It really is interesting that many people who live in large cities don’t really spend time seeing the attractions that their city has to offer. Maybe it’s because people are far too caught up with more mundane tasks like going to work, going to school, or taking care of family. Or perhaps the concept of “going out” is merely just going to the usual haunts with a couple of friends.

I know when I come home from work, I really have no desire to go anywhere afterwards. Having a 9 hour work day, with an 1-2 hours of commute time to and from home really sucks the energy out of you. Couple that with a dwindling amount of spontaneity, and what you get is someone who doesn’t really get out enough.

Oh, but this past Monday was quite interesting. I was speaking to Lisa about Honest Ed’s which is this famous mondo bargain store at Bloor and Bathurst. I mean, seriously, from the outside, the garish circus-like sign is instantly recognizable. I had been there once or twice in the past–perhaps when I was 9-years-old. I remember just walking around for what seemed like forever in this maze of sections. This store had everything, you know. It seemed humungous to me at the time, as it would in the eyes of a young one. Anyway, I was telling Lisa about the place and how it’s a Toronto landmark. Then, she decides that she wants to see that place on that same Monday. Hell, I kind of wanted to revisit the place, too. I thought it’d be cool to see the place after such a long time, but right after work?

I was really sitting on the fence about going, until she mentioned that she was going no matter what my decision was. She had JP to go with her. Well, if it was going to be a group activity, I thought that I might as well join in. Besides, it’s not like any of my TV Shows are on Monday night, you know?

Oh, and she mentioned wanting to collect transfers from every subway station west of Bathurst. Someone had dared her to collect transfers from every station on the TTC system. Doing so…it’s just not something Torontonians do. Admittedly though, when I was young, I really wanted to do the same. Riding the subway was a lot of fun. I loved seeing all the stations, and back then I could name the station sequences by heart. I had thought about getting off at every station and collecting transfers as marker to say, “I had been there”. Just that, doing so was definitely not a practical use of time, right? Anyway, here’s this out-of-towner wanting to do what I’ve always wanted to do myself. So, we tacked that onto our itinerary of stuff to do.

Visiting Honest Ed’s was interesting. If I were to sum the place up in one word, I guess it would be…kitsch. There’s a lot of knick knacks and really cheap stuff there. Now, 14-15 years later from my last visit, the magic just isn’t there anymore. It’s worth a good laugh just looking at some of the stuff being sold. Truth be told though, dig enough, and there’s bound to be some sort of treasure to be found there. I guess we didn’t find anything there though that night. I didn come out with a couple of chocolate bars and a can of honey roasted nuts.

The subway trek was more interesting than I thought it would be. At every stop, we got off, and raced upstairs to the red transfer machines. Then we raced back down to the platform and waited for the next train. At times, the train came just seconds after getting back to the platform so we often had to hurry. Other times, we had a good 2-3 minute rest before boarding the next train. It reminded me heavily of The Amazing Race. It’s like we were racing to get to that damn clue box to get our next clue. 14 stops later, we finished off at the west end at Kipling station. It took a lot less time than I thought it would. I think it only took about an hour to cover all the stops. The subways are also more crowded than I thought they would be at 10. I thought there’d be a few more crazies than I saw, too. Apart from the drunken guy yelling at Christie station, I saw nothing too out of the ordinary.

Spontaneity is a great thing. I really don’t think I’ll be going to the rest of the stations to build my collection any time soon, but hey, I’ve got a story to tell to my kids about their father and the subway.