Road Trip – June 2011 Edition

John was once again invited to play in the Canadian National Scrabble Championships, a biennial (or so) tournament that takes place in Toronto. It had been a while since our last excursion to Toronto (in fact, it was the weekend before Leo was born) so we decided to all go down together as a family to take the opportunity to visit family and friends in Toronto and Guelph.

We left Ottawa at about 11:30 am on Friday. Leo started to nod off about 20 minutes into the trip so we made a quick decision and pulled off the 416 to have a picnic at a Rideau Valley Conservation Area site. We had hoped to make it a bit further before stopping but it worked out fine. The sun was shining, we had some good food packed in our mini-cooler and the boys were fascinated by the caterpillars on our picnic table. Leo kept trying to feed the closest caterpillar to him. Perhaps an homage to The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Leo was asleep shortly after we got back on the road and Max and Holly quickly followed suit. John got bogged down in construction around Kingston, but the kids cooperated and managed to hang in there until we got to a rest stop near Trenton. We enjoyed some treats and truck watching there and then made it the rest of the way to Toronto. The traffic was fine until we hit the Don Valley Parkway but even then, it was reasonable. We arrived at our friend Jenn’s place at about 5:45 pm. John had time to unload the van and get us settled in before heading off for his first games. Jenn and I took the boys out for a walk and a sushi meal at a neighbourhood place. I eventually got the boys down for sleep around 10:30. Yikes.


All ready for a few hours in the van.


Leo and his caterpillar friend.
On Saturday morning, the boys got up at their usual time (before 7 am) and we had breakfast with John before he left for the day. We soon set off for a packed day of adventures – riding on the “buses with sticks” (streetcars), touring Little Italy, finding ground cherries for Max, browsing Kensington Market, eating outside at a restaurant called The Grilled Cheese, and seeing the Toronto edition of World Naked Bike Ride Day go by. Max thought that The Grilled Cheese was really, really funny – “Daddy, we ate a place that only served ONE thing! Can you believe it?” The grilled cheeses were absolutely divine – the boys devoured one with tomatoes, spinach, and black olive tapenade and Jenn and I shared one called the Beast with all sorts of toppings and another one with assorted mushrooms. Grandma, you would have LOVED that one! The sandwiches were served with chips and giant dill pickles so the boys were in heaven.






After a park visit, we headed back to Jenn’s and packed up for our next visit – our friends Greg and Isabella in another part of downtown Toronto. I got a little bit lost on the way (I blame the summer construction!) with the added bonus that both boys fell asleep on the way over. I got a choice parking spot directly in front of their place so we left the windows rolled down and let the boys sleep in there while we sat outside and caught up. And sleep they did! They both napped for over two hours. After they woke up and had a quick tour of the inside of the house (including, of course, a survey of the toys), we headed off to the park just down the street from their place while Greg slaved away on a gourmet dinner. By the time we got back, John had arrived. We had a wonderful dinner and the boys were in great spirits despite the hour. I eventually headed to bed with Leo around 10 pm.


Sadly, no pictures of Greg or Is but we got this one of Leo making himself at home on their couch.
On Sunday morning, we packed up again to head to Guelph to visit Krysta and Steven. We put the car seats in Steven’s truck and headed out for lunch at A&W and THEMUSEUM in Kitchener. The museum has an awesome special exhibit on – Animal Grossology – about all kinds of bodily fluids. Leo especially loved the giant cow that burped and farted and Max loved the toilets with poop in them. You could climb through an octopus’ intestinal tract, match the animal with its poop, and take a quiz on different colours of animal blood. There was also a demonstration of different animal scents that Krysta and I participated in – yuck! The rest of the museum is amazing too with a planetarium, a giant room filled with foam Lego blocks, a toddler area for the little ones, and tons of hands-on activities. If you are ever in Kitchener with kids, don’t miss this place!













After a quick dinner and birthday cake for Steven in Guelph, we headed back to Toronto to pick up John. After two late nights and long days of adventure, the boys were a little cranky but finally settled down to sleep in the van for the ride home. We got back to Ottawa at about 12:30 pm. It was a looooooooooooooong weekend but a really great trip. Thanks to everyone who hosted us!!!!