Not all work, some play...

My mom really wanted to see some of the Toronto sights. At first I was like, we're not here on vacation, this is therapy for Maggie. As I thought about it and prayed, I realized that if I had traveled a long way to another country and a place I've never been, I would still want to see more than an apartment and health clinic while I was there. I mean, I did drive to another country, but you know what I mean. Problem is, we arrived Sunday evening and mom had to arrive at the airport around 1pm Saturday. This didn't allow many windows for sightseeing. I did want to make Lake Ontario happen for her since we were too far from the other Lakes and Niagra Falls (at least for a weekday in the evening).

One day Maggie finished up at 4:00 so we left right away but sat in loads of traffic. I also may have tried to get directions from OnStar and got disconnected two or three times then found out later I went an hour out of the way. When we finally arrived, it was past dinner time and we were all hungry. We hung out by the lake for awhile then walked to a nearby restaurant off the recommendation of some locals. The weather was nice and we were able to follow a path along the lake the whole way, which made for a very nice evening. At the restaurant, a nearby table bought the kids ice cream- probably because they're so cute:). Turned out to be a fun little trip.

downtown Toronto- the CN Tower soaring above the rest

walk to the restaurant

We also visited a nearby park and enjoyed a little picnic lunch during Maggie's break one day...

A few things I've learned about Canada:

• they have the squeakiest chairs ever
• traffic is a force to be reckoned with...allow plenty of time to move around town
• the grocery store near us is apparently the only one in Toronto. 'Cause everyone and their brother shops there and good luck with parking
• most DQ's only have cool treats...no hot eats (we found one downtown that served hot dogs)
• people are so nice yet not at all. They're helpful at the grocery store and other public places but won't say hi as you pass by on a walk, even if they look right at you and only sometimes reply to your hello
• parking is crazy- you can tell it's a hot commodity, folks will park anywhere there's not a sign, largely blocking residential streets
• Chinese buffets are expensive! Like, hey we could've bought a timeshare in the Poconos expensive
• Signs on the interstate or cans at the store are labeled in English and French, opposed to our Spanish in the states (not very surprising)
• OnRoute is a super convenient interstate exit. Instead of exiting to multiple restaurants and gas stations like we do, they have this OnRoute with a gas station, little convenience store then several eatery choices with a huge eating area- like a mall food court. One stop, done.
• very few drive-thru's...I think I saw one
• Walmart is closed on Thanksgiving...which falls on the second Monday in October- our Columbus Day
• speed limit is low when you convert kilometers/hour to mph and no one seems to follow it

So there's your education on Canada.

Seriously though,  I realize people/places differ from region to region in Canada as they do the states, but it was fun to note some differences.