Day 6: A Taste of Nature

(Anna's POV)

Today was such an adventure! We woke up and had a nice breakfast at the hotel and slept in until about 9:00 a.m.. We took turns getting ready after breakfast, other than getting dressed, which we did before breakfast. After we were all set and ready, we headed out.

Today we did things that I would have never thought I would actually be doing at any point in my life. Today we took an African Lion Safari in Ontario. They allow you to drive in a white car with a group of people and explore a large portion of land. The five of us had a great time on the Safari! We got to see some amazing animals. We saw giraffes, zebras, lions, and so much more! Throughout the tour, the guide, who is also the driver, told us some interesting facts about the different animals that you could see at that point in the tour. The Safari was definitely one of my favorite parts so far. Kaitlyn, Sadhana and Sydney liked it just as much as I did because we got to feed the animals from the car. Georgia enjoyed it, but got a little weirded out when a giraffe put it's head really close to her window. She was talking to Sadhana then screamed and jumped back when she went to look out her window and saw a giraffe standing right there. We were all laughing so hard, except Georgia until she started to laugh along with us. 

After the Safari, we cooled down at the gift shop and looked around before leaving for lunch. We drove just down the road to a nearby Subway, where we all got an 8-inch meatball sub sandwich. It felt nice to sit down and talk while we took our time to eat lunch. We had nothing else planned for the day, except for simple walking around. We all wanted to take this afternoon off and rest. For about two hours, we went to a mall called Sherway Gardens. None of us bought anything, but it was nice to walk around with each other and just look at things. After the mall, we went back to the hotel and all took quick showers. We then rested some more and talked amongst ourselves. We told some of our best stories and moments in our lives. It was amazing and extremely fun to listen to the stories. It was especially entertaining when Georgia and I were telling a story that we were both a part of, because we were practically acting it out. We were on top of the beds enthusiastically telling a story of when we got stuck on a roller coaster and we just decided to start screaming and dancing in our seats.

After talking for some time, we began to finish packing up all of our stuff, in preparation for our flight in a few hours. It only took about twenty to thirty minutes to pack up, considering we all stayed fairly organized during the week. Georgia, however, was not as organized as any of the rest of us. She had clothes thrown everywhere, but we all helped her pack up some so that we would be able to catch our flight on time. Our Flight was not until 7:30 p.m., so we had time, but still wanted to be there really early in case we ran into any problems at security.

We took our rental car back to the Toronto airport and found our way to security at about 5:00 p.m. Of course we did get pulled at security, because the guards at security scanned our carry on bags and could not identify what was in my bag. They pulled us over and opened my carry on bag to find a pine cone. I had found a pine cone at the national historic site that we visited, and kept it as a souvenir. When I go on big trips like this, it has always been something that I do. We got the security issue sorted out, and they let us move on, along with the pine cone. We got through security in about forty five minutes and made it to our gate by 6:00 p.m. We still had an hour and a half to wait, so we decided to take a nap since we were going to arrive at the hotel in Vancouver very late.

We woke up from our naps about fifteen minutes before we boarded, and got all of our stuff together. After boarding and taking our seats, the five of us just sat and talked around. Once the plane took off, we all went back to sleep, because there really was nothing else to do. I for one fell asleep and did not wake up until 9:00 p.m. Our flight was ten minutes later than expected when landing. We landed at about 9:35 p.m., but when we got off the plane in the great city of Vancouver, we ran to the Hertz center at the far end of the airport. We thought the line would be long, but we ended up being the only ones in the line.

Our rental car actually ended up being the same model and color as the one we had in Toronto! It was such a coincidence! I love driving, and I have been driving the whole trip, but I still volunteered to drive us to the hotel again. After a thirty minute drive from the airport to The Westin Grand hotel in Vancouver, we settled in and got unpacked. While unpacking, we waited for room service to bring us our dishes that we ordered. A hotel staff member eventually came up about twenty minutes after we called them, and brought us all a plate of country fried steak, corn, and mashed potatoes. Boy oh boy was it good!

We were all extremely tired, so we decided to hit the hay and get a good nights sleep. We all waited to take our showers in the morning, so that we could go right to bed. Hopefully getting good rest tonight will benefit us for what we have planned tomorrow!

Day 5: The District of Haunted Walks?

)Kaitlyn's POV)

Today we started by doing our normal, quick breakfast at the hotel then we were off for that day's activity! We spent most of the day in The Distillery District (Natural Environment).

