Da Zoo

Any one who knows us, knows that no trip is complete without a trip to the zoo.  So where did we go on our last Monday?  You got it. . . the Toronto Zoo

Armed with binoculars and knee braces, we took on the ridiculous large and very spread out zoo.

There was a cool butterfly garden

We crossed the “equator”

Lots of exhibits


Interesting snacks (this sign is for “bear claws”)

Fun signs


My feet tell me we walked every inch of that place.  I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same.

Sunday in Toronto

We really wanted to keep the Sabbath day holy and not go out to eat.  So we bought some goodies on Saturday at one the spots where Jennifer had the opportunity to eat plenty of times

We let Jennifer pick which ward she wanted to visit.  She seemed pretty certain no one would remember her, but was she ever wrong!
The people in this ward celebrated her.  We met so many people who were excited to see her.  It was a very friendly ward and filled with so many different nationalities.
The bishop and his wife invited over for dinner.  Jennifer *thought* she knew how to get there.  After first thinking it might be at a house with a pretty flower bush . . .

we found the right house

and had a nice dinner and visit.
We visited a few more families.  It was nice to see for ourselves some of what she experienced and it was a nice way to spend the Sabbath day.

Toronto Temple and China Town

On Saturday, we spent the morning at the Toronto Temple

It was hard to get a good photo from the car

It was an international experience!
That afternoon we went on another adventure that Jennifer enjoyed on p-days.  We took the subway and the trolley to get to China Town.

I took the obligatory picture of the CN Tower. . . oh so close and yet so far.

There were a lot of shops selling cheap trinkets and t shirts, along with a lot of stalls selling food, many of which I had never seen before.

We shopped for Allie’s birthday and thought she would enjoy this hat which was a challenge to get home without damage!

We headed back to the hotel loaded with cheap t shirts and other memorabilia on the trolley and the subway once again.

It was a good day but we were worn out, with feet aching.  We had thought about heading back downtown but only Jennifer was spry enough to consider the plan.  A night off won out, much to her dismay.

Toronto

The next day we headed to Toronto. 

Our first stop was our hotel to check in and drop off our things. 

We ventured down the freeway and went to the mission home.  We met Jennifer’s mission president and wife.

It was interesting to see a map of the mission and of all the missions in the continental United States and Canada.


From there, we went across the street to the Science Centre which Jennifer had enjoyed immensely on a p-day (preparation day) while serving on her mission.

All the signs were in both English and French.

We went back our hotel and went on an adventure.  We took the subway from a nearby mall to the downtown area and found an Old Spaghetti Factory. 

We wandered around a little bit on our way back to the subway, taking note of the Hockey Hall of Fame

and got as close to the CN Tower as we were going to get.

We minded the gap on the way back. 

We had a reality check and hunted down a Laundromat where we spent the evening!

Busy Day!

After leaving the Sacred Grove, we headed into downtown Palmyra to the Grandin Press.

It was fascinating to learn about the first printing of the Book of Mormon.

From there we went to the Whitmer Farm.

This is where much of the translation of the Book of Mormon took place and where the church was organized.  To think we were able to stand in the same room as these original saints did was humbling.

From there we headed back to Canada and a much easier border crossing!

Jennifer’s mission boundaries extended to the area known as Thousand Islands.  We decided to see the area by boat.  We boarded in the town of Gananoque (Gan a knock way). 

The boat ride took us along the Saint Lawrence Seaway.  One side was the US and one side was Canada.


We saw the world’s shortest international bridge.

The houses (mostly summer homes) were amazing. 

The contrast really struck me between the humble beginnings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Whitmer farm house and the excessiveness of the opulent homes where perhaps nothing quite so significant took place.