I know, I know. If you’re reading this from another province you’re rolling your eyes. It’s not our fault that we have a disproportionate amount of economic and political power. Nor is it our fault that we are superior due to the sheer number of different cultures here (I kid!). And I promise that we’re not acting like the center of the universe purposely.
But…
But… in the vast space that is Ontario, Toronto is pretty great. And as I write this, spring is peeping around the corner. The cherry blossoms in High Park are blooming and the ground is slowly thawing and drying out. With the passing of Mother’s Day, it is not time to put some green things back in the dirt and with the weather hitting the 60s next week, we can now collectively get outside.
Granted I know that Torontonians get outside the moment the thermometer reaches above zero, but now I’m seeing people in shorts (!) and the leaves are just peeking out of the mature trees on my street. The warmer weather is coming I swear. So it’s officially time to get outside and enjoy the exactly one week of delicious weather before the dreaded humidity kicks in.
One part of town that I absolutely love is the Beaches. No, not the band. The area is a collection of four beaches situated on Lake Ontario. It’s east of downtown and within the ‘old’ city. The beach I like to visit is a dingle uninterrupted stretch of sandy shoreline with a long boardwalk and the Martin Goodman Trial bike path running parallel. There is also a public pool right off the main drag, so lots of access to water.
In addition to all the swimming you can do, there are also padel ball courts. It’s not too frequent that you can play a round of padel while catching a whiff of the lake breeze with skyscrapers in the background. As I get older, I find myself more and more drawn to community fitness sessions. Which I know can sound kinda lama, but motion is lotion and if you don’t use your body you won’t be able to as you get older. Once point of contention, I don’t think you can do drop-in games here. I think you have to go through a padel club management software thingamajig to book your court time. But other than that, it sounds like a great club.
So please don’t hate me for writing about Toronto, I swear it won’t happen again (buuuuuuuut maybe it will??). I know the point of this blog is to explore Canada and I’m so glad I made the move up north of the 49th parallel. It’s pretty great a mari usque ad mare.
