A Foggy Ontario Town

This morning I was sans déjeuner continental (see how the French Canadians are affecting me!) so I walked to the grocery store next door to see what I could see. I bought a fruit/granola/yogurt bowl (For some reason I now feel like I should be out crusading against breast cancer or combating the injustices of child labor - but the day is young...). On my short walk I noticed that the area in which I'm staying was very British in its early morning appearance. Lots of brick buildings, fog, and a misty haze that sort of hung about everywhere.

I'm on a health kick at the moment, as I've written afore time and as is apparent from my yogurt purchase. I went jogging this morning (25 minutes straight - WOOT! P.S. Thanks for the shorts Toph and Carm, they were a huge motivation.) in the hotel's workout room - which consists of two treadmills and an exercise bike. My legs feel like jell-o and my arms can only stand so much typing - is this what it feels like to be healthy? Lucky for me I haven't had to heft to many boxes.

I just watched an internet video of a snake regurgitating a hippo.

Every hotel bell cart I utilize feels as though it may disintegrate at any moment, and yet they never do...

I think brownies and cheesecake will lead to my ultimate downfall. I suppose it's a positive thing that I don't plan on being in any positions of power where certain members of society might be inclined to plan my demise, because they would most certainly succeed if they used brownies or cheesecake, and they would undoubtedly succeed if they used them together.

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Musings from my evening walk -

It was a gorgeous evening and I had some extra time on my hands, so I took a walk. There was a carnival set up in one of the larger parking lots just down the street from the hotel. It's amazing that the same type of people frequent the carnival whether it's in Cedar City Utah or Sudbury Ontario. I suppose the slightly overweight men with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths as they call for participants in their devilish midway games attract the same characters regardless of location. I was going to go on a ride, but rides really lose their effect, for me at least, when there's no one to share it with.

I passed a McDonald's in my wanderings. The sign declared "over 99 billion served." This means that on average, every person on the face of the planet has been served more than 15 times by McDonald's.

It was s nice enough night that I didn't need a jacket, but not so warm that a cup of hot chocolate would be unwelcome. Thus, I stopped at a gas station to buy some. I was elated when the clerk informed me that I simply walk out of the establishment and not concern myself with payment. Free hot chocolate! The downside - it was quite possibly the worst cup of hot chocolate I've ever had. It was really just slightly chocolate flavored hot water. Luckily I passed a Tim Horton's in my meanderings. Tim Horton's is like Starbucks meets Dunkin' Donuts meets Quizno's. I believe there are more Tim Horton's in Canada than there are McDonald's. And for just a dollar, I got a delightful replacement that warmed my belly and my soul.

I traipsed about the area of town close to my hotel. This area of town holds quite a few large parking lots. As I was walking through them I thought to myself "Good Greg, walk right to your death." I was walking right into the plot of 90% of Hollywood's thriller movies, and yet I survived. If I can make it through dimly lit parking lots, scary carnivals full of unique people, and a bad cup of hot chocolate - I can do anything!