This is our third city park. The first (in Florida City) left much to be desired. The second (in Little Rock) was very nice, and so is this one.
The second surprise came just as we settled in: a Girl Guides (Canadian Girl Scouts) campout was to happen all around our campsite, involving a hundred or so girls (maybe more) for two days and nights. One of the leaders introduced herself, gave us the news, and offered that Katie could come to their campfire if she'd like. Well, Katie ended up insinuating herself into all sorts of crafts and snack times and other play, and had a wonderful time, becoming an honorary Girl Guide for the weekend, even collecting a couple badges! Here are the girls next to our spot--Katie's in there somewhere.
There were some Brownies and Sparks who were close to Katie's age, and nice older girls too, one of whom gave Katie and her new friend Robin lessons in headstands and other feats. It was the funnest two days Katie has had in awhile, and it ended too soon.
Another surprise: everything I saw in the the little guidebook for Toronto looked interesting. What a change from Montreal! There are currently at least two film festivals going on, and more starting next week. All sorts of funky stores and interesting old parts of town to pry into... and the train into downtown comes very close to our camp, just a 10-minute drive and free parking.
Another great surprise: what if you could live twenty minutes from everything a fabulous big city offers, and not have to own a car, just ride public transit (a ferry with a gorgeous view) to work and to shop, then come back to your little island cottage, your bicycle and your boat, and acres of trees and parks? I didn't know that regular people could live like that, but they do, on Ward and Algonquin Islands, just offshore of Toronto in Lake Ontario. It's a scenic 20-minute ferry ride to downtown, or you can stay on the islands (connected by little bridges) and entertain yourself at the sweet old amusement park there. I was so enchanted I almost wanted to sign us up for one (there is a waiting list, and a big catch: you never own the land, just lease it from the city). Here are some pictures:
There are three or four islands, with miles of roads to bike, past acres and acres of parks. The only motorized vehicles are fire engines (just in case), a couple of these free trams which slowly take folks from one island to another, and a golf cart or two owned by the amusement park.
There were hundreds of sailboats, canoes, yachts, and the occasional kayaker going between the islands. Lake Ontario had no waves that day, so you could paddle to downtown if you like.
A street on the island, with the following view:
Second street, I think, with my bike. There are so many trees and plants that the houses are quite nestled, despite the small lots. So I couldn't show how cute many of the houses are, but here is one you can see:
There are many artists living on the islands (at one point, they actually joined hands to stop bulldozers from tearing downt their homes--the city or someone wanted the land for some other purpose); one of them may have created this swing; it was made with some sort of strongfabric.
Note the CN tower in the background. Everywhere there are views like that.
One of the islands, Center Island, has an amusement park on it, full of rides dating from 1906 to probably 1976. Fat Albert and Kermitt the Frog are mentioned (oddly enough). Everything is small in scale though, nothing like a Six Flags or Marine World. It is very charming, and no admission price--you just buy tickets (which never expire) and use as many as you need. Why doesn't everybody do it like that?
Here is a swan ride:
The 1906 carousel:
Mark and Katie on a boat ride:
Here is part of the amusement park; it had a village feel to it:
When we noticed that no one was getting too wet on the flume ride, we all had to go on it. Here's a view looking up, and one from the top:
Here's a few more pics, just to show how sweet this place is:
Here is Mark on the ferry back (a neat 1935 ferry). Note Katie is thoroughly pooped in her bike seat to the left:
Katie and I ventured out to an old farm (in Cabbagetown, a Victorian neighborhood not far from downtown Toronto) one day while Mark worked. She liked seeing the animals, and I was impressed with the neighborhood, which used to be terribly poor (it got its name from folks planting their front yards with cabbages to eat) but has gentrified, has big trees, and a couple old cemetaries, one right by the farm, called eerily the Necropolis. There was a movie being shot in front of the beautiful chapel entrance to the Necropolis. Here is one of the 50s cars lined up on the street for a shot. The movie is the next Spiderman (3 I think), with Ben Affleck (no sign of him around).
You can almost see the pretty chapel behind the car. I felt really sneaky taking pictures "on the set" so I didn't get a better shot.
Today, our last day in Toronto, we all headed out to the Royal Toronto Museum to show Katie a dinosaur exhibit. Well the dinosaurs were okay, but what I really loved was a huge section devoted to design through the centuries, with rooms set up to look like a Rococo library, or an art deco bedroom:
After the museum, we walked to a big bookstore, and then I split up from Mark and Katie, and got to go see a movie! I love movies but we rarely get to see anything not made by Pixar these days, and Toronto is a big movie city, so I went to the Carlton, where they show all sorts of indie and foriegn films, and saw Born into Brothels. The title sounds dreary, but the film is really charming, hopeful and uplifting at times. It's about kids in Calcutta's red light district, who are given cameras by a woman photographer, and taught how to take really wonderful pictures of their world. She changes their lives, and shows how great the kids can be despite their situation.
My last surprise here: someone has opened a restaurant that I've often said should exist: a place selling all sorts of spring rolls (I didn't go inside, but that's what the name implies). In mine, you would be able to get dozens of different kinds, fried or steamed, with lots of different sauces to dip them into.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) we leave Toronto, without seeing everything, but having gained a love for the place. We'll stop at the Canadian side of Niagra Falls, then head into Michigan, camping between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Mark will be flying out of Detroit at 5:30am Friday morning, to head back to Sacramento to take the last furniture out of our house there. We are going to try to rent it out for six months or so, while we finish the trip and figure out where we want to be next. Katie and I will stay in Michigan, but I'll be thinking of everyone in California and wishing I could be there too.