Girl's Getaway to Niagara

A Post By Terrina



You know, sometimes it's nice to mix a little business and pleasure, and I did just that. Perfectly paired with some girlfriends, this sweet visit included four of the twenty-five wineries located around Niagara-on-the-Lake. Mix it up with a 40th birthday celebration for my best friend Dee and some great weather, and we had the recipe for a great girl's getaway to Niagara.  

Jackson Triggs

Peller Estates

Inniskillin

4 Sista's at Two Sisters

The wineries we chose to visit were Jackson Triggs, Two Sisters, Peller Estates and Inniskillin. Out of the four wineries that we visited, one stood out with its huge driveway leading up to the front entrance. The outside of the Two Sisters Vineyards featured lovely gardens and it got better as you went inside. The main foyer gave us the feeling of being in Italy, especially the main hall's breathtaking chandeliers (chandeliers are kind of my thing).

It may have been the wine, but I am pretty sure it was the warm welcome, the wonderful story of the Two Sisters and it's history (herstory) that made it our favorite stop of the day. Our host, Larissa, was as welcoming as could be. She told us the tale of  the Two Sisters, Angela and Melissa, and the special meaning behind their company logo.

The two sisters logo was created by a local tattoo artist Jen at Lucky Sister

The seven grapes between the two female heads represent the sisters seven children, each of the sisters have two daughters to carry on the Two Sisters tradition for generations to follow. It truly was a great story.

We enjoyed the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc paired with charred asparagus and aged percorino cheese.  Larissa then took us into the cellar for a quaint tour.

After we had tasted at three of the wineries  we found our way to Inniskillin. By then, the birthday girl may have had a little to much, as you can see:

But... you only turn 40 once!

After sampling the wine and paired food and enjoying the perfect weather, we all headed to our nearby hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn; a lovely place where the manger, Bob Dick, took great care of us. Bob was able to hook us up with a Mercedes limo van from Entourage Limo to drive us to our dinner at the Keg at Fallsview where we were lucky enough to catch the firework show (highly recommended that you try to plan your meal to correspond with the fireworks, if you can).  After dinner we hit the casino and then danced the night away at Dragon Fly Nightclub

Planned a successful girl's getaway? We would love to hear about it!

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Real Girl Travels: Real Girls Drink Beer - Toronto Festival of Beer

This past weekend Helen, selfie queen and part of the team at Real Girl Travels, took on the Toronto Festival of Beer in a way that only she can - with a selfie tour of epic proportion.

Helen in full blown "selfie" mode

Naturally I heard "beer" and tagged along. If you were following along with our social media accounts (@SamRealMan, @hmac158) then you may have seen some of our thoughts about the variety of beers offered at the festival. If not, what are you still doing here? Get over to Real Girl Travels and check it out!

If you're not on the selfie band wagon, perhaps the snapshots of the real nectar of the gods will move you to attend next year's festival. Or perhaps you'd fancy a little something from the Real Man Travels archive? Scott attended last year and shared his experience without a single selfie! 

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New Guest Post on Real Girl Travels

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for stopping by Real Man Travels today, we appreciate your shared interest in all things manly.

Just wanted to give you all a quick heads up that our friend Alison just posted a new article over at our sister site Real Girl Travels. It's all about her trip to Germany and the Czech Republic while on a budget.

A Little About Alison: Alison is a former reality TV personality, craft wizard, foodie, and long time friend of ours here at Real Man Travels, because lets face it, every group needs a sassy red head. Alison also a has her own blog www.scribbled-down.com where she writes about crafting, eating, and living. She has great posts up over there on packing for a 10 day trip in one backpack that is pretty useful for guys and girls alike. Head on over and check them out!

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Spend Light, Travel Big: Germany and Czech Republic

 

a post by Alison Preiss

A European vacation has been on my wish list for a while. So last summer when my brother did an oversea’s study program in Germany, I jumped at the chance to tour around with him at the end of his stay. In 10 days and nine nights we saw over 2,000 kilometres of Germany and the Czech Republic, with stops in Frankfurt, Berlin, Prague, Stuttgart, and Freiburg. And we managed to do it for a reasonable price: Including flight, hotel, some nice meals and some VERY light shopping, the trip cost me less than $3,000. I left with some great memories shared with my brother, and didn’t go into debt doing it. Here’s how we pulled it off:

Das Brother

Getting around

Trains: We wanted to see as many cities as possible during my 10 day visit, while still allowing for some flexibility. We opted for a Eurail regional pass that was good throughout Germany and the Czech Republic. We bought two 2nd class super saver passes for about $350 Canadian each and allowed for 5 days of unlimited travel anywhere in these two countries. This got us easily to big cities, and also allowed us to a take ‘just cause’scenic ride up into the heart of the Black Forest and back (yes we bought cake).

