Day 37 - Toronto - A Day to Remember!

I honestly didn’t feel like going anywhere today. It has been a wonderful trip, but long. If I had had less problems and a little more time it would have been ideal. I was really hoping for a few days around the campfire and just lounging on a beach somewhere, but it was not to be. I knew my time in Ontario was limited, and I had an agenda of things I hoped to do in Toronto, and so there was no option but to run to the city today. 

I awoke in my caravan to the ping of a text coming in. It was a welcome from my friend, letting me know that the coffee was on, and there was a cold breakfast of yoghurt, cereal, fruit, and toast if we were hungry. We lingered over the hot coffee a little longer than planned, simply because it was so nice to sit and visit! It was then off to the city, while Renee did her errands she had to do - busy family with big kids and lots of schedule, not to mention a wee grandchild. 

Driving into Toronto was not too intimidating; Not until I drove down main street and encountered a train coming towards me in the opposite lane. I had not been told this was a regular occurrence. I had heard there were trams, but not *on* the road with the cars! I noticed that the roads were littered with train tracks and we were intended to drive on and around them. Rather disconcerting when you don’t know the area. 

I was glad to see I was almost at my destination. I asked the children if they had any idea what we were up to for the day. They each gave me their own guess, and I thought it sweet how Mr. B. played a large part in their guessing: “Going to see where Mr. B gets his doctor visits?” “Meeting Mr. B. and walking in town with him?” etc. Very cute. Nobody guessed what we were really going to do. Soon I was in the direct vicinity of where I was to be, and I knew I would have to find parking soon. I did not want to walk for miles around town or drive far and have to come back.  

All of a sudden, on my left I saw a parking lot. I took the corner and then seeing a ramp area and opening on the left, I drove up a little and was just about to enter the parking lot when I realized it was not an entry, but instead, a wheelchair route. I was parked smack-dab on the sidewalk, and I had a choice: back out onto the street and at this moment I was on a corner, so I would be backing into an intersection, or go forth, entering a parking lot over a curb. I chose the curb. Now keep in mind that I am not that stupid. The curb was on the other side. This side of the sidewalk was a ramp. Not so obvious to the normal eye!

Once in to the parking lot, I glanced around and saw a man that worked there. I drove towards him and pulled up and asked him how much was parking for the day. He said he was closed. Oh. (my turn) I told him how I had entered through the sidewalk. Oh. (his turn) 

He was kind enough to allow me to park, even though it was reserved for buses for the big game with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles that night. Not that I knew that at the moment. I found this out a minute later. Seeing his Blue Jays emblem on his shirt, I asked if I might take his picture, so that we had a souvenir of the Toronto Blue Jays. He obliged with a big smile. 

We then began talking about why the parking lot was reserved. It was that there was a game on that night. Now we started talking prices, and before I knew it I was being told that as far as he was concerned the 500 seats were fabulous, as he had sat in them recently and for $30 a ticket less than the 100 seats it was a steal of a deal. Done! I was stoked. We headed over to the box office to see if we could get seats. $12 a kid and $16 for me! Who could beat that! A Toronto Blue Jays game! And me, a person who only likes baseball out of all sports!

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Next stop: CN Tower. This was a hit. The Framer had been here eight years ago with another boy, and the rest of us have never been, so this was interesting and new. When we went through the security a machine blew on us, and I asked what it was all about. Security informed me that it was blowing in case there was any bomb dust and they would be able to pick up the particles if there were. 

We learned all about the construction of the tower, and then enjoyed the views of the city. We were even able to pick out our van directly below in the Blue Jays parking lot!

Blowing Off Bomb Dust

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Directly below the CN Tower there was a railway museum, so that was a nice interlude. We are big fans of Brio train tracks and in the days of the older boys, it was Thomas the Tank, and so they liked seeing the round house and various train models. 

Is This Boy Praying?

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Subway for lunch was next. That was a big hit as they all chose their sandwiches and topping, not to mention the flavour of cookie they wanted. Me? I was just happy to go sit in the sun in the park and enjoy relaxing for a few minutes with a Coke and a lunch!

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Now, Isaiah has wanted to go to an aquarium for the longest time. When I was asking what we might be going to do for the day his guess had been related to an aquarium, but I had bluffed him off by saying there were likely many zoos and aquariums in the city. Then when we headed towards CN Tower and the Aquarium, to thrown him off I said, “Oh look! There’s the CN Tower. Let’s go.” And led them away from the aquarium. When I was speaking about buying lunch, Isaiah said to me that if I sacrificed lunch, then we could go to the aquarium. I announced that the tickets to the aquarium were much more than lunch, so it wouldn’t help much. 

Finally, after CN Tower and lunch, I went for a wander with the children. As we passed the aquarium, Isaiah asked if he could look through the windows to see if he could see anything. I had a quiet smile to myself. Then I said that we could go in the front doors to have a look and perhaps they could see something from the entrance. It turned out there were a few pools before the paid entrance so the children had some fun with that while I purchased passes for us all. 

The aquarium was a big hit for all the kids. They have only ever seen a few places where a handful of fish reside, so this was great. Now Isaiah does not remember but he actually went to the Ripley’s Aquarium in the States when he was six years old!

While we were there, a child ran past us wailing. He had lost his mum, and boy, was he upset! I watched him go, and when I realized that noone was with him, I told the kids to wait for me, and then I followed him down the crowded hallway. Just at that moment, he turned and ran back in my direction. I picked him up and tried to console him and get his name, but there was no talking to him. He was angry! Could have been scared, and I am sure he was. But after fifteen minutes of him bellowing, I am pretty sure he had moved from scared to mad. 

The staff arrived and wanted to stand there and wait for his mother. I told them that one of them needed to go up to the front desk and let it be known that he was downstairs with me. I did not want to move from that area as his mum might be back. One said it was protocol for them to stay with the child. Then how does his mother know he is here, I asked? I told them I had a missing child once. Two years old and he went to see the dog across the street. I know how terrifying that feeling is! Somebody needs to actively find the mother. After telling me that protocol stated he wait with the child, the young man finally asked if I was intending to stay there, and I told him I would stay with the child, as if I passed him to the girl worker it would be further trauma to the child. When I asked the child if he wanted me to leave him with her, he hung on tight and bellowed, “NO!” The young man left and shortly after this the mum arrived. 

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Our day finished with a bang with a hot-dog and a baseball game! We lined up with the other hundreds of people looking to enjoy a Polish sausage or chili dog and then headed over to the game. Before we got there, though, the boys decided to sacrifice a few more dollars of their hard-earned money to bring home a Blue Jays cap.

The game was all we hoped for. We had a chuckle at the seats our agent picked for us. We were three rows from the top. I am sure he could have gotten us lower seats as there were many available, but the angle was wonderful, and the game was easily seen.  It just would have been nice to be a little lower. We had some entertainment in the form of a crowd of guys who felt the baseball game was a great place to drink to much and remove clothing. This continued until security and the police finally removed them!

We left with a tiny bit of the game left, so that we could avoid the crowds, and minutes after we hit the streets the buzzer sounded and the streets were filled with people. I was thankful I had listened to my gut about splitting early. The streets back to my friend’s house were quite busy at first and then they got quiet. I am so glad we went to Toronto and especially that we fell across those tickets!  It was an all-round fantastic day!!