29 July 2022 Toronto: The Age of Aquarium

More new activities in the park, when will it end?  Football, both kicking and throwing, and hop scotch are todays newbies.  We never imagined the amount of entertainment we have gotten by just sitting on the deck and watching the world of activities in the park across the street.   After our morning we headed off to the Aquarium.  The official name is Ripley's Aquarium Canada but happily there was no Ripley style sensationalism inside the aquarium.  The aquarium was a big draw and there were lots of families and big groups.  At the first window we got crowded out so we started to cherry pick the tanks to go look at.  If there was an opening we moved in, otherwise we would wait for an opening or move on.  They had two really big tanks, the Ocean Predators tank and the coral reef tank.  The Ocean Predator tank had a tunnel that the patrons could walk through.  The tunnel has a slowly moving track on one side that was more like a luggage claim track than a moving sidewalk.  It was moving so slow that we walked next to it on the non-moving side of the passage.  Highlights include the sharks, rays, sawfish and turtles.  After the Aquarium we had to do some domestic shopping.  We went to Dollarama and got a broom, shower curtain, dishtowels and other such household items.  After that we went to Loblaw's for dinner items.  The fresh Dover Sole was the winner and therefore we were winners too!

The lone football, sitting in a field not bothering anyone

Only to get kicked in the head

Smash!

Keep your eye on the ball

Another New Activity:  Hopscotch

We have arrived

Chomp chomp!

Walrus Jaw Bone Cup

Tropical Reef

The tunnel of fish

Getting a cleaning

The saw of the giant Saw Fish

Groupers in a group

Garrr, matey!

They had three kinds of sturgeon

Atlantic, Lake and White Sturgeon

This lobster was a 20 pounder at least

Glow in the dark lobster

We get back to the building and we discover there are no 4th, 13th or 14th floors!  We are on the 17th in name only!

It has been 55 days since we began our Migration.

28 July 2022 Toronto: A Tour of the Royal Ontario Museum

We reached our destination, the Royal Ontario Museum.  We researched the whole museum online before we went out to visit.  We were a bit let down by the Royal Museum of British Colombia so we thought we should double check this Museum.  It turned out to be better than we expected.  It was much better than its online presence would lead you to believe.  The collection ranged widely from anthropological collections to taxidermy and animal displays.  I spent more time at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) display than at any other location on the museum.  We stopped, mid stream, to get some tea and a snack and then dove back in.  Lots of fun and we walked a different route back to the streetcar station.  Project Explore Toronto has had a good initial week.

An African artist made this from liquor tops.  It was a huge piece 20 feet by 10 feet at least

Throwing knives!  

A hand crafted coffin

No explanation given for these odd shaped fishes

Another coffin from Ghana

A mask from PNG

A bronze mask

That is a headdress to write home about

Poison darts for the blowgun

Dragon hat would require neck exercises 

The crooked spoons remind me of the hand made utensils on our winter floats

Penis gourds from PNG

Mask with shells

Salt water Crocodiles from the Australia section

A classic New Zealand Mauri motif.  I have a smaller one made of bone that hangs around my neck

The iridescent patina is due to the age of this Roman artifact.   The moisture and elements in the soil interact with the pottery

Romans and Greeks and Phoenicians too

A mock up of what was believed to be inside the Parthenon

The Parthenon as it was 

Yummy! Time to eat some crab

Is the Dodo bird extinct?  Recent studies question this long held belief

Rhino time

The antechamber leading to the exit

A fine ceiling to say good bye to

 It has been 54 days since we began our Migration.

28 July 2022 Toronto: The Philosopher's Walk

The iconic Ontario "Black Squirrels" have shown their large misshapen heads!  The squirrel colors are quite varied, from all black to black with red tails to the standard grey.  We took the 510 Streetcar north and then walked over to get to Queens park.  There were several large buildings along the walk, many of them part of the University of Toronto.  The Trinity College building housed the school of divinity and of course it was divine.  The Philosophers Walk is a tree lined stroll that runs along a ravine on the campus.  We saw lots of folks enjoying the quiet and feeding the squirrels.  There was a rowdy group of kids doing some sort of group activity, probably part of a summer camp.  The far gate, Alexandria's Gate,  had its own story.  Originally at the Queens Park entrance it was moved twice to its current location.  It was quite large and must have taken a ton of effort to more it and then to move it again.  

Some large construction overtop

We got a church zone

Towers and spires all around

The oldest and most ornate was Trinity College 

Stained glass and all the trappings of a church

Nice patina on the copper roof

A grand old building

Time to philosophize 

The philosophers walk

All black beast

More strolling

Alexandria's Gate

The gate is ornate

It has been 54 days since we began our Migration.