bjarvis | Ontario Trip, April 12-15, 2007

Just over a week ago,

kent4str and I headed north to Canada for my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration. We flew in and out of Buffalo, NY, renting a car for the weekend; in all, we clocked 720 miles in four days with the rental car.

In actuality, we spent three days being tourists and visiting with friends before spending the entirety of Sunday with the extended family.

Chris & John gave us the use of their guestroom in the Pape & Danforth area of Toronto. We're looking forward to returning the favour in DC some time.

Chris & John
Toronto, ON 2007-04-14

Friday night, a number of LJ'ers gathered for dinner in downtown Toronto. While I've been reading the blogs of each for a while, this was the first time Kent & I had a chance to meet them in person.

kent4str, bruno_republic, cmoosewah, cubmike74 & globespan
Hair of the Dog, Church Street, Toronto, ON 2007-04-13

On Saturday, we headed west to London, Ontario. bearfinch and hubby Dave gave us a guided tour of the city and particularly the UWO campus where bearfinch works. The pair gracious indulged me in my Swiss Chalet addiction at lunchtime, and guided us through an incredible Korean dinner later that same day.

bearfinch, kent4str and Dave
University of Western Ontario campus, London, Ontario 2007-04-14

Sunday was spent with the family. My mother had minor foot surgery the prior week. Rather than use crutches, she chose to scoot about --slowly & awkwardly-- in a wheel chair. She was very self-conscious of her newly-lame status so naturally, I took numerous photos for public distribution. Later that afternoon, we surreptitiously tied balloons to the back of her chair while she was chatting with relatives.

Mom, being camera-shy
Drumbo, Ontario, 2007-04-15

This is my grandmother, the birthday girl herself. She rather reminds me of the Queen Mother: an island of elegance & sanity surrounded by loonies connected to her via DNA. Of course, we know that she's just as crazy as the rest of us so nobody much minds. :-)