The Bagel express!
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It was supposed to be a simple mission: drive from Toronto to Montreal late at night, grab the freshest Montreal-style bagels straight from the oven, and head back.
IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER!
What we got instead was one of the most random, fun, and memorable road trips we’ve ever done. Complete with a sweet find at Kenny U-Pull , an unexpected Czech festival, and the grand opening of the Sofia Vintage Motor Café.
The Canadian winter classic 'Mitten bite maneuver'
The Drive
Toronto to Montreal (Bagel Express Edition) We left Toronto Friday evening, chasing that perfect time where the 401 becomes this trance-like river of black, punctuated by headlights and shining big rigs. The plan was simple: arrive in Montreal around midnight–1am, hit Fairmont Bagel and congratulate ourselves on a job well done.
That didn't happen! We stopped so many times on the way & Corey's Beetle was so slow we barely made it to the Hotel by 2am so the late night bagels were out. Next morning it was!
LET'S DO THIS!
After minimal sleep, we headed for a very early morning rendezvous at Kenny U-Pull to see a surprise they had in store for us.
And what a surprise it was! I suppose not everyone would get excited about a crusty old VW Type 3 but here you have it. A moldy, (But mostly complete) specimen that really was just a perfect way to start another road trip day.
Just FYI, this was the absolute worst decal install ever, in the history of time. Thanks Corey.
The plan was to head to Sophia Motor cafe, to catch their opening weekend but it turns out fate had other plans. I had seen on FaceBook that there was a Czech gathering happening in Ottawa, and with a sliiiiight detour I could make it work. Now, when you drive a Skoda in North America, and there's a Czech event happening anywhere near you you are OBLIGATED to go visit. So visit I did. I promised I would only be 5 minutes, and listening to the other dudes freak out over the radio when it turned into 45 minutes was a real highlight for me.
WRONG!
Sophia Motor Cafe is an in interesting place; the owner Hassan has some nice rides stashed in there.
I love that we showed up in this motley collection and managed to get parking right out front :D Even better was we had a lot of friends show up randomly as well, so lots of handshakes and hugs to go around.
A quick stop to the Big Cat Garage was in order.
Why you ask?
Well let's see if you can guess:
A) Corey's Beetle wasn't running properly
B) Corey's Beetle wasn't running properly, AGAIN
C) Corey found a way to get someone to work in his broke Beetle while he watches
D) Corey found a way to get someone to work in his broke Beetle while he watches, AGAIN
If you answered any or all of the above you are correct!
Smug bastard
The return trip was spent on backroads and around the north shore of Lake Simcoe. A real treat to drive these roads with friends at the tail end of a great trip. And we all made it!
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