Canada -- Day 1

Yesterday was our first day in Canada. We slept in late since we didn't make it to the hotel until 1 AM.
We drove from Toronto to Barrie to pick up our friend Jo for lunch. After meeting her son Ryan and getting the house tour, we went to lunch at an Irish pub. I had the shepherd's pie and it was very good.

We drove around the lake and then scoped out the area for a hotel room. Something is going on in the area and many of the hotels were completely booked. We ended up at a Holiday Inn Express (I don't feel any smarter) that said they didn't have any rooms left but we booked one through Expedia in the parking lot and went back into the lobby. The clerk looked a little confused and wondered where the magic opening came from, but we ended up in a nice little suite with plenty of room.
After stopping at the store to pick up a few evening necessities, we headed back to the house to meet up with Gord (the other half of Jo and Gord).

It was a wonderful evening!
Jo prepared a great meal for us. We later moved the conversation out to the deck where Gord and I enjoyed a couple of fine cigars and we all enjoyed the visit.

When we made it back to the hotel, I was checking to see the results of the UFC 203 fights and (because of the 1 hour time difference) I got to see the last few fights. Bonus!

We check out of this hotel in a bit and then the four of us will be going to Niagara Falls for a couple of days.

Life is good!

John <><