#TimsCoffeeCommitment: TIMZRUN

We recently asked our guests to share their stories about the morning coffee rituals they have with us, the lengths they’ve gone to get their Timmies fix, and how else Tim Hortons has played a role in their lives.

We loved Emily’s story about how she got a custom licence plate to share her love for Tims and how it reminds her of her road trips that featured countless coffee stops along the way.

What made you get your “TIMZRUN” licence plate? How long have you had it?

Once I got my own car, I knew I wanted to get a custom licence plate.  I knew it had to be something that represented me and the things that I like and it came down to the idea that I am a proud Canadian and love my coffee. Anytime someone would go to Tims they would say, “I'm going on a Tims run, do you want anything?" That was it! “Tims run” had a nice sound to it and it looks good.

Unfortunately, TIMSRUN was already taken, so I just changed the S to a Z and got TIMZRUN. When my friends saw my new licence plate, they would comment that, “It's so Canadian of me,” and “That is so you,” and “I know who to call when I need a Tims run.” I got the custom plate for my 22nd birthday and have had it for three years now.

Tell us a bit more about the road trips you took that involved Tim Hortons.

My friend Danielle and I knew that we wanted to have some fun together and do some exploring. We both love coffee and Canada. We combined our love for the outdoors and coffee together to make an epic trip out of it, exploring Canada and stopping at as many Tims as possible along the way! We just thought it would be cool to see how many Tim Hortons locations we can get to on our journey.

What was your first trip?

Road Trip #1 was a Northern Ontario Timmies Road Trip. My friend and I decided to take a trip during our winter reading break in university. We didn't have the time or money to go somewhere down south, so we decided to stay local in Ontario and enjoy the winter.

We travelled 1,600.7 kilometres across four days.

We got the chance to explore three new Ontario Parks, travel in my newish car and create new adventures and memories for the both of us together!

During this trip we started off in our hometown of Mississauga, Ontario. Our first stop was at Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville where we got to skate and go for a small hike. Before we headed back on the road, we got our coffees and a snack at Tims. We then continued up to North Bay where we stopped for the night. The next day we started off our morning with our Timmies and hit the road again, stopping in New Liskeard for our Tims lunch, and then off to Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park in Englehart where we hiked around for a bit.

We then continued up to our destination for the night in Cochrane, stopping at Iroquois Falls for a Tims coffee and donut. Our breakfast at the Tim Hortons in Cochrane was very cool. Cochrane is the birthplace of the legendary Tim Horton and this Tims location had a museum feel to it, having images and history about Tim Horton. Being a fan of hockey, and Tim Horton, I really enjoyed seeing this!

We then continued our trip down to Timmins for a lunch break and continued to Windy Lake Provincial Park, just outside of Sudbury. Here we stayed in a yurt for the night, had a snowy winter campfire and cooked spider dogs over the fire. The next morning, we stopped at a Tims just outside the park in Dwight and started our journey back home.

Along the way home we stopped in Parry Sound for a Tims coffee and snack and then we popped on over to Port Carling very quickly. From here we went down to Hardy Lake Park for a quick hike and then hit the Gravenhurst Tim Hortons as our last stop of the trip before heading back home.

Wow, that is an incredible trip! And you had another pretty epic Timmies Road Trip?

Timmies Road Trip 2.0 was about a year later and that was during March break. My friend and I had such a blast on our last road trip that we wanted to continue what we started and make a tradition out of our Tims Road Trips. This time we decided to head East.

We did about 2,000 kilometres of driving in just under a week. Once again, we started off in Mississauga and headed to Kingston for our first night and stayed with my younger sister at her place there. In the morning, we grabbed our Timmies and started to head off for Quebec! With a few Timmies stops along the way we had reached our first destination of Quebec City. We stayed here a few days, exploring the city and exploring the different Tims here too! While in Quebec City we also took a trip to Montmorency Falls. It was both of our first time in Quebec City and we found it magical in the wintertime!

From here, we went to our next location of Jacques-Cartier Provincial Park, stopping at Tims before our arrival. Here we had a unique experience staying in a Balbuzard, trying out fat biking and some hiking. The next day we packed up, got to a Tims for breakfast and continued to our next destination of La Mauricie National Park where we stayed in an oTENTik. Here we did some more hiking and exploring of the Laurentian mountain range.

This would be our last stop in Quebec, and we then headed down to Ottawa to stay with another of my friends for St. Patrick's Day. Timmies for breakfast and snacks on our journey to Ottawa and then from Ottawa back home to Mississauga were an essential part of the drive! Another successful Timmies Road Trip!

What was one of your favourite stops on the trip?
That's a hard one. I loved everything about both of our trips. If I had to choose just one though it would have to be our stop at Jacques-Cartier Provincial Park during our second road trip. We had a unique experience staying in a Balbuzard, which is a small wooden structure with a stove in it to keep warm. I think this stop for the both of us was a special experience. We were exploring a new part of Canada that we haven't been to before and trying new things together.