Toronto

Something a little more current:

So, Toronto is maybe 6 hours away from Central Michigan, but the way that Ali and I do it, it took 12 hours to get to the

apartment that a friend of Ali’s is letting us stay at.  We had to shop in Mt. Pleasant, have a sit down breakfast, sit down lunch, and sit down dinner with a winery stop, consignment stop, and a shopping stop to get out of traffic on the way into 

Toronto.  We lucked out and were able to exit at Cambridge which had some nice shops to stop and waste time.  We also lucked into a good brew pub where we were able to get some good food and drinks.  We were successful in leaving the traffic behind, but that’s what happens when you spend all this time on the road.  We must look shady together though, because we were stopped on 3 different occasions and questioned by police.  Twice at the border with the car being searched one time and one of the stupidest questions I have ever received when crossing a border.  When told that we were going to Toronto to see a comedian, the border guard asked, “You like comedians?”  After we left his presence, Ali said, “no, they just make you laugh and all that, but we hate ‘em.”  I did successfully hold my tongue and not say anything stupid to the border guard.  We also got stopped getting back on the 401 for a random sobriety check and had to tell the police officer that I had a martini at dinner.  He just asked me how long ago that was and waved us on.  I guess they have a hard time being hard core right now when the mayor is in such hot water…it was funny passing all the zero tolerance signs as we came into Toronto. 

Once we first crossed the border, we decided we would stop at the first winery we saw which wasn’t far in, but was in the middle of nowhere.  It was interesting because it was a working bed and breakfast and family home in the middle of farm country with people who had decided that they should do a vineyard.  They were brand new as a winery and there were only 5 wines to try, but it was still pleasant and we got to have the undivided attention of the woman and the obligatory winery dog.  We were able to get some cute gifts and I got a bottle of wine that was too expensive, but I want to support Canadian vintners, even though this winery didn’t have an ice wine…

So, what to say about where we are staying...we are in the apartment block on Queen’s Quay on the 18^th floor in downtown Toronto.  We are within walking distance of the Rogers Center and the needle (Toronto Tower).  Like in any big city, the most expensive part when you have a good place to stay is the parking, so once we figured out the prices and the machine, we were able to pay to stay in a huge apartment complex with apparently no residents with cars.  Because there is no one in the parking lot and a beer store under them that closes at 8pm on a Friday night, what is that?!?!?!?  Then there is trying to see if we can actually use my prepaid trac phone in Canada.  We have service and outrageous roaming charges, but we are able to call our husbands for one minute each night and tell ‘em we’re safe and that we love them.  So, worth it.