Postcards From Myself

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Good stuff!!
 
My son’s team won their first game 3-2. Unfortunately a player on the other team went down and broke his wrist. Hope he recovers soon. Our next game is at 3:45 this afternoon. Go team!!

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So cool! I want one …

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A few years ago I went up to Toronto on a business trip. I really wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never been to Canada, and all of the big cities I was familiar with were typical US metropolises like New York, Atlanta, Dallas and the like. I was totally unprepared for the sprawling yet clean nature of Toronto.

I rented a car and cruised the area when I wasn’t in meetings, and found an area as diverse as the people there. From the high rises of downtown to the beautiful vineyards farther out near Niagara, the Toronto area had amazing contrasts.

The biggest surprise to me though, other than how clean the entire city was, had to have been the Toronto harbor. I really had never realized that not only did Toronto have a significant waterfront, but that it would be big enough for you to take a Toronto harbor cruise! I thought that harbor cruises and dinner cruises were the sole territory of place like, well like Charleston and San Francisco – places on the ocean! I never knew that when people talked of the great lakes, they really were Great Lakes.

I remember taking a ferry out to Toronto Island and the Toronto Island State Park. It was a beautiful area. I wander out there for hours amazed at the small island and all of the resources, including a clothing optional beach, that were available. Unfortunately I was there just into the off season so there weren’t as many facilities open and the flowers weren’t in bloom, but it was still an amazing place and so convenient to the downtown area.

While in Toronto I also ate at some excellent restaurants, browsed some well stocked book stored, and even took in the Broadway troupe showing of The Lion King. Oh, and of course, being a train person I marveled at the streetcars. Man I love those things. Never did get to take a full Toronto Cruise, but I would love to go back and do so.

Just thought I would pass on those thoughts. I hopefully will be traveling a bit more this year, and I was thinking about places that take you pleasantly by surprise. Toronto was certainly one of those.

I have no idea why, but there is something about the holiday season that always makes me wistful to be in London. The really odd thing is that I have only been there once and that was in the Spring, so I have absolutely no idea what London is actually like in December. But I want to be there none-the-less.

Maybe it is from seeing and reading Dickens’ A Christmas Carol too many times. Or maybe it is my love of trains and model railways that seems to be easier to exercise this time of year. I have visions of shop windows, or at least Hamleys or Harrods, filled with toy steam trains, big dolls, and overstuffed teddy bears. By the way, if you are a toy fan and ever get the chance to visit Hamleys, you absolutely must. Floor upon floor upon floor of every type, size, and age toy you can imagine.

For now, at least, I will remain here in Charleston though. That is really not so bad seeing as the weather is mild, my family is here, and the Charleston Place Hotel downtown has a great train setup. What is more, my son is starting to show a real interest in model trains, so maybe sometime in the future we will be able to bring them out more than just the few weeks around the holidays.

Still though, it would be nice to be in London. To take the tube into the city from a nice bed and breakfast. To stroll the streets and take in the sites and sounds. And of course, to visit the toy stores.