Victoria Park & Highway 401 Tim Horton’s in Toronto

Victoria Park & Highway 401 Tim Horton’s in Toronto

Many years ago, I discovered a coffee shop nearby our Armenian Community Centre and St. Mary’s Armenian Church which is situated across the street where you can see it and right of the Highway 401 in Toronto. This particular Tim Horton’s in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. Reason being is that, I made a lot of new friends over the years and most of them are Armenian and I have met people from other cultures and walks of life.

In the past 2-3 years, I have met a lot of Armenian people who have come from Syria, Lebanon and other places and plus people who have been here in Canada for many years. These beautiful people have shared stories about how their lives were in Syria, about the walks of life and the experiences they have been through, the hardships they had to face day in and day out. I am very happy that they are here and got to meet these sweet people.

These people I have met are absolutely lovely people and we have become a close family and our Tim Hortons at 2501 Victoria Park Ave. is our home away from home. We have shared laughs, good times, also spoke about serious issues, and most importantly, the bonds we have created is and will forever be in my heart. We God Willingly will continue to share these moments together for many years to come.

Whenever I go to Victoria Park 401 Tim Horton’s, I automatically feel at home, and we spend hours there on certain nights, and our cold winters nights make it a warm, safe and happy environment. During spring and summer months, we take our coffees or beverages of choice and we go outside to talk, go to the park beside Tim Horton’s, hanging out in our cars, to enjoy the weather, the increased daylight days, and nights and we just talk and talk like we all have known each other for so many years.

Now whenever we go, the workers know us, the late night baker, Everybody knows everybody, the cars we drive and come with, and there is always somebody new that is welcome with all of us. It is very hard to leave each other and go home. Sometimes we would be there until 2-3 AM in the morning without even feeling the time go by. Time flies when you are having a good time.

This Tim Horton’s, we call it the Armenian Tim Horton’s or some people call it Tim Hortonian’s, because most of our last names end with IAN or YAN. lol. Not mine, but majority of Armenians. We call it that way is because Armenians come from the nearby Armenian Community Centre and a lot of Armenians live around the areas and some people drive from around the city to come by and enjoy. It is definitely a special place for us.

It is so important to find and feeling that sense of belonging, our place, and somewhere where everyone can relate to each other in some shape or form. Victoria Park and 401 Tim Horton’s is definitely a place where you feel welcome. Some of my friends there offer to pay for my coffee or whatever I want to get and I say no, no, but they insist and they offer me anyway, and me vise versa.

I am so happy and glad to be part of this family and I thank everyone for their welcome, respect, and their smiling faces toward me. It means so much.

I love you all and I love my VP Tim’s — The Short way to say Victoria Park Tim Hortons.

 

Feeling Very Nostalgic Today

Today during the morning hours as I was listening to music from the past on my iTunes playlist which was Adiss Harmandian and International Vatche who are Armenians who sing a variety type of songs, I felt very nostalgic. It also brought back many emotions and happy thoughts as I was remembering highway 401 East and a cottage we used to have in Eastern, Ontario, Canada, a town named Tweed and the countless amounts of times we would drive to Montreal and a couple of times I drove on my own.

Now, you are probably wondering why the music is involved in this, is because they were the artists that we would listen to in the stereo in the car when we would drive down. It never missed. These singers would always be involved and included in our road trips to the Cottage, Montreal and abroad.

The Nostalgia was kicking in even more when I was scouring through the internet for images of the town, the cottage we used to own, highway 401 East, and it went as far as the service centres and things we would see on the way like The Big Apple on the south side of the 401 on exit 497, Percy St. Do not confuse it with The Big Apple in New York City.

I know you are also wondering why I am having nostalgia over a highway. Well, Highway 401 East from Toronto all the way to Quebec has a sentimental place in my life and in my heart and it will always be a special place to remind me of the great drives we have had, and I was crazy at one point in driving in the worst possible snow storm which took over 7 and a half hours to get to Montreal, where on a normal day, would take about 4 and a half hours. In Montreal, I have plenty of friends and I would go and hang out with them every 2-3 weeks. I went about 35 times in one year, and that does not even cover the rest of the years.

