Toronto

I left early in the morning on a Monday to travel to Toronto for business. I have no idea why I chose such an early morning flight - it was painful to get up at 3:30 am to finish packing and head to the airport in utter darkness. Monday mornings are my least favorite time to fly because the airport is packed and the security lines (even with my Alaska Airlines Gold in hand) are torturously long. For a change, I was in an ideal seat on the plane to view majestic Mt. Rainier and its southern companions - Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood.

Upon arriving in Toronto after a short layover in Minneapolis I checked into the Westin Hotel. My room had a beautiful view of Lake Ontario and in the evening I spent a few hours alternating between knitting and watching the ferries.

I went in search of food but there was surprisingly few eateries in the vicinity. I rejected the sidewalk hot dog stands and strode on until I stumbled upon a deli and with luscious raspberries for only 99 cents. Even with the Canadian dollar at an all time high against the US dollar it was a deal I couldn't resist. Some hard boiled eggs, a pear and bulgar wheat salad also found its way into my basket for the "in room" picnic. A sign proclaiming "world famous" Greek food beckoned. The lone table and chair in the establishment did not for a party make. Should I stay or should I go? If I had made a decision based on the ambiance alone of the tiny ramshackle restaurant I would not have had the opportunity to enjoy the delicious tomato, feta, green pepper and cucumber salad. Who says I am not a cheap date?

The next day I met up with my group at the Rogers Centre for a project with the local sports team. We watched the parts of the game from a luxury suite strewn with computers, cables and digital media equipment. Last time I had been to this venue was for a company sales meeting in 1997 when it was known as the Sky Dome. It was interesting to see the "behind the scenes" workings of scheduling and producing media for a major league sporting event. Next time I'm in Toronto I will set aside some time to explore this vibrant city.