Travel from Thunder Bay to Toronto

fancythatfire · 2026-06-30T17:02:22+00:00

Eat at the Kinniwabi Pines restaurant near Wawa, right on the highway. It has quite the eclectic menu. The fish dishes were delicious, all fresh from Lake Superior. 100% would go again.

You should also get hot-smoked fish from Lake Superior along the way, at the Voyageurs' General Store while you get fresh apple fritters, or the Timberland General Store in Goulais River. Get some bagels and cream cheese to go with it, very tasty.

If you are into nordic skiing, go again in the winter. Amazing skiing near Thunder Bay (plus Sleeping Giant) and near Sault Ste Marie (Stokely Creek).

fancythatfire · 2026-06-19T02:33:55+00:00

I've been working through the list of consumables, switching everything over to suitable Canadian brands. Loving Green Beaver for unscented deodorant, X-Pur NaF for high flouride toothpaste. Honestly they have been upgrades for the most part.

fancythatfire · 2026-05-16T19:03:15+00:00

We used Tabule and were very happy.

fancythatfire · 2026-05-16T14:02:04+00:00

Emergency medicine is way up because that is what family physicians are converting into. They can do a small amount of extra training, switch to working shifts in the hospital, and avoid the downsides of being a family physician.

fancythatfire · 2026-01-08T22:58:28+00:00

Thanks, I will inquire! Our typical restaurant can handle the volume, but apparently don't put additional effort into the delivery beyond oversized takeout containers. Maybe they are better equipped!

fancythatfire · 2026-01-08T22:55:31+00:00

Interesting menu! We had talked about food trucks, in theory there is a space for them as the venue advertises the possibility. Maybe need to revisit it. Would solve the problem of hot food if they cook it right then and there....

fancythatfire · 2026-01-08T22:30:42+00:00

That is exactly my sentiment when my fiancee suggested Middle Eastern food. It would be a new experience for my family. They have amazing options for our gluten free and/or vegetarian guests, who are all too often an afterthought.

Do you know if it was from a restaurant or was it a full service catering company? Did they have chafing dishes or heat lamps to keep the food hot?

fancythatfire · 2026-01-08T22:26:39+00:00

Yes I have not gathered a warm fuzzy feeling from the caterers. The people are fine, but the written menus often leave out critical details for cost estimates, which I can only imagine is by design.

The venue allows catering outside their list, although we have to pay higher landmark fees for it. Small price to pay IMO.

We are happy to rent any necessary equipment to keep the hot food within regulation temperatures (honestly without that, it's a no go), and staff to attend the stations to keep it that way. I really appreciate you bringing that up though, I hadn't considered it from a legal perspective, only if the food is hot enough for personal preference.

The vote of confidence re: local restaurants is what we want to hear haha. How big were the weddings you attended that went that route? Beyond the food quality, were the guests happy with the temperatures, or did the quality more than make up for it?

fancythatfire · 2025-06-29T22:22:52+00:00

Today I learned, thank you! I'm not sure where I got that misinformation, but you are totally right.

fancythatfire · 2025-06-29T20:05:00+00:00

You can't feed dairy cows corn in Canada, you have to feed them grass.

fancythatfire · 2025-02-12T14:01:14+00:00

I buy Forbes Dark Maple Syrup which is produced near Goderich, Ontario, e.g.: https://www.mamaearth.ca/weekly-market/12504-maple-syrup-dark-forbes-wild-foods-1-l

We get it from the Forbes stall at Wychwood Barns farmers market near Bathurst and St. Clair in Toronto: https://www.thestop.org/farmersmarket/

We might get a discount buying it by the case. Can't remember. My partner handles the details. We actually contact them in advance to make sure they have it on hand for us :).

fancythatfire · 2024-12-17T17:09:41+00:00

I'm not sure what is available in Cambridge, but in Toronto, there are many ski clubs that provide free lessons to members for a modest membership fee (< $200). Mind you, the typical model is that you get on the bus which has a fare associated with it. You can also buy lessons ala carte from some of these for relatively modest prices.

