Beautiful Things: Toronto And Getting Lost On Purpose Edition…

Posted on March 6, 2009 by hijabman

“Turn Left, Ahead”

I have no intentions of turning left.

“ Turn Left!“ The sultry female voice commands.

I continue to ignore her, and drive straight ahead.

I’m in Ithaca, NY, en route to Toronto, and the new satellite navigation unit (SATNAV) I purchased is the best thing ever.

Yeah, HijabBoy, it makes it so that you don’t get lost.

No, no, my dear reader. The best part of a SATNAV is that it ALLOWS you to go get lost as much as you want! Let me explain.

An old friend of mine named Sughra used to tell me about the ‘gorges’ near Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Ever since then, I’ve been mildly obsessed with exploring a gorge. Is that where the word ‘gorge-ous’ comes from? Hmmm!

Two nights ago, after a meeting with my mentor (who repeatedly called me a chicken… bok bok bokbaahhhk) I drove to Ithaca, NY. (1) An acquaintance I met at Harvard many years ago graciously offered a place for me to crash, despite my arriving at 2:00 AM. After a a little chit chat and her trying the espresso spice cheesecake I baked, we both retired to our rooms. (Note: (2) Trunks of cars make great refrigerators in the winter time

At 7:45 the next morning, I drove into downtown Ithaca, thinking I’d ask some locals to point me in the direction of a gorge. Instead, I decided to get lost on purpose. See, if you miss a turn on your way to a destination, the SATNAV recalculates your route (3).

So at every intersection, I made a right turn, or left turn, or just kept going straight… and came upon ‘Gorge Rd.” (4)

Bingo! It must be close. A turn here, a turn there… and

After enjoying the sights and sounds of the half-frozen waterfall seen above (4), I began my journey to Toronto. On the way, I saw a lone woman riding in horse-drawn carriage smiling a huge smile (5), a farmer who tipped his hat in my direction while he rode on a horse-drawn contraption (6), and several cutesy towns in upstate New York.

I arrived in Toronto just in time to catch lunch with an on-line acquaintance [that I had never met] near her work. After a lovely chat and several high-fives, we polished off lunch with some cheesecake from my trunk. Eating cheesecake out of your trunk on the sidewalk in Toronto with someone you just met? I believe that is beautiful thing number 7!