Adventures in Hamilton
Given that Hamilton is so close to Toronto, there are a lot of participants in Around the Bay who drive in the morning of the race, and go back home right afterwards. Coming from Ottawa, this simply was not feasible for foolkiller009 and I. And I didn't want the weekend to be all about me, such that he didn't enjoy it and wouldn't want to be there to support me. So a lot of planning went into our weekend in Hamilton.
Never having been there before, I didn't really know what to expect. But I had heard that there was a wonderful hotel near Copps Coliseum, Staybridge Suites, which several people at my local Running Room always stay at. I found it strange that it wasn't included in the hotels listed on the race website, but maybe that's just because it's a treasured secret of those in the know. I booked us for three nights, so that we didn't have to rush our weekend and I could relax after the race. With it being an all-suite hotel we had the convenience of a small kitchen in our room, and internet access was complimentary so we were able to make full use of our laptop.
The bus ride worked out well, and we walked from the bus station to the hotel to check in just after 5pm. This gave us plenty of time to settle in before walking over to the restaurant I'd made a 7pm reservation at. In my restaurant research I'd found Shakespeare's Dining Lounge, a Tudor-themed steak and seafood place which piqued my curiosity. Very expensive, but the food was delicious, the service was wonderful and the decor was welcoming. In short, it was a hit, and I look forward to going back next time.
The following morning we started out after the nice buffet breakfast by heading over to the Race Expo at Copps Coliseum to pick up my race kit and check out the merchandise and advertisements for other races. It was cleverly set up in a ring around the seating of the stadium, with the kit pick-up stationed at the far end of the ring so that one had to check out the whole expo on the way to get the race package. I saw several items to check out on our way out, and I think even
foolkiller009 liked looking at things. It also gave him a chance to check out the stadium seating, and the finish line, so that he'd know where to sit and watch me finish the race.
With that out of the way, we had the afternoon to sight-see, and we chose to take the tour of Dundurn Castle and the Military Museum. This was the residence of a Prime Minister of Western Canada from the early to mid-1800s. The tour guides were dressed like the staff of the house from the 1850s and led us through the whole place which has been kept in the state it was in when Sir Allan Napier MacNab and his family lived there. They told us what life was like back then, and let us take pictures (no flash), and it was a very good way to spend the early afternoon.
Returning to our hotel in the mid-afternoon we rested for a bit before our early supper at La Cantina. My feet were sore from walking so much, and I will have to make sure I bring more reasonable footwear next year. My fancy ankle boots were not really required at any of the restaurants we went to, and they do not provide enough support and cushioning for long walks. So, I needed a break before supper and going on another tour in the evening. Having that scheduled after supper, I am glad I made a supper reservation, as I'm sure the scene there was typical of all the Italian restaurants in town--tons of runners carbo-loading with pasta the evening before the race. The service and ambience of La Cantina was top-notch, and dessert was worth being nearly late for the evening tour at the other end of downtown Hamilton.
We just made it over to the location of that tour, with a quick stop at our hotel room to drop off leftovers and some beverages to stock our fridge with. Now this was the treat of the trip, aside from the race itself, and I am so glad that I thought to check if Hamilton had anything like a Ghost Walk. It just so happened that Haunted Hamilton a) exists, and b) had a indoor tour scheduled the Saturday evening we were in town. March being still the off-season for such tours, this was only one of two opportunities all month-long. So we were led around Customs House, a building with a very macabre past and many a ghost story to share. Our guide was outstanding--Ghost Guy George was his name and he is actually nominated for an award from Hamilton Tourism. We were so lucky to be sitting on the right side of the room when they split the group between the two guides and we ended up with him. He is very knowledgeable and has a very theatrical voice. The tour took us through every part of the building, including areas that visitors of the heritage museum it now houses would never get access to (like the attic and the basement). And with the tour scheduled to run during Earth Hour, the candles used for lighting in place of regular lights were such a nice touch.