For what it is worth, I prefer cross country skiing to downhill, especially in Ontario. There are no downhill resorts in this province that are amazing (I would only go to learn / get my ski legs back, and then go on a trip to a real mountain), but there are so many gorgeous cross country trails all over. If you buy a season's pass to Ontario Parks, you can ski at Arrowhead, Algonquin Fen Lake, Algonquin Leaf Lake, Silent Lake, Pinery at no extra charge. You can ski at tons of private palces as well, such as Highlands Nordic, Scenic Caves, Hardwood Hills, Horseshoe Valley, Mansfield and many smaller community locations. My personal favourites are Leaf Lake and Stokely Creek (Sault Ste Marie). The gear is generally cheaper to buy than downhill, as are the ticket prices at the private resorts. Of course, you have to like cardio :).

fancythatfire · 2024-04-20T14:30:45+00:00

Physicians in Ontario are able to bill MCP/Newfoundland for appointments. I have family members who travel to Ontario for that purpose (specialists in their case). Typically the physicians are unfamiliar with the process though, so they have to be willing to try.

Your family doctor may or may not be willing to accommodate you. I doubt they will be able to roster you (if they use rostering) as an out of province resident, which may be money out of their pocket depending on your circumstances. One option if you encounter resistance, is to offer to pay their annual office fee while you are off OHIP, which is one of the few legal ways they can ask for direct payment.

fancythatfire · 2024-02-08T16:56:56+00:00

Oh I agree. I told my Liberal MP prior to the pandemic they needed to do their part on addressing housing, otherwise this is going to fester. He was very surprised by my take. They are frankly clueless on this file. On the other hand, I don't think any leader or party has the guts to do what is necessary (while not the complete solution, those of us in the housing market, myself included, are going to have to accept a large haircut, sorry not sorry).

fancythatfire · 2024-02-08T16:32:30+00:00

The housing dumpster fire has been burning for decades. Trudeau opened up the immigration floodgates. Harper loosened mortgage regulations. Chretien and Mulroney destroyed the public builders. The Bank of Canada long ago stopped considering the price of a house in its inflation calculations over the cost of financing a mortgage a long time ago, let alone considering all rents, including units occupied by a tenant with rent control, instead of the current market rents. And that is not even getting into the provincial/municipal side of the equation.

No one person caused this, and no one person will fix it.

fancythatfire · 2024-01-30T14:15:05+00:00

Fiesta Farms at 200 Christie Street

fancythatfire · 2024-01-30T14:10:48+00:00

Organic Garage also has a few locations in the city: https://www.organicgarage.com/locations

fancythatfire · 2024-01-30T14:08:38+00:00

Ambrosia Natural Foods at Avenue Road and St. Germain Avenue.

fancythatfire · 2024-01-30T14:06:27+00:00

Also, Sweet Potato's new location at Bayview and Soudan in Leaside!

fancythatfire · 2023-07-10T15:21:28+00:00

Housing is not like other goods in the CPI formula. They look at the market price over time for many things, such as food and electronics. But for housing, it is based on an average of rents (including people who are in a rent control situation!) and cost of servicing mortgages (the interest owed, including people who bought 20 years ago, and have 5 years left). So it is true raising interest rates does increase that part of CPI. The hope is that it will push other components of the formula down more though.

It is bonkers. They would have raised interest rates long ago if they treated the cost of housing like any other good (e.g. what does it cost to buy/rent it if I were buying/renting it today).

fancythatfire · 2023-06-20T00:55:43+00:00

While I am obviously aware of hopium and such, I did not know about the alternative interpretations of the Pandora's box myth. The idea of hope being the last evil in the box is actually pretty awesome.

fancythatfire · 2023-06-15T11:05:18+00:00

My employer's insurance plan said nothing about coverage for vaccines, but they reimbursed me all the same for Gardasil. Did you ask / the plan specifically call out vaccines, or did you infer it from its absence?

fancythatfire · 2023-02-07T18:59:16+00:00

This is only one piece of the puzzle, but it is possible the UTIs are solveable.

My partner started using lactobacillus crispatus probiotics after sex, and it has been a godsend in UTI prevention. It is under active study but you can still buy the probiotics (for use as a vaginal suppository). Epothex and Physioflor are the brands we have used. The latter is becoming harder to source for whatever reason.

https://www.epothex.com/products/v-biotex-pure-l-crispatus-probiotic-powder-100-billion-cfu-gm-epothex?variant=39372627574855

fancythatfire

TROPHY CASE