The Road to and From Touchdown Atlantic: Moncton and Charlottetown Edition

Touchdown Atlantic has come and gone, but my adventures on Canada's east coast have not.

I covered the game and our arrival in Moncton, but I didn't talk about what we did pre- and post-game. I also forgot one cool part of our arrival in Moncton.

We stopped at a gas station to pick up drinks and fuel before embarking on the final leg of the trip. While at the gas station, we were saluted with an "Oskee Wee Wee!" by a guy at the gas station. Tiger-Cat fans in Moncton (not at the game): check!

Before I move on, it should be noted that during our travels Kevin Glenn sustained a devastating left-arm injury, and while he gutted out a tough performance, he was forced into a hyperbaric chamber to fix his ailing limb, thus ending his trip.

But even with the injury, he soldiered on in Moncton. Before the game, we hit up the Magnetic Hill. Kevin Glenn came along for the ride. (Note the missing arm.)

After that, we decided to walk from our hotel to the stadium on the campus of the Université de Moncton. Kevin Glenn was there, feeling worse, but still holding on strong.

Once we arrived, we partook in the pre-game festivities, which were a lot of fun. While there, Kevin Glenn made the rounds.

He enjoyed a pancake breakfast courtesy of the Calgary Stampeders.

He met up with some Tiger-Cats Cheerleaders...

And some Stampeders Cheerleaders.

He also had the privilege of chilling with Pigskin Pete.

And both Glenn and myself met former CFLer, and current TSN colour commentator Glen Suitor. Suitor was very gracious and more than willing to pose with me, despite the fact that I had a one-armed bobblehead in my hand. Glen Suitor is a cool dude.

And just prior to kickoff, Glenn met his nemesis in the form of... Santa? Yup, Santa is not a fan of Kevin Glenn.

While at the game, we had the privilege of sitting with a couple of Tiger-Cat fans and a threesome of Stampeder fans. The Ti-Cat fans were awesome, and I feel bad for not getting their names because I would have shouted them out here. But if either of you read this, feel free to drop me a line and I will give you your kudos.

The Stampeder fans were fun too. They took the beating the Stamps took in stride and had fun with it. Those are the type of opposing fans you want to sit with. They didn't get belligerent and took the jibes in stride. I also wish I would have gotten their names, but on the off chance they read this, feel free to drop me a line and I will be glad to give you your proper due for making the game even more fun.

The game and the surrounding events were awesome. My only regret is that I didn't get a chance to run into Drew Edwards. I would have loved to have gotten his picture with Kevin Glenn. Sadly, I did not. Maybe next time.

I do have a couple of stories to share about Charlottetown.

First, a lot of people in Prince Edward Island liked the Tiger-Cats. I was approached twice by locals who brought up the game on Sunday. Tiger-Cats fans in P.E.I.: check!

The next story is even better. We went out to dinner at a place called Lobster on the Wharf. Some may know it as the place the Stampeders ate the night before the game this weekend. When we arrived and before heading to dinner, we hit up the fish market adjacent to the restaurant. We learned about lobsters from the man who runs the market... who also happened to be a Tiger-Cats fan. We then went to the restaurant where the man that seated us was also a Tiger-Cat fan (and was the son of the man who runs the fish market). What are the odds?

And that about ends the Touchdown Atlantic road trip. Tomorrow begins the long journey back to Hamilton. Since the siteseeing will be kept to a minimum, this is the last travel log I will be posting. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. This was a trip I was glad I made, and if the Tiger-Cats ever play in Moncton again (which is likely), I will be more than happy to make the long journey back to the Maritimes.

The Road to Touchdown Atlantic: Grand Manan and Moncton Edition

Today was a very interesting day. It started in the small island town of Grand Manan. The hope was to take a whale-watching tour, but because of inclement weather, the trip was canceled.

While we were not able to get on a boat, Kevin Glenn would not be stopped. While the rest of us were eating breakfast, Kevin Glenn found himself a boat.

I wonder what he was thinking while he was on that boat.

After the boat tour was canceled, we took a trip around the island. We found some awesome stuff. Some views that look right out of those "Visit New Brunswick" ads. Even Kevin Glenn was awed by the view.

Unbeknownst to me, Grand Manan is well known for its Hole-in-the-Wall attraction. It is literally a gigantic hole in a rock formation on the edge of the island. I didn't know this existed, nor did I know that it was known to others. Kevin Glenn was impressed by it as well.

That ended our Grand Manan adventure, and we boarded the ferry to head to the final destination: Moncton.

All roads lead to Moncton for this weekend, and we arrived around 7:30PM local time. We settled in and went to grab some pizza from Greco's. The pizza was recommended to me, and I thought it was pretty darn good. Kevin Glenn didn't get a chance to eat any pizza; he was too tired following such a busy day.

Finally, after leaving Hamilton Wednesday morning, we arrived, safe and sound, in Moncton. Tomorrow is finally game time. As much as I have enjoyed our stops in Quebec City and Grand Manan, I came on this trip to watch some football.

But the trip doesn't end after the game does. There is still a day in Charlottetown and the stops on the way back from Moncton. So there will still be more travel stories over the next few days. Kevin Glenn's journey through Canada is far from over.

The Road to Touchdown Atlantic: Quebec City Edition

The first site-seeing day of the great adventure to Moncton was in the provincial capital of Quebec. I am a huge history nerd, so taking in the sites of Quebec City was something I have wanted to do for a while. I traveled there when I was younger, but it never really sunk in how impressive the city is.

