First Day in Toronto

Thursday, Sept. 27

We got up relatively early (7:30), and after getting ready, went to the lounge for breakfast.  Not bad - I made waffles for both of us, and they were pretty good.

Gas Station

By 10:30, we were ready to head into Toronto for the day.  We set GPS Jill for Rogers Centre so we could see where we needed to go.  She took us there, but there were a number of things on the way.  First, our gas gauge indicated that we needed to fill up - very soon - so we found a place to pull off for gas.  Punching in gas stations, we found we were only a short distance from a station, so we headed there and filled up.

Then, back onto the freeway, to continue the drive into TO.  It is only about a half hour drive from where we are staying in Brampton and that seemed about right.  We got onto Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) which took us along the shores of Lake Ontario.  Very pretty to look at, and we stopped at a park that ran along the highway and the Lake.

Lake Ontario

Congestion Near Rogers Centre

Park on the Lake

After a short walk and some photos, we were back in the car to continue to Rogers Centre.  Well, it got very busy and congested, with lots of twists and turns, and very aggressive drivers.  Once we say where we had to go, we decided to get out of the busy area, and drove along the shore, to the east.  After going through and industrial area, we got off the highway and ended up in Cabbagetown (at least this is what we were told by a shop owner we spoke to later on).  It was old, the houses very close together, and the trolley buses on rails ran down the streets.  We drove for a while, and then decided to turn around and go back downtown and park, so we could walk around.

Cabbagetown

 

Back downtown, and we had to find a parking spot.  The first public parking I pulled into said it would cost me $50 to park for the rest of the day and for the ball game.  We drove back out and looked for another.  The next place was $30 dollars - $12 until 6:00, and $18 for the game after 6:00.  We went in and were directed to a spot where a construction worker was just vacating.

We got out and began to walk around.  First up the block and to Rogers Centre so we would know where we were.  Then, back out onto the main road for a walk along the road.  Lots of construction going on, so the street was very busy and noisy.  We kept heading east, looking for a market we had seen when we were driving.  Finally got to it, a few long blocks farther than we had thought.  We went in and found it to be similar to Granville Island, with lots of little shops of various ethnicities.  Dawn found a place with souvenirs, and purchased something, but we found this too congested for us, and left shortly afterward.

Lunch at the Pub

Pub Interior

We were getting hungry by this time, so started looking for a restaurant.  There were lots of them around, but most looked quite expensive.  Finally, we agreed on a little pub, so went in.  It was small, and basically empty at that time of the day.  It reminded me a lot of the Cheers bar.  The owner came over and took our order, and then came back to sit with us to talk about sports and the various teams.  It turned out that he has a relative who lives in Langley, so he knows a bit about BC.  Our lunch was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed our sandwiches.

Hall of Fame Entrance

Walkway to Hall of Fame

Then we left, and headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which was only a few blocks west.  It wasn't too bad to get in, and we spent at least a couple hours inside looking at all the exhibits.  There certainly were a lot of things to look at, including a Kamloops Blazers jersey donated by Shane Doan.  We were getting very tired, and when we finally heard the sounds of a movie, we found it and went in to watch the end of it.  It was about the 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series.  It was very interesting (the part that was left when we arrived), and we quite enjoyed it.  Then, there were a few more things for us to see, and we decided to head back to the car to rest our feet before going to the game (this was about 4:30).

Score Clock

Turning in the Lineups

We sat in the car until 5:30, and then walked over to the stadium (only a couple blocks).  We had to walk down the ramp to the first level, and then we could see the field.  The Yankees were having batting practice when we got in, and Ichiro was right in front of us, warming up.  We found our seats which were in row 20, about equal to first base.  The only problems were that they were seats 1 and 2, and we ended up standing up a lot to let people in and out, and the people walking up and down the steps, along with the vendors, really got in our way.  However, the Blue Jays had a great game, winning 6-0.  Brett Lawrie hit a home run to drive in the first 2 runs, and they went on from there.

All day, I had been coughing lightly, and began to feel a bit of a sore throat coming on.  By the time we got back to our hotel in Brampton, I was coughing lots, my throat hurt a lot, and my nose was stuffed up.  I could only think about flying home on Sunday, in that plane with all the others, passing on my germs.  I took a couple ibuprophen before crawling into bed, and must have slept fairly well, although it felt like I was up coughing, a number of times.  This morning, it was definitely a cold, and we had to get some cough syrup and other cold remedies.