My best advice for Ray is to get a good road atlas and plot out some routes. Then try one. Even if it takes you 20 minutes extra, that's not too bad, and you had a nice drive that's way less boring than the 401.
Phil hit the nail on the head here - sick and tired of the boring 400 series highways.
Also, I have to do this drive leaving Ottawa at about 1pm.
That would put me in Toronto smack in the middle of rush hour. No thanks!
Overall, given the circustances, unless it's snowing something fierce, I think I'll get to Barrie in quite a bit less time than if I were on the 400 series.