It made for a late night, but we didn't mind as it is always a bit hard for me to go to bed "on time" the night before a race. Like any normal night, foolkiller009 fell asleep at the laptop surfing the internet, so it was for the best that I was awake long enough to rouse him to join me in bed. Morning came soon enough, and it was nice to lounge around rather than hurrying off to catch a bus to the Running Room. I was even able to sneak into the breakfast buffet and bag a couple things for after the race, as well as making my regular pre-race breakfast of instant oatmeal.
After the race, I spent the afternoon resting and refueling, with a dip in the hotel's hot tub to relax before napping for a couple hours. In the evening we went to a third restaurant for supper, and then relaxed in our room with a movie we'd downloaded on our laptop. The restaurant turned out to be a place mostly frequented by locals, so while it was interesting to people-watch and the food was alright, it won't be a place to return to next year. We probably would have enjoyed the official post-race party at Slainte (Irish Pub) more, and that's one oversight I'll be sure to rectify next year. Unfortunately, I didn't even find out about that party until after making all of our other plans. Maybe we should have just turned around and headed there when we showed up at the other restaurant and saw what it looked like from the outside (it was nicer inside, but that's not saying much).
It was definitely a good idea to stay the extra night in Hamilton and return on the Monday after the race. Otherwise, we would have had to check out while I was still running the race, and then I would have had to clean myself up at Copps Coliseum (which is an option they do provide runners). Then it would have been hours sitting still with sore legs on a vehicle traveling home. No thanks. Instead we checked out Monday morning after another nice buffet breakfast (including delicious Belgian waffles), and walked over to the bus station. When we arrived in Toronto we stuffed most of our luggage in a locker at the bus station and deliberately missed our original connection. Instead, we took a few hours to have lunch and do some shopping in the heart of Toronto. The World's Biggest Bookstore lived up to its name, and we discovered ourselves passing by a Hard Rock Cafe on the way to the Eaton Centre, so we got to perpetuate our tradition of visiting HRCs wherever we travel to (complete with merchandise purchases).
Satisfied with our little stopover in Toronto, we collected our belongings and caught the next bus to Ottawa, arriving in town after 7:30pm. It had been a very long day of traveling on buses, so we caught a cab instead of navigating OCTranspo to get home. And so did our grand adventure conclude (with a load of laundry to clear everything up in preparation to return to our normal routine the following day).
Never having been there before, I didn't really know what to expect. But I had heard that there was a wonderful hotel near Copps Coliseum, Staybridge Suites, which several people at my local Running Room always stay at. I found it strange that it wasn't included in the hotels listed on the race website, but maybe that's just because it's a treasured secret of those in the know. I booked us for three nights, so that we didn't have to rush our weekend and I could relax after the race. With it being an all-suite hotel we had the convenience of a small kitchen in our room, and internet access was complimentary so we were able to make full use of our laptop.
The bus ride worked out well, and we walked from the bus station to the hotel to check in just after 5pm. This gave us plenty of time to settle in before walking over to the restaurant I'd made a 7pm reservation at. In my restaurant research I'd found Shakespeare's Dining Lounge, a Tudor-themed steak and seafood place which piqued my curiosity. Very expensive, but the food was delicious, the service was wonderful and the decor was welcoming. In short, it was a hit, and I look forward to going back next time.
The following morning we started out after the nice buffet breakfast by heading over to the Race Expo at Copps Coliseum to pick up my race kit and check out the merchandise and advertisements for other races. It was cleverly set up in a ring around the seating of the stadium, with the kit pick-up stationed at the far end of the ring so that one had to check out the whole expo on the way to get the race package. I saw several items to check out on our way out, and I think even
foolkiller009 liked looking at things. It also gave him a chance to check out the stadium seating, and the finish line, so that he'd know where to sit and watch me finish the race.
With that out of the way, we had the afternoon to sight-see, and we chose to take the tour of Dundurn Castle and the Military Museum. This was the residence of a Prime Minister of Western Canada from the early to mid-1800s. The tour guides were dressed like the staff of the house from the 1850s and led us through the whole place which has been kept in the state it was in when Sir Allan Napier MacNab and his family lived there. They told us what life was like back then, and let us take pictures (no flash), and it was a very good way to spend the early afternoon.
