Wed, May 7 2008 - Mid-Week Walk-About (View Original Event Details)
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Apparently, going easy on the TTC (who made your life somewhat difficult)but snipping at the "powers that be" on your first event, results in a downpour on your first solo event as coordinator. I take it all back....there, no more rain in the future, 'kay?
It turns out though, it didn't really matter that it rained. It was an eventful, interesting evening and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to walk around with in Old Town Toronto.
Everyone found the meeting place and were on time and we had a good start. We first looked at the beautiful Alumnae Theatre which used to be a firehall early in the century. Then we headed to Corktown proper. We saw the Little Trinity Church and the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse from the mid 1800's. We admired the early rowhouses, everyone especially enjoyed Bright Street and the efforts at restoring and decorating the Victorian homes on the lovely, little winding road. We saw the spot where the Underground Railway terminated, on the present grounds of the Inglenook Schoolhouse. We then headed to the more industrial areas and eventually came upon the lopsided, cubed, skylighted house/billboard thingy that's been there for years(tried googling to answer the debate and came up with nothing...) on Eastern avenue, next to the Gardiner and much discussion took place about what it is exactly. Potted plants were spotted next to an open door though.....Urban legend?
We headed down Cherry to the Canary Restaurant, where we met Bernie. He, like many of the residents who still live in the building, is a musician and he (thanks Bernie!)invited us inside his home to see the portion of the building that was a school(second school built in Toronto he tells us). What a gorgeous space he has there! We took turns chatting on the porch and going into Bernie's and talking to him. Some TOCers played with the two pet rats (they're up for adoption, by the way!) and while Bernie was on the porch telling the TOCers about the ghost that haunted the building, three of us struggled to get the rats back in their cage. It all ended well and Bernie's cat wasn't interested in the loose rodents, fortunately. Our last stop was the Distillery. We warmed up and dried off a bit at Bergo, which is an industrial design store -full of really neat stuff - before splitting up and some heading home. The remaining nine went to the Mill St. Brewpub and had dinner and drinks.
Funny. I wasn't actually expecting to personally have any fun on this event, being the one responsible and all. But this was my kind of evening and everyone who braved the rain made it that much more enjoyable. They were a fun, chatty bunch, willing to explore all the wonders that are Toronto (and occasionally play with rats!). What a great night and a great first event! Thanks you guys!
May 10th update - The Rats have found a home - with Stacy's friend! YaY!
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.