USA & Canada 2016 - On the trail of the Tragically Hip

As we drove north through New York State, Cathy asked what I was going to say if I was asked why we were visiting Canada. "Pilgrimage!" was my reply.

We'd specifically chosen a route that would take us to Kingston, Ontario because it is the home town of The Tragically Hip. I got into The Hip back in the 90s and have seen them four times, including Manchester and Glasgow on consecutive nights in 2009 and in London twice in 2013. In Glasgow I got to sing down the microphone when the lead singer Gord Downie left the stage and came into the crowd. It is quite possibly the greatest night of my life.

So this was an opportunity not to be missed.

Our trail begins the other side of the border driving north, when we saw a sign for the Last American Exit. This is the subject of a song on their 8 song proto-album released in 1987.

We took a wrong turn coming into Kingston, but that meant we were able to pull up and get photos on the street named after them!

The big local venue is the Rogers K-Rock Centre. It's address is 1 The Tragically Hip Way.

I wanted to have a look in local record shops to see if I could pick up some early singles that I haven't got in my collection. There are a couple of record shops in Kingston. The one of note is Brian's Record Option.

This is what a record shop looks like inside.

Amazingly, Brian knows where everything is and could find stuff quite easily. I bought two solo albums by Paul Langlois, the Hip's guitarist.

When we left Kingston, we drove along the shore of Lake Ontario to Bath. It's a tiny place where The Hip have their recording studio.

Bath proudly declares itself a 'Loyalist Township'. That means it was founded by displaced people who fled the American states after the American Revolution.

There isn't much to see in Bath and we were soon on our way to Toronto. Our hotel there was near the Canadian Walk of Fame. We went for a walk along the Walk of Fame and found the star dedicated to The Tragically Hip.

That's not the end of the story. Sadly a couple of days after we got home I came home from work and Cathy told me we had received a sad email. Gordon Downie has revealed that he has a terminal brain tumour. The gigs the band have planned to promote their soon-to-be-released album will be their last.

I've been rocked by this news. It makes me feel so glad I did my pilgrimage when I did, before I knew that.

(Here's a great article from the BBC about why The Tragically Hip are the most Canadian band in the world.)

USA & Canada 2016 - To Canada! Exploring Kingston, Ontario.

We left Cooperstown in the rain. I think this was the first time I had driven in America while it was raining. A short while into our trip we discovered that the bottle of lemonade we had put in the fridge of our hotel room had semi-frozen. We discovered this the explosive way, when Cathy opened it and the remaining unfrozen liquid rapidly left the bottle. We pulled over to clean up. I thought the bottle had become over-pressurised somehow and didn't realise it was frozen. So as Cathy had dried off and settled down, I thought I could open it gently and we'd be OK.

This didn't work and I managed to soak Cathy with lemonade all over again.

After 'The Lemonade Incident' the journey was without much incident. We stopped at a services plaza as we headed North. It was called Mapleview. It didn't look like much from the outside. Inside it was classic American diner with great food.

We carried on North. The landscape got quite wild and eerie towards the border. There were still farms, but they were more spread out. We were heading for the border crossing in the Thousand Islands, a scenic region in the St Lawrence river, that, yes, did provide the name for Thousand Island Dressing.

It's become customary on Facebook for people returning to Wales to post their pictures of the Severn Crossing. But there are bridges and there are bridges.

This one went on and on.

After the border checkpoint we passed the 1000 Islands Tower, where you can apparently get amazing views up and down the river.

And then another bridge and we were in mainland Canada.

Next stop was Kingston, Ontario, where we were staying for the next couple of nights. After a very brief stop to take some photos downtown (more on that later), we found our motel. It looked like a motel in a movie.

When we checked in the guy on the desk was very excited to hear we were from Cardiff because he was a huge Doctor Who fan. He even rolled up his sleeve to show us his TARDIS tattoo.

Kingston was the first capital of the united Canada, but people were afraid it was too close to those rebellious Americans to the South, so they moved the parliament to Ottawa. They'd already built the parliament building in Kingston, so the town has ended up with this massive municipal building right in the centre.

