Ships that pass

The bright red William Lyon MacKenzie fire boat passes the blue and white Ned Hanlon II tugboat tied up in the police marine unit area. The Ned Hanlon checks out the sleek lines of the fire boat, the powerful pumps ready to spew water on hot, hot things. There could be love in the air, or water.

Sand circles on the beach

I found evidence of unexplained sand circles on the beaches of Toronto, circles reminiscent of crop circles placed, in popular opinion, by visitors from another planet. I do not recognize the tracks or what possible equipment could have made the marks. The area is away from the nearest road - in fact the route is blocked by an insurmountable elevated walkway, and the shallow waters of the harbour seem to limit what could approach from Lake Ontario.

No these circular tracks must have been made from UFO's dropping down from the sky. Maybe they trail their resource stealing tubes in a pattern to extract gold and silver (or other rare resource from their home planet) from the water's edge.

I mean, look close at the marks above, I have never seen anything even remotely resembling the patterns pressed into the sand (confirmed unknown after extensive work with Google Images). We may never know the origin of the signs, most surely from outside the Earth's atmosphere, so we can only surmise that it is for some horrible purpose. I hope that we can prevail in the upcoming fight, hopefully the birds will keep watch and alert us to any invasion.

Update: I thought I heard that sightings of extraterrestrials has occurred. They have been described as slightly portly giants - I think they may have even caught one, they certainly have tried to tie it up, but in fury and desperation the giant pulled free and stomped on people. Run people, run!

Beat the Heat: Islands in the sun

Thousands of people stream from the mainland of Toronto, across the vast expanse of water know as the inner harbour and frolic in the green parks, sandy beaches and cool waters of Lake Ontario on the Toronto Islands. You can get there by plane, water taxi, pleasure boats, tour boats and by the mighty ships known as the Toronto Ferries. 

I like the ferries because they are so old and full of character with red life jackets hanging from the ceilings. This year the cost for the ferry trip for an adult is only $6.50 and you can bring your bikes at no extra cost. Actually the cost is for the trip across, you can come back for free!

Family picnics and the Centreville Amusement Park probably bring the most people seeking recreation. Centreville is on the largest island called Centre Island - I think it is somewhere in the middle. Ward's Island on the east is the next largest with Hanlan's Point on the west side, which is also the home of the Island Airport. There are a few more islands and you can move between the islands by the many bridges. You can see a great map of the islands here.

It's quieter on the Hanlan's Point side away from the families going to the amusement park (I always remember the log flume ride) and being home to the clothing optional (I mean naked) beach keeps a lot of people away on general principle. 

Right outside the beach area is a snack shack that serves alcohol so if the beach gets too warm you can chill out with some cold brews. You just have to remember to put your clothes back on when you come off the beach. The homes and cottages are on the Ward's Island side and some unusual housing designs make it a nice way to spend some time checking out the sights and little cottages.

With no private cars allowed the best way to see the islands is to roller blade or take your bike across - you can even rent a bike on the  islands. They have some groovy family bikes that resemble old style cars and that can seat two and four people.

Names carved into the pier on the south side of the islands.

Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

If you find a needle...

Do not touch it! Tell a lifeguard or parks attendant.

Toronto hits 37.9 degrees C on July 21, 2011

At the Toronto Airport - and humidity makes it feel close to 50 degrees Celcius today- booyah! The temperature in Toronto peaked at close to 5pm. It's summer now so find a beach, an umbrella, sunscreen and a wobbly pop and enjoy Mother Natures' blast of heat. If you can't find a beach look for a pond or fountain - like the one found in the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Sometimes you have to give in to the weather and find fun wherever you can cool off. Time for watersports, beach volleyball and walking around in bikinis.

The Weather Network reports this weather warning from Environment Canada.

