I wish I could let my fingers do the walking but instead they'll do the talking

As mentioned in the last entry, my Saturday night ended on Sunday morning when my head finally hit the pillow at 5:30. Being a morning person, I just can't stand sleeping the day away so at 9:30 I was up again. It was a bright and sunny morning--finally--and the city was coming to life. Actually, it never really seems to go to sleep. The traffic noises at midnight are pretty much the same as the ones at 9 am. This would be one of the bigger differences from Winnipeg.

While everyone else caught up on their sleep, I organised my pictures, sent some e-mails and blogged. I realized that every day when Vince goes to bed I am on the computer working away, and then when he gets up he finds me again on the computer, working away. He must be wondering if I sleep at all.

Once the guys were up we headed out for breakfast at Over Easy on Bloor. I don't remember what time it was, one-ish maybe. The service was almost non existent and my four hours of sleep did not reset my level of patience to full supply. Our waitress seemed like a fun character--big blonde hair and addressed everyone with "hunny" but I bristled when she excused something she did by saying "I just got my hair done yesterday, too much peroxide y'know". I have no tolerance for dumb blonde references but I just rolled my eyes and muttered something in response.

After breakfast we hopped the subway and headed to West Bloor where Chris wanted to check out a cycle shop. Chris is big into cycling and participates in triathlons (well, he did until he did something to his leg which now impedes him from running). He didn't have an exact address for the store but knew the name and that it was supposed to be three blocks west of the subway station.

Since our scavenger hunt on Saturday for a BMO bank machine, I had taken up a game of I spy the BMO. I spotted one on the way to breakfast and another one on the way to the bike shop. I saw it again after we turned around and back tracked because we seemed to have missed the shop. We had barely started our day and already my feet were sore. I could also feel blisters bubbling. I wasn't about to complain though, I just followed along behind the guys a few paces and enjoyed the sunshine.

After checking out the bike shop (the name had changed from Cyclepath to Sweet Pete's--I call this change from clever branding to lame anti-marketing) we jumped back onto the subway and headed downtown to catch a ferry to Toronto Island Park. The ferry is only $6.00 to ride round trip and the island is full of things to do and see like beaches (including a clothing optional beach), boating, canoeing, disc golf ( Frolf, as I like to call it) and more. When we arrived we had apparently just missed a ferry going out. This meant standing around waiting for the next one 20 or 30 minutes later. I slipped my feet out of my shoes and hoped that I would soon get to dip them in the lake and walk barefoot along the beach.

The ferry ride was very enjoyable. It maybe lasted 10 minutes but it felt great being out on the water and motoring away from the city.

When we arrived at the island we decided to take the boardwalk around and maybe see if we could rent a canoe. I was very excited about the possible canoe excursion. A) It's canoeing and I love to paddle. B) It would mean sitting and using my arms to propel us in motion, not my poor feet!

The boardwalk was a bit of a disappointment. I had pictured something like we have at our Manitoba beaches--cedar planks of wood that meander alongside the beach. While there was a small beach at the beginning of the walk, most of it just followed along the water with a cement barrier in between. The other side was grey bush--no leaves out yet.

Where the boardwalk ended we spotted a Frolf hole. Vince had a mini (and I mean, mini) Frisbee so he and Chris decided to try it out. I once again took the opportunity to to take my shoes off and let my feet feel the ground--cool and cushy grass this time.

Next stop was a pier which was actually surrounded by beach. I was sad to see that the sand was dark and dirty and all the snack shops were still closed for the season. It was a beach, yeah, but it was probably three weeks away from being a fun hot spot.

After the pier we considered our options. We could keep walking around (there was a hedge maze nearby) or we could find the canoes. I of course voted for the canoes. Despite the fact that nothing else in the park was open I still had my hopes up for the canoe rentals. My hopes were crushed when we discovered that the boat house was also still boarded up and deserted. On to the hedge maze it was. The maze was actually neat and the smell of the cedar trees was refreshing.

After the maze as we walked along and again discussed our options, one of the guys asked how my feet were.

"Okay," I replied in a soft whimper. More emphatically I announced, "I just want to go back, find a patio, and drink margaritas." Vince tossed around a few other options for food but I was firm. I wanted a patio and I wanted a cold drink, maybe some nachos. I was tired and I was in pain. This was my idea of comfort food.

Back on the mainland, we walked to Jack Astors. They had a patio and it was even heated so everyone was happy. Drinks were surprisingly cheap, service was mostly good (at least 80% better than breakfast) and the nachos (yes, I had nachos again) were great. I told the guys that I could have sat there all night. I was feeling so much better--happy, and relaxed again. But of course, it could not last forever as we had to get Chris back so he could catch his flight home.

I was worried that I would compare this trip to San Francisco and that it wouldn't measure up. It was completely different, but it was still great. It really has nothing to do with the location, it's the people that make the memories.

More pictures here