Canada - Hawaii
19 September - 5 October 2015

Toronto, 19-25 September 2015

One of my reasons for visiting Toronto was to see the city's remarkable and innovative architecture. (I'll explain the other reason below.) This stairwell on the backside (I mean, back side) of the Art Gallery of Ontario is remarkable, but is it (intentionally) innovative? Or an afterthought required by fire regulations after the construction began and the stairwell couldn't be constructed inside?

Just around the corner, the OCAD University (formerly Ontario College of Art and Design) makes use of the airspace above Butterfield Park with a structure which appears in nearly every Web search of Toronto architecture. Now THAT'S remarkable and innovative. It always looks to me like a sponge. It's worth a Google Street View™ -- search "Dundas Avenue West and McCaul Street, Toronto, ON" and then move south half a block on McCaul. Or click here.

Downtown Toronto, like most cities more than 50 years old, is a mix of old and new. Toronto's signature -- the CN Tower -- can be seen in the background, with newer buildings contrasting steel and glass with brick and terra-cotta colours.

This reddish building first seen in the previous picture (the wider view that included the CN Tower) is the Gooderham Building, also known as Toronto's Flatiron building. As it was built in 1892, it pre-dates the much more famous (and taller) Flatiron Building (originally the Fuller Building, completed in 1902) where Fifth Avenue and Broadway cross at 23rd Street in New York City.

I soon learned that simple, descriptive and (if possible) humourous names for eateries are a trademark in Toronto. (I had to steal this photo, as I was never outside of a trolley on this part of Dundas Street West to get a good picture.) By the way, that street name is pronounced DUND-ass, not DUND-us.

Here Toronto's penchant for clever naming incorporates its other penchant for bi-lingualism (English closely followed by French), a practice which becomes more and more de rigeur as you travel farther East in Canada. There are people in Quebec City, they say, who don't speak English at all.

Toronto is much more than bi-lingual. There are neighborhoods of every imaginable ethnicity here, and some "do" English better than others. My first three days were spent in Old Chinatown, where this disturbing menu begged me to take its picture. Dumpings from all the major animals can be ordered here. Wow!

Moving on from the Dumpings page, we find (in the same menu) some dishes featuring Black Fungus. Yum. Note also that both the Moo Shu Pork and the Moo Shu Beef are made from Fried Sliced Pork. I guess it's all in how you cook it.

It's not only the restaurants that have simple, straightforward names. Toronto's famous children's hospital doesn't mess around -- they tell you across the top of a 15-story building just exactly who gets to use their services.

This name has a long history in Toronto. The Victoria Hospital for Sick Children (note the large inscription above the entrance, guarded by [presumably] healthy children) opened in 1892.

Toronto is fast becoming condo heaven. Buildings like these line the shores of Lake Ontario for miles. Note the interesting "crowns" (I believe that's the correct architectural term).

More skyscrapers downtown, these in the business district just North of Union Station.

Almost every tall building here has some unique design feature to catch the eye.

This building, if one believes one's trusty tour guide, is quite literally covered in gold. Some 3.5 million dollars (presumably Canadian) was spent on windows that contain tiny flecks of (real) gold which the designers said would keep the building warm(er) in Winter and cool(er) in Summer. The tour guide also said the original owners of the building went bankrupt. Oh well.

Here I'll share my second reason for travelling to Toronto. Some time ago, I started a hobby in which I try to identify exterior locations used in movies and television shows. This is an actual frame clip from the "Secrets for Sale" episode of My Secret Identity, which was filmed in Toronto and first aired in 1990.

In a surprising number of cases, I'm able to find the location either from my own memory (if the show was shot in Los Angeles or another place I'm familiar with) or by using Internet searches, and the very useful Google Street View™ for shows shot in places like Toronto, where until this trip I had never been before.

This building, big as it is, stumped me. Even after lengthy Web searches, I couldn't find it. I made a list of those places I thought I might be able to find on this visit, and was successful in finding a few.

This one I found purely by chance. I had rented a car to drive to Ottawa for a day trip, and was travelling North on Yonge Street to get to the East-West highway. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed this gleaming fortress. I was immediately sure this was the building used in that TV show filmed 25 years ago. (I know what you're saying, and you're right; a hobby like this means two things: I'm easily amused, and I have lotsa time on my hands. So sue me.)

