I'd say why my mind chose to reflect on Thunder Bay is beyond me, but that would be a lie. Though I really do not miss how cold the winter was up there, I do find myself having a deep desire to return. I don't have to live there (not unless the winters are a bit warmer), but I'd love to go back for a week or so to visit. I miss how crisp and fresh the air was, how starry the sky was at night, walking along the path beside the river behind the residence, and the overall beauty of the place. And the Hoito. Oh god, how I miss the Hoito.
Thunder Bay has itself a bit of a Finnish population, if I remember correctly, and the Hoito is a Finnish restaraunt. The Hoito is famous for its pancakes, and they're about to become better known, because when I was watching You Gotta Eat Here on Food Network last night, guess which place was featured? That's right. As if I wasn't missing Thunder Bay and the Hoito enough already. Should you find yourself up there, and want to know what the place looks like, here you go:
Open the doors, go down the stairs, and discover what food heaven really is.
There are other things about Thunder Bay that I miss, other than the Hoito. I had started off in Confederation College's flight program before being removed due to math and physics kicking my sorry arse. I'd generally have morning flights, and I must admit, the Sleeping Giant in Lake Superior really was a sight to behold first thing in the morning. Even after the sun had fully risen, it was still something to see.
The Sleeping Giant is the result of an Ojibway legend. On the left, you can see the giant's head, with his arms crossed over his chest, resting peacefully in the waters of Lake Superior. Instead of going into the details surrounding the legend, here's a link for Thunder Bay Tourism:
http://www.visitthunderbay.com/sleeping_giant/index.htm
I never had the chance to explore the Sleeping Giant when I lived in Thunder Bay, and that's another reason why I'd like to go back. I'd like to go explore all the things that I missed, and return to a few places of importance.
Whenever I'd look out my window in residence, walk along the river, or for that matter, walk along any sidewalk up there, I was always guaranteed to see Mount McKay. If I was missing home, taking a look at it would be like gazing upon the Hamilton Escarpment from the downtown.
Granted, I didn't always have a water view, but I think you get the point.
There are people in that city too who I would love to see again, especially a couple of former teachers of mine. Charlie Wilkins, a Canadian author, taught, "Storytelling as a Personal and Cultural Narrative". His class prompted me to take a "Native Literature in Canada" course for my degree. He was also the one who told me that if I wanted to make a living in life as a writer, I'd be more than capable as I have the skill. The other teacher I'd like to see again is Jacquie Cottingham. I had her for assertiveness training, psycology, and a student success class. Actually, I'd like to be able to thank her. In her assertiveness class, she taught us all the fine art of negotiation ("When you negotiate, everyone wins, whereas when you compromise, someone's left a loser."). I must admit, at 19 years old, I was thinking to myself, "when the hell am I ever going to use this?" When I went to the Dominican this past November, I managed to use the power of negotiation to get from two pieces of jewllery at $120, to four pieces to the tune of $40. I can just hear Jacquie now, telling me it was a good thing she taught me how to negotiate.
You know, when I started to write this, I thought that I'd maybe get the urge to go back to Thunder Bay out of my system. Now, I'm missing it even more. I guess that means I have to add, "return to Thunder Bay" to my "Things I'd Like to Do" list. Thankfully, there's WestJet...
Pictures compliments of Google Images.
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