I Have Been to...

I was off in Toronto (aka, TO, Tdot, the centre of the universe etc) for a conference this week.  I had an afternoon free and had planned to make my way downtown to Fort York, a place I had never been before.  Well unfortunately the weather did not cooperate - with humidity the temperature was well over 40c and there were both heat and smog warnings.  Past experience has taught me that an 18th century military fort offers little shelter from the sun (in fact they tend to act like solar ovens) and Fort York lies next to the Gardiner Expressway a very busy inner city artery.  Therefore I stuck down town and had an entertaining couple of hours poking through game, book and record stores.  Next time in TO...

On the flight back, I had a window seat on the correct side and a clear sky giving me a wonderful overhead view of Mackinac Island.  This was the site of 2 British victories during the War of 1812.  The first came early in the war - so early that the invaders arrived before the American garrison knew that a war was on!  The second saw the British garrison chase off an American expedition to recapture the strategic island.  The view from above clearly showed just how important the island is, located where Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior meet.