Local Transit: Most of the local transit systems (light rail, tram and trains) we encountered were self serve (you buy your own ticket, there are no ticket collectors but there are occasional spot checks). I’d recommend just buying 24 hour passes, it was easier to manage since not all of the machines were easy to navigate in English.

Eating

Breakfast: We either scammed the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, or we picked up pastries the night before.

Lunch: Opt for street food. This is a cheap way to experience great food, and some local flavours. In Frankfurt we had fish donair from a food boat (!), Berlin was all about Currywurst (french frys with curry, sausage, ketchup and mayo - believe me it WORKS), and in Prague my go-to street food fried cheese sandwiches. There were good grab-and-go desserts aswell: We found really good, creamy ice cream in most german cities for about 1 euro. In Prague they wrapped leavened dough around a wooden spit, dipped it in sugar and then baked it over an open flame.

Dinner: Dinner was where we splurged a little, or really planned out where we were going to eat. Things you should eat in Germany: Spaetzle, handkase, schnitzel, flammkuchen, beer cheese, apfelwein, and every different kind of sausage you come across.

Biergartens: I loved biergartens, and I don’t even really like beer. Imagine a really beautiful park, filled with long picnic tables and shaded by big sprawling trees. There are little play areas for kids, dogs are welcome, and if you want a cold beer and a sausage, you just head up to a cute little hut and order one. It’s seemed like the sort of place where you just run into your old friends of favourite neighbours. Seriously, it makes me really angry to think about our uppity liquor laws here in Canada. Try taking your dog into a patio in Toronto, let alone finding a place where kids can play while adults imbibe.

Biergarten food

In these glorious places, the food was cheap and delicious, and I discovered a beer that is suitable for my sweet-tooth palate - Radler (beer mixed with 7-up). We hit up Prater Garten in Berlin [http://www.pratergarten.de/e/index.php], and Augustiner Keller in Munich [http://www.augustinerkeller.de/en.htm].

Sleeping

Hotels: At first I liked the idea of not booking anything and then just seeing where we wanted to go, but when you only have 10 days, we decided it would be better to have a plan. To allow for some flexibility, we booked hotels for the first 6 days, and then left some flexibility open for the last three. After doing some comparisons on hostels, versus AirBnB, I actually found the best deals were hotels booked through Priceline. If you don’t know Priceline, it basically lets you bid for hotel rooms, you get a geographical area and a star rating, but once your bid is accepted, you’re locked in. We used the express deals functionality and got decent hotels for between $40-$70 a night. The app made it really easy to book places on the spur of the moment, and they kept sending me 10% off coupons with every room I booked. A word of warning, the Priceline star rating doesn’t hold up as well in Europe. After two nights in a Prague three-star, I insisted on a four-star in Germany complete with an indoor pool.

Couchsurfing: Okay, so my brother kind of tricked me into my first Couchsurfing stay. He had visited Freiburg earlier in his trip and fell in love with it. Freiburg is close to the French border and right on the edge of the Black Forest, and basically looks like a village out of a fairytale. He arranged a Couchsurfing stay with a friend of the person he originally surfed with. He told me we were staying with a friend of a friend. This was technically true.

The best part of Couchsurfing is that you truly get to experience local culture (have you seen a complete stranger kick a one-night-stand out of his house in another language? I have). The downside is that you don’t really get your own space and you have to adapt to your host’s schedule. It gave my brother the university style party he was craving, and I am not above sleeping on a mattress on the floor (which I did, going to bed hours before everyone else).

Doing Stuff

Tours: I have mixed feelings on tours: On one hand they can be cheesy and something deep inside me really hates proffering that I’m a tourist. BUT when you are only in a city for a day or two, tours are a really good way to see the basics and orient yourself with a new city. In Berlin we took a bus tour (Sample dialogue: “This is a vacant lot, I think this is a very beautiful site because the building that used to be here was ugly”). In Prague we took a ‘tip tour,’basically you go around with a guide on foot for a few hours, and then you pay what you can. We chose a nice lady named Jana and we wound up being the only people on her tour that afternoon. She showed us the sites and explained some of the major historical events. On any Prague tour you’re probably going to hear a lot about Kafka and bridges.

