TTC TRAVEL BLUES

Okay, I might have added a quarter-inch to my waist size after a lovely Mexico tourism meal on Tuesday night, featuring beef tenderloin and then a great butter tart (about the size of a catcher's mitt) with vanilla ice cream laced with screech. But I think the real problem with travelling on the TTC some days, aside from the ridiculous delays, are the size of the seats.

Honestly, WHO WERE THESE THINGS DESIGNED FOR? The seat I tried to stick my relatively skinny butt into on Wednesday morning was maybe 10 inches wide. Okay, the guy sitting next to me was in a big jacket and looked like he'd never met a butter tart he didn't like. But come on, folks, and give us seats that reflect a little more of our true derrieres and don't design subway cars for emaciated models.

The other issue, and this sounds a bit like a Seinfeld skit, is that I was on the outside of three seats. The big guy with the butter tart problem was in the middle, and there was a woman squeezed into the other outside seat. But when she got up to leave at Bloor, the middle guy didn't move to the empty seat but stayed in the middle. WHO DOES THIS?

Isn't it common courtesy to move over and create some space? Wouldn't anyone rather sit on the side, anyway, with an empty seat between them and a fellow passenger instead of being crammed into the middle with someone bumping up against them? We have to take lessons and a test before we can drive; they ought to force people to take a courtesy exam before they're allowed onto the TTC.

"I RECOMMEND THE 2005 GERBER'S STRAINED PEAS"

Word out of Chicago the other day is that Hyatt Resorts has an on-site Kids Concierge service at some North American resorts, wherein the concierge will help with baby needs and share information about family-friendly services and activities. They can help plan birthday parties and coordinate things such as mini-fridges and microwaves. Sounds nice, but personally I'd rather be suggesting wines.

GOLF AWARDS

The Club at Tower Ranch, a golf course near Kelowna, B.C. designed by acclaimed Toronto golf architect Tom McBroom, was named one of the Best New Courses for 2008 by Travel + Leisure magazine. The magazine noted the "broad vistas, bulging hills and the bold shotmaking agenda."

Tobiano Golf Club in Kamloops, another McBroom design, has been given the 2008 Golf Digest Best New Canadian Course Award. Kudos to McBroom, who continues to shine in Canada and around the world with some top-notch golf designs.

The Star featured the British Columbia interior in our 2008 golf magazine (he said with a trace of modesty) and it's nice to see the rest of the world catching on to what's happening in beautiful B.C.

Golf Digest named Wyndance in Uxbridge, a Greg Norman design, as number two for new courses in Canada. Cobble Beach, just north of Owen Sound, was the third place finisher in the Canadian contest. It's a lovely, challenging course that was designed by another Toronto architect, Doug Carrick.

I haven't tried Tower Ranch, Tobiano or Wyndance, but I LOVED Cobble Beach when I played it a year or so ago.

Comments

[Betty]

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Betty

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