Day 4-Au Revoir Montreal, Hello Hockey Hall of Fame

It was a long-ish car ride from Montreal to Toronto and as much as I liked Montreal I felt an immense sense of relief as English showed itself to be the predominant language in Ontario. (I hated having to ask "what does this mean?" every few minutes).

The car ride was worth it as I finally got to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame. (I've only been wanting to visit since high school). I have to admit that I didn't like the way the exhibits were set up. So much memorabilia made it feel like a hall of mirrors as I passed the "Legends- Past & Present" exhibit for the fourth time while looking for the ladies room. But it was all worth it when I got to touch the Stanley Cup. (How many other museums let you touch their most prized possession? Ever try to touch one of those Monet's at the Met in NYC? A lot of alarms go off once your hand even brushes within an inch of the painting). It was amazing that the silver trophy was not entrenched behind some complex security screen. There was a guy there to take your 'official' photo and to make sure that you don't maul it or something. But there it stood, begging to be touched. I ran my fingers over the silver rings that had also been handled by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Maurice Richard, Ray Bourque, Brian Leetch, and Gordie Howe. it was an almost indescribable experience that elicited a combination of joy, excitement, relief, and awe.
The evening was spent with a friend's family who lives in Toronto. Sometimes homemade food and a comfy home is much preferable to a hotel room.