Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Saturday, Geoff and the kidlets and I went to the CNE.  Neither Geoff or I had been in over 20 years (probably closer to 25, but who's counting?)  Sunday was supposed to be the nicest day of the weekend, sunny but cool. 

So, of course, it rained.

Pissed rain, actually.  We had planned to take the Go Train up, since it runs to NF now, but based on the incredibly confusing schedule that I looked at online, it doesn't appear to stop at Exhibition Station.  We decided that we would take it from Appleby, which would save us about half the cost, and we would only have to drive about 45 min.  The only thing we didn't count on was me being a complete ass, and totally missing the Appleby exit.  By the time I thought about it, we were 20 minutes outside of TO, and there was no traffic anyway, so we just drove the whole way. 

When we got there and paid $25 to park (I almost shit), we walked in.  We were meeting friends, Barb and Bill, but they wouldn't be there until later.

Bill's classic pose, and how I always think of him.

Let me pause for a moment, as I often do, and tell you about Barb and Bill.  They are 2 of my very favorite people.  Bill is my movie boyfriend.  He goes with me to see the movies that Geoff won't (read horror movies, lots of blood, lots of gore).  Bill and I tend to be similiar, while Geoff and Barb match up well.  Basically, if we ever want to trade in spouses, we have a ready made match all set to go.  Barb was in our wedding party, on Geoff's side (my brother was on mine) since they have known each other since the Gametronics days.  They still geek out about it once in a while, but it is pretty few and far between.

Camping, smiling Barb. 

As I said, they are 2 of my favorite people.  They are the type of friends that you can not talk to for a couple of months, and then run into, and it's like no time passed at all.  They are pretty much up for anything, anytime, anywhere (as long as they don't have to work, but sometimes, even that is negotiable!)  Some of the best times I've ever had, some of the best things I've done- it's been with Barb and Bill.

Barb and Bill don't have kids (by choice), and really don't like them (kids) that much.  It says alot about our friendship that when G and I told them we were having a baby, they were happy for us, and didn't judge.  As the years have gone by, they have gotten close to our kids, and even enjoy being with them.  Sebastian loves them because their house is like Halloween year round, and Sawyer thinks they're funny.

So, anyway, back to the CNE.  While we waited for B&B, we checked out some of the cool kid displays, and went to the farm building.  It made me sad, especially to see the pigs in pens, but it was a good display.  Me and the kids sported our "Farmers feed cities" pins with pride.  They had an awesome display for kids, with the kids having to collect something different at each station- like planting seeds, collecting eggs, picking veggies, milking a cow etc.  They had a bucket to collect everything in "for market".  Both Sebastian and Sawyer got into it, running around, finding the next thing.  The final stop was the market.  The market consisted of a pimply faced teenager, listening to his iPod, and effecitively ignoring all of us.  He would look up every once in a while, and tell the kids "Put your buckets on table" and then turn away from us again.  A huge letdown, from something that was actually pretty cool.

After we found B&B at the food pavilion, we ventured to Ontario Place for the air show.  They had a roof top area open, with a bar and food and washrooms.  We all went up to see the planes.  The kids ended up crashing out for a bit, and I had a few beers, so I had a nice little buzz for the afternoon.  Bill, disappointingly, had none.  He is always good for at least 2, but having worked until 7am that morning, and running on 3 hours sleep, he opted out.  Sad.  Sad and disappointing.  But hopefully his performance will improve next time.

Axle, my very own super dog.

We all went to see the Superdogs show in the afternoon (makes all my dog training with Axle seem next to useless!) and then went for snacks.  After that, we were pelted with necklaces a la Mardi Gras, and we each went our separate ways to go home.  B&B had actually managed to take the train, and we went back to the car.  We had a minor incident leaving the parking lot (Geoff got up close and personal with a tree, but just a little damage was done to our automobile.)  An hour later we were home.

All in all, great day.  I always love carnivals, and the atmosphere of the Ex was great.  We didn't really get a chance to see everything, but still had a blast.  I think we might have a new tradition in the making here.

Thanks guys, for a great day.

Rosie N. Grey
The N stands for "National".