Between Two Journeys

Am quite satisfied by the fact that this is not a blog post. It is a summary of my travels with MB this past (long) weekend & a precursor to my true hometown trip to Thunder Bay tomorrow.

I love Toronto. I'll repeat it again and again in this non-blog. I love everything about it but for the red-faced nincompoop sitting in the Mayor's seat. Admittedly, yes, the pace and density of the city can be wearing. But to me, now, the downsides merely serve as a foil to the weekend escape.

On Friday, Musician Boyfriend and I rented a car and took our first southern/eastern Ontario road trip to visit my parents in Smiths Falls. I stood at the door, waiting for MB to drag our suitcase out of the bedroom. He stopped to drink me in.

"How long did it take you to think of that outfit?" He says, referring to my faded floral maxi dress, sunglasses and straw hat.
"It's my getting out of town outfit," I say. MB snorts and we continue out the door. Walking to the subway station, a presumed lesbian checks me out.
"She appreciates my getting out of town outfit," I mutter.

I proceed to look adorably carefree as we stop off at Fresh (to pick up my vegetarian road dinner) and Noah's Health Food (to pick up some raw Kombucha drink as a treat MB later likens to bathroom cleaner), suitcases and beach bags in tow. The outfit, turns out, has it flaws. The hat becomes a stressful 'don't lose me' accessory. The maxi dress drags on the boiling, dirty cement as we trek from the (wrong) subway station to the rental dealership in 40 degree weather.

I smugly inform MB that I've packed less shoes on the trip than he has.

His eyes bug out as he takes note of my flimsy UO sandals. "You mean you only brought those? Are you sure that's a good idea??" He asks.
"HA, positive," I retort. Then the flimsy UO sandal slips of the back of my foot. I roll my eyes and bend down to fix it, as if it's an untimely, one-off annoyance. Each sandal proceeds to alternate slipping off the back of my foot  in two minute walking intervals for the next four days.

But whatever, details. Here is a trip summary.

Highlights (plus 400 points): 

Much needed lovemaking to
nature via canoe and swim. At
a provincial park, no less.

Mom and Dad's rural hospitality.



Mom & Dad's rural hospitality continued.

Coffee on the deck every morning.

Spontaneous adventure to the
effortlessly wonderful Wakefield, QC., where I now plan to
(one day) spend my summers and (eventually)
retire.

Ways we could have been murdered (minus 200 points):

Road rage on the 401 at 5pm on a long
weekend Friday.

Stop off the highway to take in the rolling
fields at dusk. "Hey there city slickers..."
NB: There were cornfields & a scarecrow.

Carney at the cliche small town fair gifting us an unsolicited extra ride on
this rickety death trap while the
two intoxicated pre-teens in front of us scream out the
lyrics to "Ballin'" by Young Jeezy ft. Little Wayne. (Never again.)

Note: This ride was supposed to be a ferris wheel and MB was supposed
to re-enact the "will you go out with me" scene from the Notebook.
Reality is a a bitch, sometimes. 

Our "European style" motel room (read - lots of
exposed wooden beams for cobwebs) in
Wakefield, QC

Reminders that we live in TO (minus ten points):

• Square footage of my parent's back deck being more than our entire apartment. 
• Getting drunk off the happiness that results from making an easily rectifiable mistake while driving in cities of pop. 200 000 or less. 
• Feeling warm and fuzzy when the colourful man sitting outside of the Macs tells you to shove a jackrabbit up your arse.
  
  

Trip total: 190 points