when I get there, it won't let me. Apparently my account is invalid...

And so I'm forced to call customer service.

Only to find out that my mileage plan expired due to inactivity. "Well, can you reactivate it? I ask. "Only if you want to pay $75!" the customer service agent replies. "My miles are on Delta... why in the heck would I want to pay $75 to reactivate an account I don't use?" I ask, ready to explode. "If you don't, then you'll have to sign up for a new account." she says. Apparently miles don't expire... only the account which holds them, which makes perfect fucking sense!

Well, crap.

So much for convenience in this wonderful digital age.

Because more often than not, the shit doesn't work. And the steps towards making it work are more complicated and time consuming than carrying cards and bits of paper.

I thought it would be easier than this.

Seattle could certainly have a worse symbol representing the city.

Even though it was built in 1962, the Space Needle has aged very well. Still looks contemporary and modern, really.

Here's the monkey I promised.

The view from my hotel room, in glorious HDR...

The Pacific Science Center to the left and Experience Music Project on the right.

And... I'm here to work, not blog, so off I go...

The nice thing about blowing all your hard-earned money on world travel is that you know places.

This can come in handy. Like when you're clicking through news stories and some random headline pops up about the Ajaccio Football Club getting a new coach. "I've been to Ajaccio!" you say to yourself. And then memories of your trip to Corsica come rushing back to you. So you search your blog to find out when that was, only to discover that it was just two-and-a-half years ago. Then you wonder why a photo of your strongest memory... pulling into port at sunrise under pink skies... isn't on your blog entry. "Oh crap, didn't I get a photo of that?!?" you wonder as you frantically double-click on your digital photo album. And... yes. Yes you did get a photo of that beautiful morning, so why didn't you post it?

According to Lighthouse Explorer, that would be "Ajaccio Citadelle Light."

   
"Oh well!" you say to yourself as you sigh in relief that you found something to blog about after a boring Saturday of nothing but work...

There was a time in the distant past when I looked forward to Fridays.

But that was back when the weekends were fun and mostly work-free. Something which hasn't been the case for years. There's always more work to do, and so I live my life in a state of perpetual Mondays.

Tomorrow is just another work day.

Fortunately, I get to escape from time to time, and so there are Saturdays on the horizon...

The road to the top of Mt. Haleakala on Maui, one glorious early morning.

   
Such as next Saturday, which means that next Friday will actually be something to look forward to.

And I am.

Back home, safe and sound.

Yesterday Becky took me to Randyland, which is a photographer's dream come true in Pittsburgh. From the minute I saw all the bright colors and craziness that is so beautifully splashed across everything, I knew I wanted to play around with some HDR photos to see what I could capture.

Welcome to Randy's head...

If you're ever in the Pittsburgh area, Randyland is well worth checking out!

I didn't know what could possibly top the Ke$ha concert last night, but darn if we didn't try!

After packing up all my crap and stowing my luggage, Becky picked me up for a day of fun and excitement that only Pittsburgh can offer.

Breakfast was at a cool, old-fashioned diner and consisted of crepe-pancakes, scrambled eggs, and Lyonnaise potatoes. If you're hungry in the morning, then Pamela's Diner is the place to go...

You just know that if there's a pink door it's gotta be good, right?

   
I could have spent an hour wandering around looking at all the knick-knacks and photos that cover the walls...

There may be two packs of smokes on the counter, but you still can't smoke in the restaurant!

   
After stuffing our faces, we wandered around the corner to The Strip District, which is an eclectic neighborhood packed with lots of cool shops, restaurants, and other wonders...

Who can resist taking a photo of a building with a giant chicken on it? Not me!

Just about everything in The Strip is interesting in one way or another.

A remnant of a time when helping the poor was considered a good thing.

At Wholey's Market, which is much like Disneyland with it's animatronic cows and pigs and such.

Becky takes her life in her hands when she gets friendly with the ferocious Wholey's Market Bear!

Happy piñatas at the Mexican market want you to beat them with a stick until their guts fall out. Sick!

Becky searches for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Hat at the Mexican market.

   
As we were walking back to Becky's car, I was compelled to stop at a mini-donut shop. Like most people, I don't possess the will-power to resist a freshly-made, warm, mini-donut that's straight from the hot oil...

If forced to choose between peace, love, or mini-donuts, I'd take the fucking donut.

If I had this job, I would weigh 700 pounds and have oil for blood.

   
As punishment for giving in to mini-donut temptation, Becky thought I needed to go to Church...

Surprise! It's The Church Brew Works, built in an actual old church building!

Yes, they are totally brewing beer where the church's altar once stood.

Mmmmm... beer! Becky came up with this great shot idea, I just copied her.

Becky spotted this sleepy moth hanging on for dear life in a flower bed outside The Church. He's scary-cute.

   
From there Becky decided to run out to Randyland, which is so interesting on its own that I'm saving the details from THAT visit for tomorrow's entry...

It's pretty remarkable in a photo, but really needs to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.

   
From here it was off to see Star Trek Into Darkness in IMAX OMNIMAX at the Carnegie Science Center.

Then it was time to get me out to the airport. But we simply couldn't say goodbye until we had one last beer. This time at Sharp Edge Creekhouse...

Yeah, that goose tap handle is pretty much the ultimate tap handle.

   
Earlier it was pointed out to me that I was hanging out with Princess Merida (from the Pixar movie Brave) all weekend. I had always thought of Becky as a QUEEN, but darn if it wasn't true...

   
And thus ends my perfect four days in Pittsburgh with the coolest of Disney's princesses.

Going back to Real Life ain't gonna be easy after this.