The Distillery District is a little district in Toronto that has tons of restaurants, cafes, and many shopping places. We spent a lot of time looking around all the different shops. Some we recognized from home but others were really amazing, historic shops, that we have never seen before. We decided not to get anything from here because we had some big plans coming up that were expensive, but Georgia wouldn't leave without getting something. All of the shops we went into were very expensive shops that sold clothing and necklaces for hundreds of dollars. We finally gave in and let Georgia get a sweater from the cheapest store we could find even though it was still $58.00. After a few hours, we started to get hungry so we went to a lunch place right down the road called Cluck Clucks Chicken & Waffles.

Even though it was a small place their food was AMAZING!! We were all basic and decided to each get the Chicken and Waffles. Georgia said she's never had chicken and waffles and thought it was a weird mix but when she tried it she was amazed at how good they tasted together. After finishing up lunch there, we went to The Haunted Walk of Toronto (Historical). This was also right next to the Distillery District. We were able to walk around Toronto and hear about all of the spooky ghost stories of things that happened in Toronto in the past. Anna loves scary things so she was having fun the whole time but Kaitlyn on the other hand, not so much. Kaitlyn hated scary things so she hid behind Anna the whole time trying not to listen to what the tour guide had to say. We decided it was a really bad idea to take her with us. After everyone (but Kaitlyn) enjoyed the walk, we started to get hungry again so we went out to eat at a place back in the Distillery District called El Catrin. This was a pretty simple Mexican food place. It was decently expensive, though it was still good. We each got something different and Sydney and Georgia both shared something because they weren't that hungry. After a long day, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest. Kaitlyn was still shaken up by that ghost walk so she couldn't sleep. She really didn't want to be anywhere near Toronto so we decided to leave for Vancouver tomorrow.

Day 4: A Roller Coaster of Fun

(Anna's POV)

Today we woke up so late because of how late the game lasted last night. Sadhana is usually an early riser and usually cannot get up after 8:30 a.m., but today, she woke up at 9:15. She could not believe that she overslept a lot more than usual. Sydney and Georgia were both still sleeping when I woke up. Kaitlyn was awake already when I woke up, but was still laying in bed. After we all finally got out of bed, we slowly got ready. We all felt like taking a  hot shower, so it took some time for all of us to get ready. Kaitlyn was taking forever in the shower, so I went over to the other room and took mine, because nobody else was using it. There is a door between our two rooms, which makes it convenient being able to leave that door open and basically have one giant room.

After we all completed our task of getting ready, we rode the elevator downstairs together. We filled up with a delicious breakfast in the hotel lobby, then returned to our rooms. We all brushed our teeth, not being in any rush, and enjoyed the comfort of our rooms for a few more minutes.

After getting our things organized, we left to go to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. As we were walking into the library, we felt like we were walking into a mansion, but I personally questioned the fact that it was not considered a palace. The library has five floors, with books in every possible direction, along with a huge fish tank! The library was so neat and organized all over, I do not know how they do it.

The Library is located on the University of Toronto campus and has the largest collection of accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library also has important Canadian literacy from Margaret Atwood, and so many more amazing people! The library was an astonishing place to visit. We read some of Atwood's books which were very intreseting because we have never thought of things from her perspective.

After spending a ton of time in the library, we started getting hungry. Kaitlyn and I found a place to eat at. None of us wanted to eat too much, because we did not want to have too much sitting in our stomachs throughout the rest of our activities for today. We ended up going to Pizza Pizza and ate some Margarita Pizza. We got one whole pizza that we all shared and it was a nice little meal that we really enjoyed. You could tell Georgia and Sydney were happy because they said they love margarita pizza and their eyes widened when the pizza was set on the table.

After our lunch, we moved on to our next activity. We found our way to Canada's Wonderland to pack our afternoon with bunches of fun! Canada's Wonderland is an amusement park that is just a little north of Toronto. The park was opened in 1981 and was the first major theme park in Canada, and remains the countries largest theme park. The 330-acre park is ranked third, with sixteen roller coasters, and a 20-acre water park called Splash Works. Georgia, Kaitlyn and I all rode the biggest roller coaster in the park, while Sydney and Sadhana rode a ride called the windmill, which was basically a really high swing ride. The three of us who were riding the roller coaster were so excited as we elevated up the first hill. We were a few inches away from the peak of the hill, when the coaster suddenly stopped though. Kaitlyn and Georgia were hyperventilating a little bit, but I was screaming because I was happy that we got stuck at the very top for some reason. They got the ride fixed after about ten minutes, and getting stuck was worth it, but only to me apparently.


