Secretly Canadian

We just returned from spending a couple of days in Toronto, and while our trip was much more enjoyable than last year, there were still a number of remarkable things that went wrong:

1. Henry coughed his way through the entire first day of the trip. It was tolerable but noisy on the car trip up. Then on the harbor boat tour (just us and bus load of senior citizens) it was unbearable because they all kept looking at us like we had dragged along Typhoid Mary. I could just explain, "He gets like this at the end of a cold when he has post nasal drip" to everyone within ear shot. At Terroni's (for pizza), it was so noisy at least no one could hear him. But the worst came at King's Noodle in Chinatown for dinner when the cough became, um, productive. As I escorted him to the ladies room for the second time we encountered, to our surprise, another man -- dressed in striped pants and a flowered shirt no less -- washing his hands in the sink. The man said calmly, "I'm almost done, just give me a minute." So that's what we did.

2. The next day Henry was much, much better. We headed to the Toronto Zoo. Soon after our arrival Lucy started to whimper and cry. Since both kids are recovering from colds we initially thought she might still be a little sick. Two hours later I discovered she had sunscreen in her eye. After a not so quick trip to the first aid tent she was like a new child, and our little vacation could begin in earnest now that it was half-way over.

3. I think we did all enjoy ourselves, particularly Henry, who cried real tears, with his lip a quiver, when it was time check out of the hotel. In particular Henry was fond of the bunk beds where he and Lucy slept during our stay. And I found Toronto to be pretty much everything I want in a big city: a good music scene, incredible gardens, nonchalant diversity, and good beer. Though I wasn't crying when we left I think I might be secretly Canadian.