By Michael Downing
It was a beautiful July morning when drove out of Union City, Pennsylvania, toward Buffalo, New York, across the Peace Bridge, and on to Wayne Gretzky Estate. We visited the Estate last year and enjoyed it very much, sampling whiskey and vodka offerings and dining at the beautiful Trius Restaurant, directly next door.
Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, which is approximately 70 miles north of where I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania (as the crow flies) and Gretzky Estate is approximately one hour east of Brantford. Two months ago, I had ordered several bottles of their Ice Cask Canadian Whiskey, along with a bottle of the Gretzky Signature Rye, two bottles of the Ice Storm Vodka, and a bottle of the Butter Pecan Cream Liqueur. We picked up our package and were on our way.
I’m not much of a drinker anymore, so I buy the booze to give to friends. We were in the process of having our attic remodeled and our contractor does a great job, so one of the Ice Cask Whiskeys was for Joe Hammes of Red Oak Restoration. The other was for my whiskey-loving and jewelry-making friend, Doug Wunder. The remaining bottles are basically for entertaining.
From there, we followed the southwest contour of Lake Ontario, heading towards Hamilton. We stopped briefly at a local beach, said hello to the seagulls, took a selfie, and jumped back into the car, looking for lunch.
We arrived at JJ’s on the Docks in Grimsby and had a seat on the outside patio. We were both interested in salads because the previous picnic weekend was filled with hot dogs and hamburgers. The server arrived and we asked about various menu items. I found myself suddenly thinking about the fish and chips but just as I paused, the server looked at me and said with a wink, “We’re known for our fish and chips.” I said, “That sounds great.” So we split a delicious platter of Canada’s best fish and chips, along with two gigantic salads. The cod was prepared perfectly, flaky inside and crunchy on the outside and the salads were big with homemade dressing–all the nice little touches. Afterwards, we sat, sipped our lemonade, and talked about the reasons we love coming to Canada, including home-made dressing and mind-reading, fish-bringing servers.
The Canadian exchange rate is awesome for American visitors. When we were there, the Canadian dollar was worth 73 cents American so that means a $50 lunch for two is $36.50 American. Occasionally, Canadian exchange is parallel to the US, meaning that by the time the conversion is in place it’s about the same as what you pay in the States; however, we find that most of the time, Americans get a bargain.
Tip: Don’t mess around with cash when traveling (unless you convert a small amount). Put everything on a credit card and let the bank do the conversion.
We stopped at the Coffee Culture Cafe and Eatery in Burlington and strolled out to Brandt Street Pier. On our way, we fell behind a group of Buddhists who were, themselves, heading to the pier for some fresh air and sunshine. They looked like they were having a nice day.
From there, we headed to Oakville. Before heading to our rental, we thought it would be a good idea to scout the Via Rail station, prior to our next day’s journey. It was easy enough to find. Good to know what to expect for the next day. We stayed in Oakville because paying for overnight stays in Toronto would have been ridiculously expensive (Hilton Hotel Downtown Toronto is $300+ per night American during summer months) whereas I was able to find a rental apartment in Oakville for $127 per night American.
There are two basic types of rail access in the greater Toronto area: Via Rail, which is a high-speed train that covers considerable distances with fewer stops and has 19 routes all over Canada and Go Transit which is local commuter train. After scouting the Oakville train station, we made the decision to get an Uber the next morning and leave the Taurus in the secure parking garage of the apartment building. Our room was on the 9th floor. It was nice. Clean and fresh with sliding glass doors that led to the balcony and a terrific view. We would stay there again.
Just around the corner was a Walmart. We went over to buy some groceries and I spent a ton of time in the international aisle. It was amazing. Cookies and snacks and fun things to drink from all over the world. It was awesome. I even went back the next day to give it another look. Who would have thought the international aisle at the local Walmart would be a tourist destination?
Groceries in hand, we went to the apartment, parked the Taurus, and settled in.
My Writing Wanderland 