First stab at Dim Sum=Success!

On our way home from Whitby on our labour day boat adventure, Aleksy and I decided to stop in Chinatown in Downtown (T.O) to try out some dim sum. It was our first time doing dim sum and I've never seen any place in London that does it like Chinatown does it! We didn't have any particular restaurant in mind in going to Chinatown - just parked the jeep and looked for the "Dim Sum" signs - thank goodness for big bold, clear signs.

This restaurant was a relatively new restaurant and was the second one we went into (the first one had a ridiculous wait time). And... we scored!!! Each dish was $2-5 and we were expecting portion sizes to be compromised because of the inexpensiveness, but they were actually full servings! We ended up getting SO much food for $30. PLUS, unlike all you can eat sushi where you have to eat everything (and the cost runs at at least $20 per person) - we could get a to-go box for our left overs!!

Aleksy and our delicious meats, rolls, and pastries. 

Definitely would go back to this place and to Dim Sum - delicious and cheap!

Boating on Labour Day Weekend

On Friday of the long weekend, after work, we packed up the jeep and headed down to Whitby where the boat is docked to spend the weekend sailing from Whitby to Toronto (Ontario Place). We got to the boat pretty late, and learned quickly the first night that we do not fit very well in the quarter-birth. No sleep for us the first evening. The next morning we woke early to sail over to Ontario Place where we had a slip for the weekend close to the airshow and the Ex.

We took the small people with us on the way down and I shot this at a Timmies pit-stop. It was a pretty long trip down, but we had really good weather so it wasn't unmanageable with the Jeep top off (it can get super cold with the top off).

This picture perfectly demonstrates how still it was out on Lake Ontario the day that we "sailed" to Toronto, on Saturday. There was hardly any wind so our excursion was mostly motorized, with about 2 hours of sailing (where we barely kept 3 knots!).

Once we hit Toronto, we took a pit stop and anchored the boat so the boys could take a swim. I can't manage cold water well so I stayed on the boat and took pictures!

Its nice to have a different view of Toronto from the water. We took this sitting on top of the sailboat just before we docked. We were super close to Center island too and watched many planes come in - especially "Porter" airlines, which seem to be popular on Toronto Island.

Group shot! Shot this after we docked and put up some shades to block the sun - just chillin having some drinks in the cockpit before suppertime!

On Sunday, we headed to the Ex! I have never been before but I had heard a lot on the radio about the strange foods that are serviced so I wanted to indulge! We went on just a few rides since we were on a budget (we got free admissions since we were docked at Ontario Place!) and went to the outlet stores (where I got some good bargains!). In this picture, we are eating deep-fried peanut butter & jam. Amazing! Like a peanut butter sandwich with sweet fluffy, warm pastry around it!

This was the item that I kept hearing about on the radio - the burger made with donuts instead of bun. This was a bit beyond our comfort level, but I wanted a picture for sure! You can also see that they served chicken waffles and the behemoth was a burger with 2 grilled cheese sandwiches on either side: low fat for sure! The line up for this vendor was actually really big!

The other strange thing we indulged in: deep-fired cola. It was basically coke stirred into a batter and deep-fried. It wasn't delicious, but also not gross. Most importantly: we tried deep-fried coke! 

Following our adventures at the ex, we headed back to the boat and stayed one more night (which we actually slept because we were in the V birth, which was much more spacious) then left Monday morning on the GO train back to Whitby so that we could get back to London in time for the annual labour day pizza dinner at my Dad's! After all the deep-fried foods and pizza, I had to make sure these last 2 weeks I was attending my pilates classes and hitting up the gym!

Our 6 Year Anniversary

On August 28th, we made it to the 6 year mark. To celebrate spending such a significant amount of life together, we spent a day in St. Mary's and Stratford.

We started off in St. Mary's, stopping at the local bistro in the town square. Aleksy got a coffee and a breakfast sandwich (and a "apple pie" muffin... sorry for telling everyone Aleksy), I got a cappuccino and a peach scone. Then we went to explore the little town on foot. This is what we found first: a cute little waterfall close to the town square.

The parks in St. Mary's were really pretty with lots of ducks (we had to watch our steps for poop). It was a beautiful day to walk through the parks... well I guess we did complain about being hot a couple times.

Before exploring St. Marys, we printed off some information regarding some of the historical buildings in St. Marys so that we could do a self-guided tour of some of the older buildings. I love to look at old historical buildings/monuments and learn of the history. This is a picture of the train station, which is owned by Via Rail so unfortunately it was all redone modernly, but you could still see the structure that was original.

On our walk around town, we walked in front of an old church where a wedding was happening. Apparently out in the country limousines are seen as overrated. Why rent a limo when you have a big friggin tractor?! We saw this all decorated and later when we were at the Creamery pub we saw the bride and groom drive by!

This was taken just behind the museum. We went into the St. Mary's museum to look around (free admission! score!). Inside, there were  historical artifacts that are directly linked to St Marys history. There was an old icebox with some bottles of beer brewed in St Marys, an old chair from a theater in St Marys (looked super uncomfortable  and some movie posters, some older toys and clothes and other historical artifacts!

A stop for a mid-afternoon beer before heading to Stratford at the Creamery in St. Mary's. We had to ask the lady at the bistro where to find a pub and she gave a couple suggestions (which seemed like the only 2 "pubs" in St. Mary's!)... this one was outside so it got our winning vote.

After our day in St. Mary's and quickly checking out the quarry (which was more or less a Community pool), we headed over to Stratford for a nice supper and a stroll around the water. We went to the "Molly Blooms" before supper to have another beer and met a couple from Mitchell. Some real country folk who had no problem telling us everything about their lives (divorce, children, relationship problems and all). Then they suggested Pazzo for supper. We had a 3 course meal there, with an antipasto platter and bread to start, pasta for supper, then some chocolately goodness for dessert. It was good, but not substantially portioned. It was quite pricey coming in at about $100. I think the country folk from Mitchell were recommending the downstairs, which isn't so fancy and there are pizza meals in which you don't have to choose multiple courses.

When we were in St. Mary's, we thought ahead and purchased a bottle of wine so that we could hang out by the water at night in Stratford and have a glass. At that point, it was envisioned as classy and romantic. Reality: we asked the convenience store if we could have a couple paper pop cups, sat on a bench and had wine in paper cups. It was a wee bit chilly so we downed it pretty quick then went back to the jeep, ready to go home! So classy & romantic. Very Aleksy & Katherine appropriate.