Visit to Kitchener, Ontario August 4,2011

What a pleasant day it turned out to be - not too much humidity and not too high temperatures.

I took some shots from the bus window which turned out better than I thought they would.

                                         Taken from the bus window on the way to Kitchener

Cambridge Bus Terminal

I loved these cloud as seen through the bus window

What a wonderful trip I had.  The drivers both way were very nice people and the passengers were very quiet.

We passed so many barns, rolling fields of crops and trees dotted the countryside.  I do love this journey from Hamilton to Kitchener. It is so much prettier than going from Toronto to Kitchener as I used to.  It was just straight highway which I found rather boring.

On this route I see lovely houses, some like storybook houses with lattice work as well as farmhouses. I can just visualize writing a story about the houses with the lattice work and its occupants.  While going through the numerous small towns and villages, I saw people pushing baby carriages, elderly folk in scooters and walkers and children on skateboards and bikes.  One sight I found really interesting, I think it was in Cambridge on the way back.  A lady in a scooter met a gentleman with a scooter, but what a scooter!  It had a roof and side panels.  Happily there was nobody behind either one of them.  I wish I could have been quick enough to have snapped that photo.  It was priceless but the bus was moving too fast by that time.  The man's was so interesting to see!

This was taken from quite a distance

I have always loved this building, I wish I knew its history.  It is all boarded up on the lower levels.  I can imagine that at one time it was a famous spot to go to.  I can just see ladies in their long dresses. elegant hats and parasols shading their fair complexions.  I also visualize gentlemen with their top hats on going in and out of this building.

Each time I see it, I am so glad to see that it is still there.

My son-in-law met me at the Kitchener bus terminal and we took the local bus to their place.

Bill in the front of their building

I really like where they live.  It is kept very clean and they have high standards which I like.

Bill's turtle

I tried to convince him to poke his head out so I could get a better shot of him, but alas, I guess he did not feel comfortable with that so this is the best I could do!

I was hoping to meet Milly their new cat, but she stayed under the bed all the time I was there.  Bill took this shot while lying down and this is the best shot that anybody has of Milly.  I hope that she gets used to people soon. 

Milly - the new cat under the bed.

Apparently Milly prefers to come out at night and check the new place out.  Hopefully she will get more brave as time goes by.

We had homemade bread sandwiches on the balcony and enjoyed a little time out there.  They have a huge balcony - what I could do with that balcony!  I am pleased to see that Anna is growing mint and has some plants out there.  In fact, her plants are doing really well in this new place. She always has had a green thumb.

Drinking coffee on the balcony - my favourite thing to do!

We passed a very pleasant time on the balcony and then decided to go out to the downtown area.  Nothing was going on that we could see so we went to a plaza in another area of the city.

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On the love seat in front of their building

Waiting for the accessible Kitchener bus

From what I have seen on my many visits to Kitchener, their buses are all accessible which makes it wonderful for those with mobility issues.

There also is a specialized transport system called Mobility Plus as well as taxi script.

The disabled people of Kitchener, at least from my observation, are well looked after.

Hamilton also is very great with their transportation system having mostly accessible regular buses, Darts and taxi script.

For those who may not known what Mobility Plus or

Darts is all about, they are special vans and buses fitted out for wheelchairs,scooters, and walkers.  They have a very heavy workload and the drivers are very responsible people as on their shoulders rests the safety of their passengers.

Taxi script is paper money that those who qualify due to disability buy for a certain price and the city pays parts of it.  This paper money is given to the taxi drivers.  A person is only allowed a certain amount of books per month.  In Hamilton, I believe it is 3 books per month.

A wonderful, helpful system.  In Toronto most of the buses are not accessible, Wheeltrans is extremely hard to get, as there are just too many people using it, and there is no such thing as Taxi Script.

I have found that living in a smaller city is much better for many reasons.

We went for a special treat to Zellers in the plaza and took some pictures there as well.

The kids took me to the bus terminal where I caught the six thirty bus and they went home.  We were all very tired but it was a great day spent together.

Thanks for dropping by.