Sat, May 17 2008 - Queen West (View Original Event Details)
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Well now...where to begin....?
What a group this was! Sixteen spirited people and one street-wise mongrel named Woody, met on time and all brought excellent attitudes for this fun hike in downtown Toronto. Except for briefly dominating the outdoor patio at the Drake Hotel, we walked and explored the whole time and the trip went on a couple of hours past the estimate. Must have been about a 10km hike overall but the concrete always makes it seem longer to the legs and feet.
This was definitely a collaborative effort. Anyone who had something to add about a particular area or building, could wear the pink boa (used to mark the spot where the group had stopped so those who had gone to explore could find us again) and hold court whenever they wanted. From Nick we learned - among many diverse and interesting things - where to Karaoke with a LIVE BAND (yippee), and the location of several "guerilla" gardens in the surrounding area. (We also learned that Nick is able to wear a pink boa with grace and dignity -- not everyone can pull off that look, ya know!) Anthony introduced us to lots of great exhibits at galleries he'd been to recently as well as Chambly beer, which he generously shared with the group......one word: exquisite! Oh, and we learned - also from Anthony - how to get a song out of our heads by switching to the Hockey Night in Canada theme, which itself is then gone within 5 minutes. This really works!
Everyone hissed and booed on cue at the unwanted corporate interlopers - I like this group! - and all were willing to go into places outside the main. It was really a mini "doors-open-toronto" as we explored the interiors of many unknown places - some dark, some mysterious - and exposed some much needed light (love doing that!) on them, if only in our own minds. We admired and photographed the graffiti works in the alleys on the way back and eventually found ourselves on Spadina, near College. We walked into...and danced right back out of....Grossman's Tavern. (Just wanted to see inside - the theme for the day!) There was a New Orleans style jazz band playing, complete with trombones - hence the dancing out part....
Too much was discovered to write about it all here but there was something for everyone and everyone added something to it! Perfect!
A few decided to go home along the way but the majority made the trek back to the Osgoode subway and we arrived there at 6:30pm, tired but contented, having meandered quite a bit more than expected. It was such a good day!
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.