Fun in the Streets: Some of the best events we attended were the cheapest. In Stuttgart we attended a street festival called Sommerfest. We were wandering through old town in Prague when we came across a street performer’s show. ChickenJoe contorted his body, laid down on broken glass and did all sort of other entertaining things. At the end he asked us to chip in the cost of a beer.

Explore: Most nights, we would just wander. It’s perfectly legal to drink in public, so we would grab a beer at a bodega and then just walk and talk, following the streets that seemed interesting, We found beautiful little parks, old churches, and had some great conversations along the way.

Travel Tips

Starbucks: I didn’t buy an international phone plan, and my european SIM card was pretty flaky, but Starbucks always offered free wifi, clean bathrooms and familiar coffee. I tried to drag my brother into one once a day to check my email and grab a coffee. Finding free hotel wifi was hit or miss.

Bathrooms: Be prepared to pay to pee, most public washrooms cost about 1 euro, but the upside is that they are convenient and clean. At the Berlin Aquarium you can pay an attendant 50 cents and she will disinfect the toilet seat in front of you. I daydream about this service at most public washrooms I encounter in North America.

Highlights:

Frankfurt, Germany

Frankfurt:

Movenpick Hotel Frankfurt City:

http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/europe/germany/frankfurt/hotel-frankfurt-city/overview/

Palmengarten - Botanical garden

http://www.palmengarten.de/#/de_DE/index/index

Berlin

KaDeWe Department Store - Go to the grocery floors!

http://www.kadewe.de

Berlin Aquarium - Perfect for a rainy day

http://www.aquarium-berlin.de

Burgermeister - Grab a burger then head down to walk along the Spree and the remainders of the Berlin Wall.

http://www.burger-meister.de

Topography of Terror - documentation centre on the Nazi party

http://www.topographie.de/en/

Prague

Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock

http://www.praguewelcome.cz/en/visit/monuments/top-monuments/58-old-town-hall-with-the-astronomical-clock.shtml

Rent a paddle boat

http://www.prague.net/blog/article/20/rent-a-paddle-boat-on-the-vltava-river

Freiburg

The whole city is just wonderful

http://www.freiburg.de/pb/,Len/225797.html

Packing - with all this travelling I wanted to pack light. Read more about how I fit 10 days into one backpack on scribbled-down.com

Alison Priess

About Alison:  Alison is a former reality TV personality, craft wizard, foodie, and long time friend of the guys over at Real Man Travels, because lets face it, every group needs a sassy red head. Alison also a has her own blog www.scribbled-down.com where she writes about crafting, eating, and living. You should check it out!

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Real Girl Travels - Love for the Seahawks

    Hey everyone Chris here. I am here to wish you a happy NFL playoffs and also to introduce you to Alyssa. Alyssa and I met in Ireland and became friends over our common interests Travel, football and booze. She wrote a story for us and I am happy to share it with you.

    Alyssa grew up moving all over the United States and couldn't ever get the travel bug out of her. After a few years of having steady jobs, she discovered her passion was somewhere else and decided to follow it. Therefore, she sold all of her worldly possessions and set off to travel the world. She's currently on a 3-year journey with the goal of facing her fears, opening her mind to new things, and learning from the world.

     Alyssa has become more than just a traveler, she's become a writer, photographer, cinematographer, producer, travel planner, and cultural researcher. She hopes one day to channel her skills and utilize it to better help the travel world and the people in

When you have a designated goal set in your mind, you should always expect things might not go the way you think they should. Of course, returning right back where you started is a whole other encounter you’ll likely never expect.

You can check her out here at VAGABUNDUS.org

    For me, I left the beginning of January in 2013, setting off with expectations to travel around the world for three solid years. What I didn’t expect was to return home much earlier for a couple weeks to encounter my old life mixing with the new one I have set out creating for myself.

I carry Seattle hometown pride with me everywhere I go. I love talking about how astonishing my city’s accomplishments are. The biggest part of my Seattle pride is our Seattle Seahawks team. I’m proud to say I am part of their 12^th Man… well, woman.

For those of you who don’t know, eleven offensive players face eleven defensive players on the field for a football game. In Seattle, it’s our fans that complete the Seahawks presence on the field. We like to believe we give serious contribution to the wins the Seahawks earn. Regardless of that opinion’s actual truth, we show the team that we’re right there with them, doing all that we can, to contribute our love of the game and our team.

