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Two views of Toronto’s CN Tower, one from downtown looking past the Ontario College of Art and Design’s odd stilt building and one from High Park. You may have to click through to the “all sizes” link to see it in the latter.

While I am enjoying city life, I do confess to missing the forest. A little tree time today was marvelous :)

I have been very lucky to have nice places to stay while in transition! Here’s the view from my current abode, taken early in the morning from the 23rd floor, and sped up:

I miss Elphinstone (a lot) how-ever I am enjoying being in Toronto right now.

This city seems new and improved from every angle compared to how I remember it was when I left for the West in 2004.

Perhaps it’s just my attitude that’s changed…

There is more to Hamilton, Ontario than smokestacks and steel. Here are 10 things I came to love about it during my time there:

10 – The Hamilton GO Centre

The Hamilton GO Centre is a beautiful art deco building, with an especially appealing interior (I love the font they chose for signs.) When my Internet was down, it was my favourite place to loiter with a laptop.

9 – Mex-i-Can

Mex-i-can is the best Mexican restaurant I’ve been to outside Mexico. Yum. Located at 107 James Street North.

8 – “The Factory”

The Factory: Hamilton Media Arts Centre is a collaborative group of filmmaking types who pool resources for space, equipment, and educational purposes. I took a screenwriting course there in the Fall that changed my life. Other creative communities could learn from this way of doing things.

7 – Locke Street

A funky street with interesting shops and an enjoyable vibe for walking down nestled at the bottom of the hill they call “The Mountain” in Hamilton. It’s also the place to get bagels.

6 – James Street North

The slightly seedy, slowly gentrifying street north of downtown that hosts monthly art crawls. I predict this neighbourhood will get much nicer in the near future.

5 – Sky Dragon Centre

The Skydragon Centre is an emerging cultural centre downtown for activists, environmentalists, artists, and intellectuals. There are good hearts and minds in attendance.

4 – Waterfalls

The city is spending money trying to improve Hamilton’s image by calling it “the city of waterfalls.” The waterfalls are a nice surprise, and yes, they are indeed awesome.

3 – Bayfront Park

Bayfront Park is a great place to see swans, sailboats, and to find a bit of peace amidst everything.

2 – The Music Scene

There’s great creativity here and many excellent bands all around. The Hamilton Music Awards were eye opening. It was here I found my rock muse.

1 – The unique flavour

It’s not a suburb, it’s not a big city, it’s not a small town. There’s an edge and evidence of decay, but it’s safe and there are signs of beauty everywhere. There’s history and ethnic diversity. There’s nowhere else like it.

I’m glad I’ve had the experience of living here for 5 months. It’s been character building and eye-opening. There will always be a soft spot for “the Hammer” in my heart.

In Montreal they have a wonderful public bike sharing system. There is something beautiful about seeing this sort of thing in the street!

Click on the pictures above then “all sizes” for higher resolution versions.

Bixi system
www.bixisystem.com
BIXI is the new bikestyle, truly a means of transport unto itself. It’s the bike you take whenever you want and leave behind when you reach your destination. It’s BIXI – now you’ve got wheels.

“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”" – H.G. Wells

I’ve been driving since Monday morning and have just one more day until I’m at my new home! I’ve had a great adventure which I will write about more when I’ve landed.

Tonight I decided to stay in a motel in Wawa, Ontario where I also had a spaghetti dinner at a nearby restaurant (which was suprisingly good!)

next time I do this drive
I will be with you
we will bring better cameras
& linger in backroads hamlets
as the flow goes
along the way
how-ever
this time
I shall hurry home
(enjoying the view)

I am having a good time in Calgary! “Three days of rain rain rain and scary driving, then I cross into Calgary, turn on the Country music station and the sun comes out across gorgeous green hills, each car beside me splattering up real rainbows of mist WOW” (quoted from Facebook)

& unlike the night before, I had a comfy place to stay with awesome friends, though I had to share with these guys:

I continue to update the photostream here.

Video travelog of the first night on the road in the move across Canada…

I took the ferry to the mainland this morning and spent the day in Vancouver with awesome old friends.

