We purchased our airline tickets with Aeroplan points way back in May and the only tickets we could get at that time included a 3 hour layover in Thunder Bay. Thunder Bay of all places! I don't want to offend those of you who love the city. It is situated in Northern Ontario, on the Canadian Shield and is located in some of the most beautiful country in Canada.
But the airport is not a place where I think anyone would intentionally spend 3 hours.
When we presented our tickets to the agent in Winnipeg, she asked us why we were planning to stop in Thunder Bay. Wes replied, "I don't know!" Well, she did what she could do and within an hour, we were on our way, direct, non-stop to Toronto. That was a good start to our vacation.
We stayed in Toronto for 2 nights and did the tourist thing-
Kensington market, Chinatown, and then we went to the Beaches area of Toronto where we were thrilled to come upon the Jazz Festival. We spent the afternoon hanging out in a park, listening to some great music. Then we walked along the boardwalk that borders Lake Ontario. What a great day! The weather was warm but not too muggy, we ate in some nifty little places around there and just kicked back and relaxed. We must have walked 20 kilometres that day.Monday morning it was off to Beamsville to see my folks and then, later in the day to Vergil where we spent a few quiet days with Wes's parents. That evening we sat outside, catching up with Wes's brother, 2 sisters and their spouses. We don't have a lot of contact with them when we're here in Winnipeg but when we get together, we have a good time. I like Wes's siblings and their families and if we lived nearer to them, I could see us being good friends.
Tuesday, we wandered around Niagara-on-the-Lake. Every time I go back to the Niagara Penninsula, the beauty of that area takes me by surprise. I love the maple trees, with leaves that are bigger than my hand. I love the houses, each of them different from the rest, with lots of brick, siding, porches and beautiful gardens.
Our brother-in-law works at the Shaw Festival Theatre and was able to get tickets to a show for us. We had the pleasure of watching "Gypsy" a great Broadway musical. Afterwards, we went across the street and sat outdoors, drinking wine and enjoying the afterglow of a wonderful show. Did I feel spoiled! That evening will be etched into my memory for the rest of my life.
The next day found us once again on the QEW, a highway I used to drive regularly without a thought. After so many years on the Prairies, I found myself nervous as we travelled the highways of Southern Ontario. The number of cars and people in that area of the country can be quite intimidating for a prairie girl.
We made it safely back to Beamsville where the next 5 days are a blur. The Open House, flowers, guest book, punch, coffee, cream, sugar, PowerPoint, new clothes for mom, the dinner, setting up, making coffee, the barbeque, meat...Details just floating around in my brain. We pulled it off though and both mom and dad handled the busyness of it very well.
Tuesday was spent with Ben and Carolyn at Niagara Falls. That was a good day. After the busyness of the last few days, I did not want to visit with anyone. It felt good just to walk around, not feeling the need to "catch up." Niagara Falls really brings back memories for me. When I was a kid, we'd always go to the falls with our guests and show them around when they came for a visit.
Wednesday, it was back home for us. Toronto's Pearson Airport was mostly back to normal (after the Air France jet overshot the runway the day before). We still ended up being delayed for almost 2 hours but made it home to Winnipeg by midnight.
So, that's what we did. I'll be blogging more about some of the other stuff like meeting people I hadn't seen in decades, the fact that a "quiet day" with Wes's parents is actually really boring :(, and some of the surprising and interesting things I learned about my parents and my extended family.
4 comments:
Sounds like fun, Linda. I loved the QEW link. I look forward to seeing more pics and reading about your experience in my Ontario.
Great stuff! Nice pics and nice to hear about your trip. Let's talk later about the other stuff!
You're lucky to have gotten out of the TBay airport gig. I can't even begin to imagine how dull that one would have been.
Back in the sixties we lived on the other side of Lake Ontario in what is now called Mississauga. I can't believe the change, and I don't much appreciate the traffic either even though I get to that general area periodically -- my youngest attends McMaster. But traffic on Portage isn't exactly a blast either -- not at rush hour anyway.
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