Toronto Islands-Post City Worker Strike

Gratuitous Ferry-Leaving-Dock Shot
Now that the strike is over we can again hop onto the Island ferries and visit what one could describe as Toronto's Golden Gate or Central Park...the Toronto Islands. They are beautiful and, seemingly, no matter how large the hoards of people get that visit them, the islands are serene and relaxing. And we haven't been able to visit them for, I believe about forty days, because of the city worker union strike. Summer isn't all that long here in Ontario and I am certain many of us are glad to again have the ability to enjoy one of the city's most wonderful places while the warm seasonal temperatures remain. I know I am. Our plan, like many of the other folk-an afternoon picnic and pleasant several kilometer walk with friends. We all look a bit surly in the photos. Not quite sure how I managed to digitally capture such consistently negative facial expressions, but I was assured by one of the gang-the lad directly below-that we all did, indeed, have a good time.

One might imagine that I suggested to all they look as unhappy as possible for the photos. Not the case...

...we're about to eat. We should be smiling, right?

I've been told it's all about the bird. It's there-click on the pic.

Ah, the many ubiquitous angles from which one can photograph the city of Toronto.

My promise to myself; take no pictures of Toronto next time. Here I was standing on the shore near the ferry dock on Ward's Island. I turned around and, in contrast to the city, there lie one of the very cozy, very "New England-esque," "Cottage Communities" of the T.O. islands.

I had never been...so a couple of us took a stroll.

Some "cottages" were shacks while others were grand homes. A bit too nestled together for my taste considering the hundreds of tourists walking amongst them on the concrete paths used for streets. Except for public services, no cars allowed on the islands. In my opinion, the least tranquil place on the islands.

A bike-wheelchair kind-of-thing.

A view from one of the cottages. And, below, a different kind of view of two of my buddies. They had a good time and are smiling-I assure you.

One last note. I know that Blogger is "free," but photo uploading is the worst. Considering they use Picassa Web Albums or whateveritiscalled, shouldn't it be a bit more user friendly? I'm just sayin'.

New Zoo Review - Toronto!

Sunday was our day to explore the Toronto Zoo. I am not the biggest fan of caging animals but an afternoon out in the sun touring a zoo's grounds and exhibits is rather pleasant. The T.O. zoo is huge and the grounds are very forest-like. We didn't stop to think that the Zoo on Sunday would be overwhelmingly crowded. It was.

Our time on the service road traveling north to the parking lot was over an hour. Accessing the parking lot by traveling Southbound from the North would be our unanimous suggestion. The Northbound traffic from the South, the way we came, was jammed while in the opposite direction it was almost non-existent.

Our buddy, John.

A candid shot of Eric.

Walking under the waterfall.

...which makes an obvious back drop and photo opp.

Sleepy kitty.

Feeding the Hippo.

Sleepy kitty #2.

It was a nice relaxing afternoon followed later by pizza delivery and board game playing at John's place. ...I won. :-)

Toronto Islands

Eric, our friend Dan and I took one of the harbour ferries to the Toronto Islands on Sunday. We weren't expecting to be so impressed with the experience. The park and the islands were incredibly green and clean. As always, click on a pic for a larger more detailed viewing.

There are several different beaches-all a bit different from one another. While there seemed to be an overwhelming number of people spending their day on the islands-just like us, the overall atmosphere was pleasant and serene. The park was very clean with one exception-the beach. We stopped and sat for a long moment on Hanlan's Point Beach-which is officially clothing optional.

Gibralter Beach.

Unfortunately, the sand at Hanlan's Beach was the dirtiest part of the park. I am not a fan of smoking, and, unfortunately there were cigarette butts and the like in the sand. Disgraceful. Butts should be viewed as littering as anything else. And fines handed out. The beach was still quite lovely, despite the nasty smokers and their discarded garbage. No pictures of Hanlan's because almost all around me were nude. Above is Gibralter Beach.

Near Centennial Pier

Central Plaza (not sure what it's really called)

Central Plaza again.

Near ferry terminal on Centre Island.

Walking bridge from Centre to Olympic Island.

Views of T.O. from Olympic Island.

We left the Islands incredibly impressed with Toronto. The Islands are an amazing resource. A treasure of a destination-an easy place to spend the day. There seemed to be a nook or cranny, a comfortable spot for everyone-serene and pleasant. Historically and recently there has been talk of building a bridge or tunnel from mainland T.O. to the Islands. Big mistake. I hope they never do it. Keep them just out of reach. Make the park just that more special by having to take a "ride" to get there. I look forward to returning in the near future.

Victoria Day Weekend Hike

Canadian immersion 101. Victoria Day. What's that? A day to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday and a three day weekend in Canada to unofficially mark the beginning of Summer. Eric and I decided to explore Tommy Thompson Park, a.k.a. the Leslie Street Spit, located in the city of Toronto.

The Leslie Street Spit.

It's an iconic Canadian moment, smack dab in the biggest city in Canada. Eric and I are fairly used to seeing the lowest portion of trees protected from beavers with a wrapping of metal mesh. This was, I believe my first beaver lodge. I admit to not expecting to see one within city limits. Silly me, eh? 

There is the tiniest, pathetic utilitarian type light house at the end of the peninsula. I am sure it does the job. But it is clearly unloved. A sad sight for someone who lived in New England like myself, and has witnessed firsthand the adoration and worship of the lighthouses in that region.

The Spit is on the right in this picture. Eric and I hiked to the lighthouse and back. We haven't yet been to the Toronto Islands which can be seen on the lower left in this image.  

