I have a TON of things to do since I've been gone for nearly two weeks, but I'll update you guys on a few things quickly that pertain to 'toys' and such.
Denise and I arrived in Calgary and finally got to our Hotel around 6:00pm. Lil'Joe posed with the 'Welcome to Calgary' sign.... but it didn't turn out that well.
I gave Alley Viper a call and he was nice enough to be our Tour Guide for the night. First however, we
had to eat.
I was hoping to check out a 'Calgary Favorite' type of place.... for example, here in Hamilton, I would suggest Easterbrooks, Licks, or Hutchs for a burger before I'd suggest Kelseys or such. We decided on Boston Pizza. AlleyViper later passed a Burger place that he felt bad for not taking us to.... you can do that next time AV - and you can pay! ;-)
While at Boston Pizza, it seemed to me like the waitress we had was flirting with Alley Viper, but he seemed blind to it... During dinner, I was trying to 'sell' him on flying out to Hamilton for the next Joe Meet - there's obviously a direct flight to Hamilton - and I would even pick him up. He said he'd seriously think about it. (So let's get on him guys!)
After dinner (man it was HUGE!) We went outside and talked for awhile, posed with Lil'Joe for the picture below.
While we were posing, I couldn't help noticing this HUGE green sign across the street that said 'ADULT SOURCE'. Alley Viper informed us that it's a pretty big chain around there, that they sell and rent Adult DVDs and stuff, and that there were 3 or 4 of them in Calgary!
He took us on a drive of the downtown area of Calgary - it reminded me alot of Toronto - except the buidlings were ALOT smaller. He pointed out another 'Adult Source' shop, and then I started spotting other 'Adult stores' along our route. It sorta became a game with all 3 of us. He finally confessed that he wasn't allowed in one of them due to his many many late fees. :shifty:
He showed us roughly where the famous Hart House is, and I made a mental note of what exit to take the next day. He then headed back to our Hotel and dropped us off before he went to work. The man works at Toys R Us - a few blocks away from our Hotel - how cool is that!
(Serious Section)
Adam, thanks for taking the time to show us around. We appreciated it, and it did help us get around the city the next day.... mind you we still got lost!(Back to the update)
So the next day we were to begin our big trek from Calgary, Alberta to Vancouver B.C. - via the Canadian Rocky Mountains. (The LONG way).
But first - it was off to the famous Hart House.
If you're not into wrestling, then you're most likely not going to care about this next section - but since I AM into wrestling, this was a major point for me as I REALLY wanted to see this place.
After getting lost briefly (construction and detours), we finally made our way to the Hart House. It's not as big as you would think it is, and I have no clue how Stu and Helen raised ALL those kids in that house! The front lawn is HUGE - about 8 times the size of my backyard (for those that have been to my place - now you have an idea!). The back of the house is mainly a driveway with 'parking spots'. Mind you, there is a HUGE driveway that loops around out front... and it leads to the back as well. I made sure to get my fill of pics - and yes, I got one with Lil'Joe as well.
Next it was off to the Rockies (with a stopover in Revelstoke BC and then Hope BC.) Hope, BC is where First Blood was filmed - and they milk it for ALL they can.... trust me. If I didn't already know that before going to Hope BC, I SURE would when I left!
I won't bore you with the details of our trip through the Rockies... my 'stories' wouldn't do it justice anyway. But I will tell you this. I had to pull over and actually stop the car many times just to 'soak it in' and look at everything.... A Bear showed up next to our car at one of these stops... and yes, I did get a picture of it before he yelled - then ran away.
Here's Joe just outside of Revelstoke, BC.
Once we hit Langley, it was off to find Toy Traders.
Now, I know he has impressive dio settings, and yes - it's known worldwide. But I have to tell you....... as a store... it sucks. As a 'toy room' It rocks! I got to speak with the owner for a bit, and I can honestly say he's a tad stuck up and really does think he's better than you for what he has displayed in there. That's another post and another conversation for another time. In the meantime, I did you guys a favor and took a (crappy) video of the 'dio-sections' in the place. I'll get pics posted soon, but I have over 800 pics to go through from our trip, and those aren't the priority right now. ;-)
Pic of Joe outside Toy Traders:
Video of the Dio Settings in Toy Traders: (May take awhile - large file)
Please excuse me for how much it shakes.... it's a little hard to walk around with a camera and not step on things or walk into people. If you listen closely you'll be able to hear Denise apoligizing to someone for me stepping on their foot!
Toy Traders VideoAfter Toy Traders, we drove to Cloverdale.
What the hell is Cloverdale?
It's SMALLVILLE!
Denise and I watch Smallville each week, and about two days before our trip, someone emailed me with the info for where Lex's Mansion is, (also the X-Men mansion), as well as where Smallville is filmed and the location of the Kent Farm.
So yep. We checked them ALL out.... the Farm was the coolest... it just felt like a 'Clark Kent' kinda thing - ya know?
After that, we got to Vancouver, and about 3 blocks down from our hotel was something that caught my eye 'RAPTOR'S GYM'.
We then took our cruise for a week, & I snapped more photos of Lil'Joe (and more dio-story parts!)
Oh yeah, something that just struck me a little funny was the city of Juneau in Alaska. They have a non-profit place that deals with injured birds like Eagles and such. The one they had there was an Eagle that got attacked by a Bear and got away. Not before loosing one eye, and having it's leg broken. Anyway, the Eagles name was SPIRIT. The 'tour guide' that was at Spirits cage was named CHARLIE. No, I didn't ask him if HE named the Eagle after Spirits Eagle. :-)
Pic of the Juneau Raptor Center
Quick video of me asking the guy what the Eagles name is - just to be sure. ;-)
Spirit VideoOn this past Sunday, when we got off our Cruise Ship. I checked out a Comic/Collectibles store in downtown Vancouver that I enjoyed much more than Toy Traders. No... they didn't have any dios set up. But they did have a great selection of toys, comics and t-shirts! Plus, the people working there were actually cool to speak to - like you've known them for awhile and they were glad to have you there! They also had some vintage items - but honestly - the prices were high on them in my opinion. Some were 'ok'... but for the most part, high.
I saw one of the people there trying to figure out how to put together Devastor from the original G1 Transformers line. I pointed out one thing to him and he got a 'glow' in his face.
"Do you know how to do this?"
- Yep. I put together one of those a month for about 3 years straight!
(He looked confused)
- Tell you what - if I can get this for $20.00 flat, I'll build him for you. (Holding up an item that I was going to buy anyway).
"DONE!"
Within 2 minutes, I handed him back his Devastator and told him it was missing 1 small green gun.
I then spent another $64.00 in there (they waved the GST for me).
As I said earlier, I found the owner of Toy Traders to be solid prick. I would HIGHLY recommend checking the store out to see the dios, but drive into Vancouver to see Golden Age Collectibles if you want to spend some money. Attitude and politeness goes a LONG way with me and will make me spend more in the longrun.
There's SO much more that went on.... As much as I'd like to share it all, I just don't want to be typing it out here all night! (Holy Crap - it's 2am!?)
That's it.... I'm done.
;-)
PS - Should anyone post links about the Toy Traders video, PLEASE give credit to this site. Thanks. ;-)
