So...as you may have noticed, we took a BIT of a break...

OH MY GOODNESS, we're SO sorry...we've been sososo busy the past month and a half, and have so much to catch everyone up on!
So, even though the trip is coming to a rapid close, we will attempt to fill in some of the gaps here, starting with our second entrance into Canada from Buffalo:

We arrived in downtown Toronto the afternoon of August 21^st and did a bit of preliminary exploring before meeting our very gracious couchsurfing host Matt (last name Dale :) ) in the artsy theater district for a beer. It is a very cool and vibrant city with tons of different areas, from the big and ever-so-social High Park, to the financial downtown district, to the foodie-haven Distillery District, all with their own niche to satisfy. It has a pretty decent subway which gets one fairly painlessly from area to area, which is good, because it’s definitely a hair bigger than Vancouver. 

                After we got our bearings, we met up with Matt, got a 6 pack of Anchor (not Steam) and made our way to the aforementioned very popular High Park, where everyone plays soccer, barbeques, drinks beer, then awaits the pushy little Asian ladies who make it their career to come and take all of the recyclables off of your hands for you. Here I would very much like to call to attention the beer situation in Ontario: there are certifiable “beer stores”, where you walk in and there is a giant wall covered in label names that very much resembles what I imagine opening morning in the NYSE to look like. You then make your way up, order your selection as promptly as possible (you can purchase anything from singles to kegs), move aside & wait to be called, approach the counter and pick up your order, then finally move out, feeling very much as though you just quickly entered and left an episode of Seinfeld but with a six pack instead of a cup of soup. That being said, we finished our selections in said park then joined Matt with a group of his friends to attend an improv show called TJ and Dave at Toronto’s Second City. The two originate and frequently perform in Chicago but were sold out when we were there...the show was unbelievably hilarious, and we had the perfect first night (also: if you look them up, you may recognize one of them from the Sonic commercials…).

                The next day we took to explore the different areas of the city (including, of course, the Hockey Hall of Fame) and enjoying everything it has to offer. We had some camera battery troubles here, so unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of pictures, but there's way more where this came from for the rest!