Hello Toronto

---

While our hotel appears to teeter over Niagara Falls, it's a 15 minute walk down to the edge of the waterfall. Milla has awoken and still looks like death warmed up. Poor thing. She's being such a trooper about it - resting when she can and not complaining. Niagara Falls (Twin Towns) is like a ghost town and we settle for Subway breakfast rolls before walking down to the water's edge.

It's sunny but windy and as we get closer the mist from the falls starts to thicken. It feels like it's raining and the cool mist is refreshing in the sun. It would be far less refreshing if we were here even a few days earlier when it was 15 degrees cooler. We watch a boat full of tourists slowly enter the whitewash and mist below us. With a bit more time we'd be on that boat - looks fun. Wet, but fun!

The walk down has Millsy fading fast. Jules wears her puffer like Kenny from South Park. Deaks is imagine riding a surfboard on these surging rapids. The aqua green water thunders over the falls a few metres from us water intimidating force. Apparently 1 million bath tubs a minute flow over the falls every minute. The Horeshoe Falls are ridiculously wide. Maybe one hundred "standard" waterfalls wide and the water looks a metre or more deep going over the rocks. I think it might be 1 million bathtubs a second! Apparently people have gone over the falls and survived. I can't see how that's even possible but who am I to argue with wikipedia.

A much shorter drive today. Niagara Falls joins the border lakes of Erie and Ontario and we have one and a half hour drive northeast around Lake Ontario to Toronto. Subway breakfast roll isn't cutting it and I'm requesting some Hershey Kisses before too long. Not the world's best chocolate but a valuable travel companion and a taste I'll associate fondly with this drive.

The city of Hamilton proves a false alarm but we are soon approaching Toronto. Every city looks small after NYC but the Toronto skyline against the clear blue skys marks the end of our journey. Not quite. Toronto traffic is a bit shit and East of the city feels like a construction site. Irish maps lady's voice assures us we are still on the fastest route. The fuel light came on 32 kms from Toronto and while the dashboard had told me we had 40kms of fuel left at the time, the specific number of kms remaining was no longer being declared by our trusty Jeep. We pull into a Circle K to fill up and it's good to be back in a metric country. Ninety litres costs about $170 AUD and I'm just pleased that it wasn't one of those complicated US bowsers. I fill up and pay up inside.

We can check into our Airbnb at 1pm. We stop on the parking pad (driveway) at 1.01pm. Nice!

This place is cool. A character "beach" cottage in a street full of these beautiful Toronto cottages. It's about 500 meters from the "beach". It's a lake and I struggle calling it a beach. I'm going to call it the lake. But when you see how big this body of water is you can understand why they call it The Beaches. It looks and feels like an ocean. Without the waves.

Thankfully Morley escorts me and the Jeep back to Avis in central Toronto. Traffic is horrendous and while making a desperate left turn against an amber light. A local pedestrian in a BlueJay's hat gives a death stare and what looks like the bird but with two fingers tight together twice touching his temple suggesting I'm an idiot and he's not a fan. Morley ducks unto an underground carpark three blocks before the Avis depot on the GPS. We take a ticket at the boom gates and navigate 3 or 4 interconnected carparks before the Avis signs start appearing. I would never have found this place and happily return the Jeep half an hour before the 3pm deadline.

It's great to catch-up with Morley on the drive back and we share a beer on their porch before Jane and the rest of The Sharpies come around the corner of Columbine St. They've been checking out the local Kew Gardens and the lake. It's 24 degrees and sunny but the kids found some snow. The Fosters call it snirt but the kids had a play in it anyway. Pick the Australians in the park. There the ones have a snow fight with a square metre of snirt (snow dirt). It was literally snowing on the weekend before last and now we are basking in glorious sunshine!

After the Foster kids get home from school. While the parents catch up, the kids go to the park and skate park for some fun. It's wonderful to see the kids hanging out again. The boys click as if they've never been apart and the girls are warming up to each other again. The two families meet at Beaches Brewing Co for dinner. The BlueJays are on in the background. It's their first home game of these season and theirs some pomp and ceremony before the game. Our waiter Brandon is super friendly and chats about the game during our meal. The BlueJays are down and this is not supposed to be happening against the lowly Detroit Tigers. Turns out Brandon is also a skater and he and Deaks exchange numbers and are planning a skate tomorrow. I point out a beer in the fridge - The Budgie Smuggler - Australian Pale Ale - cool name. Brandon notes my interest and gives me a can Budgie Smuggler to take home. What a guy!

Jules takes a valant Millsy back to the Airbnb and the boys join the Foster boys in their basement TV room to watch the rest of the game. The BlueJays come back to win in the later innings. It's a much more interesting game to watch with Lewis sharing his vast knowledge of baseball and the BlueJays.

It's a short walk to our Airbnb. Milla is quarantined in the double bed. Jules and I enjoy the super comfortable bed in the attic parents retreat and Deaks happily takes the couch. Milla has taken comfort in a couple of episodes of Brooklyn 99 and when she goes to bed we watch (sleep through) the first episode of Beef on netflix. Jules and Deaks tell me I would like it. Too many IPAs with Morley, but I'll watch Beef again.

---