The first stop of the day was the National Assembly. What an impressive building with some great statues of prominent Quebeckers surrounding it. I am, and always will be, more interested and awed by the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, but the National Assembly is spectacular. It has that awe factor that is lacking from the only other provincial legislature I have seen: Queen's Park in Toronto. Kevin Glenn seemed pretty impressed too.

While looking around the National Assembly, I was sporting one of my Tiger-Cat t-shirts, and as I made my way to the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine statue, an elderly lady was sitting down, enjoying the nice day. She spotted me and gave me a "Yea Hamilton!" To which I replied with my classic, "Yeah!" and a thumbs up. Finding a Hamilton fan in Quebec City: check!

After that it was off to the Plains of Abraham. One of my favourite historical tales is the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. I'm not a big war historian, but that battle between the French and the English captures my imagination like you wouldn't believe. While walking around the area Kevin Glenn spotted a cannon, and I think the metaphor of cannons and arm strength was too much for the Tiger-Cats' pivot to pass up.

Next was a lunch stop at a nice little restaurant called Le Pain Béni. Very delicious food, and I would recommend it to anyone who was planning a trip to Quebec City. The restaurant is across the street from the Chateau Frontenac. The food was reasonably priced. While we were eating, Kevin Glenn wandered off, and found himself a friend. I never knew that he enjoyed accordion music so much.

After lunch, we took a walk around the Château Frontenac. It is a beautiful building. I would say it's one of the most impressive buildings in the city, and it is, but that would be doing a disservice to the other great buildings there are in Quebec City. Still, to see the Chateau is a must for any visitor to Quebec City. Kevin Glenn was sufficiently impressed as well.

Concluding the trip was a walk around old Quebec and to Le Marché du Vieux-Port. Old Quebec was one of the few things I remembered from my previous trip, and it stayed relatively the same. It is a wonderful little walking district, and the history is there for everyone to behold. Sadly, Kevin Glenn was rather tuckered out, so he slept while the rest of us enjoyed our walk and crème glacée.

That ended the day in Quebec City as the rain started to pour and all of us, Kevin Glenn included, had seen what we set out to see. It was a fun stop on the road to Moncton, one I am glad was made. Tomorrow is a travel day, as we leave very early from Quebec City and head to Grand Manan, New Brunswick, where on Saturday, weather permitting, we will go whale watching. Kevin Glenn will be with us as we hopefully see some whales.

The Road to Touchdown Atlantic

Many might not know why I started this blog. If you go back to the first post, I never actually state the purpose or goals I had. Normally, as I've seen from other bloggers, your first post is a kind of manifesto, a reason for what you are doing and what you hope to accomplish. I never did that.

I am about to now.

As much as I love the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the reason I started writing this was actually not to cover the Ti-Cats as in-depth as I have over the last two years. I started writing because back in January 2010, myself and two friends hatched a plan to travel with the team throughout the 2011 season. We were going to hit up every game in every city. For reasons I won't go into, those plans fell through.

Now you know, and this is a story I don't think I have shared with anyone else. No one knew why I started this blog. In fact, after the cross-country trip I was going to stop writing altogether. The trip was a gift to myself for graduating university, and I thought that once I had to enter the quote-unquote real world, I wouldn't have time to maintain this blog. Now I hope to keep doing this indefinitely. I enjoy writing, and I hope you enjoy reading what I write.

Anyway, with the big trip canceled, we decided to go to a game in a different venue every season until we have seen the Tiger-Cats play in every stadium in the country. A more modest and doable proposal.

Last season, we did a pre-run of sorts by going to Montreal. It was amazing, and I wrote about it back in July 2010. That dealt solely with the football aspect of the trip, i.e. the game itself and the atmosphere surrounding Percival Molson Stadium at McGill University.

I'm going to do things a little differently this time around. Since this is a much more elaborate trip, I am going to detail what is happening and what I'm doing. I'm sure the people who come here strictly for football news and opinion are not going to care, but I know there are people out there interested in this side of the story.

The trip started yesterday morning by driving from Hamilton to Quebec City. I have been to Quebec City twice before and enjoyed it immensely both times. The plan is to stay in Quebec City today (Thursday) and take in some of the sites, since my co-travelers have not been to Quebec's capital. I am not entirely sure what sites we will be seeing, but I have no doubt it will be fun.

Then on Friday, we leave Quebec City and head to Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Where the hell is Grand Manan, you ask? No idea. We are going there because of a whale-watching tour were are taking on Saturday. I have never seen a whale, outside of Marineland, so this is a bit of a treat for me.

From there, it's off to Moncton to enjoy the game. That, no doubt, will be fun. I have never been to the east coast – you can count on one hand the number of places I have visited as an adult – and I have always wanted to see that part of Canada.

From there, it is a jaunt to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to see the site of the Charlottetown Conference (so be prepared for this site to turn into History Nerdskee Wee Wee on Monday) and probably some other stuff in PEI.

After that, it is the long trek home. That is the one part of this grand sojourn that has not been planned. It is very likely to be a two-day journey back to Hamilton.

But for the Tiger-Cat fans out there, a little Black & Gold flair will be added to the proceedings. Remember those Kevin Glenn bobbleheads they gave out to 5,000 fans at the game last week? He came with. So there will be pictures of Glenn taken at various Canadian tourist spots.

Glenn's first stop: The Big Apple in Colborne, Ontario.

Today, it's off to see some of the great historic sites in Quebec City. I wonder where Glenn will find himself today?