With the forecasts warning of rain all day and the outside temperature the lowest it has been all Summer, we were at a loss as to what to do. Moo had to be gotten up by the boys as she hadn't slept well (restless legs) and it was because of this that we decided we needed to get out and at least have a walk. After much deliberation about where to go we opted for The Beaches, Toronto. We knew there was a Jazz Festival there and that it could be possibly busy but we went nevertheless armed with umbrellas, fleeces and spare clothes (in case of huge downpours).
An hours drive later and we parked the car, left all our spare clothes and umbrellas and headed for the boardwalk.
A lady was making huge long bubbles float across the lake using just a piece of string
The sun was out and the cloudy sky was clearing. It actually turned out to be a lovely day in the end. We started by walking alongside the beach on the boardwalk. The lake was eerily misty and we could only just see the CN tower.
The Beach. My favourite tree on the beach.
Smallest found a very tiny house where ants lived which a recycle bin with recycled stuff in it.
Kew Gardens Band Stand
We hit a park which the boys rate as their very favourite and Moo, Huffle and I sat in the sun watching them play.
We watched some Crown Green bowling - very competitive
Eventually we left and walked through Kew Gardens towards the Main Street where we stopped for food at Il Fornello. Lovely Italian place where we all had pasta (except for Small). Very very good food.
Batman protects these streets. A lovely garden of yellow.
Someone's gate and path. A gorgeous house with a wraparound porch - lovely.
We had looked on the map to see where the Jazz was and thought we were heading towards it but we were walking in the wrong direction, still, it didn't matter as we got to see a part we hadn't seen before, plus we found a really good ice cream place.
Smallest and his Mango Gelato. Misty lake.
Boardwalk. Lifeguard station. Beach
Beautifully made Gelatos for all and a walk (looking at the lovely houses and gardens) back down to the beach and the boardwalk. It was actually too warm then and we sheltered under the shaded trees lining the lake.
We walked all the way along the boardwalk until we got to Woodbine Park. We heard music and followed the sound. We settled down and listened to a really good jazz funk band.
Some of the bands
We then walked along to the main festival part (the actual proper festival starts next week, we think this was just a warm up). There was a big stage with a great singer on stage and lots of food tents and advertising stands. We listened to the music for a while and then the boys asked to go to the bouncy slide. On the way we found a stand giving away sweets and a chance to get a golden gob stopper to win an IShuffle. None of us won but we did enjoy the sweets.
What is this flower? Smallest and his gumball. Through the gumball machine.
Huffle's tries for a golden gumball. PIG. Ice?
Swans. End winged blackbird holding onto the bamboo.
Next we got some free toiletries for Huffle from Dove and a cup of iced tea each from another vendor. The bouncy slide was not free and cost too much for just one slide on a not very fast slide so we went to find another band playing. On the way we found free yoghurt which was lovely and a band playing steel drums, reggae and definitely not Jazz music. We listened until the boys got restless and then moved back to the main stage where a band was playing Rock/Country. The boys were given a tambourine each and they played along. Bored again, Moo took them around to see what else was available. They played a football game and then we walked back to the Jazz Funk band which were still playing. By far the best music of the day.
Bamboo. Moo and smallest exploring.
My two little explorers. The pond.
We watched the swans on the pond and then the boys played on the park and climbed a rock.
A climbing rock. Easy to get up but not so easy to get down!
We stayed there for ages and then finally walked around the lake and back towards the beach and the car. We had about 6 hours there today, another hours drive home and the boys had tea in front of the TV.
On the way home we spied this horse getting some fresh air.
We had a much better day than anticipated and hopefully everyone will sleep well.
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