yes, indeed

Yesterday, I went to Kingston, Ontario.

About a half hour before I was to leave my apartment I noticed that my credit card was missing. I had used it just the previous evening paying for ordered in pizza, but I could not find it anywhere. I searched high and low, and fortunately had a backup plan that I had 45$ in cash that I just happened to have. So in the end I left without my credit and with the 45$.

I took the Exo train at 8h30 which got me to Dorval at 8h39, walked over to the Via Rail station and read my book (Dracula, by Bram Stoker) until my Via Rail train #63 arrived at 9h15 and I boarded.

The train was perhaps 70-80% full; I was sitting at the window and also at Dorval a woman came on to the train who had her seat next to mine. Early on in our trip she asked an attendant if she could have a different seat. For the duration of the trip to Kingston, her request was not accommodated.

She ordered a bagel with cream cheese; and the way it was provided is a clue to me to not order it in any of my future rail trips. The bagel was provided whole and the cream cheese in separate small disposable pouches, so she was required to cut open the bagel with flimsy knife and then open those pouches. The only way to buy food and/or snacks on the train is with a credit card, so I bought nothing.

I read my book in the 2:20 train ride duration with occasional breaks just to look out the window. A few minutes before we arrived in Kingston I asked the woman next to me to allow me to pass, and then I walked to where the exit was and disembarked once we arrived.

It took me a moment to gather my bearings as to where I was to go next, which I had memorized, but within a minute I was on my way. From the train station heading out then left, joins up with Princess street, which I walked the length of until getting into the central part of Kingston, about 6km.

I had pre-planned going to Harper's Burger Bar and found it without a problem, and was fortunate in that at the time I arrived, there was no queue and there were plenty of tables available. I had to show proof of vaccination and approved ID (I had both ready) to get in. I ordered The Anytimer drink (a bourbon lemon/lime drink), Beyond Burger and creamy coleslaw. It was all good, and they had no trouble accepting the cash I brought. As I was waiting for my order and then eating it, the restaurant gradually filled up, and as I was leaving, there was a queue outside.

Next I walked down to King street and took King street heading west. My whole reason for this trip was to demolish some opponent mines in the Resources mobile device game, so in that general area I found a few opponent mines I was successfully able to attack. As I walked west on King there were a few spots where I detoured down to the water. There were a lot of Queen's University students milling about, always in groups of at least three, and at most 15. It was a lovely early fall day, it is not surprising they were out and about.

Finally I got to the section that I really wanted to get to; an opponent called 'FurFactory' had perhaps 60 mines all with really low defenses. So I worked my way through that neighbourhood and victoriously attacked all of them. Once that was done I started to very gradually wind my way back in the direction of the train station. Along the way, using the Resources game, I would scan to see if there were any resources to mine and built a bunch of mines wherever I find the resources I was after.

I ended up back on Princess street and stopped at an Esso station convenience store and with the remaining cash I had bought a sandwich and a Coca-Cola, the latter of which I began consuming immediately, the former I put in my back-pack to eat on the train. Then I made my way back to the train station and arrived about an hour before train 66 was to take me home.

While waiting for the train, I continued reading my book, when it arrived I boarded without incident, and as before, a woman was seated next to me who asked to be seated elsewhere (as there were some empty seat-pairs nearby) and she was granted the move, so I had my window seat and the seat to my left was empty.

I ended up finishing my book with about an hour left in the train ride and just listened to music for the remaining time. At Dorval I walked back and managed to catch the 203 bus just as it was destined to leave, so I had to wait exactly zero minutes, heck, even zero seconds. I got home without incident.

It was a lot of walking, perhaps about 16km worth, and the weather was nice, it was around 20C and somewhat windy with the occasional cloud blocking the sun. I had my earbuds in listening to my music from the Kingston train station until I got to Harper's Burger Bar, but then did not put my music back in until I got back to Princess street later in the day. I quite enjoyed the whole experience, I think I'll do it again, irrespective of the Resources reason to do this.