So, today all those thoughts and memories came back to my mind and it was a great feeling. It has been about 3 and a half years, I have not been back to Montreal. Just that life got a whole lot busier, a lot of work, and I have traveled quite a lot as well to so many destinations, that I have lost count and now, I am so occupied with my work in Social Media Marketing, and also being a professional in it.

The Nostalgic feeling will never go away, and I will always remember the good times. I am going to make a trip to Montreal and Tweed, Ontario once the winter goes away and spring comes. I definitely need to make a trip there. I just want to drive and I just want to see my beautiful people there and go back to where my Cottage used to be and relax by lake Stoco.

I have written Articles about Tweed, Ontario, the Highway 401 and more… To read, them simply search my blog on the top right side of my blog page above my Facebook Fan Page. Thank you.

Have you had a great nostalgic moment in your life?

Would love to hear from you.

All the best.

It’s The Little Things In Life, That is Big For Someone. I have a lot of those Little Things.

One day and several days that followed, I sat down in deep thought to myself, what little things are a big deal for me, what little things in this life that makes me happy, what things that make me feel incredible.  I thought about how important it is to me. I thought of different, scenarios, are people going to think it is strange? Are people going make judgements, comments and talk about me behind my back? But I took two steps back and I just do not care about those negative comments and distasteful things, that I do not need in my life. Its either someone appreciates me for who I am and what I like and supports me with it, or they can leave, but I believe people are free in what they are interested in and what they like, that people would talk about my likes and interests. I am sentimental, and I know the value of things around me and I am so thankful for it.  It is all based on individuality and our hobbies, interests, and things that we like.

Now, this may sound bizarre, but I just can’t get over myself in loving Highway 401 East  in Ontario, Canada. Your probably thinking, a highway? it’s just asphalt and a road to drive on to get to different destinations. To me, it is a lot more than that. There have been incredible memories on the Highway 401 East going toward Montreal from Toronto. It’s such a great feeling. At times I was by myself driving and it was the best feeling ever and just the car, the music that gets me in the right state of mind, the road and myself. It’s an experience I will never forget. I remember when I took my first alone driving trip. It was awesome. I went half way to Montreal which is Kingston, Ontario and there was an Armenian Youth Camping trip and it was an incredible time. Driving alone makes me feel so awesome and it takes my mind off of certain things. Taking trips and just getting away from the city and just exploring is so great. My memories on the 401 started when I was so young. Until now. This is one of the biggest things that is so valuable to me. The Highway 401 East direction is my favorite and it will always remain my favorite. I have had beautiful memories, fun times, and just seeing my favorite objects and places on the 401 on the north and south sides. I would see my favorite signs, and symbols, I memorized all the curves, twists, turns, the signs, the exit numbers, the towns. You name it. I have grown a sense of connection with the highway that takes me to my happy place Montreal. Even my wallpaper on my desktop computer has a Highway 401 East picture. It’s a beautiful thing once you discover what is a big deal for me.

So take these little things in life. Someday it will be worth a lot to you and it will give a sentimental meaning as life goes on and you look back on everything you have been through and things you have had in life. The important thing is to discover it. Take sometime for yourself and figure all this out. I am sure you have little things that are such a big deal for you.

Give it a shot!

Something So Happy & Wonderful Came Back To My Mind Today

Something came into my mind today, that made me smile and made my whole day. I remember when I did my last Driving Exam with the Examiner 4 years ago and he took me out on Highway 401 in Ontario, and before we left to do my Driving exam, he asked if I drove on the Highway 401 Before? I said, does driving to Montreal and Back count for 4-5 hours each way? He said, wow you must have a lot experience. I said, I sure do. So he took me on the Highway 401, and he said “In the History of my 10 years as a Driver Examiner, I have never seen such a skilled and really great Highway 401 Driver, just like you before, you are the first one in my books”. I said, thank you so much :). He said drive back to the Drive Test depot, and park anywhere, then he congratulated me, and said YOU PASSED. You are a G Driver. 🙂 I got out of the car Jumping with happiness. 4 years ago Last month. 🙂