"Lights, camera, guest list...just do your best darling"

Last week I took the opportunity presented to me by my sister-in-law to work as a production assistant on a two day corporate event her company was producing here in Toronto. The show was a "sales kick off" simultaneously broadcast by satellite between five cities: San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Toronto and Dublin. Lights, cameras, screens and a stage were all set up so company big wigs could interact in real-time with the sales people in all the cities. The Imperial Ball Room at the Fairmont Hotel was the site location in Toronto. Approximately two hundred people attended though much larger groups could be seen in several other cities. I worked alongside a dozen or so "techies" and was basically paid to be an extra two hands (and mind, as it turned out) for the on-site director.

The job met almost all of my expectations. I retrieved coffee and food for the director and some of the crew. I waited around and played on my iPhone. I stood on-stage and assisted with the sound and video check. I waited around some more - thank god for smart phones. I helped to acquire the internet connection needed for two laptops and a video conferencing unit being utilized to run the event. I even got to trouble-shoot those connections when they failed to meet the mandatory specifications. 

I am glad for the computer/IT background knowledge I had. Thanks to very knowledgeable friends, a partner replete with IT background and my own moxie over the years, I have probably accumulated more than your average Joe's amount of computer knowledge. I can only say, "thank goodness." I was not clueless. At least I understood the basics needed to achieve the results. Despite clearly being the least qualified person for the task considering those around me, I managed to successfully communicate with several off-site IT experts and coordinate one very long conference call. All but one of the issues was resolved in the end. We had done all we could. Despite our lack of success on that one point, the situation ended in a strangely satisfying way.

It was not hard work. It was actually very easy money. I am not sure "crucial" is the correct word for a PA but there were obvious unexpected moments the director needed an extra set of hands.  I had a good time despite the boredom of sitting around. The crew and site director were all very easy going and friendly. There were one or two moments of intensity but otherwise the show went smoothly. They all clearly know their jobs. And now I have a handle on what is going on - the flow and atmosphere. It was a good experience.

Thursday Morning in Toronto

My activities of late have centered around painting several rooms of our flat. To that end, I've been inside a lot and haven't taken use of the car during the day in a week or two. With my brush strokes finished for the time being, I decided to drive my partner to work and despite not really needing the car, to have use of it to distance myself from home. 

Coffee... 

...I love the stuff. I have to give a tip o' the toque (a shake of the fist?) to my former room mate and good friend John C., who, every morning for the year he lived with me, faithfully brewed a full pot o' joe. I am now as addicted as anyone, thankyouverymuch - though I do have to say the machine gets a good amount of rest since I discovered Tea, Earl Grey, hot. A future blog posting for sure...

So, this morning I drove my Eric to work and then headed to the Starbuck's on Laird in Leaside to read the Toronto Star and enjoy a cup of coffee and an apple fritter. I like this particular shop because there is a small parking lot. This means I don't have to feed the parking meter.

I arrived and parked. There was a car in the next space with its hood up.  A woman was quenching her very needy vehicle's thirst for windshild wiper fluid - an activity I had recently done with my own. Have you ever driven with an insanely dirty windscreen? I remarked on my way into the coffee house how much more pleasant driving home for her would be and small talk ensued regarding my gas-electric hybrid SUV and, also, what has "lovingly" been described by my former auto mechanic as "idiot" lights -dashboard icons that illuminate after something breaks or fails on your car.

Anyway, she had very nice energy and I enjoyed the interaction. I also enjoyed the coffee and fritter that she spontaneously bought for me inside when we both reached the counter. How thoughtful. Moments later she said, "goodbye," left, and drove away. It could've happened anywhere at any time; I know. But it happened here in Toronto. And, since my partner and I moved to T.O. from California four and a half months ago, we have had many other similar interactions with random folk here in our new land. Is it all about (aboot?) a more polite, considerate Canadian culture? Hmmmmm.

Toronto Snow

Apparently I've been neglecting my blogging duties. Many apologies. Where does the time go? Anyway...

...here are a couple of pictures of Toronto's first hard snow fall of the year. The first two were taken last night on the front step of the house just before bed at approximately 11:00pm. The second two were taken the next morning at about 7:45am. Beautiful, eh?

If one wants to experience snow in San Francisco, one drives to it. To that extent, I am still feeling quite the Californian. What is this white stuff outside my windows? I haven't driven to Lake Tahoe or Yosemite Valley!

Aside from that which I drove to at Tahoe and Yosemite, the only other snow I've dealt with in the last six years was a flash storm in Portland, Oregon.

I will undoubtedly have to get used to this again. Luckily we have been told that our drive is professionally plowed. At least that is one chore I don't have to acclimate to again. I hope. A plow has yet to be seen. 

I am looking forward to learning how to cross country ski. Eric and I joined an outdoor activities/social club and I am hoping to connect to a group within willing to deal with a novice.

I wonder how much snowshoes cost?

Oriole Parkway, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Nuit Blanche

"For one sleepless night, experience Toronto transformed by artists"

Last night Eric and I attended "Nuit Blanche", an all-night city-wide art party that "transforms" Toronto. We chose to stroll down Queen St. West on our way to a separate event called 'Chunk'. We missed all of the bigger art installations but experienced dozens of smaller open-gallery exhibits as well as hundreds of red bicycle safety lights installed throughout Trinity-Bellwoods Park. Unusual. The sidewalks were a mass of interested people and the night was full of energy. Our art walk ended at a bar called, "Beaver" to meet a couple of new friends and socialize at gathering called "Chunk." We finished our evening out with a late night feast at "Golden Griddle."