Traveling has never prevented me from watching a single Seahawks game. Whether it’s 7p.m. in Croatia or 6a.m. in England, I’ve managed to show my 12^th Woman support through and through. Every single game, I’m there cheering loudly, halfway around the world, often passionately screaming at my computer screen.

Wide receiver Percy Harvin started his career with the Minnesota Vikings. As a rookie player, instantly he had amazing potential as a dangerous offensive weapon competing against the best NFL players. Last season, while playing in Seattle against our mighty Seahawks, Harvin injured his ankle and was out for the remainder of the season.

Over the 2013 NFL off-season, the Seattle Seahawks acquired him from the Minnesota Vikings’ for a first round draft pick. This added the versatile wide receiver to the already potent Seahawk’s offense.

However, before the season started, Percy’s accumulative injuries once again overwhelmed him. Resulting him to be out for the first eleven weeks of the season after required surgery to his hip.

In week eleven of the 2013 season, Percy Harvin was returning to the field to play again. However, it was his new team facing his former team; the same team matchup, in the same city, for his season debut, as his first game since his 2012 season ending injury.

I related to that eerie feeling of familiarity. So much seemed the same, yet so much was clearly now different. This familiarity stemmed from the fact that I was coincidentally returning the very same week as Percy Harvin. As our old lives and new lives were melded, undeniably my own life felt it was paralleling his story.

Stepping into the CenturyLink Stadium sent the energy through my veins hearing the excited voices and shouts before kickoff. The crowds roared loudly shaking the concrete ground. The team is our heart, and we, the fans, are the blood that fuels its beat.

It was that moment I knew returning to the starting point of my global journey did not mean I was backtracking. It made me realize what I wanted and where I felt the happiest future potential resides. Travel is my new life, but as I move forward once again, I still will always hold respect for my roots.

The Seahawks dominated the Vikings during Harvin’s return to the field. I knew forward is the only true direction life must go, even if it meant crossing old tracks. Going back to my old life will never be possible. Therefore, I move forward with a smile on my face – old faces and past memories continually supporting my new life. Fighting for true happiness, I had to switch things up and once again pull away from my roots.

Saying that I know how this man feels seems exaggerated. However, knowing his story and sensing life’s tendency for full circles had me relating many aspects of his life to mine. Unmistakably I sensed nuances of the returns to familiar faces and places.

As I cheered loudly, pushing my Seahawks to another win, it was obvious both Percy Harvin and I have lots in store for our futures. It felt good to be back in the game ready to keep playing my heart out. Go Hawks!

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Real Girl Travels - Niagara on the Lake

A Real Girl Travels Adventure:

So another post for Real Man Travels and another great adventure had. This time I actually made it, and I was early to boot!

On Sunday September 22nd at an early morning start time of 8:00am I set out on a highly anticipated adventure to Niagara on the Lake. Along side my best friend we began our 2 hour drive. On the agenda for the day were 4 wineries, and a micro brewery tour and tasting. We were very excited to do this as neither of us had ever been to Niagara on the Lake or to a wine tasting. We were definitely not disappointed.

First stop was Stratus. (@Stratuswines ) As we pulled into the parking lot of our first winery we fell in love with the architecture. The building is made of sustainable materials presented in a uniquely modern and raw way. Aside from the fantastic wines at Stratus, the building and the way the winery is run is very fascinating. No small detail was overlooked. From the recycled materials used in the construction of the building, to the pump-less wine flow technology, to the geothermal heating/cooling, this facility certainly earned its' 2005 LEED certification. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

While at Stratus we took part in Swirls, Sips, and Hops, where we did a tour of the winery at Stratus, followed by a tasting. After that we walked next door to Oast House Brewery (@OastHouseBeer ) where we had a tour of their red barn facility and a nice sampling of their different beers available. This tour was a fantastic way to take in 2 different tours at once with two distinctly different atmospheres. From Stratus I purchased a bottle of their Stratus 2009 Red (which was on our tasting) and from Oast House, I bought a bottle of their Saison and Biere de Garde.

From Stratus we drove about 2 minutes down the road to Joseph's Estate Wines. (@NiagaraWine ) A family owned and operated winery that opened in 1996 officially. The family feel is definitely present at this facility. It was such a warm and welcoming experience. Our tour guide Joe made you feel like you were a part of the family. With a tour of the vineyard and wine making operations, we ended it with a great tasting. We both left with a bottle of their fantastic ice wine.