The town is on the shore of Lake Ontario, which looks like the sea. Cathy got to pretend she was on a boat.

Meanwhile I found a massive train to look at.

There is a real mix of interesting buildings.

And, of course, very different flags everywhere.

Kingston has lots of museums. I felt we should go to at least one while we were there. We chose one of the smallest - the old pumping station.

Mainly because I heard it had a big model railway display. It did.

At Harper's Burger Bar we had another encounter with fried pickles. I'm not sure why I look so startled by it.

We also got the opportunity to try a fabled Tim Horton's doughnut. Tim Horton was an ice hockey player who set up a coffee and doughnut shop after he retired from hockey. We saw Tim Horton's everywhere we went in Canada. They do good doughnuts. I recommend the Maple Dip.

Next up: the real reason we went to Kingston.

USA & Canada 2016 - Cooperstown; the National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame, and an unexpected incredible lake

Having left Massachusetts, we crossed state lines and arrived in Cooperstown, New York - a place of pilgrimage for thousands of baseball lovers every year. We stayed at the Tunnicliffe Inn, quite an old building by American standards but very pleasant.

Our instructions to get there were 'Drive up the main street until you reach the big flagpole. Turn left.'

Here's the flagpole.

Here is the main street.

And yet this fairly typical 'Smalltown, USA' is also the famous Cooperstown, home of this - the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum!

I'd asked some people in the know who said wearing team colours was appropriate. So I had taken my retro San Diego Padres shirt along. (It's a bit big on me these days, but hey!)

We had signed up and become members before we went as this represented a good value deal. Members get in free, get 10 per cent discount in the shop and so on. We made our money back in one trip. What I really appreciated is the way they will send you a 'team' membership card if you specify which team you follow.

The first stop in the self-guided tour is the Locker Room. This is a series of lockers done out with memorabilia from each major league baseball team in turn.

The Padres had their own locker, of course.

The rest of the museum was chock-full of interesting stuff, including the San Diego Chicken!

The Chicken used to advertise a local eatery between innings at San Diego games in the early 70s. It is widely credited as being the first 'mascot' character at a ball park. All the others, including the Padres' 'Swinging Friar' and Wally the Green Monster (who we saw at Fenway Park) have followed since.

In another cabinet was a batting helmet worn and signed by the greatest ever Padre, Tony Gwynn.

There were tons of other exhibits too. Ranging from supporter attire...

...to bats used to set and break records...

...to stadium giveaways and food vendor garb.

In a big exhibit about Babe Ruth I discovered one of his early schoolmasters was the very stern-looking 'Brother Matthias'(!)

In another part of the museum, Cathy met the Philly Phanatic.

After the museum we visited the Hall of Fame itself. This I found quite moving; a really beautiful tribute to the great players of the past.

I was amused to read this disclaimer as I walked in, though.

I guess a lot of know-it-alls complain about inaccuracies they find on the plaques, and this is pre-emptive.

The first five inductees get their own section.

The hall is laid out very well and as long as you know the year a player was inducted, they are easy to find. We found Tony Gwynn's plaque without any trouble.

We still had some time and some glorious sunshine to have a bit of a wander round the actual town, marvelling at their quintessential Americanness. We particularly liked this church that had a church-shaped birdbox outside.

There are also a lot of shops selling baseball souvenirs, as you would expect. We bought some (cough!). You can buy pretty much anything baseball-related. This is the only time I have ever seen baseball card vending machines.

I also really liked this artwork print on the wall of the restaurant where we ate dinner. Unfortunately I couldn't find a shop selling prints like it or I would have bought one. (Still, taking a photo is cheaper, I suppose.)

And then the last surprise of Cooperstown. It's next to a nine-mile long lake. When we arrived the first evening, we walked down to the shore just as the sun was setting. It was magical.

And so after an all-too-brief stay is was time to bid Cooperstown farewell. And not just Cooperstown, but New York State as well. In fact the whole of the United States, because we were heading North. For the border with Canada. To Ontario.