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Boom Boom's Great Getaway
October 21, 2013 - 2:11pm
I'm planning on busting outta this joint maybe in January before there's too much snow on the ground. Who thinks they may be up for a visit then? 
Where are you going, Ottawa?
Down south and out west. Have invites already to North Carolina and California.
Oh.... well do let us know if you are coming this way.
Haven't made any plans yet - open to anyone who'll put me up for a few days.
I did this before in the years 1999 - 2002, just travelled to anyone that wanted a visit from a real live mobster.
Got to see New York City, Washingtonn DC, Orlando Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, and Michigan, and British Columbia and Ontario on the way home.
We have moved back to Vancouver Island so PM me when you are going to be out this way. We definitely can find room for you to visit.
That would be great - I have a cellmate in Surrey.
If we have enough warning we might be able to get some bars on the window in the guest room so you feel more at home.
Not travelling to the US.
Krop:
I just fiind Montreal to be the scariest place in the world to drive - but I've never been to Paris.
It's pretty bad, for sure -- I almost never do it myself. I do live at a transit hub, so maybe you could park on the South Shore or in Laval and take the métro in?
Paris is something else altogether. In New York people will park wherever they can, in Montréal they'll park wherever they can't, and in Paris they'll park on top of people who have parked wherever they can't.
When I ask my wife, though, she says "Cairo. Not even close." (The way her relatives drive seems to bear this out.)
I'll talk to my partner. If you are of a mind to come this way, and we are here, I'm sure we can do a night or two.
A couple of things - I don't know how you are travelling, but the train is super cheap here in the winter. Also, if you are going down south, and need hotels, those online sites get you in for about half the price. We went down to Phoenix for a course a few years ago, and didn't pay more than $50 a night with a good breakfast on the whole trip.
And if you are going to NM and AZ, you have to check out Arches National Park in southern Utah, in the same stretch as monument valley. It is unbelievably, jaw-droppingly beautiful, like some hallucination landscape.
My list includes a return trip to Chaco Canyon, but it is hard to get into. In Arizona, I recommend the Wupatki site, Montezuma Castle (and the well) and Casa Grande in Florence. Florence was a bit of a shock, as it is basically a prison town - prisons, and deportation camps. But Casa Grande is amazing - basically a prehistoric apartment/astronomical observatory complex.
Tucson is a great town.
Yes, in the Montréal area the métro now goes up to Laval (three stations) and for a long time it has gone to Longueuil. I can access Laval very quickly; I'm near the junction of the orange and blue lines.
On the bike, I shepherded a friend around with (very) partial vision; I can do the same with you (with hand signals) for limited hearing. I'd be rather afraid to cycle here if mostly deaf. In Amsterdam, I've seen "disabled" and "deaf" signs on the rear end of bicycles, but almost everyone cycles there.
I don't know when cco was last in Paris, but things have improved there immensely, due to the efforts of the Socialist-Green coalition in City Hall there, under Bertrand Lanoë (who is also openly gay). There is a great increase in dedicated bike lanes and bus lanes, and a lot of greening, walkability and traffic-calming measures.
Yes, in the Montréal area the métro now goes up to Laval (three stations) and for a long time it has gone to Longueuil. I can access Laval very quickly; I'm near the junction of the orange and blue lines.
On the bike, I shepherded a friend around with (very) partial vision; I can do the same with you (with hand signals) for limited hearing. I'd be rather afraid to cycle here if mostly deaf. In Amsterdam, I've seen "disabled" and "deaf" signs on the rear end of bicycles, but almost everyone cycles there.
I don't know when cco was last in Paris, but things have improved there immensely, due to the efforts of the Socialist-Green coalition in City Hall there, under Bertrand Lanoë (who is also openly gay). There is a great increase in dedicated bike lanes and bus lanes, and a lot of greening, walkability and traffic-calming measures.
Yes, in the Montréal area the métro now goes up to Laval (three stations) and for a long time it has gone to Longueuil. I can access Laval very quickly; I'm near the junction of the orange and blue lines.
On the bike, I shepherded a friend around with (very) partial vision; I can do the same with you (with hand signals) for limited hearing. I'd be rather afraid to cycle here if mostly deaf. In Amsterdam, I've seen "disabled" and "deaf" signs on the rear end of bicycles, but almost everyone cycles there.
I don't know when cco was last in Paris, but things have improved there immensely, due to the efforts of the Socialist-Green coalition in City Hall there, under Bertrand Lanoë (who is also openly gay). There is a great increase in dedicated bike lanes and bus lanes, and a lot of greening, walkability and traffic-calming measures.
Never been to Utah. That's an interesting suggestion, but I don't know anyone there. I have good friends in North Carolina, New Mexico, and California that I hope to see.
Part of the reason for thinking about doing this is to get away from the snow, but also it may be my last trip anywhere for a while.
My physician put the kibosh on any travel for a while - he's sending me to Quebec City tomorrow for more tests and observation. Damn.. I was so close to busting out of here.
You've been under observation for years.
Well, Québec City is a much larger place than anywhere they've sent you recently. What neighbourhood will you be in? Will you be hospitalised, or in a hotel or resource for people undergoing medical testing and procedures?
Infant Baby Jesus hospital - so my guess is it's not an atheist-run hospital.
I'm hoping it's a short visit - don't know at this point. I'll be in the hospital for the duration, probably chained to the bed with a couple of Sheriff's deputies at the door.
'bout time they rounded you up. You have too many associates swimmimg with the fishes.
Well, Hôpital L'Enfant-Jésus is just as nationalized and state-run as any other Qc hospital, though I'm sure there is some morbid Catholic statuary left here and there. And secularism is NOT atheism.
It is, as I wrote to you privately, well-located in a central urban neighbourhood, Limoilou, with shops and services, and good public transport to the old city centre. It looks a lot like old Montréal neighbourhoods, with triplexes and wrought-iron balconies. I have friends who live near that hospital, and have sent you a map/list of the local main drag and the commerces there.
It is also a very nice area to just walk around, if you feel up to that.
When we went down (in february) the snow tapered off south of the Black Hills. Denver was like a fall day. On the other hand,. the morning we left Phoenix it was in the 30s (C). Two hours north in Flagstaff there were two feet of fresh snow on the ground. But really, we didn't return to winter until we crossed into Montana.
I know Phoenix a bit - had a gf there in the 1990s. Freaky hot - and there's a beautiful Episcopal (Anglican) church there. When I break out of my imprisonment in Quebec City, I'll try to post some photos.
A bit more than hlfway there now I think - Im in Sept-Iles, with a six hour layover.
Certainly more than halfway in terms of travel time, as I imagine that you were in a very small plane (I've been in those in Nunavik. Still skeert.)
A Beechcraft - twin engine prop. Waiting for Air Canada now - leaving around 530 pm, should arrive in Quebec City around 7. Sept-Iles restaurant is a joke. High speed \internet is $11 for two hours (actually four hours).
Day Three in Quebec City about to start. Anyone interested? :)
I have some ground-breaking ideas for citizen participation in health decisions - probably a profoundly bad idea. But here goes: invite friends on a forum to vote on health alternatives.
Here's a fantasy scenario: patient has a life threatening disease, and invites friends to say "yay" or "nay" to options presented. These options could be related to quality of life after agreeing to treatment, and quality of life without treatment (ie: death arrives fairly soon).
Too much? Too extreme? Illegal?
ETA: Okay, you're all in shock. Bad idea. Move on to the next topic - that must have been the meds speaking.