Annnnnd... I've just returned from a Pittsburgh Pirates game with Becky. It was a fantastic night out, even though the Pirates lost.

Fortunately, they weren't playing my beloved Boston Red Sox (who slaughtered the Yankees 11-1), so I was able to put on a Pirates jersey and cheer on the team against the dreaded Cincinnati Reds...

Say "Grilled Stickies!"

But I'm getting ahead of myself, because there was tailgating in the parking lot before the game...

There's a Pirates party up in here! Click photo to embiggen.

Becky's friend hand-made veggie burgers (that were some of the best I've ever tasted) for us civilized folk... but there was mmmmmeeeeeat for the savages too...

Fortunately, I was just sober enough to keep myself from licking the grill.

A good time was had by all...

When I've been drinking, I look the exact same in every photo... like I'm happily pooping my pants.

Then it was off to PNC Park...

Take me out to the ballgame... where no crackerjack was to be found.

Becky met up with her pimp along the way...

Pimpin' ain't easy... but with Becky as your ho it is!

My iPhone has said that Pittsburgh's weather was going to be thunderstorms since the minute I arrived. I'm not exaggerating when I say that every single time I look, we're supposed to be in the middle of a raging storm...

And yet... it's been nothing but sun and blue skies. Which is nice, because PNC Park has to be one of the most beautiful ballparks ever...

You really need to see it in person to appreciate how beautiful it is. Click photo to embiggen.

Between innings you can watch the boats go by, which is pretty sweet...

Can't believe how nice the kit lens is for my new Sony NEX-6 camera.

After the game, they wheeled a stage and some giant speakers onto the field for a concert by =gasp!= Kool & The Gang! This helped make the Pirates' loss a little easier to take...

Celebrate good times! The sound system was surprisingly good for a ballpark!

And... the end. After waiting 35 minutes for my 20 minute train, I was back at the South End and ready for bed.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, because there was a Hard Rock Cafe pin-trading event before the tailgating and the game...

I've been collecting Hard Rock Cafe pins since I visited my first property 23 years ago. And even though I've amassed thousands of pins over those years, I've never once gone to a pin-trading event. Mostly because Seattle didn't have a cafe for most of those years and I could never manage to fit a pine event road trip into my schedule.

I was also a bit intimidated, because I'm more of a "casual collector" who just buys stuff I like and doesn't really know anything about the hobby. As I've found out from comic book collecting, most of the "pros" simply don't want to waste time with newbies, and past attempts to fit into that crowd were met with failure.

Enter the "Northeast Region Art of Rock Event 2013" which was being attended by seven Hard Rock cities (Baltimore, Boston, Foxwoods, Niagara Falls NY, Toronto, Washington D.C., and the host... Pittsburgh), so I put it on my calendar and was determined to attend.

And today was the day...

The event was well-attended... this was only a part of it.

I ended up having a great time!

The vast majority of the collectors who attended were kindhearted, encouraging, helpful people. I was shocked... shocked... to find that most all of them would trade for something you really wanted, even if they didn't find anything they were looking for in your pin bags. They seemed perfectly happy to just add a trade back into their trading pile if it meant helping you fill a hole in your collection.

That was wonderful and entirely unexpected. I picked up dozens of pins I needed to fill in my glassware collection of hurricanes, martinis, and shooters.

Needless to say, I'd very much like to get my pin collection better organized and attend more events.

So thank you to the terrific staff at Hard Rock Pittsburgh for inviting everybody to your cafe for a great meet-up!

Five minutes before they let the animals lined up outside come in for lunch.

It's now 2:00am. I have to be up in five hours. I should probably at least attempt to get some sleep.

Thanks to some personal turmoil that keeps dropping on me like a ton of bricks lately, I came very close to canceling my trip to Pittsburgh. I have fond memories of the city, and it just didn't seem right to return with a shit-ton of baggage weighing on my brain.

But within five minutes of Becky picking me up at the airport, all my troubles melted away and I was glad I was here. By the end of the day I was ecstatic that I was here.

She kinda has that effect on people.

As witnessed by this photograph of the last time I saw Becky live and in-person four years ago at ConFab...

Photo by Ginger and, yes, I'm dressed as a pirate. Because I just can't help myself.

First stop was lunch at Nicky's Thai Kitchen, and it was glorious. Especially the Crispy Egg Rolls...

Don't you just love some good food porn on a Friday afternoon?

From there we wasted no time in tracking down delicious beer... at a brewery transplant from Munich called Hofbräuhaus. Becky asked for a beer the size of her head and got this...

THE HUMAN HEAD WEIGHS 8 POUNDS! Becky' beer weighs ten pounds.

Not wanting to be left out, I asked for a beer the size of MY head and got this...

HEY! THAT'S THE WRONG HEAD!!

Whoops... that's better...

Here's to good times. Tonight is kind of special...

Eventually we realized we needed Jägermeister backs for our beers...

Delicious! Is there no problem Jägermeister cannot solve?!?

Eventually Jared showed up to be our designated biker...

Switching to baby beers so as not to drop into beer comas.

Eventually we wandered to Jared's house SO I COULD PLAY LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER ON WII U! And, yes, now I want a Wii U more than ever. Time to start saving my pennies, I guess.

After that, I was given a tour of areas of Pittsburgh I didn't even know existed, which is always fun. There's just no substitute for seeing a city through the eyes of locals.

By this time, beer and not sleeping for two days was finally taking its toll, so I reluctantly headed back to my hotel for some much-needed rest.

Though it's gonna be tough to sleep when I'm anticipating the awesomeness which awaits tomorrow.