Toronto Trip

Finally, the perfect way to immobilize Gavin!
Perfecting silly string technique with Auntie Sarah before the parade. As a kid with a clown looking out for her, this is an important skill to master.

Our Toronto trip was so much fun. We stayed with Auntie Sarah in her condo downtown and did very well considering there were 6 of us in a very small space, granted 2 of the 6 are rather small.

Claire thought Niagara Falls were all right, but not as cool as the Rainforest Cafe in the gaud-awful tourist hell that has sprung up near the falls. Anyway, now she can say she has been to "Niagara da Falls", even if total time spent looking at one of mother natures wonders was 3.5 minutes.

One of the highlights of the trip was the Santa Claus Parade, a very big deal in Toronto. Sarah's boyfriend is involved in the parade (as a clown, the honor of which is bestowed on those who contribute to the funding of the parade. he has a great time doing it and at the end of the route the "bad clowns" head straight to the bad clown bar to warm up) which got us VIP balcony space from which to view the parade. What a fantastic experience for Claire! She had such a great time...even getting there on the subway was an adventure for my suburban daughter and when we can out of the subway it was snowing. Perfect! Even better was that the snow didn't last, so we got the effect without the mess.

We also went to the Ontario Science Centre, which was a favorite place of mine when I lived in Toronto as a kid. It was still pretty good, but somehow a little dirtier-seeming than I remember. I guess it has been 20+ years. Holy crap.

Good meals, great company and good to be back in TO. I left wanting to move back immediately. I miss my sister and we Canadians (OK...so I haven't lived there in forever, maybe "us" is a huge stretch) are so nice, eh. Of course the recent spate of colder than cold weather may have me reconsidering, but it's a possibilty, at some point, I suppose. Who knows where life will take us?