Thought I’d post some thoughts on interesting things to do while in and around Toronto (Ontario, Canada).
The Distillery District is new and I haven’t heard much about it yet. I intend to visit there the next time I’m in town.
Also new (to me) is Scenic Caves Nature Adventures. I’ll be checking this out too this year and post a review when I get back. The website is challenging to navigate but I think it’s because they are assuming a lot about how their operation runs. For instance it’s not clear to me at all if the attractions are all for one price or a bunch of loosely collected separate outings. A phone call will sort that out soon enough. Check out the inexplicably hard to find video.
Addendum: I spoke with someone at the scenic caves and they assured me that for park admission cost (about Ca$17) you can do the scenic caves thing, but for the full price (about CA$ 95) you get the Canopy walk, the suspension bridge and the scenic caves. I think this is going to be fun.
Also of interest are the old standbys of cycling along the gorgeous Martin Goodman Trail. I’ve ridden many portions of it many times and have always been impressed at having this wonderful path available to me spanning the Toronto waterfront from end to end of the city.
It can get a little dicey cycling the trail in the Queen’s Quay Terminal district where you’ll need to get on the road and merge with the somewhat chaotic traffic. But if you’re not in a hurry, you can always walk your bike along the shopping district’s sidewalk and enjoy a little peoplewatching.
Also new to me as a fairly new pilot is the idea of visiting the Toronto Island Airport to rent a plane. I’m pretty sure that, holding a US Certificate, I’ll need to hire an instructor to come with me for now. I understand that there are a couple of ways to become legal in Canada based on that certificate. I’ll go this easier way first and see if it’s worth it to me to navigate Canada’s somewhat more bureaucratic airspace. Then maybe I’ll apply for a more permanent solution. My other choice is to rent my plane in the US and fly in, but I think it’s a good idea to get training in this slightly different airspace anyway. I spoke with Mel at Island Air Flight School & Charters. It sure is expensive to fly in Canada but some things were not as bad as I expected. For instance I was under the impression that you had to pay user fees for each take-off and landing, but Mel tells me that’s not so.
Found an interesting site that talks about downhill mountain bike rentals etc.
I’ll post more ideas as they come up.
I spoke with the folks at the Downhill mountain bike rentals, they turned me over to their trainers to answer specific questions I had about skill levels and timing. I’m a pretty competent basic trail rider and I was trying to determine if they would be teaching advanced techniques for downhill riding that would prove useful or if they focus on basic don’t-kill-yourself skills that I already possess.
Also, I wanted to see if they could dovetail the training/rental/etc. in with the morning Canopy walk trek that I want to do while I’m up there.
I got an answering machine and they never did return the call. 🙁 Not sure if they are just too popular that they don’t need any more business??
I decided to give the folks at Collingwood’s Downhill mountain bike rentals a final try. Called and got their voicemail again cheerily assuring me that, if I left my name and number they’d call me right back. I left a message telling them who I was and that I’d like to talk about reservations and training.
No response again. I can’t say I’m impressed but there are plenty of other activities available to do in Blue Mountain.