The lake and the bike

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Enjoying a more laid back time in Toronto. The intensity of the first week in NYC was impossible to maintain and the slower pace in Toronto is welcomed by us all. Millsy is better again but still not firing on all cylinders. Probably a combination getting over her bug and running on a low battery.

Another bag of bready goodness from Cobs to get us going and a couple more loads of washing to freshen up the suitcase. We hang out in the Airbnb before Jane pops over for a chat. Deaks is keen for another skate park session and heads out after a couple of hours of Brooklyn 99. We drove past the Beah Skate Park on our way through Toronto. It's across the road from the lake and looks enormous. He spends a few hours at the park and in typical fashion makes friends with the locals (Ryan - a 17 year old Toronto kid covered in tattoos and a more than decent skater and some other less talented and interesting kid who's name he can't remember). They chat and skate before hanging out at Maccas for late lunch. Deaks returns to a basically deserted skatepark and films some tricks. Best skate he's had in months!

Jules accompanies Jane on a house inspection. They have to move out in the next few months and are looking to buy in the area. All the houses we see in this area look amazing to our foreign eyes. The prices feel close to Gordon Park prices ($1,500,000 CAD is aboot $1,650,000 AUD) and this weather a bargain! When can we move over! Two weeks ago, they would have been overpriced dumps. 😊

They then check out Leslieville, one neighbourhood closer to the CBD, for some shopping and a bevvy. New York Times describes Leslieville as the Williamsburg of Toronto. We liked Williamsburg alot and it sounds like Jules and Jane had a fun afternoon, browsing boutiques, sipping a bevvy and chatting. All of the Fosters are so easy to hang out with and I'm sure they had plenty of girl talk to catch up on.

Millsy and I wander Queen St East. We're looking for sushi for lunch but it doesn't open til next week. Timing it's grand opening for when Spring was supposed to start. We instead check out a sportswear shop, Body Shop and a Dollar Mart. We buy some fairy floss and a Skor (chocolate coated butter toffee) before settling on a couple of spinach and feta twisters from the supermarket.

Kew Gardens is a 6.5 hectare park between Queen St and The Lake and it has a bandstand, baseball field, tennis courts and an ice rink. We seat in the bleachers and eat our lunch behind home plate. There's a group of locals down the first base line smoking a joint and chatting and kids play frizbee in the outfield. Milla shares the crumbs from her feta twister and the smallest fraction of her fairy floss with the ants while we soak up the gentle sunshine. Millsy instinct is to head back to the couch but we walk passed the snirt to the Lake instead. We sit on a park bench enjoying the view and a bit of people (and dog) watching. The regular scent of pot smoke is still somewhat distracting but a perfect place for sneaky (or not so sneaky) joint.

We skim a few of skimmers on the lake before settling down on the rock beach and prospecting with our barehands for interesting rocks. It's a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of being a tourist and a mindful moment. I'm happy to stay here for as long as Millsy wants and she surprises me with how long she's happy to chill be the lake and just play with rocks. I'm actually busting for a piss but don't want to ruin the moment. We choice a few select rocks for the piano at home and wander back to the airbnb.

To our surprise, Deaks is studying in front of the tele. Not sure how much he got done, but he was at least studying and there were multiple tabs and documents open on the laptop. He looks ready for a break from the study and he and I head back to the lake to grab a couple of public bikes for a quick ride. Missed out on A NYC ride and we have more spare time here to satisfy my urge to pedal. It's takes longer than it should for us to get two bikes released from the racks. Initially we settle for sharing one bike and taking short rides separately. This won't do! We persist and return the initial bike to the rack, slow down our clicking through the Toronto Bike Share app and are finally successful in releasing two bikes at the same time! We ride side-by-side along the boardwalk to the Balmy Beach Club and back. The bikes are basic and not great on the few hills we encounter. Deaks snaps a selfie while we ride avoiding the increasing number of afternoon strollers and other bikes. Glad he took the selfie. It would have taken me way too long to line that up and I probably would have stacked it into a group of poutine eating stoners on the grass.

It's a quick ride but a memorable one. We get home to Millsy, cook some instant popcorn from the generous pantry of our host Kathy and watch a bit of...you guessed it...Brooklyn 99! Or was it The Office? I can't remember.

Jules gets back from her girl date with Jane and we are quickly back out the door to The Fosters. Jane has cooked up a delicious smelling pasta and salad and we hang out at their place chatting for a few more hours. The boys watch the BlueJays in the basement and the girls watch....B99 and The O on the couch.

With our 6.30 Uber booked and head back home by 10 pm. On the walk back to the Airbnb we cross Woodbine St and reminisce about the bloodiest incident of our trip. I can't believe I haven't blogged this yet. Last night, before the parents went out for dinner, Sharpie blood was spilled!

A generally peaceful walk from our 95 Waverley St airbnb to The Foster's house on Columbine Ave was interrupted by a dash across Woodbine St to avoid oncoming traffic. Deaks and I jog across the 4 lanes with a couple of cars in the distance. Jules and Milla expectedly follow 10 metres behind us. Until! Deaks and I hear the unexpected noise of Jules sunglasses skidding across the bitumen. We turn around and Jules is flat out, dead centre of the road, starfishing on the yellow line. Her sunnies are metres in front of her and her handbag half spilled beside her. She gets up touching her face as we all turn to assist. Not knowing where to look for traffic (left and right is backwards up here) we rush to assist her from the oncoming traffic. We're all shook up and glad to reach the safety of the footpath. Checking her belongings and her skin for damage, blood begins to drip from her chin. Remarkably very little visible scrapes and cuts on her hands, elbows and knees, it looks like her chin has copped the brunt of the impact. She mops up the drips with a tissue (Jules always has tissues and now I understand why) and we walk a couple of streets further. The G&T at The Fosters is perfectly timed to calm her nerves. The cut under her chin (close to a similar childhood scare) doesn't look very large or deep but bleeds for longer than expected. We're on drip patrol all through dinner before it finally stops bleeding. The next day her whole body aches from the stress of the fall and her chin and nose are sore. Glad that the cars weren't closer as it could have been a lot worse. Plus, what's a holiday without a bit of blood.

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