The New City of London Ontario

Exploring the City As If For the First Time

Beyond the chance of connecting with friends and family while I was up there, I had the opportunity to do something people rarely get the chance to do while you’re in the city, and that’s get the chance to see it in completely new eyes. London Ontario is a big city for a Canadian one, and there have always been parts of it I’ve never really explored. There were restaurants to try, people to talk to, and just in general neat places to go throughout the journey. Why not take the opportunity since i was here to do just that?

While I did make it a point to stay in my area when I was working, I made it also a point to explore other parts of the city. I made myself a promise that I’d take the opportunity to go as if I’ve never been here. Twenty years is a long time between visits. And since it’s going to be the last time for a long time, I wanted to make it count.

I went downtown and explored the corpse of it. It’s definitely nowhere near as full as I remembered it. The streets are emptier and there are a lot more people on the street. That said there were some gems as well. I got to go to Heroes cards and comics for the first time in a long time. Two comic shops I grew up being a part of were LA Mood and Heroes, and it was cool to see it. Heroes has long since passed the ownership from when I was there, but it was great to see the place, and what it had evolved too.

LA Mood had the same ownership, and I wished I had had the chance to see them. The store was in the Kellogg center, which was brand new to me. The Kellogg Center is the evolution of the retired Kellogg factory. It’s an unique building. Also, it has the distinction of being the most expensive Starbucks I’ve been to. Still, was a nice place to work.

There are a lot of cool places in London I checked out. There was a Jack Astors bar. I missed Jack Astors. It’s the one bar/restaurant franchise that lets you color the sheets. The food is decent and coloring is therapeutic.

I got to play commander in London in a few places. I really enjoyed playing at The Game Chamber, as there’s a really good group of people in there. Recommend it.

I got to talk to a lot of people too. Mostly just one and done conversations. One particular person that we talked, I told her about my journey as I do, and we talked about her life and what she needed. I may or may not have made her serious about creating her own backpacking journey.

I find I enjoy talking to people in their twenties a lot. That moment of taking on the world and being fearless about what may be in front of them. I saw that over and over whenever I went somewhere in the city, whether it was the chapters at Indigo or any of the new places I went. I love seeing people willing to challenge and change the system. I got a lot of good hope for where London is going.

Time flew, and New Years fast approached. With that, my time was up. London, you’re not my city anymore, but I’ll always be happy I grew up here. But I was excited to start again. Thanks to Brad and his family for the mario kart, and letting me survive the worst month to travel in.