JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Back in January, I wrote a post on the revamping of the service centres along Highway 401 in southwestern Ontario , which has meant little-to-no services on the highway itself for those sufferi...enjoying the drive between Windsor and London . On the way back from my west coast adventure, I had my first opportunity to check out the current state of the eastbound facilities at Dutton. The Dutton centre, which my family usually referred to as "West Lorne" due to another nearby town (that designation is used for the westbound facility), was our usual rest stop during trips to London or Waterloo Region. I don't recall using the facilities much before fast food chains entered the picture in the 1980s—before that, it was one of Shell's less-than-enticing 1867 cafeterias. By the time the facility closed a few months ago, services include a Shell gas bar, Mr. Sub, Tim Horton's and Wendy's. At one point, the province installed outdoor tourist information pi...

Driving along 401 between Windsor and London is rarely a pleasurable experience. The long, straight drive and flat landscape quickly induce highway hypnosis and leadfootitis. Toss in impatient truckers and seasonal hazards like black ice and the matching sets of service centres at Tilbury and Dutton/West Lorne come as a welcome break to ease one's nerves... ...well, they were a welcome break. The province is overhauling the service centres along the freeway , many of which date back to the 1960s. While some have been razed and reconstructed in the past decade, such as Ingersoll westbound, others have not seen major renovations since fast food chains moved in back in the 1980s. The problem for any driver passing through southwestern Ontario is that all service centres west of London are either fully closed or have limited facilities (washrooms/telephones). No gas is available, requiring drivers to make significant drives off 401 to find a fill up—signs erected by the province ...

While I've spent a good deal of time driving along 401, exploring its underside usually means waiting for a traffic light to change. I suspect the psychogeographers were overdue for a look underneath Toronto's busiest road, as we did during last week's trek along a northern stretch of the Don River. One of the first stops was a lonely Info-to-Go pillar near Auberge du Pommier. Seems like an odd location, unless there was high demand from those walking through the valley, motorists whose broken-down vehicles barely made it off the 401 or smokers looking for reading material on a dinner break. From here we wandered down into the Don Valley Golf Course , which sees more pawprints than tees during the winter. The official city rules on how to behave while playing golf. At least the shirt restriction isn't so narrow that only polo shirts are allowed, as has been the case on my few outings to the fairway. Walking through the course wasn't a problem, as previous...

Guess it's been a week since I last posted anything. Life's been busy in the interim - dinner with friends (one occured, one postponed), a trip home, opening birthday presents (even though the actual day isn't for two more weeks), watching my life flash by on the the 401... The ride back last night? Not bad until Dutton. Just beyond the service station, I noticed a car gaining fast on me. I was driving in the right lane, so i figured the guy would pass and maintain my speed, around 110. Instead, they kept gaining, breathing on my tail. Then they starting flashing their high beams off and on, like a strobe light. Even though the left lane was clear, they refused to pass. I wanted to pull into the left lane, but my eyes were full of spots and the glare from the other car was too strong. I pulled over and they followed. Pulled back into the right, and the chase continued. Then there was some traffic ahead of me and I attempted to brake a bit, but the other car was...