The big driving starts tomorrow…

My camera is working again and I will be capturing images of my journey Eastward here!

An image of the van (and boat!) I’ll be driving across Canada:

I packed my things into the big white van early last Thursday and came to Victoria. Two ferries and a drive along highway One on Vancouver Island later, I arrived @ the potential summer sublet (sight unseen, found via a friend of a friend on Facebook) and decided it would be fine. I left most of my stuff in the storage shed there, as it wouldn’t be available as a place to live until Sunday.

I had a few offers of places to park the van overnight in town, however I chose to drive up to Goldstream Provincial Park & get a campsite. It was one of those car camping places with little numbered lots and many RVs. Thursday night I pedaled around on my bike and it was quiet and enjoyable!

I woke up Friday super early with lots of “drama” thoughts — nothing negative, just a lot about interpersonal things going on, logistics of the move, etc. & then I heard the birds! I immediately soaked into feeling one with Nature and remembering my pact to flow with the guidance of the holy spirit as best as possible. That amazing feeling of being cradled and supported by all of it! That moment has been an anchor point of this journey which I recall consciously whenever I want to re-calibrate how I’m feeling!

Friday I went hiking all day. Goldstream Park is gorgeous, with many 600-700 year old trees:

Friday evening, the campground was packed with people having their weekend get togethers, many drinking beer loudly and ignoring the fact that there were others only a few feet away. I got out my Ipod and made it a discipline to be peaceful about it. As I was tired from hiking and had earplugs I simply chose to sleep.

Saturday morning I hiked down to the gorgeous waterfall in the campgrounds at Goldstream, played the flute for awhile and jumped in (brrrrr cold yet so inviting and energetically refreshing….)

Saturday afternoon I chose to go back to Victoria so that I could attend a party. I drove to Fernwood and sat in the Cornerstone Cafe, catching up on the Internet and caffeinating myself. I connected via chat with a friend who invited me to park in front of their house and use their kitchen etc. as much as I wanted.

I had not visited that particular house before and it turned out to be very welcoming, with three friends from Entheos living there. It felt like such a welcoming committee.

In the afternoon I went on an errand walk to the music store. I came across a “garage sale” sign and found an amazing array of size 11 shoes, which was doubly wonderful because my size is so hard to find and since I’d emailed a friend about how challenging it was only a few hours earlier. “They’re my speciality,” the clothing dealer said!

We all went to the Entheos pre-party at the Solstice Cafe that night, which was very small with fun trance music. It was a nice welcome where I got to dance and see more friends.

After the party I biked back to the house and the door was locked as I arrived first. I had a moment in the van where I got depressed & felt very alone. “Oh no, I live in a van, what am I doing??” I was overreacting of course, however it felt very dark in that moment.

I decided to wait on the front step for someone else to arrive back and noticed another white van (almost identical!) had pulled up in front of me. It was a lovely woman I’d met at a potluck when I was visiting in May for a job interview (which I’m still waiting to hear back about…. soon I’ll know!) and we hit it off very well. She was on angel duty that night, calmed me right down & reminded me why I’m in Victoria… music! I played for her and another friend in the house who came by shortly afterwards. I realized how well this acoustic music thing will flourish here. Sunday morning we had an amazing jam session in her van. She’s quite talented, and gave me a first lesson on the bodhran, a drum I’ve been wanting to learn to play. Another synchronicity: we both had tiny stuffed lions in our vans (I have three… they’re my pride!)

Later in the day, I felt like going for a walk, got out the city map and planned a square shaped route. I made it halfway and heard my name. Friends from the house were sitting in a sunny schoolyard with other little groups of people. It felt so loving and welcoming.

Later I drove to the new house & camped out in the van out front. I’ve arranged to stay here for the summer… it’s a lovely little square house with a courtyard, cats, and a friendly energy. By the end of summer I’ll be ready for the next adventure.

It’s Now Tuesday morning and I’ve left most of my belongings at the new house. I’m packed for my Entheos Gathering adventure (first performance in front of a big audience!) and will be back to experience Victoria again afterwards. It is time for me to bring the big white van back to the Coast so it can be used to transport things for the party. More here after I return.