We all continued to ride a bunch of fun rides for the rest of the afternoon. After a while, we got tired of walking around the park for so long. We left the park and went back to our hotel room to cool off and throw some nicer clothes on. We had made reservations to go to a nicer restaurant called the Opus Restaurant and we ate some really amazing food. The best thing we ate was the Quebec Venison and Roasted Pineapple with chanterelles and hibiscus. It was meat with mushrooms and various spices. We all agreed that it was the best thing that we have eaten so far in Canada. After a late dinner, we headed back to the hotel and quickly got ready for bed. We are finishing up some last minute bedtime preparations, and we are hoping for a good night of rest again. We certainly have an interesting day ahead of us tomorrow!

Day 3: Going Back in the Day!

(Sadhana's POV)

Today is the day we went back in history and visited the Fort York National Historic Site (Historical Site), and went to a basketball game at the Air Canada Centre. We woke up early this morning and ate breakfast at the hotel after getting dressed. We started to develop a routine, in terms of our hotel breakfasts. When we came back from breakfast, we all finished getting ready.

At the Historic Site we visited today, we learned many things. We learned that Fort York was supposed to be a Naval Base, but instead it was used to protect the people during the war between Canada and the US. The historical site was renovated many times before the US declared war and invaded Canada. It was especially cool when we got to see a depiction of how the people fought during the battle. The Americans invaded Fort York for six days and destroyed many things including the homes and took Canada's supplies. After the British burned the White House, the Americans went back to Canada and burned the barricades and other buildings. The historical site was full of information and many mind blowing facts!

After a wonderful time at the historical site, we decided to go to lunch. Georgia and Sydney found Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill,  a multi-cuisine restaurant. We ate some really good food and got on our way. We found our way back to the hotel and relaxed for a while.

After some relaxation time, we got ourselves ready for the sport event of the day at the Air Canada Centre (Sports Event)! The two sports teams that were playing against each other at the basketball game were the Raptors and the Kings. The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose arena, just like the PNC arena we have in Raleigh, North Carolina. They have many different events there throughout each week. It can fit up to 20,000 people, so it serves as a holding place for a lot of different events. Walking into the arena, Anna was so excited about the game and made it very obvious that she has spirit. Georgia however, was for some reason surprised that they even made basketball a big deal in Canada. The game was a close call, but the Raptors won 121-110.

After the game, we went out to dinner at Miller Tavern on Bay Street. We ate some delicious seafood that none of us could get enough of. Today was a day full of fun and we learned so many interesting facts about the war between Canada and the US. Even though we were all really tired by the end of the day, we got to do things that we never thought we would be doing.

Day 2: A Twist of Culture

(Kaitlyn's POV)

Today we got up bright and early in time to eat a quick breakfast at the hotel and be on our way to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (Holiday/Celebration). They had awesome things like a petting zoo, animal competitions, and a huge horse show. The horse show was so cool! The horses there were jumping so high and ran across the field to complete impossible looking obstacle courses. The horse show was by far Georgia and Anna's favorite part.

Sadhana, Sydney and myself, all liked how we got to watch the people on the horses do crazy tricks like doing flag routines. I still cannot believe that they were able to do that while riding a trotting horse. There was also a portion of the fair that was based on food. I personally thought that it was crazy how they had lettuce there that was almost as big as me! Alongside the food portion of the fair, there were also a few dairy competitions. There were competitions for things like cheese making and milk drinking. The milk competition was by far my favorite because it was funny to watch people chugging milk down their throats so fast. I couldn't imagine doing it myself, but then again, I could see some of my friends doing it. The cheese competitions were also extremely interesting because there were so many different kinds of cheeses. You could tell that the fair was really important to most of the people there because those who entered any of the contests  were always happy throughout the day, even if they lost a competition.

After spending the entire morning at the fair, we were getting really hungry, so we decided to go grab a quick bite for lunch at a place near the fair. We seated ourselves at a small deli/sub place called Mr. Sub. We thought the food wouldn't be that great because the place looked a little run-down, but the food was really amazing! We all agreed on getting the same thing to make it a quick eat so we could get going. Each of us got a chicken quesadilla that was like heaven on a plate. It was a fairly pricey meal, but it was definitely worth it.

After a healthy and delicious lunch, we headed to our next stop, which was the CN Tower (Cultural). The CN Tower was also in Ontario, not too far from the fair. It was only was ten minutes away. When we got there, it took us a while to get our tickets for the CN Tower and we also had to wait for the next group to be taken up to the top. When we got to the top of the tower, which was 1,500 ft, all of our jaws dropped. As we were going up the elevator all we did was look out the windows because it was a glass elevator and we could see everything. The elevator took about three minutes to go up. The view from being up so high was absolutely astonishing. You could look over the entire city and it felt like you were on top of the world! We took our time up there, taking pictures, videos, and even tweeting about it. "How could such a view such as this, ever be known to even exist," Anna tweeted as she looked over the rest of Ontario.