Niagara Falls (day-trip from Toronto), 21 September 2015

As my regular readers (all three of them) know from other vacation pictures on this Web site, I'm a sucker for waterfalls. I had been to Niagara Falls about 40 years ago, and decided it was about time to pay it another visit. It's in the same general category of great waterfalls like Victoria (Africa) and Iguazú (South America), but it stands alone in its commercialism and blatant appeal to tourism. View the Falls and you'll be astounded. Turn and look behind you, and you'll be assaulted by commercialism second only to Disney and Universal Theme Parks, traffic and hordes of overfed tourists. (See below for more of the same in Hawaii.)

As most people know, the dividing line between the United States of America and Canada cuts through Niagara Falls. On the East, is (are) the American Falls, seen here from the Canadian shore, which accounts for 10% of the water flowing over the edge.

Turn to your right looking South, and you'll see the Canadian Falls and the remaining 90% of the water. The ghostly buildings on the lower right of this picture were once a power-generating plant, now abandoned. At the upper right, in the distance, are new hotels and casinos, in case you need a place to spend (lose) your money.

Walking near the Canadian Falls is nearly a rain-forest experience. Even on the sunniest days like this one, umbrellas and raincoats are really handy.

The Canadian town of Niagara Falls has a manicured parkway along the edge, but it's just too Disneyfied for me. Think about it: you've got this enormous, powerful natural wonder lined by mowed lawns and flowers that get re-planted every season. By comparison, there is no such development around the viewing edges of Victoria Falls (Africa) nor Iguazú Falls (South America). Let's hear it for Third World preservation of Nature as she is.

Just behind (to the West) of the above-mentioned parkway is the real blight: every franchise and tourist come-on you can imagine (and some you couldn't imagine!).

Well, what can you say? It gets your attention, right? Actually, the use of, how shall I say it, "cleavage imagery" to sell hamburgers has a long history. I remember in the 1980s photographing ads showing "babes" (for want of a better term) holding burgers as an example of how women were being used as sex objects in advertising. It still happens today, particularly in Carl's Jr ads. OK, enough sociology. Let's move on. Over here. Pay attention.

Toronto (YYZ) to Winnipeg, Manitoba (YWG), 26 September 2015

After Toronto, my next goal was to ride the train across Canada to Jasper. I didn't want to spend three nights, however, on the rails, so I flew to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to meet the train there. Next to the railway station is this magnificent new building that houses the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

On the Train, Winnipeg, Manitoba to Jasper, Alberta, 26-27 September 2015

The next few pictures are just "tourist snapshots", all taken from the moving train through slightly-darkened window-glass. As this was the beginning of Autumn, the leaves were starting to change. Not many red colours yet, so everything was a palette of green and gold and brown. In distance shots, the hills almost look rusty, no? As Jasper was my Westernmost destination, these mountains, valleys and waterways would all be East of Jasper National Park.

Jasper, Alberta, 28 September 2015

The town of Jasper sits in a broad valley within Jasper National Park. Its 2,000 or so year-round residents certainly have majestic views, from virtually every angle.

View to the East from the railway station. Signal Mountain and Mt Tekarra.

View to the NorthEast from the railway station. Grisette Mountain.

View to the NorthWest from the railway station. Pyramid Mountain.

I offer this picture because it documents an extremely rare occurrence: The VIA Rail Canada train seen here (to the right of the freight train) has arrived in Jasper ON TIME! VIA Rail trains are notoriously late, since they share the cross-Canada track (yes, one track!) with freight trains, which usually have priority. My Westbound overnight train, for example, left Winnipeg two hours late, and arrived Jasper 7-1/2 (seven and a half) hours late. That's right, a full working day late! So, it was most encouraging to note this on-time arrival, as I was about to board it for a half-day trip to Edmonton. My enthusiasm soon went out the window. Long story short: the on-time departure from Jasper fizzled into a 2-1/2 hour late arrival (2am) in Edmonton. Maddening.

Before leaving Jasper, a brief visit to the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives led me to this curious display. History of plastic light switches, I guess.

This sign, outside a Jasper steakhouse, kind of speaks for itself.

Honolulu, O'ahu, in the New State of Hawai'i, 29 September - 5 October 2015

I'll be honest up front. Honolulu wasn't my Mai-Tai, to say the least. I enjoyed some of the architecture -- like these fascinating buildings in the Downtown area -- and the plants and natural terrain (where available!) were nice, but I can easily forget Waikiki and most of the other touristy areas. There is too much development for the space available (the "free market", you know, that double-edged sword), and I can get jostled by similar crowds at Disneyland or Sea World, much closer to home. Either you enjoy a beach (like Waikiki) or you compete with other tourists for space. You can't have both.

