July 5, 2011

Dear Friends and family. I am nothing short of astonished that it is July. I have had a wonderful and fulfilling year so far. Perhaps that is why it has gone so quickly.

Upon returning from California, I set three guidelines for myself: (1) see as much of Toronto and Ontaraio as possible, (2) see as much of friends as possible, and (3) get work done.

Needless to say, this made my spring rather full. To fulfill my first guideline, Matt and I have spent as much time outside as possible. The weather hasn’t completely cooperated, but it’s finally deciding to be nice out. We had planned to go camping in May or June, but the weather was not on our side. Rain every weekend foiled our plans. So it goes. Despite not getting to camp, we have still managed to see a lot this spring and summer. Just like last year, we spent a day at High Park in western Toronto, almost magically timing our visit perfectly with the blooming of the Japanese cherry trees. The explosion of white and pink petals was just gorgeous. We also saw some extensive evidence of beavers. Looking at the chewed tree trunks it was very obvious why “busy as a beaver” is a saying.

In response to the relatively lousy weather, we spent some time at our local museums, the Royal Ontario Museum (where I volunteered) and the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Art gallery has the best collection of art by “The Group of Seven” – a group of Canadian Artists who captured the beauty of Canadian Life and the arctic North on canvas in the 1920’s. We also enjoyed a couple of open houses at the city’s annual Doors Open event. This year, we visited City Hall and the 54th floor of the Dominion Center. The Dominion Center has meticulously kept its top floor exactly as designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1967. The floor boasts boardrooms filled with incredible views, lots of wood paneling, and an impressive art collection. Lastly, we had a brief but memorable trip to the Toronto Succulent Society festival. I was pleased to see some of my favorite plants from Madagascar.

At the end of May my mother and brother came to Toronto. We rented car and proceeded to have a whirlwind weekend visiting friends and family in northwestern Massachusetts and Vermont. In addition to seeing lots of people, we saw a whole lot of countryside and we learned a lot about the history of mom’s side of the family. The trip started in Williamstown, MA where we attended a memorial service and met family we either haven’t seen in years, or have heard about for years but never actually met. Despite the brevity of our trip, we still managed to get in a good visit to a special exhibit on MC Escher at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA, and we stopped by Moss Glen falls in Vermont. I was delighted to find a red eft salamander. I haven’t seen one of these in years. I was also very delighted that I didn’t accidentally step on the salamander prior to discovering it. We stayed at the Alpen Rose, in Stowe, VT, which is owned by an old family friend, and we drank some great beer at a local brewery called “The Shed”. Last but not least we visited our cousin’s maple syrup company in Johnson, VT, where we were given a quick but very informative tour and some tasty syrup. Then it was time to return to Toronto. Driving across Lake Champlain, I was amazed by the sheer amount of water. So much rain has fallen this year. At many points, it looked like the lake was actually higher than the road.

In early June, our friends Ross and Ashley and their daughter Lucy drove up from Pennsylvania for the weekend. We wandered about the city and made sure to take them to our favorite restaurants. This kicked off what I will call “Epic Week”. After our friends departed, Matt and I decided to try to find some nature in urban Toronto. We took a subway North up Yonge Street and then wandered through small neighborhood parks that followed a ravine. The ravine grew and grew and eventually we found ourselves in the lovely and relatively uncongested Sunybrook Park. We tromped about in the woods for a few hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Exhausted, we then made our way back into the city and enjoyed a free evening concert by the Kronos Quartet.

Epic week then took us down to Pennsylvania for father’s day and Matt’s mother’s birthday. We kicked off the weekend with a tasty dinner at a restaurant where Matt worked during high school. The following day, we hopped on our friends’ boat and piloted down the Allegheny River to our destination, a DEVO concert in downtown Pittsburgh. On the way, we navigated some locks and we picked up a friend who decided to float down the river after work. We docked and grilled hot dogs and veggie burgers right next to the music venue. I was amazed by how smoothly the trip worked out. The show was fantastic. DEVO went all out – 5 costume changes, great new songs, and some enjoyable videos. Plus, our group received an “energy dome” hat that was thrown from the stage. Saturday was filled with procuring a car and signing all of the paperwork that will secure a home for us in Cincinnati. Both of these items made us feel very adult. We balanced out the day by attending a very enjoyable 80’s party complete with Sour Patch Kids, Reese’s Pieces, fire flies, beer pong played on an old door, and an 80’s dance off (I won silver). For fathers day, we went mini golfing at a classic mini golf course with Matt’s dad. We then finished off the weekend by watching Godzilla versus Monster Zero.

Instead of returning immediately to Toronto, we spent a night in Niagara Falls. Almost unbelievably the weather stayed dry and mild for our entire Niagara visit. First we took a trip on the Maid of the Mist. Then we walked along the Canadian side of the falls, crossed the bridge on foot over to the US, and walked along the falls on the US side. I was very impressed with the sheer power of tons and tons of water. We enjoyed a beer at the lovely Top of the Falls restaurant, and returned to Canada. We then spent the evening marveling at the kitschy tourist traps that make up the Canadian Niagara strip. Matt sang an excellent karaoke song and we topped it all off with a ride on Ghost Blasters. For those of you who are unaware, Ghost Blasters is also a ride at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and it is a LOT of fun. It requires getting in a little cart, and then shooting fluorescent ghosts, ghouls, witches, and other assorted beasties with a laser. I am pleased to report that the Niagara version was similar but not identical to the Santa Cruz version and that it was equally pleasurable.

