(no subject)
Back from the Big Apple. I don't think I'll ever go on another bus tour. They're just too hectic. Up at 6 to get on the buy at 7 to be somewhere at 8 so that we can rush through some things to be back on the bus at 2 to get to another location by 3 to rush some more to get back on the bus by 8 to be back at the hotel at 10 to sleep and repeat the next day.
Good thing we decided to split from the tour group once we got there. Took my friends around NYC in a brief 5 hour tour of the major sites. Came across a street festival right in Downtown Manhattan that makes the Taste of the Danforth look like 3 year old's birthday party. Imagine University from College to King shut down and street vendors hawking everything from $10 bedsheet sets to Victoria Secret lingerie to arepas to pad thai. It was pretty spectacular.
And what trip goes on without some drama? On the way back, we stopped in Corning (as in Corningware), NY, for lunch. About an hour after we get back on the road, I discover that I've left my bag behind at the Wendy's!!!! Luckily, my passport, wallet, camera and phone are on my body, but my keys, iPod and PDA are in the bag. =S. Cellphones, the internet and small town mentality save the day though. Got on the phone, called my friend to find the number for the Wendy's in Corning, called them up and find out that the bag has already been turned in and all the contents are there. Only a matter over driving back to retrieve it. So the day after I got back to TO, I drove right back into the States to get my stuff. Customs officers give you the weirdest looks when you tell them that the purpose of your trip is to pick up a bag you left behind at Wendy's in a town three hours from the border.
While in Corning, me and my buddy (who tagged along for the ride) decided to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. Did you know that Corning ware is not stone, but actually a glass ceramic? If you take glass and mix it with some minerals and heat it to like 3000 degrees, it goes from clear to the pure white that we associate with Corningware? Did you know that the nose cone of ballistic missiles are made from the same materials as your Corningware casserole dish? Pretty neat, huh?
12 hours after getting to the US/Canada border, we returned to go home. Told the Canadian customs agent the reason for my trip. She looked at me oddly and shook her head. I guess I've got another story to use to prevent being searched at the border. The other one is that I'm going to the States for a funeral.
Good thing we decided to split from the tour group once we got there. Took my friends around NYC in a brief 5 hour tour of the major sites. Came across a street festival right in Downtown Manhattan that makes the Taste of the Danforth look like 3 year old's birthday party. Imagine University from College to King shut down and street vendors hawking everything from $10 bedsheet sets to Victoria Secret lingerie to arepas to pad thai. It was pretty spectacular.
And what trip goes on without some drama? On the way back, we stopped in Corning (as in Corningware), NY, for lunch. About an hour after we get back on the road, I discover that I've left my bag behind at the Wendy's!!!! Luckily, my passport, wallet, camera and phone are on my body, but my keys, iPod and PDA are in the bag. =S. Cellphones, the internet and small town mentality save the day though. Got on the phone, called my friend to find the number for the Wendy's in Corning, called them up and find out that the bag has already been turned in and all the contents are there. Only a matter over driving back to retrieve it. So the day after I got back to TO, I drove right back into the States to get my stuff. Customs officers give you the weirdest looks when you tell them that the purpose of your trip is to pick up a bag you left behind at Wendy's in a town three hours from the border.
While in Corning, me and my buddy (who tagged along for the ride) decided to visit the Corning Museum of Glass. Did you know that Corning ware is not stone, but actually a glass ceramic? If you take glass and mix it with some minerals and heat it to like 3000 degrees, it goes from clear to the pure white that we associate with Corningware? Did you know that the nose cone of ballistic missiles are made from the same materials as your Corningware casserole dish? Pretty neat, huh?
12 hours after getting to the US/Canada border, we returned to go home. Told the Canadian customs agent the reason for my trip. She looked at me oddly and shook her head. I guess I've got another story to use to prevent being searched at the border. The other one is that I'm going to the States for a funeral.