With how much we’ve been doing lately, Clara hasn’t had a ton of time to work on her art. But, she still managed to get in a little bit. Here’s her latest creation, it’s awesome: (that girl loves parrots 🙍🏻♀️ ❤️ 🦜!!)
This morning, in lieu of going running, Jonathan and Clara took the twins on a walk. After they got back, once everyone was ready to go, we headed out on our day’s adventure.
First stop? The REAL CANADIAN SUPERSTORE. (I love that place. It’s basically like a classic superstore, with a really good clothes section.)
After we’d gotten supplies, we got back in the car and drove to the Park and ride subway station.
We rode not one….
….but, two subways.
The second one was one of the newest models and it was really cool. It basically feels like a really long corridor that moves. The joints between the individual cars are so minimal, that the cars don’t really feel separate. It was kinda fun to watch the cars ahead and behind us respond to the changes in elevation and direction before (or after) us. It was honestly kinda trippy.
After we got off the subway, we transferred to a streetcar. It was a bit of a wait, but we chatted with our fellow streetcar riders, who were amazed and delighted (which was refreshing) that we have 5 young children.
After we got off the streetcar, we walked over to the ferry terminal, where we bought tickets and jumped on the ferry. Yep, we’re just trying out ALL the public transport options that Toronto has to offer.
Our destination? Centre Island. One of a chain of 15 islands that make up the Toronto Islands which are located in Lake Ontario.
We just need to pause for a second to recognize just how massive Lake Ontario is. This was my first real exposure to any of the Great Lakes, and wow. It felt like an ocean rather than a lake.
The ferry ride was about 15-20 minutes, and we had beautiful views of the city as we went. It made me nostalgic for Seattle. There’s even a “Space Needle”.
Once we arrived at the Island, we made our way over to a picnic table nearby and we pulled out our picnic supplies that we had acquired at the REAL CANADIAN SUPERSTORE.
It was pretty much the most idyllic location ever. And a pretty excellent lunch too. The kids enjoyed chasing the seagulls and going down to the beach.
After we finished our food, we started strolling around the islands, which are connected by small bridges. It’s quite the place. It is incredibly beautiful for one thing. But also, there is a ton to do: a small amusement park (the children were very sad that it had closed for the season), a disc golf course, swimming beaches, boat rentals, biking/running/walking trails, etc. (Also, a small airport 🧐)… And a nude beach!
There was also a farm!! The animals actually live there. We saw some llamas, cows, mini horses, sheep and goats. Most of the animals were pretty ambivalent about our presence. But there was a very friendly goat who came over to visit with us, to everyone’s delight.
After we’d walked through the animal farm, we decided to walk to the other end of the chain of islands to catch our return ferry. It turned out to be a bit more of a hike than we had expected.
Fortunately, we had the stroller. And the twins fell asleep. That is always a happy thing. And we found a small playground, which the kids enjoyed.
We made it to the ferry terminal a few minutes before the ferry was set to arrive. And once it arrived, we walked right on. It was a little guy. It would probably fit 2-3 regular size cars and then all the walk-on passengers just fill in the gaps around them.
Once we docked, we started making our way over to the subway station. Also, it was rush hour. So it was a leeetle bit crazy. But we didn’t lose anybody. And eventually we made it back to the park and ride.
We got off our last public transportation at about 6:15. And we were trying to get back to our Airbnb by 7 pm because the two older kids had their violin lessons.
So we started driving home. By this point, everyone was starving and we had VERY little food in the house. Fortunately, we saw a Pizza Pizza enroute. It’s basically the Little Caesar’s of Canada. So we stopped, got some to go pizza and a couple of orders of Poutine (cause we’re in Canada, and it’s basically a requirement).
We made it home and devoured our food. And the kids were totally on time for their lesson. Boom.