After soaking up the goodness of a wonderful sight, we found our way down the tower and decided where to eat dinner. There was one obvious choice of where to eat, which was the restaurant in the sky, located at the CN Tower. We decided to eat there, so that we didn't waste gas trying to get somewhere else to eat. The restaurant was called The 360.  We all got the Maple Tarragon Brined Supreme of Chicken, which was definitely a good choice. By the time we finished eating, it was starting to get dark since we took our time and enjoyed the view. We headed back to the hotel and took turns in the bathroom to get ready for bed. Sydney and Sadhana take their showers at night for this trip. Anna, Georgia and I all take our showers in the morning. After we were all ready for bed, we got settled under our covers, and went to bed. We did not watch any TV and we did not do much talking, other than a little small talk for plans about the next day. None of us could wait until tomorrow especially because we did so many fun things on the first day along with many more fun things to do on our trip!

Day 1: Time For Takeoff! Itinerary and Budget Analysis

(Georgia's POV)

Today was the day! The five of us finally got to begin the journey of a lifetime. Sydney, Kaitlyn, Sadhana, Anna and I finally ventured to Canada. We were so excited to go on this trip to Canada because we had been planning to go on this trip for months. We all decided to meet up at Sadhana's house before we left for the airport. You could tell that we were all extremely excited to start our extravagant trip to Canada and we couldn't believe it was happening. Before we left for the trip, we had to plan everything out including where we were going, so we put together an Itinerary. Since we knew exactly where we were going, with our itinerary at hand, we were able to decide how much money we were going to spend, mainly because of the Budget Analysis we made. This really helped plan our trip because we were able to figure out about how much money we need to use on our trip to Canada. Not only did planning out what we were going to do help us, but figuring out the weather during our trip helped as well. Although the weather was a little chilly, it was around 60 degrees throughout our trip. The weather was perfect because we were able to do many things outdoors and even when it got a little chilly, we were able to have activities planned indoors on those days. Being able to plan ahead for our trip to Canada was very useful, so that we could pack our things accordingly and know what to expect for each day.

Earlier this afternoon we took off after a good dinner at the airport. The Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU) has a KFC towards the end of the terminal we were in, which is where we ate. About forty-five minutes before we were supposed to be boarding the plane, we filled up on some popcorn nuggets, and Finger Lickin' Good sauce. The $5-dollar meal deal comes with a cup of popcorn nuggets, a side of green beans, and a drink. Boy was it a good meal! While flying with Air Canada, our flight left at approximately 6:00 p.m. and landed at bout 7:45 p.m. on the great Toronto soil.
                                                               

After we had a quick and simple dinner, we only about fifteen minutes to get to our gate. We had plenty of time, considering our gate was not too far from the KFC. Thankfully, we booked a direct flight to Toronto, because if we had gotten an indirect flight, we would have been way too tired to continue driving to our hotel, because of all the layovers. While getting on the plane, we realized that Anna was in a row by herself, and the rest of us were sitting in pairs. Nobody booked the seat next to Anna, so Kaitlyn was moving back and forth from seat to seat every half an hour, to keep Anna company. At one point, there was a sudden moment of turbulence when Kaitlyn was trying to move seats, so she fell right down the middle aisle of the plane. Sadhana, Sydney, and I all laughed, but Anna held her laughter in as she helped Kaitlyn up off the floor. After that incident, Kaitlyn continued to move back and forth between seats, but not nearly as often as before.

After arriving in Toronto, we walked to the lower floor of the terminal, and picked up our luggage and our rental car from Hertz car rental. We reserved an SUV CX-7, which they brought us as we exited the terminal through the front. After picking up our rental car, Anna drove the five of us to the Toronto Don Valley Hotel and Suites. The five of us were singing and dancing in place, as we drove to the hotel. We could not let a Justin Bieber song come on without doing something. Anna, however, was going crazy just listening to the music on the radio. She was so crazy, that we all thought that she was going to drive us off the road at one point, but she ended up staying steady as she drove.

After about forty-five minutes of driving, we finally reached the hotel. The hotel was so big we couldn't believe our eyes, it had a huge pool, a hot tub and more. The hotel was so cool that they even had a water fountain towards the entrance. We couldn't believe our eyes as we continue walking in shock. We told the person at the front desk about the rooms we reserved; she told us that we reserved two rooms for the five of us to split between ourselves. Both rooms have two queen size beds, which means that people will have their own bed in one room, but two people will sleep together while the other person sleeps in their own bed, in the second room. We made reservation for the next few days at this hotel, and so far tonight, it has been very quiet and relaxing! The five of us have agreed that this is going to be a great trip!