Returning to our hotel in the mid-afternoon we rested for a bit before our early supper at La Cantina. My feet were sore from walking so much, and I will have to make sure I bring more reasonable footwear next year. My fancy ankle boots were not really required at any of the restaurants we went to, and they do not provide enough support and cushioning for long walks. So, I needed a break before supper and going on another tour in the evening. Having that scheduled after supper, I am glad I made a supper reservation, as I'm sure the scene there was typical of all the Italian restaurants in town--tons of runners carbo-loading with pasta the evening before the race. The service and ambience of La Cantina was top-notch, and dessert was worth being nearly late for the evening tour at the other end of downtown Hamilton.
We just made it over to the location of that tour, with a quick stop at our hotel room to drop off leftovers and some beverages to stock our fridge with. Now this was the treat of the trip, aside from the race itself, and I am so glad that I thought to check if Hamilton had anything like a Ghost Walk. It just so happened that Haunted Hamilton a) exists, and b) had a indoor tour scheduled the Saturday evening we were in town. March being still the off-season for such tours, this was only one of two opportunities all month-long. So we were led around Customs House, a building with a very macabre past and many a ghost story to share. Our guide was outstanding--Ghost Guy George was his name and he is actually nominated for an award from Hamilton Tourism. We were so lucky to be sitting on the right side of the room when they split the group between the two guides and we ended up with him. He is very knowledgeable and has a very theatrical voice. The tour took us through every part of the building, including areas that visitors of the heritage museum it now houses would never get access to (like the attic and the basement). And with the tour scheduled to run during Earth Hour, the candles used for lighting in place of regular lights were such a nice touch.
It made for a late night, but we didn't mind as it is always a bit hard for me to go to bed "on time" the night before a race. Like any normal night, foolkiller009 fell asleep at the laptop surfing the internet, so it was for the best that I was awake long enough to rouse him to join me in bed. Morning came soon enough, and it was nice to lounge around rather than hurrying off to catch a bus to the Running Room. I was even able to sneak into the breakfast buffet and bag a couple things for after the race, as well as making my regular pre-race breakfast of instant oatmeal.
After the race, I spent the afternoon resting and refueling, with a dip in the hotel's hot tub to relax before napping for a couple hours. In the evening we went to a third restaurant for supper, and then relaxed in our room with a movie we'd downloaded on our laptop. The restaurant turned out to be a place mostly frequented by locals, so while it was interesting to people-watch and the food was alright, it won't be a place to return to next year. We probably would have enjoyed the official post-race party at Slainte (Irish Pub) more, and that's one oversight I'll be sure to rectify next year. Unfortunately, I didn't even find out about that party until after making all of our other plans. Maybe we should have just turned around and headed there when we showed up at the other restaurant and saw what it looked like from the outside (it was nicer inside, but that's not saying much).
It was definitely a good idea to stay the extra night in Hamilton and return on the Monday after the race. Otherwise, we would have had to check out while I was still running the race, and then I would have had to clean myself up at Copps Coliseum (which is an option they do provide runners). Then it would have been hours sitting still with sore legs on a vehicle traveling home. No thanks. Instead we checked out Monday morning after another nice buffet breakfast (including delicious Belgian waffles), and walked over to the bus station. When we arrived in Toronto we stuffed most of our luggage in a locker at the bus station and deliberately missed our original connection. Instead, we took a few hours to have lunch and do some shopping in the heart of Toronto. The World's Biggest Bookstore lived up to its name, and we discovered ourselves passing by a Hard Rock Cafe on the way to the Eaton Centre, so we got to perpetuate our tradition of visiting HRCs wherever we travel to (complete with merchandise purchases).
Satisfied with our little stopover in Toronto, we collected our belongings and caught the next bus to Ottawa, arriving in town after 7:30pm. It had been a very long day of traveling on buses, so we caught a cab instead of navigating OCTranspo to get home. And so did our grand adventure conclude (with a load of laundry to clear everything up in preparation to return to our normal routine the following day).