September, 2024 - Wheels on the Go

Canada – Toronto – The Islands Visit – Sept 2, 2024

September 2, 2024September 7, 2024Lmnei

What a beautiful day to wake up to! First, to see a beautiful sunrise was awesome however then thinking the small Dash-8 commuter plane was going to crash into the hotel (it was the mirror in the room playing tricks on me) was a little strange! Pictures below.

Today we are off to explore the Toronto Islands which are just off the shore from the Westin hotel that we are staying at. In fact we look down on the people lining up for the 3 different ferry boats that shuttle people (after paying $9 for a round trip ticket) to the islands and back. However before we begin that journey – lets check out the buffet that I talked about yesterday! Here is a tour:

Toronto Island directly across with ferry

Sunrise in the corner of our room! — Toronto Island directly across with ferry

Now that we are full, it is off to the ferry line up to go over to the Toronto Islands! First, a map of what we are doing. We took the ferry (most popular one) to Centre Island and then went to the left and walked around Olympic Island, over to Centerville Amusement Park and then towards the beach at the top of Centre Island (Manitou). There we had a snack next to some lovely fountains (the 4 blue squares you can see on either side of the path before turning right and walking towards Gibraltar Point. At this time, the Toronto Airshow was in full operation, with planes flying above us which was pretty cool! Unfortunately though from Gibraltar Point as we walked to Hanlan’s Point, there were fairly tall trees along each side of the paved walking surface to taking pictures of the planes, especially the Snowbirds became a bit of a challenge! Finally at Hanlan’s Point we took the ferry back to where we originated from – basically the back door of the Westin hotel!

Here are some of the pictures that we took along the way – such a beautiful walk on a very nice Labour Day! The ferry over was quite busy (full) and it was a fairly old ferry – while these are smaller ferries, they reminded me of the ones that run in Washington State and in New York – multiple floors and wooden flooring! However no elevators or cars so we were on the lower deck which still provided a great view!

Old ferry with stairs and LOTS of PFD's! — Ferry arriving going to Centre Island

We walked over 9 km today so we now deserved dinner! Why not just go downstairs to the restaurant in the hotel lobby? Marriotts really have never disappointed me with being able to drum up some type of GF offering for me – whether on the menu or not! I was pleasantly surprised that on the menu there was plenty to order – I settled on a No Pep Pizza – basically a cheese pizza (no Pepperoni which is how it got its name) which I added some chicken to. Andrew had a corn beef sandwich! Both were excellent and as usual, when there is a GF desert on the menu, I have to try it! This one was Ontario strawberry Panna Cotta with GF graham crumbs and it was SO delicious after such an exercise filled day! Here are the pics!

No Pep, Pep GF Pizza with chicken (no Pepperoni's) — No Pep, Pep GF Pizza with chicken (no Pepperoni’s)

Luxury in a cup - GF Pana Cotta with strawberries! — No Pep, Pep GF Pizza with chicken (no Pepperoni’s)

Tomorrow is a travel day – off to Washington DC – Dulles Airport to start our journey to Charlotte, North Carolina!

Canada – Toronto – Let’s be Tourists! – Sept 1, 2024

September 1, 2024September 7, 2024Lmnei

Funny enough, we woke up early despite being in the Eastern Time Zone! As it was a Sunday, the restaurant service breakfast was open until 11am! They had a BEAUTIFUL buffet that was out of this world in terms of gluten free offerings. Of the WHOLE buffet of about 40 items to choose from, the only “off limits” items to me were the cereal and the bread options! There was miso soup, a fresh made omelete, hot options including GF turkey sage sausages, cold cuts, cheese, quinoa salad, various veggies, fruit and yogurt. They also had a toaster in back with GF bread (which Andrew thought was pound cake) from Queen Street bakery!

After a fairly large breakfast to keep us going until dinner, we were off to explore the sites of Toronto, where Andrew has never been and it has been 20 years since I have been to downtown Toronto. First on the list – the CN tower as it is a beautiful day! We walked to the tower and with a electronic ticket which I quickly purchased bypassed a HUGE line of people at the ticket booth. Was interesting to experience the CD tower, which in the 70’s was the tallest tower in the Northern Hemisphere, after less than a year ago being in the current tallest tower in Dubai! Quite a height difference! As it was Labour Day weekend it was pretty busy with people sitting at the windows making access a bit challenging however we found a space finally which looked over the CNE and the Toronto airshow that was going on at the waterfront. We went down one level to where you can stand on the very thick plexiglass and look down (not for me but Andrew checked it out) and then left the tower for our next destination – Hockey Hall of Fame!

Looking at eastern Toronto Islands — Looking down on Union Station

In front of the CN Tower was a railway display of old cars – both transit and rail cars which was interesting to see and we quickly looked at prior to moving on and walking to the Hall of Fame, which took us past the historic Royal York Hotel! We also were able to get a picture of the CN Tower looking back on it.

