6. Ontario (Greater Toronto Area, Burlington and Niagara region)

Dates: July 21-28, 2014 (Will) + October 10-14, 2014 (Natasha)

1/5 plane rides

2/5 different time zones

3/5 trips with friends

1/5 without mountains

3/5 places you've never ever been to before

(just kidding about the last one)

This is the first trip during our challenge where we have not travelled together. Will flew to Ontario at the end of July, kicking off the whole travel challenge by already being away from home on the morning of his 30^th birthday! He had an awesome time there, visiting a lot with friends and family. Two of the highlighst from the trip were attending one of Brent’s magic shows (aka Incredibrent at http://www.incredibrent.com) and taking a trip down memory lane at Wonderland! I would write more about this trip, but this pretty much sums up what I’ve been told. Also, there’s no pictures. If it wasn’t obvious before, you sure will know who hogs the camera now!

I just got back from a quick trip to Ontario last Tuesday. When my amazing friend Tanya told me that she was engaged at the beginning of the year, I was so excited for her. Although I had only had the opportunity to hang out with Zo a couple times, I knew they were perfect for each other. She set the date for Thanksgiving weekend, allowing those from out of town some travel time. Now, I have to stop here to say that over the last few years, weddings have come with a wave of emotions for me. I have been so excited for many friends who have been planning weddings and have really enjoyed hearing about the details and events leading up to the big day. I have had the absolute pleasure of attending a few, but have missed many. This breaks my heart. Every missed wedding has been very tough, and the decisions around which weddings we attend have never been easy. However, this wedding was a ‘must’ for me for various reasons, and since we were not planning on flying there over our winter break, I decided to make this my time to see other friends and family as well. I arrived late on Friday evening, after an incredible 18 seater plane ride from Cranbrook over the endless mountains. I was greeted by my brother and mom in Toronto and we hung out late into the night in Burlington soaking in the time together! On Saturday, my mom and I surprised my friend Natalie with a visit before venturing off to Niagara area to see her place there and to have lunch at Will’s mom’s place. It worked out so beautifully that Will’s sister was home from Saskatoon and we had a delicious meal with a lot of the family. On Sunday, I went into Toronto to meet up with my friends Sarah, Ashley and Candace. We had an awesome time chatting and laughing before I had to get ready for the wedding. The venue was spectacular- the Canoe restaurant at the top of the TD tower, 54 floors up! The ceremony was very intimate and beautiful, and the couple looked incredible and oh so happy! Since Tanya is a friend I have had since high school, the wedding provided a great reunion with other high school friends Sarah and Lauren, as well as Lauren’s husband. The food was beyond amazing, as was the atmosphere and the decorations. I loved hanging out with these friends and Tanya’s family. I shed a lot of tears and felt so honoured to be a part of this special day. I know this couple will share so many special memories! I could go on and on about the day, but I’ll save it for one of my novel length emails to Tanya! On Monday, our awesome friends Ashley and Brandon came to Burlington with their son (who I just love!). I just love these guys and really enjoyed laughing and catching up! My mom’s good friend Sue and my brother came over for a great visit and dinner that night before I went to visit the Auger family (Aaron, our adorable ringbearer, has grown right up and is almost as tall as me now!). I had a great time visiting with everyone at the house and hearing about all the new stuff happening in their lives! I was shocked to realize that I’ve been connected to this family for 11 years now, and am so happy to have kept this connection. To finish off my visit, my mom and I spent a lovely morning walking along the waterfront downtown Burlington, never finding an end to our conversations. I really appreciate the time my mom makes for me each time I come to visit, and felt like we really made the most of the time we had. After a final surprise visit to my brother at work, I hopped back on the plane in Toronto!

Although I am usually snapping pictures all over the place, I have to apologize to a number of people (Will’s family at lunch, Dan, Brandon, Laura, Sue and the Augers) for not capturing any pictures of them during my visit!

The Burgess Duo