Monday, September 7, 2009

so long, farewell.

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so long to one of the many service centres on hwy. 401
between ottawa & toronto! {love that spaceship design!}
near port hope, sept. 2009

*sigh*
happy labo(u)r day, sweeties.

as many of us enjoy one last summer roadtrip this weekend, i say goodbye to a series of unusual but dear friends along many a roadtrip.

throughout many years of living in ontario and 100s of roadtrips along canada's famed transcanada hwy, the stretch of road known as highway 401 between toronto and ottawa is a well-known, well-loved friend. many a great roadtrip has included this particular path of concrete. and while they're not the cleanest, dearest, most green spacess on most roadtrips, they have been well-loved. and those famed rest stops are closing down.

and while usually a detour stop to a lovely picnicing place along lake ontario, or off the beaten track to a quaint little local icecream shop is the usual fun way to stop en route, for as long as i can remember, the 401 rest stops/service stations have always been part of everyone's need to refuel at some point.


for those of you not familar with these lovelies, they are classic mid- 60's architecture, and a couple seem to be built in the loveable alien-spaceship-has-landed-alongside-the-highway style of brown brick with half-dome tressled metal & beam roofs. ahhhhh... such a nostalgic look.


these relics are closing down, as the province awaits a new leasee to update the stops. many of them have already been bulldozed. while i won't miss the not-so-great fast foods inside, & i look forward to the new, cleaner rebuilds, i will miss the classic architechture, and all the roadtrip stops it's been a welcome home to (and okay, the many many late night coffee stops at the tim horton's inside for a caffeine refueling!)

so goodbye, dear pitstops. and hello to the adventure of finding new stops along our next roadtrip.

have any fond memories of these stops? o
r of your own nostalgic roadtrip refuels ?
love to hear 'em! happy long weekend!


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an inside view of the spaceship roof, at the reststop near port hope, ontario. gorgeous!
september 2009
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9 comments:

  1. my family used to road trip loads when we were little - we used to stop at a fabulous roadside rib place - everything was fresh and homemade. the little shop sold all sorts of Amish goodies and in the fall there was a pumpkin patch. looking forward to roadtripping with our son now!

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  2. We learned this the hard way last week on our first trip through your corridor, RikRak, for many months! Needless to say, we had a few desperate exits along the way!

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  3. What a fantastic building. I'm sad to see it go even if I've never actually seen this building with my own eyes. I love this kind of architecture. I hope one day it will come back.

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  4. Great photos. I've never seen them, but I also have many favorite stops on drives, too. Aren't roadtrips the best?!

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  5. I grew up in Port Hope. This ship you speak of was a "beacon" for..."we're almost home!".

    Thankfully, I now live in Winnipeg, and I won't suffer the pain of not recognizing when I am almost home.

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  6. great stories, nicies!
    and i agree, lindy!
    tara- i feel your pain! :)

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  7. Oh I hope they get rebuilt soon! It makes a long drive even longer! :(

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  8. oh emms! that's fun about port hope!
    and yes: here's to the rebuild soon, rj!

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  9. I've grown up seeing that building on the side of the highway everytime we went east on vacation. I never knew until I looked into it about its origins or that it was supposed to be like a spaceship, such a waste that it had to go.

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thanks so much for your comments, nicies!
it's a joy to read what everyone writes here.
thank you!