How about a taxi, Mr Rockefeller?

A Hawai'ian red-head.

A Hawai'ian red bush.

Diamond Head volcano (extinct), up close.

A Hawai'an red-flowered tree.

This is a common sight. The islanders -- or at least the tour guides! -- call them "umbrella trees".
This one is in the Ewa (EH-vah) neighborhood West of Honolulu.

I wanted a Hawai'ian buffet, but didn't want to put up with the trauma of a Luau. The only restaurant anyone could recommend was a classy, Hawai'ian Territory-era place called Willows. I arrived an hour before opening, so I waited in the nearby Mo'ili'ili Triangle Park. Honolulu is a sister city with Hiroshima, Japan, which presented Hawai'i this replica of an ancient Torii Gate to commemorate the sisterhood.

The Willows Restaurant is an elegant buffet, with dining rooms arranged around an open patio. This tree probably was here before the restaurant, which was built around the tree and opened on the Fourth of July in 1944.

As the restaurant was beginning the evening service (so to speak), the setting sun was just right for a perfect picture of this intricate model.

As noted above, in my opinion the capital development of Honolulu could have halted several decades ago, but new building projects can still be seen everywhere you go. At least some of them, however, try to incorporate the past, as this building which is being constructed around an old tree.

I don't routinely take pictures of meals I have, probably because I don't Tweet (Twitterize?). Here, however, I have to make an exception. The approach of Hallowe'en inspired Burger King to concoct the Hallowe'en Whopper, seen here in a combo pose. The black bun is, they say, infused with A1 steak sauce. It was impressive as a novelty, and pretty good as a burger, too.

Honolulu (downtown and Waikiki) is East of its International Airport (HNL), while Pearl Harbor is to the West of the airport. This is a view of Honolulu and Diamond Head from the Overseas Terminal.

Pearl Harbor (day trip from Honolulu) 1 October 2015

I considered a visit to Pearl Harbor as almost a duty as a citizen, and was honored to make the trip.

The site of the infamous attack on 7 December 1941 is now called the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, and includes the somber, simple white memorial suspended above the wreck of the USS Arizona, seen here just to the right of center across the water.

To get to the USS Arizona memorial, the U.S. Navy must take you there in a small boat. Before boarding the boat, visitors enter a theatre and see a documentary film about the events of December 1941. The film both sets the stage, and the solemn atmosphere, of the memorial you're about to visit. Not all visitors, however, are met with this awesome sight on leaving the theatre.

Not only the National Park Service and the U.S. Navy, but Nature herself, sure gave us our money's worth this day.

O'ahu Island tour (day trip from Honolulu), 3 October 2015

To avoid the commercialism of Waikiki, the only solution for me was a day-trip tour of the Island of O'ahu. As a volcanic island, naturally volcanic rock is a common building material. This is the inside wall of the men's room (!) at the first tour rest-stop.

Cultural ties with Japan are evident all over Hawai'i, as evidenced by this replica of an ancient Byodo-In Buddhist shrine in Kaneohe, about 25 miles (as the crow flies) from Honolulu.

The shrine's Wikipedia page describes it as a "non-denominational" Buddhist shrine. How is this possible? I mean, there's a ceremonial, three-ton Bon-sho (sacred bell); an 18-foot (5.5 m) statue of the Lotus Buddha; and you have to take your shoes off to enter (as with most holy places in the Middle- and Far-East).

The tour stop at Waimea gave visitors a chance to visit the Proud Peacock Restaurant, with its own proud peacock perched on a shelf next to the restrooms.

The Waimea Botanical Garden was full of beautiful plants.

Anyone with any knowledge of Latin will find the name of this plant hilarious. Botanists with a sense of humour. Gotta love 'em.

If you take the twenty-minute walk through the Botanical Gardens (trying to avoid the wedding parties and their inevitable photographers), you arrive at Waimea Waterfall. It's not Niagara, by any means, but its pleasant enough and (unlike Niagara), you can swim in its pool.

Below the waterfall, a gentle river meanders. I wax poetic.

Quite simply, a Waikiki sunset.

Quite simply, another Waikiki sunset. Good night.