The following morning we had a tasty brunch at “The Secret Garden”. We then headed back in Toronto, picked up Lou from our friends’ house, and bid “Epic Week” adieu. But things haven’t actually slowed down too much. For my birthday weekend we went to see a brand new ballet rendition of Alice in Wonderland, which was performed by the Royal Canadian Ballet. The show was very well done and I was pleased to be able to see it. We also drove north to Horseshoe Valley Resort (near Barrie, Ontario) where we spent a Sunday afternoon climbing about and zip lining among trees. This “Tree-top trekking” experience was such a delight. I felt like a kid in a giant jungle gym. The courses we followed were challenging, but also very rewarding. I was initially very sad that we were only going to get to climb for three hours, but when our time was up, I was quite exhausted and actually grateful to call it a day. After our trekking experience, we stopped by Barrie for a beer and dinner. The Flying Monkeys Brewery is smack in the middle of downtown Barrie - but it wasn’t open on a Sunday evening. So it goes. Instead, we had a refreshing drink up on the roof of “Sky Bank” and then found an authentic Mexican restaurant.

On my birthday proper, Matt and I watched the sun set from the top of the CN Tower. This is something that we have wanted to do since we moved here, but we managed to put it off until just before leaving Toronto. Perhaps this actually worked in our favor, because we now know the city quite well. We had fun identifying some of our most frequented places, including our house. From most vantage points in the city, our building is hidden from view. However, from the tower, we could easily spot our building among the other downtown skyscrapers.

Last but not least, we had a full Canada Day weekend (for those of you in the US, this is called the Fourth of July weekend). On Canada Day, we walked out to Ontario Place, which is a little amusement park west of downtown Toronto. We wandered about looking the rides and the hoards of people arriving to watch the evening’s firework display. We also tried to discover how one might access the Molson Amphitheater, where we could hear Soundgarden playing. No matter how we tried, we couldn’t get into the show. All of the gates were shut. We were very confused why the band would literally be playing on a forbidden island, but Matt has since learned that this hidden performance served as a sound check to kick off the band’s first tour in 14 years. After giving up on Soundgarden, we extricated ourselves from the pandemonium and retreated back to the Harbourfront to watch the festive fireworks. On Saturday we enjoyed a much-anticipated show by Bootsy Collins and the Funkunity Band. The show was everything we were hoping it would be. That man has a fantastic smile!

In addition to getting out and about, we have spent many evenings with friends. I threw small parties for both my TA’s and my wonderful lab helpers, Matt and I attended a “gin and tonic tasting” birthday party, and we enjoyed a number of tasty dinners accompanied by memorable events such as an evening of karaoke, and an impressive lightning storm. We also hosted a little birthday party for me. On Tuesdays, we continue to join an eclectic group of friends on Tuesdays to play trivia. I am pretty bad at the game. The questions are dominated by sports celebrities and pop culture references. It is a little bit depressing that one can spend an entire lifetime learning facts that aren’t useful. Nevertheless, it IS fun and I usually learn some new things. Plus, when there ARE questions that I can answer, I feel a bit less like the team dud. I will miss these weekly events.

We have also enjoyed a couple of afternoons of Bocce Ball at a nearby park called Allan Gardens. The park is quite beautiful but it is also frequented by a number of “less than savory” folks who appear to find bocce fascinating. Our first afternoon of bocce drew a large audience. Our second bocce foray involved my mother. Having no idea what we had in store for us, we merely warned her that we might draw a shady crowd. We started off with little fanfare. However, we quickly drew the attention of a rather innocuous looking man who politely asked if he could join us. He said he had never played before and that he was really excited. We figured, why not? The game is better with four people anyway. Things started off normally enough. He was very polite, called mom “Miss Sally” and cracked several amusing jokes. However, as the game progressed, we began to learn some rather interesting things about our new friend. For example, he was actually a bipolar alcoholic who had just gotten out of prison and was currently not taking his medications. As he hefted a bocce ball up into the air, he said “I can be quite violent, but I am feeling very positive today”… Luckily, after seven years in Santa Cruz, both Matt and I are quite adept at dealing with “different” people. Mom also held her own. We smiled politely when he shouted obscene lyrics from Slayer at little children or pulled his shirt over his head screaming “WOOOOOOOO!”, and we dissuaded him from throwing bocce balls at passing cop cars. Then, when the game ended, we quickly packed up and disappeared. All in all, it was a good afternoon.

So, aside from all that excitement… Matt and I have been making some great food, and I have rediscovered the joy of reading for fun. I just finished a really great book called “Lords and Lemurs” by Allison Jolly. I should have read this book years ago. If any of you are curious about Madagascar or what it is like to conduct research on the island, I highly recommend this book.

I have also just finished my volunteer position with OWLS (Open the World of Learning to Students) at the Royal Ontario Museum. Since January, I have spent Monday mornings teaching school groups about fun things such as the ecology of the great lakes, dinosaurs, and rocks and minerals. I will miss my colleagues. They were all characters. Maybe I’ll be able to come back and do a week or two with OWLS sometime next year.

In spite of my fears that I wouldn’t get anything done this summer, my research has made some headway this summer. I have manuscripts in various stages of production and publication, and I’m feeling pretty good about my progress. I have also managed to sift my way through the majority of the paperwork accompanying an international move, a university position, and a three-week trip to India. Hopefully I will get everything sorted out soon.

So, next up, Matt’s parents come for a visit next week. After that, we’ll be getting ready for the big move. I leave on July 28th and that’s coming right up. I haven’t given myself too much time to reflect upon the fact that I am leaving Toronto. When I do think about this, I have mixed feelings. At least I can say I have enjoyed living in this great city. I also think that I can safely say we have secured the home of our dreams in Cincinnati and I hope very much that many of you will come visit.