Friday morning, we got up early to have breakfast at the Hoito. If you don’t get to the Hoito by about 9 a.m., you’ll be standing in line. They serve giant Finnish pancakes that you cannot possibly finish. (Get it? Finnish? Finish? Tee hee… It’s funny because it’s true.) The Hoito is a Thunder Bay tradition. You must go and eat there, whether you want to or not.
We’d also been considering going to the sauna – there’s a place called Kanga’s where you go to the Sauna and you eat pancakes. Apparently, also a Thunder Bay tradition. I mentioned, however, that I’d forgotten to pack a bathing suit. Monica said that wasn’t a problem, as you’re supposed to go nude. I said, “Er…” Yeah. So, that ain’t gonna happen. Those Thunder Bayites (Bayonians? Bayonettes?), and their weird Finnish customs. Eating pancakes in the nude. It’s indecent, I tells ya...
So, afterwards, we wandered around a bit looking at the nearby shops. Mom was drawn to all the tacky-tacky’s. She denies it, but you know how she likes that stuff. Monica was eyeballing a book called "Your Cat's Just Not That Into You," but didn't buy it (she's in denial, too).
Anyway, today was the day to go see Old Fort William. Stephen and I bitched so much last time about the fort being closed that apparently we’ve turned into some kind of local legend. Monica’s friends were eager for her to get me to the fort so I’d talk about something else (other than how the fort was closed, and the mine was closed, and what kind of place was this Thunder Bay, anyway, what with nothing going on but their indecent pancake festivals). So, anyway, just as we were about to leave, the local siding company (Til Ka – sounds like a character in a sci fi film!) delivered the siding materials for Monica’s house. Right now, the front of the house has vinyl siding, and the rest is stucco. So, all she has to do is give them $12,000 and they’ll cover the sides and back of the house. (You ever notice that Monica watches the credit card fraud scenes on Supernatural VERY intently? I’m just saying...)
Anyway, after delaying a bit to give the siding guys their instructions (with me worrying about the Fort! the Fort! the Fort is going to close!!!), we headed off to Fort William. Monica had made me some tunes, so on the way, we sang along with The Common People… and then when we got there, we parked nice and close courtesy of our handy handicapped license plate.
After a wheelchair-accessible nature hike to get to the Fort, we stopped off at the native encampment just outside – wigwams and animal skins. We chatted with the “Indians” for a while and they gave us bannock. (It’s sweeter than I thought it would be – more like pastry.)
After that, we headed towards the Fort and were immediately accosted by a Voyageur who explained his garb, and a Metis woman. For a while, we tagged along on a tour, and then branched out on our own to visit the different buildings.
The whole place is staffed by actors who play their parts in period costumes. The apothecary was quite interesting, telling us about the medicines and surgeries available (don’t get sick). The clerk at the Trading Post was great – a pompous snooty-patooty. He demanded to know what two little children had brought to trade – “What did you bring today? Do you have any skins? Any birch tree bark? Nothing at all?! Well, what are you doing here?” The kid was obviously feeling the pressure, because he turns around and asks his mom, “Can we go outside and get some bark?” Eventually, the guy decided that manual labour would do, and that the kid could shovel manure.
There were a lot of interesting buildings - and the gaol was the creepiest I’ve seen in a museum – just a big wooden building with no windows and no light, and it was so stinking dark inside. Eep!
There was also a farm, complete with crops and animals - and Percheron horses, which are massive. They’re so big, they’re almost scary. Whoa: No kill I! No kill I! They average around 2000 lbs, so you don't want to get in their way. They seemed very friendly, though. When they were stabled, we were allowed to pet them.
That day's event at the Fort was an "arrival," with an important dignitary arriving at the fort, so all the actors came out with a greeting party. There was dancing and speeches, and a cannon salute (and those cannons are very LOUD). Anyway, some sort of fight broke out between the settlers and the new arrivals, a guy challenged another guy to a duel, and at that point, Dad decided he was tired and we had to go. :’-( Waaahhh!
So. We stopped and had a snack, then went back to Thunder Bay to wander around the harbour and looked at all the boats. The good ship "Frodo" runs harbour excursions for $45 a person, but as it's a 90-minute tour, and not all of us had $45 on us at that moment, we decided to return another day.
Instead, since it was sunny and hot, we stopped at Merla Mae’s for ice cream, then headed home.
P.S That dehumidifer that Mom bought is magic. I don't know how it works, but it works. It seems just like a fan, but somehow sucks up the moisture out of the area. It's already collected several big buckets of water. Weirdness. But the basement is drying out, so that's definitely good. It was at 75% relative humidity when it started – we'll see how it goes.
