Monthly Archives: August 2024

Posts from the road

Sightseeing in Scranton, Pennsylvania!

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(Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

I continue to embrace the random travel that my sports competitions create. This time, I was heading to a competition in Skytop, Pennsylvania. I had never heard of it before, but decided to add a little bit of time to the trip so I could see the local sights.

Looking toward Pennsylvania, just inside New York state.

When I looked at what we’d pass before getting to Skytop, I saw…Scranton, Pennsylvania. Not too many obvious sights came to mind. In such cases, I start with looking for interesting restaurants and record shops (I found a record shop in nearby Dickson City). And I remembered that Scranton earned a kind of fame by being the site of a TV cringe comedy called “The Office”.

And now we’re in Pennsylvania!

For lunch, I found a highly rated Scranton institution called Abe’s Kosher Deli. It seemed like everybody knew everybody else. I had a BBQ beef brisket sandwich and it was very good. It was served with a pickle unlike any other I’ve had: it was very green, very crunchy, and very salty. There were a lot of interesting items on the menu; I would like to go back one day and try some more of them. But there’s also a nice Thai restaurant around the corner…

Abe’s Kosher Deli, in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania.

After lunch, we walked around downtown Scranton and snapped a few photos. Urban decay is a problem in many parts of North America, but downtown Scranton seemed to be OK. This may be because people still have a reason to go downtown. In addition to the Lackawanna County Courthouse, there was a mall…and there were sights from “The Office”!

Lackawanna County Courthouse, in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The “cover photo” for today’s post is an actual mural in downtown Scranton. Apparently, it has been authorized by all of “The Office” actors portrayed on it. At City Hall, you can pick up a self-guided walking tour that visits many of the Scranton locations made famous on “The Office”. And I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I’m told that Brian Baumgartner (who played “Kevin” on “The Office”) has been known to appear at a couple of the local bars from time to time.

The Scranton Electric Building, in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. The sign lights up at night.

So Scranton, also known as the “Electric City”, does have something to offer the traveler. (In case you’re wondering, it was one of the first cities in North America to be electrified.) Stay tuned for more from our trip to Pennsylvania!

Posts from the road

Don’t forget to stop and look around!

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(Grafton, Ontario, Canada)

Every once in a while, I am reminded that “it’s the journey, not the destination.” Today’s brief post is about how that can apply to even routine travel.

The Grafton Village Inn, in Grafton, Ontario.

I play a lot of tournaments in Cobourg, Ontario. It’s less than 90 minutes away by the 401 “autobahn”, and exactly 2 hours away by the slower and more interesting Highway 2. But even when I take Highway 2, I tend to “press on” when I get close to Cobourg. Similarly, when I return from Cobourg, I want to get some distance out of town before stopping.

The Alnwick-Haldimand Municipal Building in Grafton, Ontario.

On a recent long trip home from a tournament in Woodstock, the timing was right for a stretch in Grafton. Grafton is only 12 km from Cobourg. As Cobourg is such a nice place to visit, we tend to overlook the much smaller community of Grafton. Over many years of travel on this route, I don’t think we’ve ever stopped the car there.

The Lass & Ladle Bakery in Grafton, Ontario.

And yet, all four pictures in today’s post were taken within one minute at one intersection in Grafton. The antique store (see photo at the very top of this post) used to be a barbershop, where the same barber carried on business for more than 50 years! I have also learned that Grafton was where Bob Homme (“The Friendly Giant”) retired. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery there.

When you’re on the road, don’t forget to stop and look around!

Posts from the road

More non-traditional Ontario destinations

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(Pickering, Dresden, Campbellford, and other places in Ontario, Canada)

While my last post focused on Cambridge, Ontario, this one covers a whole bunch of non-traditional Ontario destinations. Once again, the unifying theme is “places I went for lawn bowling competitions”! And, of course, food plays a role.

Pollo con mole, at Cielito Lindo (Pickering, Ontario)

In late June, I had a qualifying tournament in Pickering, Ontario. We had a strong first day of competition, so our team decided to celebrate at dinner that evening. We settled on Cielito Lindo, which looked like a family-run Mexican restaurant. And it was! I went for the pollo con mole (pictured above), and the sauce was excellent. Just the right amount of chocolate and heat.

Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill, in Ridgetown, Ontario

Suburban communities like Pickering are sometimes overrun by chain restaurants, serving a very corporate kind of “McFood”. While there are exceptions (The Owl of Minerva – a Korean restaurant – being one of those exceptions), I really try to seek out independent alternatives whenever possible. Often, restaurants are the only truly “local” experience we have when I play in particularly intense tournaments. Such was the case in Pickering – there was no time to explore hidden nooks and crannies during that visit.

Solid diner food at Yeck’s in Ridgetown, Ontario

As the qualifying event in Pickering went well, two weeks later we headed much farther west for the Provincial event in…Dresden, Ontario. Dresden is a very small community (less than 3000 people), but it happens to have a good bowling facility. Before my first practice session, we stopped in the nearby town of Ridgetown for lunch. Ridgetown is only slightly larger than Dresden, and is clearly an important agricultural centre.

My grilled Reuben sandwich, and sides, at Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill in Ridgetown

I figured that Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill would be a solid choice. We did indeed enjoy our “homestyle” lunches – my grilled Reuben sandwich was particularly well done and the fries met our exacting standards. The restaurant was very popular with Ridgetown residents…we had to wait a little while for a table.

Cashew chicken, at the Thai Kitchen & Bar in Chatham, Ontario

After the competition in Dresden was over, I had an intense craving for Thai food. Alas, Dresden had little to offer in that regard. We returned instead to the nearby city of Chatham and the sensibly named “Thai Kitchen & Bar”. The menu was extensive, with a lot of unfamiliar options, so it was very difficult to decide on what to have. I settled on the not-at-all-unknown cashew chicken, but would have loved to try some other dishes too.

Exterior of the Thai Kitchen & Bar in Chatham, Ontario

I have the feeling that the Thai Kitchen & Bar’s facility used to be a very different type of restaurant…probably something Mediterranean. No matter – we were happy with the food and will undoubtedly return there someday. Chatham is a very long way from home, but we have been on the road again several times since. There was another trip to Pickering, and of course the “Preston” trip from my previous blog entry.

A small piece of regular Gouda (top), and a small piece of lavender Gouda (bottom)

On the way back from Preston, we took a break in Whitby to stock up on Dutch delicacies at the Village Bakeshop. Regular blog readers know that I am a big fan of Gouda cheese. So I decided to buy a couple of less common varieties. First up was goat milk Gouda – almost pure white in colour. And I also picked up a piece of lavender Gouda! Yes, it is very purple (see picture). To complement the lavender, the cheese also contains rosemary and thyme.

Municipal office for the Township of Stone Mills – Centreville, Ontario

Lastly, we went to Campbellford for another provincial qualifier. On the way back home, we stopped in Stirling for ice cream at a candy store and a brief walk along the main street (see photo at the top of this post). We returned to Kingston along a lot of back roads, passing through many small villages such as Moira, Roslin, Croydon, Centreville (pictured) and Camden East. It was a nice way to unwind after a day of competition.

Stay tuned for more non-traditional Ontario destinations…and an intriguing international tournament!