I have had a lot of practice driving, reverse parking, parallel parking, 3 point turns, emergency park braking, and among other important driving techniques. I love driving and it is one of my favourite things to do. When that examiner was with me, I felt comfortable and I did my signal lane changes, and everything without feeling that nervousness. It was an incredible feeling. When he said that I was the best in his 10 years of taking people out on the highway, That was really an awesome thing he said, and I can tell he actually meant because the tone of his voice and the way he said it to me was fantastic. He and I we were talking about a lot of things while he took me out driving. He said I wanted to just test you how you can talk and carry on a conversation and drive at the same time with others in the car. You succeeded again. You handled situations well, and you stopped and pulled to the side when a fire truck was passing by with its sirens. So much happened in that 15 minutes and it was incredible. I will never forget that day when I became a fully licensed driver, and I will continue to drive the way I drove with the examiner and I will continue my safe driving habits. It is very important to exercise good driving habits. Insurance premiums go down, and life will be much easier, safer and you can save a life.

All the best to those who will and who are going to get a drivers license and permits.

Another Service Centre Story On My Way To Montreal

Today another story came to my mind about my many numerous trips to Montreal on Highway 401 East. This one in particular really stood out for me and I need to share it with you all today. I stopped at the OnRoute Service Center in Morrisburg, Ontario stop and I had come to this service center so much that the employees started to remember me. I was ordering at the Tim Horton’s and they said, hey I remember seeing you here 2 weeks ago. I said yes, that was me. Shes like your in a good mood whenever I see you. I said of course. I am going to Montreal to my happy place. I am always happy when I go there, but coming back To Toronto, not so much. She said, I know what you mean, I love Montreal too. So then afterwards, I said thank you for serving me. I appreciate it. I said to her I will be back next week to Montreal. She said, I will be working next weekend too. She said come by. I am usually here in the morning hours. I said sure thing.

At that point I went to Montreal 35 times last year in 2011 and it was amazing. So I went to Montreal, came back West, and I stopped at another service center and yet another worker from another Tim Horton’s remembered me. I said to this person, How does everyone remember me so well? I said it happened to me on Friday Morning when I was going to Montreal. Another lady said, well, your face is someone to remember. They said someone very nice is always remembered. I said, aw thank you so much. So, I grabbed my coffee and I went on with my journey back To Toronto.

Then as I was heading to Montreal the week after, I talked to the worker again and she was so excited to see me again, and shes like here’s my e-mail, contact me whenever and keep in touch. I said sure, she was excited when I e-mailed her right away. We have kept in touch since and she said, come by to My town anytime, and we’ll hang out. I said sure. I may go soon to see her.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, Always be nice to people who serve you, they have to serve so many people in so little time. It is always good to be patient and have some courtesy. Kindness and being nice goes a long way in anything and you will be remembered and they will appreciate and look out for you whenever. Have fun and be calm with anything in life.

My Sentimental Value Toward Highway 401 East, Ontario, Canada

Hello everyone, I know this topic has come up on many of my blogs stating about the Highway 401 East in Ontario, Canada and How big of an impact it’s had on me and my life. It is a sentimental value to me. The Highway 401 has brought a lot of memories for me from when I was a child up til this point. I am very happy to have this connection with a highway I love driving on, and going to my Happy Place Montreal. I love Highway 401 East because It its a corridor to Montreal and to Autoroute 20 in Quebec. I am such a sentimental person that even a highway is special to me. I know it sounds odd and a little strange, but I know that in all of us we have a sentimental thing that may not be a big deal to another person, but it can be a big deal to one person. Its like one persons junk is another person’s treasure to sort of speak. It is something that I have a strong bond with. I know you maybe thinking a strong bond with a highway? Sounds silly doesn’t it? Well, it is not silly to some people. I have encountered many others who feel the same way I feel about it. I am a super driving nut. I love to drive and especially passing by the big trucks and big rigs on the 401. I love it so much. I am a huge fan of those big transport trucks and I know a lot about them and when I have conversations with people on the type of truck it is, or the make, people say wow, you are so knowledgeable about it. I like to learn a lot of new things and live to tell about it. So moving on, when I go to OnRoute Service centers when I take a break on the 401, You never realize how fast you go until you stop at a service center and see these cars, vans, transport trucks zoom right by and its amazing to know that, that is how fast were going.

Anyway, I am very happy to share this sentimental value with everyone. I believe in blogging, you can write about anything and open your heart out on everything. I believe I feel better when I blog and share my stories with the world and with different people. It is what makes the world go around hearing stories, different opinions, suggestions, and stories such as this one. I have written about this a few times, but I just can’t get over how much of a value it has in my life. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to share this with everyone. Its amazing what this blogging world has become, so many people write, so many people are in the same criteria, genre as I and I like that so much. reading peoples opinions, reading peoples stories. Its very nice to read.

