The drive to Sudbury was scenic, dotted with the lakes for which this
area is well known. At least the bits and pieces that I saw were
scenic—I drifted in and out of sleep, probably because of the glare
bouncing off the road.

We settled into the hotel and then picked up some swim stuff at the
nearby Zellers and Canadian Tire. You know you’re still in
civilization when….

We went for a quick swim. J. liked the small pool, although the
whirlpool was a bit too warm for her. *I* really enjoyed sinking into
the 100’F water, remembering the onsens of Japan. We alternated
between the warm whirlpool and the slightly cooler pool. The swimming
pool was around 5 meters long and 3 meters wide, which wasn’t much
challenge in terms of laps but still provided good exercise if one did
those laps while chasing or being chased by someone. Beside the pools
was an exercise room with a few pieces of gym equipment: a treadmill,
an elliptical traininer, and some weights. I didn’t bring my exercise
gear, though. At least I remembered my swimsuit this time!

Before heading to dinner, we passed by a toy store that caught our
eye. I was sorely tempted to get a paper doll crafting book because
the patterns and ideas caught my eye, but I figured that I could get
it for less if I ordered it over the Internet. W. picked up two
well-constructed wooden puzzles which looked nicely fiendish.

We ate at Swiss Chalet, one of J.’s favorite restaurants. Feeling a
little bit guilty about having indulged in so much bacon over the past
few weeks, I ordered the garden fresh chicken platter and chose fresh
vegetables and a salad as my two sides. (There, Mom, look, I’m eating
vegetables voluntarily!). This chicken platter was mostly ignored,
though, as I poked and prodded the two puzzles we just bought. (No
luck yet.) Only the occasional twangs of responsibility and sense of
etiquette reminded me to look up from the puzzle and eat dinner.
Fortunately W. and J. were busy with the other puzzle, so I wasn’t
being antisocial.

Tomorrow—Science North, the reason we made this trip. =) I hope it’s
as interesting as the brochures make it sound! This is the first time
I’ve made a trip *just* to go to a science centre. Stay tuned.

Random Emacs symbol: eshell-command-interpreter-max-length – Variable: *The maximum length of any command interpreter string, plus args.