FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 52 - 56 July 13 – July 17, 2010 Stouffville, Ontario to Oakville, Ontario

Tuesday night we headed downtown to Joe Badalli’s restaurant where we met up with a group of people (and spouses) that Kathy worked with while at Levis’s. I had also got to know them through various functions and social events over the years. We were a little early and had a chance to walk around the lower end of downtown. There were a few changes, mostly new condo’s and different stores but not anything significant. At 7PM we headed over to the restaurant.

We had not seen any of these people since we moved to Dallas so that makes it at least 10 years. Everyone looked really good and were enjoying life. Glenn and Sherri’s (Matsuba) kids were almost grown as was the same with Suzanne and Julian’s (Savory). Bob and Molly (Goodish) had a new addition since we saw them last and their baby in now 5 years old. Janet (Melendez) has become a birding and photography enthusiast and the combination have become a good hobby for her.

It was a great evening and really good to see everyone again. It would be nice to do again the next time we are in town.

We said goodbye to the Smiths and Stouffville and headed for a RV park in the 427 / Finch area. We set up for a couple of days before we headed to East York for dinner with friends we had not seen in around 8 years.

Brendan played on the original “Yesterdays Legends” slowpitch along with Tom Smith and myself.  However, that was in a different lifetime.

June cooked us a wonderful supper and we spent the evening catching up. On this trip we realized that it’s not the city we miss, it’s the friends we had made during our stay here. Brendan and June are definitely two of those people. We had a lovely night and hopefully we will see them again soon.

Thursday afternoon we headed over to Bill and Janet Potter’s house for dinner. The occasion was that Brian and Phyllis Balkan had a planned layover on their return trip from Newfoundland to Edmonton. Phyllis is Kathy’s sister and Brian is Janet’s brother. Bill and I were the eye candy.

We had seen Phyllis and Brian last September at Jolene’s wedding but we had not seen Bill and Janet since February of 2008 in Las Vegas. They have a lovely home in the Jane/Bloor area with a beautiful back yard where we spent most of the evening. Dinner was lovely and we had a chance to learn all about Brian and Phyllis’s trip to Newfoundland. They had a great time with the exception of the black flies. We called it a night around midnight and headed home with plans to meet up the next day.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

After arriving at the Potter’s the next day it was suggested that we take the subway over to Spadina and walk down to the waterfront. So that’s what we did. It had been around 15 years since I had been on the subway when I think it was about $ 0.90 to ride. It is now $ 3.00. Once over the shock we boarded and got off at Spadina and headed south through The University of Toronto and into Kensington Park. Kensington Park looked exactly the same and as you can see by this car things move slowly. I did stop and buy a hat.
 

After leaving Kensington we continued south on Spadina through China Town and passed 185

Spadina Avenue which is the first building I worked in when I was transferred to Toronto with GWG.

Shortly after passing through China Town we turned east on Queen Street and came across the famous “Horseshoe Tavern”. I had to go in and have a look around for old times sake.

A lot of big names have played there over the years. After leaving the “Horseshoe” we found a restaurant and had lunch on their patio. Lunch was good and the people watching was better. It is always fun to people watch in Toronto. After lunch we headed south passing by Sky Dome until we came to Queens Quay. Here we leisurely strolled along the boardwalk taking in the water, the boats and the people. We did stop for refreshments on the patio of a waterfront restaurant and it was good to rest the pieds.

Once we were refreshed we started north up Yonge Street and the Eatons Centre. It had not changed much and was still as busy as ever. Bill and I ended up getting a pair of sandals as the Rockport Store before heading over to Yonge and Dundas. Wow, what a change. I would not have known where we were if I did not know where we were. Definitely for the better. It is Toronto’s Times Square.

We hung around for awhile before heading north on Yonge to Bloor Street where got back on the subway to return to Bill and Janet’s. Once there we had a very nice dinner of Salmon cooked on the BBQ and again we had dinner outside. Once the mosquitoe’s got bad we headed inside and Janet pulled out a game called “ In the Box “. At least I think it was called that or something close. I won’t go into all the specifics of the game but I must point out that all the answers that were in the gutter came from the female portion of the participants.

We soon realized it was after midnight and we needed to get going as I need my beauty sleep. As Brian and Phyllis were heading out the next day we did the goodbye thing tonight. It was really nice to see both couples and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. We would also like to thank Bill and Janet, two very nice people, for their hospitality. You do it up right and we really appreciated it.

Saturday morning found me heading to Aurora and the Westview Golf Club. I was meeting up with Brendan Casey for a round of whap f__k. We got in 18 holes just before it started to rain and then adjourned to the clubhouse for a beverage before heading out. It was a really nice day and it was good to see him one last time before we head back to the States.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I left the golfcourse and headed back to the RV park to pick up Kathy as we were meeting friends for dinner in Oakville, Ontario. Dennis Clarke has been a friend of my since the early 70’s and Kathy's since the early 80’s as we both worked with him at GWG. His partner in crime, Nancy Osberg, we have known for about 12 years and we still can’t figure out why she is with Dennis. Just Kidding.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

 
  
 
We met up at their place before we went out for dinner. They have a lovely home in Oakville south of the QEW. We decided to go out for Authentic Chinese Food and it was wonderful. The food was good but the company was exceptional. Dennis and Nancy are exceptional people and we always enjoy our time with them. Once dinner was finished ( They treated, Thank you ) we called it a night and headed back to the RV park. Tomorrow we are headed back to Dennis and Nancy’s with the Truck and Camper. We are going to park it in their driveway for a few days. It should be a lot of fun.