Canada Trip, Day 3
August 6, 2008

It's Wednesday, and we are ready to tackle the Hockey Hall of Fame. This, of course, has Zac busting at the seams to get there. Five people to get ready, and we are on the move by 10 AM. Should be about a 20 minute walk, so off we head!




First thing we notice as we leave the hotel is the string of "trailers" lined up down the road. As we walk past them, we hear some people talking about the "producers arriving on set", etc. Sure enough, there was a movie about to be filmed here! These trailers are "Star" trailers, but only first names. Liam stuck out, as I only know of one Liam actor. The movie name, or perhaps code-name, looks to be called "The Bridge".

Walking on, we run into some construction, but that allows us to walk through Air Canada center, where the Maple Leafs play. Kinda cool!

11:00 AM

City Pass is purchases at the front desk of the HHOF. The City Pass allows you to visit 6 attractions in 9 days. Pretty cool deal, as they are all half off. Quick calculations shows you need to hit 3 to get your money back, and we have plans for 4.

The HHOF is open until 6PM, and we have re-entry capability. Its located at the corner of street, and is attached to one of the city's underground malls. We took pictures outside first, and found the main entrance, which is no longer opened, as everyone is forced to go in trough the mall.

What a place! This is the kind of place you can enjoy even if your are not a hockey junky. Lots to see and do here. Exhibits, history, games, trivia, you name it!


Our first order of business was to go see the Stanley cup. The room itself is quite elaborate and we have to wait in line a bit. Today was white gloves day at the HHOF, so we stood in line with our white gloves on ready to touch and be photographed with the Cup.

11:30 AM

They came in an indicated the cup was going to be moved to the Molson Room for a a little history, so we got our pictures just in time. We headed down to the Molson room...


One of the cup carriers was in the house, and he spent 30 minutes talking and showing pictures of the cup and where it had been. It has certainly been in some strange places! About that time, the carrier introduced the HHOF special guest Ron Ellis. Mr. Ellis played for Toronto the last time they won the cup, 1967!!





12:30 PM

The kids wanted to check out some of the games available for hockey lovers. Zac and Kayla grabbed a stick and tried there sharp shooting at a virtual target practice and virtual goalie. We sat in the stands and watched Zac face live pucks as some of the stars of hockey (virtually, of course) fired away!




1:00 PM

Everyone is hungry, so we trekked out to find lunch. On Younge St, it appeared as if we were right downtown in the hustle and bustle of it all. There was a supposed to be another Hard Rock Cafe downtown, and since the first one had a limited menu, it was decided to see the full HRC of Toronto, so we wandered down the street.

2:30 PM

Lunch is over, much better selection and service downtown, so we started our walk back down the street. We decided to make this walk inside, and wandered into the Sears across the street, that connected several blocks underground, 3 stories underground, of yet another mall.

We worked our way back towards the HHOF,as there was still some exhibits we wanted to see.

4:00 PM


Back in the Hall, we entered the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) display area, where we saw all the great old and new sweaters of the stars. Including the goalie gear and uniforms of some of those from the Miracle on Ice in 1980! This area was probably one of the best exhibits.

Back into Sir Stanley's room, we entered the vault (yes, an actual bank vault) to visit the original top part of the cup, that was replaced several years back as it was showing great wear.

After this is when I took the chance for the R Bar photo. I wore the "R Bar Wings Suck Less" shirt under my Blue Jackets shirt, so I tucked it in the bag, and Elisha took the picture.



5:30 PM

We left the HHOF and trekked back to the hotel. We wanted to be up the CN tower during sunset, so a quick nap was in order, as the CN Tower was practically across the street.

(Pause on the blog as we move to the pool, the kids can burn some energy as I finish this up)

(Brrrr, chili outside here! But they say the water is warm, so swim away!)

7:00 PM

The City Pass says the best time to visit the CN Tower is after 7PM, the crowds will be less. So, at 7, we head out. It's located right next to Rogers Center (Skydome) and the Blue Jay are playing again tonight. This time with the top open. We are expecting a great view from the top!

We wait in line about a total of 30 minutes, and then we are on the elevator. 58 seconds later, we are over 1800 feet above the earth! What another spectacular view! It is a bit overcast tonight (no rain today), but we can still see pretty good. We have a clear vision of the game, well, the players, but can't seem to see the ball!

We move downstairs one level to the "glass floor" level. Now this is interesting.... Right on top of the ball bark, and all but Kiestyn and Elisha braved out onto the glass (they did peer down, however).
We walked outside for a view, and there was a quite a blast of fresh air up here. This was short lived, and we quickly moved back inside.

We spent about an hour wandering around, and when we saw no line for the elevator down, we took the opportunity to go.

9:00 PM

Everyone is hungry once again, and since it is late, we wander back to the hotel and look for something close by. Shoeless Joe's is attached to the hotel, so this is where we end our day.

10:00 PM

Everyone is tired (that nap thing never really happened), so into PJ's, and drift off with a little soothing TV in the back ground.

Good night, tomorrow, we check out the Toronto Zoo.