Adventures of Katt and Vince: Canada Part Two: Bears, Dog Walking, and Birthday Parties

trucking at dusk in Ontario

Superior beauty

a place to buy worms

We left Winnipeg and drove past some lakes called Ontario. It took three days. We saw some bears – a mama bear and her two cubs – and some really beautiful scenery. We looked and looked for a moose and although we passed through many moose crossings, we did not see see any mooses. We saw pictures of mooses and restaurants and cafes named after mooses and uncle Alec has a moose sculpture in his yard, but in the end we did not see a live moose. However, Ontario is a beautiful province and has lots of wildlife. We’re happy that Keeana gets to enjoy it for the next few years.

Vince exploring the woods

Because we tried to take a ferry between a couple of the lakes but were thwarted by our computers, who both thought we were still in Qatar, we arrived at Elora late and Keeana had already been gardening with Uncle Alec for a couple of hours. We had a delicious dinner with them and a late dog walk and bedtime. Next day we helped Keeana set up her long-awaited bed and other belongings, and then got back to Alec’s for late dog-walking and bedtime.

On Friday I helped Keeana with more furniture buying and Vince spent some time with his mom. The plan was to meet in Toronto: the men folk to take in a Jays game, and the girls to join Karri at the Broadway show “War Horse!” After a busy but productive day, Keeana and I had a horrific drive into Toronto. My Torontonian friends often told me tales of the 401, but I think it is one of those things you have to experience yourself.

The ferry we didn't take

Also, our handwritten Google directions (the printer I brought for Keeana didn’t have the disc, oops) weren’t quite clear and we had to ask passing drivers for clarification a couple of times. But eventually we made it to our destination – The Royal York – only half an hour late. By that time, of course everyone had gone on without us, and we had to find the theatre ourselves, but War Horse was worth every harrowing moment on the 401 and beyond, including the twice-around-the-block search for The Royal York Parking Garage Entrance.

beautiful Guelph

Saturday Keeana and I attempted to put furniture together – definitely a job for an engineer after all. On Sunday we had the big day. Gramma’s birthday celebration started with the one-time-only complete Morden family mass. We all descended on the local church in our Sunday best (or better than what we were wearing earlier that week, anyway) and saw some of our new family for the first time as we joined Gramma in some hymns and enjoyed a baptism.

Afterwards we drove with Karri and her friend Jeannie to Mount Pleasant, where Gramma lived as a little girl and young woman, and had cocktails and then dinner at Devlin’s Bistro, which used to be the general store where Gramma rode to on her bike to get the mail. The party was a lot of fun and an awesome opportunity to meet and talk to the cousins, aunties and uncles, and meet Gramma’s friends and neighbours.

Finally we got to spend one more evening with Uncle Alec. On Monday I took Keeana to visit our old friend Amy and her two little girls, Elizabeth and Katherine. I made it back to Alec’s with the old van only a teensy bit late and we weren’t late for our flight back to Europe.