P.P.S. Another iceberg melted away today. I say that this has nothing to do with my Nissan Armada.
We’d also been considering going to the sauna – there’s a place called Kanga’s where you go to the Sauna and you eat pancakes. Apparently, also a Thunder Bay tradition. I mentioned, however, that I’d forgotten to pack a bathing suit. Monica said that wasn’t a problem, as you’re supposed to go nude. I said, “Er…” Yeah. So, that ain’t gonna happen. Those Thunder Bayites (Bayonians? Bayonettes?), and their weird Finnish customs. Eating pancakes in the nude. It’s indecent, I tells ya...
So, afterwards, we wandered around a bit looking at the nearby shops. Mom was drawn to all the tacky-tacky’s. She denies it, but you know how she likes that stuff. Monica was eyeballing a book called "Your Cat's Just Not That Into You," but didn't buy it (she's in denial, too).
Anyway, today was the day to go see Old Fort William. Stephen and I bitched so much last time about the fort being closed that apparently we’ve turned into some kind of local legend. Monica’s friends were eager for her to get me to the fort so I’d talk about something else (other than how the fort was closed, and the mine was closed, and what kind of place was this Thunder Bay, anyway, what with nothing going on but their indecent pancake festivals). So, anyway, just as we were about to leave, the local siding company (Til Ka – sounds like a character in a sci fi film!) delivered the siding materials for Monica’s house. Right now, the front of the house has vinyl siding, and the rest is stucco. So, all she has to do is give them $12,000 and they’ll cover the sides and back of the house. (You ever notice that Monica watches the credit card fraud scenes on Supernatural VERY intently? I’m just saying...)
Anyway, after delaying a bit to give the siding guys their instructions (with me worrying about the Fort! the Fort! the Fort is going to close!!!), we headed off to Fort William. Monica had made me some tunes, so on the way, we sang along with The Common People… and then when we got there, we parked nice and close courtesy of our handy handicapped license plate.
After a wheelchair-accessible nature hike to get to the Fort, we stopped off at the native encampment just outside – wigwams and animal skins. We chatted with the “Indians” for a while and they gave us bannock. (It’s sweeter than I thought it would be – more like pastry.)
After that, we headed towards the Fort and were immediately accosted by a Voyageur who explained his garb, and a Metis woman. For a while, we tagged along on a tour, and then branched out on our own to visit the different buildings.
The whole place is staffed by actors who play their parts in period costumes. The apothecary was quite interesting, telling us about the medicines and surgeries available (don’t get sick). The clerk at the Trading Post was great – a pompous snooty-patooty. He demanded to know what two little children had brought to trade – “What did you bring today? Do you have any skins? Any birch tree bark? Nothing at all?! Well, what are you doing here?” The kid was obviously feeling the pressure, because he turns around and asks his mom, “Can we go outside and get some bark?” Eventually, the guy decided that manual labour would do, and that the kid could shovel manure.
There were a lot of interesting buildings - and the gaol was the creepiest I’ve seen in a museum – just a big wooden building with no windows and no light, and it was so stinking dark inside. Eep!
There was also a farm, complete with crops and animals - and Percheron horses, which are massive. They’re so big, they’re almost scary. Whoa: No kill I! No kill I! They average around 2000 lbs, so you don't want to get in their way. They seemed very friendly, though. When they were stabled, we were allowed to pet them.
That day's event at the Fort was an "arrival," with an important dignitary arriving at the fort, so all the actors came out with a greeting party. There was dancing and speeches, and a cannon salute (and those cannons are very LOUD). Anyway, some sort of fight broke out between the settlers and the new arrivals, a guy challenged another guy to a duel, and at that point, Dad decided he was tired and we had to go. :’-( Waaahhh!
So. We stopped and had a snack, then went back to Thunder Bay to wander around the harbour and looked at all the boats. The good ship "Frodo" runs harbour excursions for $45 a person, but as it's a 90-minute tour, and not all of us had $45 on us at that moment, we decided to return another day.
Instead, since it was sunny and hot, we stopped at Merla Mae’s for ice cream, then headed home.
P.S That dehumidifer that Mom bought is magic. I don't know how it works, but it works. It seems just like a fan, but somehow sucks up the moisture out of the area. It's already collected several big buckets of water. Weirdness. But the basement is drying out, so that's definitely good. It was at 75% relative humidity when it started – we'll see how it goes.
P.P.S. Another iceberg melted away today. I say that this has nothing to do with my Nissan Armada.
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