Ladies and ... well... ladies... Start your engines! On to Chicago!

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Wed. Oct. 10
So we're sitting here in the Greyhound Station in Toronto, after making a quick trip up to Peterborough, ON, to see one of Molly's tree planting friends, Brendan. Discovery passes were both received successfully, travel insurance purchased, Visa and banks notified, couch-surfing requests sent, and goodbyes said. That being said, we left all but the first one 'til today, haha.
Toronto was lots of fun, visiting fam and (new) fam. We stayed with Jen and Dan and our cousins, Aliya and Dylan for the first week. What a crazy little hockey player! Just over two, and he's got moves like Jagr! (That's Jaromir Jagr, for all the uninitiated hockey fans.) We caught Aliya's first hockey game of the season, and she got in there, going after the puck and everything! So proud of my little cousin! Celebrating Noni's and Jen's birthdays was great, since we don't usually get the chance from the west coast. Rib dinner, and an all-hot-wing dinner. Real bunch of carnivores :P
They left for Chicago, and we left for Kelsey's, and with four dogs and a kitty, it was a different sort of madness. Fluffy, snuggly, yappy mayhem. And I loved every damn minute of it, haha. Catching up was great, and since she never tells you all, I can report that her animal care program is going well, she's learning lots, loving it, and studying (= falling asleep in the hall upstairs on a bunch of blankets...) We went out to the Drake Hotel to some random DJ thing (Bicep...?) that was fun, with some funky disco intro songs. We didn't end up going to Michigan, which actually worked out, cuz we walked down by Lake Ontario and went to Niagara Falls to hang out with all the tourists, (almost) go into haunted houses and play the penny slots. Also, a very fun and delicious turkey dinner at Kels' friend's house, and lots of leftovers, courtesy of her amazing mom, Michelle! The Lion King, a lot of loud puppy greetings, a whole box of toaster strudels, and a stolen piece of peanut butter toast later, and we're off to Chicago, the start of our Pan-American bus tour! I think it never sinks in 'til the last minute, so naturally, I'm a grinning like a madman. Well, our bus doesn't leave til 1am, so I'll fit in nicely with the loonies in the bus station.
Pip pip!

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