Old Streetcar and Engine — Sign for Railway Park

Both Andrew and I, more Andrew than me, like watching hockey and as it is our National Sport, we decided to visit the National Hockey Hall of Fame. What an experience we were in for! I thought it would be like some other Hall of Fame exhibits that I have seen, however that was not so! This display was very well presented, accessible once you figured out how to get to it and thorough! We totally enjoyed our time in this museum/historic display! There is so much to hockey – from the long history in Canada to various tournaments for different leagues to the different teams in the NHL and Internationally – it covered it all. What was the most amazing though was the display of the various cups – including the Stanley Cup – both original and the current one that is taken on the road. It was awe inspiring! Lets take a look!

The Evolution of the Goalie Mask — Hockey Hall of Fame sign on Front St.

We then sauntered back to the hotel (we had already exceeded 10,000 steps which for me is a lot) to take a break prior to dinner. We are going to one of my favourite Gluten Free restaurants – Riz on Yonge! This restaurant is completely gluten and dairy free, except for the beer I found out. I was so excited but exhausted at the same time! My body just did not know what to think! We got organized and called an Uber and off we went to the restaurant! Oh, what a meal we were in for! For those who know just how much I have dined out while traveling, through my employment and then while on vacation, I can hands down say that this was a top 5 meal that I will remember. The owner served us, and was quite proud to tell us about the “once a year” spring rolls with a birds nest type rice paper that was the special for the day, along with GF noodle soup (which you do not find often at mainstream restaurants). We had BOTH along with calamari, gyoza, rice and sweet and sour chicken. The food arrived fast, on their gluten free dishes and was out of this world! To finish, we shared a GF eclair – which it has been decades since I have had one of those! Check out the pictures below!

GF Calamari and the GF Noodle soup — GF Chicken Gyoza

After dinner we took another Uber back to the hotel and then as we were exhausted, fell asleep! What a great 1st day of vacation we had!

Canada – We have Liftoff! – Aug 31, 2024

September 1, 2024September 7, 2024Lmnei

Off to YVR we go! We are even departing our condo EARLY which is a shock for Andrew! Packed, optimized and all set for our adventure to Toronto, Washington DC, North Carolina, Montreal, Ireland and Iceland to come! Staying positive and we should not run into any issues despite them always following me around!

Quickly got checked in and through security and into the Maple Leaf Lounge-yeah-no line up like I often see when on shift, volunteering at YVR. Had a little problem with our boarding cards which was addressed and then we were able to board the plane – we were in seats 1D and 1F – what an awesome experience on my 2nd favourite plane the Dreamliner! I ought to move it to my favourite plane saying the 747 “Queen of the Skies” is no longer flying however out of respect for the “Queen”, which Lufthansa sometimes still flies into YVR, I have not retired it from my list yet. Just for you plane freaks out there – the Airbus 350 is 3rd on my list…. Was supposed to be on that plane for our flight to Toronto, however they downgraded our plane to something smaller without lay flat Business Class seats, which we had paid for, so we switched to the Dreamliner flight an hour later.

The flight was very smooth, even going into Toronto! Andrew was tickled pink (or blue) that he could watch the Lions football game LIVE on the plane – so he saw the 1st half prior to landing.

As for me, I was tickled purple that my Gluten Free meal arrived and was correct! Nothing to write home about however it is nice when I do not have to dive into my stash of protein bars within 6 hours of leaving home. I watched 2 movies – one in English and the other one in French. It was irritating when watching the French one, that you cannot turn subtitles in English OFF! Even the flight attendant commented on it!

Arriving in Toronto was a bit of a mess. No gate service for me and we had to walk to the baggage carousels. Somehow in their wisdom, Air Canada thinks they only have to take you to the top of the escalator down to the baggage hall and leave you there. WRONG. In Canada, the airline is responsible to the baggage carousel and the airport is responsible to take you to the curb, in this case, the UP train to Union Station in Toronto. We found our way to the UP station ourselves and luckily just made the train – the doors closed behind us! Very nice train service (real train not Skytrain type) that makes 2 stops and then is in Union Station.

The hotel, Westin Harbourfront Castle, where we were staying at had given me some excellent directions of how to get to the hotel from an accessibility stand point. In fact, the Westin Harbourfront actually quite surprised me with their level of service, including e-mailing me in advance to ask questions so that we had a better stay. That is when I asked how to best get to the hotel from Union Station using a mobility device. I also requested a water view room at the same time as I knew that the Toronto Airshow (similar but smaller than Abbotsford’s) was on at the same time we were going to be there.

It was a lovely, STICKY night in Toronto when we got outside of Union Station and walked in front of the lovely Fairmont Royal York Hotel and then turned towards the waterfront to get to the Westin Hotel. I have such good memories of when I worked for CP Hotels and they owned the Royal York and staying there with my parents when visiting Toronto one year.

The waterfront area in Toronto was WAY busier than I had expected it to be – however the next day we found out why. The Westin Hotel is behind the ferry terminal where 3 different ferries to the Toronto Islands. So all the people streaming by were coming home from the islands when we were trying to get into the hotel. I felt like a fish swimming up a river that wanted me to turn around and flow with them instead!

We ended up on the 25th floor in a renovated room, looking out over the Toronto Islands and could see the planes flying past to land at Toronto Island Airport. We could not see the airport due to a building in the way, however it was cool to watch the planes on their final approach. The hotel had sent us a nice fruit plate so we had some fruit and then decided to call it a night!

Business Class GF Appetizer — YVR Accessible Drop off Area