Keeping with the family run wineries we made our way to Konzelmans Estate Winery. (@KonzelmannWines) This winery is full of history with the 6th generation of the Konzelmann legacy currently running the business. When we first arrived, it was a very busy place! The tasting room and boutique is where are tour began and we were escorted through the grounds for a full tour of the vineyard and facility. The vineyard boasts a gorgeous view of Lake Ontario with a rolling Toronto city landscape in the distance. Reminds you that this little piece of paradise really isn't so far from home. Following our tour we were treated to a tasting and a lesson in "The 5 S's of Wine Tasting". This lesson is featured in the video at the end of this post. We both purchased 2 bottles from Konzelmann's, one white Pinot Blanc, and one red Pinot Noir. 

After Konzelmann's we went to our hotel to check in. We stayed at The Harbour House Hotel. (@NiagarasFinest ) This boutique hotel is absolutely stunning. Easy to get to, with ample parking, the hotel is situation right by the water with a fantastic view of the harbour. In the lobby you're treated to a complimentary wine tasting, their service was prompt and check in was smooth. There are elevators, how ever Chantelle and I used the stairs more. Our room was adorable with 2 single beds, a fantastic bathroom complete with a walk in shower, jacuzzi tub, and a rubber duck. The beds were incredibly comfortable and the hotel was pleasantly peaceful at night. 

The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle to anywhere in town, complete with drop off and pick up, which was fantastic. We took the shuttle to our next tour and tasting at Strewn Winery. (@NiagaraWine ) Here we had a tour of the facility followed by a tasting. Located at Strewn is a fantastic restaurant called Terroir La Cachette (@TerroirCachette ) They use locally grown and raised products which really gives you a true taste of Niagara on the Lake. Our server, Steven, was so knowledgeable about the area, the food we were eating and the wine we were drinking, he really enhanced our entire dining experience. From beginning to end, our tour and tasting at Strewn, followed by our fabulous dinner at Terroir La Cachette, was incredible. 

We finished our night off at a local pub called The Olde Angel Inn. Established in 1789 and rebuilt in 1816 after the War of 1812, The Olde Angel Inn is a great place to go for a local pint and a ghost story or two. We both had a pint of the Angel Inn Lager.

Our Monday morning began with a tour and tasting at Coyote's Run. (@coyotesrun ) This winery boasts some distinct soils that are unique to the area. They grow grapes from both the Red Paw soil and the Black Paw soil. It's amazing the difference in taste that the soils can produce in the grapes. Our tour was conducted by one of the onsite wine makers so we were treated to trying an unreleased Cabernet Sauvignon directly from the barrel. It was delicious! 

Following Coyote's Run we finished off our wonderful winery weekend at Ravine Vineyard (@RavineVineyard ) It was at Ravine that we had one of the most unique vineyard tours; geo-tracking. Along with a guide from Ravine, we set out on a geo-tracking adventure through the entire vineyard. Using a GPS app on my iPhone we were able to locate all of the boxes and learned a little bit about the vineyard with each box we uncovered. It was a definitely a fun way of seeing and learning about the vineyard. Following our geo-tracking adventure we had lunch at the restaurant onsite. This restaurant uses vegetables from the organic garden which is right on site, as well as their own farm raised pigs, and they even bake their own bread. The meal was delicious and had just as satisfying a view of the entire vineyard and surrounding area. 

Also Check out this Awesome Niagara on the Lake Video 

While we managed to take in 6 wineries and 1 brewery there is so much more to do in beautiful Niagara on the Lake. Here are some upcoming events:

• In November, the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake host "Taste the Season," a touring pass event which features a seasonally-inspired VQA wine and food pairing at each of the 27 member wineries.

• In January, we celebrate Icewine with the Niagara-on-the-Lake Icewine Festival, which includes tutored tastings with some of Canada’s leading Icewinemakers, live jazz, Icewine-inspired culinary creations, and an Icewine cocktail competition, as well as a lot of fantastic winery events. We could even get you out picking some Icewine grapes.

• In February, there's "Days of Wine and Chocolate," a touring pass event which features VQA wines matched with chocolate-infused dishes at each of the wineries.

• In May the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake welcome spring with "Wine and Herb," a touring pass event which features different herb-themed food pairing matched to a premium VQA wine selected to highlight the flavour and aroma of the herb at each of the 27 wineries.

