Toronto Trip

On the same day I unpacked our last box from the move, I started re-packing clothes and things for a little whirlwind vacation. Clayton had a medical conference in Toronto, and we decided to make a family trip of it. Another guy in his program that we're good friends with brought his wife and three kids along, too, and we all stayed in the same hotel downtown. But first, we stopped at Niagara Falls along the way.

I thought it was neat how close you actually get to the falls right as the water goes over the edge.


I pretty much looked awful the entire trip, but I put my pride aside and included a few pictures of myself as well. Luckily, I didn't get a fresh black eye from throwing up until the drive home.





We stayed at the Westin Harbour Castle hotel, which is a 4-star right on the water in downtown Toronto. It was quite a nice hotel (a definite upgrade from our usual Super-8's), but it's amazing how those nice hotels nickel and dime you. (Yes, I know I sound cheap. I am.) Fancy hotels in the downtown areas of large cities aren't exactly the ideal places to bring little kids, but we tried to have some fun on our small budget. We played in the pool every day, which the kids loved, and we introduced the Hillstead's to lots of our favorite Canadian junk food. Clayton fit some conference time in between playtimes with us, and we even hit up the Hockey Hall of Fame. Luke and Audrey loved pretending they were players in the interactive exhibits.







Trying on some goalie pads


Inside the vault where they keep the original Stanley Cup


Luke and I beside the Stanley Cup


It was fun to see the sights while we live so close. We definitely miss living in Canada, but the sting wasn't quite as sharp when we saw on the news that it was snowing in Saskatoon during our trip!