Well, as a blatant election ploy, the premier created "family day", a day off for the province in February.
So, taking advantage of the weekend, I made some trips around the GTA.
First stop was the
Devils Punchbowl, a 37m high waterfall right on the escarpment, very close to
Battlefied House, which is a famous location from the
War of 1812.
The falls plunges into a massive circular valley which has been cut over thousands of years. There are trails down to the bottom, and we got pretty close to the base, but high flows, and lots of ice prevented us from getting right in there. Perhaps it will be easier in summer/fall.
During low flows, the smaller flow freezes and creates coated trees,
as well as a "volcano" of ice. The high flows from the wammer week partial collapsed the existing volcano.
Next stop was Tiffany Falls. In winter, its a popular ice climbing route, and we hoped that there would be climbers today.
Walking up the icy trail, the large flow down the creek kind of warned us
that no one was climbing!!
A stop at Burlington Beach near the lift bridge found that you could walk out onto Lake Ontario from all the shore ice, which had built up.
During the evening, I checked out the toronto skyline.
One of the best places to see the skyline is near the old
Docks entertainment complex. Unfortunately, there is little parking (well, there is, but its 15 bucks!), so I went to
Cherry Beach. Heading west to the shore, my view was blocked by a large docked freighter, the
Quebecois.
Turning south, I took a shot of the ice covered harbour.
I moved up the street to the lift bridge and took another shot,
drove to the CNE and took a shot of the windmill,
before heading to Humber Bay Park, for a different view of the city.
Harbourfront had family day activities, from the classic ice skating,
to the
Toronto All-Star Big Band ,
to Olympians
Jayna Hefford and
Greg Westlake
Jayna had her gold medal with her, and I asked what she did with it. She replyed that generally she keeps it in its little fabric envelope (below the medal) and carrys it around with her! Very cool!
Harbourfront also has lots of the tourist tall ships around the harbour, docked for the season.
Across the bridge you will find
Pawsway, a place the celebrates the relationships between man and their animal companions, brought to you buy Purnina.
On hand was
Tre Smith,
who is the Events and Education Manager for Pawsway. He became famous as a reality star in
The Lofters, and then became a Humane Society enforcement officer. With the battles between the SPCA and the Humane Society, and his previous delaings with an
animal cruelty incident, he was all over the TV. Fortunately, all that is behind him now, and he really enjoys his new job at Pawsway.
At the facility, you can buy any type of clothing that your dog may need,
there are pit stops for both man and animal,
and for family day, a dog demo featuring dogs doing an obsticle course, as well as frisbee catching!
Folks hoping to avoid the cold at Harbourfront could also check out the various artisians working on their craft. Here, two people are blowing glass, and creating a vase. The heat, event from a distance, is intense!
I also checked out
Col Sam Smith Park, which has a new
skating rink, only instead of an oval, its a pathway, which winds through the park. On hand were a bunch of "
sheep",
some of which were humping!
while trying to avoid the dangerous wolf!
A three person team,
Suspended Animation Circus, performed as well.
I must say that with the cold, and the requirement to have full use of their hands, these three put on a great show, and I'm amazed how well they did considering the cold.
