Sunday, July 10, 2011

Thunder Bay and the Sleeping Giant Hostel.


-  We’re finding that the Backpackers chain of hostels are more variable, but cheaper and more interesting than the HI hostels. At the Sleeping Giant hostel in Thunder Bay we were welcomed by Gail. When Mac had called ahead, she explained that she would be at work, but told us where to find the key. Like the rooming houses of old, her house was full of students there for the long term. But the boundary between her house, the long term residents and the hostel was amazingly unclear. Some people seemed like relatives, lounging on the couch or walking around in their underwear – like a lovely Inuit woman and her son, while others,  like the clean cut Wisconsin cyclist, were what one normally finds at ‘youth hostels’. We had a ‘family room’ with a bunk bed for Sid. 

-          Thunder Bay seemed a curious mix of poor northern resource town, and alternative, hip centre. There were cooperatives of both kinds, pretty desperate poverty, and cool boutiques – within the same block. Yesterday we visited Fort William – which attempts to reenact the Fort in 1815. All the participants remained fully in character – as you ask them about their lives. Today a large, re-enactment of the annual trading rendez-vous will begin, where apparently hundreds of members of the public will dress in costume and play act the whole scene. Kind of hilarious, and call me a geek but I think that would be super-fun. 

1 comment:

  1. Dressing up and role playing sounds like fun anytime! You lovely geek.
    By the way, yesterday I saw this free anti virus advertised on the internet. I downloaded it and promptly introduced a nasty virus in my system. I forgot that old saying: "... Beware of Geeks bearing gifts..."
    It is good for me we are far apart right now. N'est ce pas..Heh, heh.. Love making a good pun. Did this one in the late nineties.
    Gian

    ReplyDelete