Hamilton to Winnipeg

It amazes me how big Ontario is. Even the second time doing this route - I coulda sworn it didn't take that long the first time. But it's about 36 hours or more to cross the province. And the weather continues to be crazy, too.

Toronto was warm, Niagara Falls was hot, Hamilton was hot. Most of Ontario seemed to be imitating summer pretty well. I fell asleep Thursday night looking out over clear "northern" Ontario, and woke up Friday morning to a fresh snowfall. And it was sticking, too.

Happily it didn't last too long. It was gone by the time we paused in Kenora, and sunny again as we came into Manitoba.

Two women were travelling with a kid from Toronto to Langley on the bus, and when we got off in Winnipeg, they still had a couple more days to go. The kid was a dream to travel with though. My worst nightmare is a long bus ride with a screaming kid. I don't normally like kids. This one was cute.

We're staying with Rod in Winnipeg. I was hoping to catch up with Carolyn again, but her parents are in town this weekend, so her place is kinda full. I've tried calling, but haven't gotten a hold of her yet. Hopefully we'll meet up yet.

But Rod will be a really interesting interview. When he goes on vacation, he hops trains. I knew a guy in junior high who used to do that, but I didn't realize it was so widespread still. It's like there's a whole sub-culture of train hoppers. He's also an activist, primarily for squeegee kids, and has been fighting in Winnipeg for their right to exist for years.

But before that, we're going to do a bit of sightseeing and get some beauty shots of Winnipeg down at the Forks and the Exchange District.