Planning a guys weekend? Here are some other great activities that would be great:

● Hitting the greens and enjoying Canada’s largest concentration of golf facilities in one region, including the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club, which is North America’s oldest course. Niagara is also home to the Niagara Golf Trail, which includes six great area courses open for public play that are known for their beautiful views, challenging courses and fabulous club houses.

● Packages from transportation partners with great options for the guys, including a Land, Sea and Air package that offers guests the opportunity to ride the Niagara River’s Class 5 rapids in a Jet boat, have an unforgettable Land Rover off-roading adventure and soar over Niagara’s vineyards in a helicopter.

● Fantastic dining options including Barrel Cellar dinners, dinners hosted by the Winemaker, casual food truck fare and more.

There is also a little thing called the Winemakers' Selection Tasting Pass, which allows pass holders  to enjoy one tasting of a Winemaker's Selection wine at each of the 27 Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake any day of the year. Touring passes, which are $27 per person, plus applicable taxes, can be purchased online at www.wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com/winemakers-selections-tasting-pass or by calling Tourism Niagara-on-the-Lake at 905.468.1950. You can also buy your passes at any of the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

If you're interested in more information please visit www.wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com

More links to check out:
http://wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com/

http://www.stratuswines.com/
http://oasthousebrewers.ca/

http://www.josephsestatewines.com/home

http://www.konzelmann.ca/index.php

http://www.strewnwinery.com/english/home/default.asp

http://lacachette.com/

http://www.angel-inn.com/

http://www.coyotesrunwinery.com/

https://www.ravinevineyard.com/

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Real Girl Travels - Misadventure

 

There's this little company in Toronto that you may not have heard about, The Culinary Adventure Company, a small chef owned and operated business. They take dining to the next level in a way I've never experienced before. They are passionate about food, and its' unique way of feeding such strong emotion in people. This company loves to show off it's home town Toronto. Through unique dining experiences and tours they show off the "real" Toronto, not only to tourists, but to locals as well. When I was asked to take one of these tours, I jumped on it with out hesitation! I was more ready and willing to take the "Escape the City... Canoe and Beach Dining Adventure".

Imagine, taking a leisurely paddle to the beautiful Toronto Islands in a heritage freighter canoe. (Just like the ones used by the settlers!) You paddle through a bird sanctuary, past some sailboats and watch as planes take off and land right over your head! Once you hit the shore, you’re treated to a gourmet dinner picnic, I’m not talking about burgers and hotdogs here! The picnic is made of delicious dishes featuring local Ontario products and prepared by one of Toronto’s hottest young Chefs. Then as you relax after an amazing meal you can watch a beautiful sunset and paddle back towards the city lights as darkness falls.

Now I say imagine because that’s about all I can do for this adventure. My best friend, Chantelle, and I had set off for this incredible sounding adventure with excitement and anticipation. After battling the rush hour city traffic, and finally making it down to the Queens Quay, we hit another road block, literally, the road was blocked for construction. Being the resourceful and intelligent ladies that we are, we detoured, found parking, and made it to the waterfront! We walked along the buildings looking for the address on our tickets, we finally found it, went in, and were promptly told that we just missed the trip. We walked to the dock to see the giant canoe, packed with about 7 or 8 people, paddling across the bay to the island. To say we were disappointed is a bit of an understatement. Since we were already in the city, and paid $20 for parking, we weren’t about to just turn around and head home.  

So instead, we decided a Jays game at the conveniently located Rogers centre across the street was a fabulous alternative. As we began walking over we started to feel a couple drops of rain, first a few and then a light sprinkle, we took shelter under an event tent just in time. The clouds opened up and a torrential down pour hit hard and fast! We both started laughing at the situation. If we had been just 5 minutes earlier to the dock, we would have been out in the middle of the bay, in a canoe, completely drenched! It’s funny how things work out sometimes, when we thought we had missed out on a great opportunity, we were actually saved a massive soaking!

When the rain tapered off we made our way over to the dome only to find the streets flooded. We decided to cut our losses and just had a nice meal and spent time chatting and catching up. Both of us being busy women with completely different lives, it’s hard for us to get together all the time, so the one on one catch up session ended up being exactly what we needed. It’s funny sometimes, how things work out. You are all set to do one thing, then life has a funny way of directing you to something better. We might not have got do the exciting canoe trip and eat the delicious gourmet picnic, but we stayed dried (mostly) and had a great time catching up.

Learn more about Helen at her Blog "Talk 2 Helen"

 

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