Thank you all for sharing your stories, thank you all for having the guts to write about things. It takes a lot out of someone to put it all out for the world to see. Everyone should pat themselves on the shoulder. Blogging and sharing is a beautiful thing. So glad so many are doing it.

It’s The Little Things In Life, That is Big For Someone. I have a lot of those Little Things.

One day and several days that followed, I sat down in deep thought to myself, what little things are a big deal for me, what little things in this life that makes me happy, what things that make me feel incredible.  I thought about how important it is to me. I thought of different, scenarios, are people going to think it is strange? Are people going make judgements, comments and talk about me behind my back? But I took two steps back and I just do not care about those negative comments and distasteful things, that I do not need in my life. Its either someone appreciates me for who I am and what I like and supports me with it, or they can leave, but I believe people are free in what they are interested in and what they like, that people would talk about my likes and interests. I am sentimental, and I know the value of things around me and I am so thankful for it.  It is all based on individuality and our hobbies, interests, and things that we like.

Now, this may sound bizarre, but I just can’t get over myself in loving Highway 401 East  in Ontario, Canada. Your probably thinking, a highway? its just asphalt and a road to drive on to get to different destinations. To me, it is a lot more than that. There have been incredible memories on the Highway 401 East going toward Montreal from Toronto. Its such a great feeling. At times I was by myself driving and it was the best feeling ever and just the car, the music that gets me in the right state of mind, the road and myself. Its an experience I will never forget. I remember when I took my first alone driving trip. It was awesome. I went half way to Montreal which is Kingston, Ontario and there was an Armenian Youth Camping trip and it was an incredible time. Driving alone makes me feel so awesome and it takes my mind off of certain things. Taking trips and just getting away from the city and just exploring is so great. My memories on the 401 started when I was so young. Until now. This is one of the biggest things that is so valuable to me. The Highway 401 East direction is my favorite and it will always remain my favorite. I have had beautiful memories, fun times, and just seeing my favorite objects and places on the 401 on the north and south sides. I would see my favorite signs, and symbols, I memorized all the curves, twists, turns, the signs, the exit numbers, the towns. You name it. I have grown a sense of connection with the highway that takes me to my happy place Montreal. Even my wallpaper on my desktop computer has a Highway 401 East picture. Its a beautiful thing once you discover what is a big deal for me.

So take these little things in life. Someday it will be worth a lot to you and it will give a sentimental meaning as life goes on and you look back on everything you have been through and things you have had in life. The important thing is to discover it. Take sometime for yourself and figure all this out. I am sure you have little things that are such a big deal for you.

Give it a shot!

 

Back From Montreal, Quebec!

I cannot even begin to describe how incredible and refreshed I feel after returning from My Happy place which I call Montreal. This weekend that past went by super fast. I reunited with my lovely friends after 7 Months and reunited with my brothers In laws, I haven’t seen since the summer of 2011. It was a nice and great weekend. A first, getting on my favourite highway, highway 401 East to Montreal put the cherry on top. It was a lovely drive and I will never stop loving it and my love for my great friends in Montreal, the highway 401 east, Montreal will never ever fade. It was an emotional weekend for me too because I hadn’t been there in so long and everyone was just so excited to see me. Some said, next time do not wait so long to come. They said come more often. I said I wish I could but I will always come out whenever I am able to.

Now that I am back, I feel the need to go back to Montreal. Weekends are so short and go by way too fast.

Poem — Highway 401 east To Montreal — By Talin Orfali

Highway 401 East to Montreal

 

Highway 401 east I love you

You are the way to my happy place

So I will never be blue

 

It brings me to Montreal, so many lovely people to see

That I love and admire,

My love for you all is like intense fire.

 

passing by so many cities and towns Galore

going to a city I truly adore.

 

Passing by the big apple, the paint test strips,

thousand islands, the triangle green house and more

So many things the 401 has for people to see

so many things in store.

 

A highway that is so special to me

I know it sounds funny, but its how I

want it to be,

 

The highway 401 east only exists to me

from the start

I love it with all my heart.

 

I know each Kilometre I pass

It gets me closer to the people I love

who have class.

 

Going to a city that is great

that I never want to stop on the way

and keep going straight.

 

So 401 east to Montreal I love you

So many memories since I was a child

so happy I can drive on it now as I grew.

 

Thank you Highway 401 east

You are the best

Forget the west…

Childhood Memories Of Tweed, Ontario, Canada – North of Belleville, Ontario

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about my Childhood memories and another has sticked to me was my moments of going up to the Cottage with my family in Tweed, Ontario Canada about 15-20 minutes North of Belleville, Ontario exiting off the Highway 401 on #544 to Highway 37. Everytime the time came for us to go to the cottage, I was so excited. I would pack my bags and sometimes my mom would pack my bag and we would load up the car and drive down. It took about 2 hours to get there everytime and I enjoyed the trip so much all the time. I am a huge fan when it comes to roadtrips 10 hours or less. :). I remember going fishing, boating, paddle boating, swimming and jumping off the Raft My dad and my uncles built. Sometimes it would be weeks at a time we would go and the grass was ever so tall and when the fall hit, there would be so many leaves on the ground, so I would help rake them up. It was a cute little cottage. What would really scare me when I was a kid, at night there would be Thundershowers, and very strong ones, so I would be so scared that I would hide under the covers and cover my eyes shut so I would not see it, but I am past that stage now. Anyway, I would like to tell you a bit about the Town Tweed, Ontario.

Now, Tweed, Ontario is located north east of the Province Ontario. All the time we would go to Tweed, we would stop by the IGA food market which is not called Valu Mart, and we would get some food for the weekend or however long we would be there. The town is so small and you can get everywhere within 5 minutes 10 minutes. They have North America’s Smallest Jailhouse, The Amazing Dollar Store, a Hardware store, Daisy Mart Beckers Store for convenience. I would always get Bubble Gum Ice cream or Popsicles, and snacks. There is also the Park Place motel which always makes me think of the Game Monopoly, There is a beach on the Lake Stoco, but way too weedy, but it is beautiful. Also A beer store. There is also a Bridgewater Antique Shop near the end of Tweed. There was this man people used to Call Uncle JED, so each time we used to go, we said Hey Uncle Jed, he began to know us and whenever we came to town, he greeted us and he used to give me treats when I was little. After the years went by, we decided to sell the Cottage because nodody was hardly going there anymore after people started getting older and new things were happening in our lives and we just couldn’t go to Tweed anymore which sort of Saddened me and it took a long time to get over it, but its not so bad now.  After we had sold our cottage in 2001 about a year or 2 later when I was about 18 years old, I drove by the town with my brother before we headed to a Camping trip with friends and we decided to pop by and we saw a New Tim Hortons at the end of the Town. A few things were changed. My 2 years of not being in the town does surely change and the population became a bit higher to about 2000 people.

Now on our way to the Cottage in Tweed, as soon as we saw Trenton, Ontario, I said we are getting closer and closer to Tweed. We used to stop at the Mcdonalds on the way at exit 519 on Highway 401 East. At the time there were the barbies and hot wheels happy meals. So I would get the toys. Now that Mcdonalds doesn’t exist anymore. A couple of years ago, they gutted it all out and it became a new OnRoute Service centre with Tim Hortons, Burger King, and so much more. It is now called Trenton, South. There is one just up north of the 401 Parallel to Trenton South. It was so fun just stopping there and you would see all these big 53 footer trucks, tankers, RV’s and stuff. I said wow its awesome. I began to develop a strong respect over truck drivers since that age. My dad said these guys are taking big loads of stuff to other cities and they drive for hours and hours. I love stopping at Highway 401 Service centres. I have had many experiences in them all the time. To this day, These service centres, the Highway 401, Tweed, Ontario and all these little things in life have a big place in my heart and I will never forget it. I do not want to sound weird by loving a Highway and showing my feelings toward it, but its the way I am and like I said, I am very sentimental when it comes to memories of my past and holding onto belongings that mean the world to me. If your ever in Canada, in Ontario, Tweed, Ontario is such a cute place to visit. You will need a car there of course, but its worth a visit. In My Opinion, but everyone has different ones of course.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading. Thank you for stopping by. Come again.