Weather Warning

Issued at 9:35 PM EDT Thursday 21 July 2011

Summary

Extreme temperatures and humidex values will continue this evening. The humid tropical air mass has arrived as expected. The strong July sun has caused the mercury to soar well into the middle and upper thirties. Combining the record setting temperatures with the high humidity in this tropical air mass has resulted in oppressive humidex values in the low to mid forties across all of Southern Ontario. The situation will continue into this evening. Current indications suggest that a weak front will slip through tonight. However in the wake of the front it will continue to be hot on Friday with temperatures in the low to mid thirties but somewhat less humid. Well above normal temperatures will continue into the weekend for most of Southern Ontario with temperatures reaching the low thirties again on Saturday. It will be the combination of the duration of the high heat along with warm overnight conditions which makes this heat event particularly significant. During times of high heat and humidity, it is critical to stay properly hydrated by drinking Plenty of fluid like water or juice. Strenuous outdoor activities should be scheduled during the early morning or evening hours. Wear loose fitting, light weight clothing and spend as much time as possible in air conditioned places. Stay out of the sun and never leave elderly, children or pets unattended in a car.

Cherry Beach kite surfing

Bright kites were in the sky above Cherry Beach as the kite surfers were enjoying the strong winds found down along the lake today.

It's stinking hot - time for Parks Canada Celebration

That's what someone just told me - it's stinking hot out, hot, hot, hot. And I think grab your bathing suit and head down to the sparkling, crisp waters of Lake Ontario. Parks Canada is having their Centennial Celebration on Centre Island today (July 16, 2011) from noon to 8:30pm. For most people heading to the Islands means riding the Toronto Ferries. PS the new Island Ferry ticket booths have been rebuilt, see the photo at top.

You can enjoy concerts starting at 4pm with The Skydiggers, Serena Ryder and Sarah  Harmer.

Also planned are a number of activities including meeting historic characters, take souvenir snapshots, see mascot Parka the Beaver, visit a wetland discovery centre, sit still for face painting or hand tattoos and have a picnic or get some food from vendors. There is plenty of stuff to do on Centre Island - you can also go to Centreville Amusement Park after the celebration and have some more fun.

Lonely Cherry Beach

The past weekend fickle weather kept many away from the beaches of Toronto. At Cherry Beach the line of lifeguards looked out into the empty water, rowboats and flotation devices at the ready. Sadly only birds swam in the cool waters of Lake Ontario.

So, let's take a gander at the weather that is upcoming for the Canada Day long weekend fun. So far they tend to say the weekend will be beautiful, then at the last minute they forecast cool temps and cloudy skies, with more than a little chance of disgustingly large amounts of precipitation. As of right now the forecast calls for sunny and warm temperatures from Thursday to Sunday - except for some rain on Saturday (isolated showers, less than 1mm). 

The beaches should be crowded this weekend but if you want a guarantee of bikinis I suggest you go to the Ms Chin Bikini contest this Saturday, July 2, 2011 at noon in Exhibition Place.

It's the weekend - head to the lake

Toronto is like one big cottage by the lake with tons of family over for the weekend. The walk to the beach can be a bummer though, so drop by the booze store and pick up some libations for later. In the meantime, hook up your waterskiis to the Island Ferry, grab a dingy or sailboat and get your groove on. Forget about up north, it's time for the down south, and thongs, don't forget your thongs.

Swans on the beach

There are a crapload of birds that live along the waterfront - the majority are probably seagulls, followed by ducks and geese. They eat and crap, crap and eat, then have babies - which are incredibly cute, who then crap and eat and have more babies. The big boys of the winged variety in Toronto seem to be the large white swans. The mute swans above are heading towards the CN Tower - I think they have heard of EdgeWalk but they will be disappointed when they find out that the high walk doesn't open until August 1 and the price of admission is $175. There is also a good chance they will be scared of heights.

Silos by the lake

The large agricultural farms of downtown Toronto grow tons and tons of wholesome wheat and that wheat has to be stored somewhere before it is made into Tims bagels and donuts. And I think that the silos that remain along the shores of Lake Ontario is where all the Toronto wheat goes. Sometimes it is difficult to see the farms but I believe that to save precious land for relatively unimportant roadways, the farms are placed on many of the downtown buildings. I often see trees along the edge of the roofline to help the farmer from driving their combine over the edge of the building. I will have to try the CN Tower EdgeWalk to see if I can see the farms and prove my hypothesis.

My initial theory about the silos was that they held nuclear weapons, but in 1983 Toronto became a nuclear weapons-free zone.

MEC Toronto Paddlefest 2011

The annual Mountain Equipment Co-op MEC Toronto Paddlefest returned to Sunnyside Park for their June 11-12, 2011 celebration of small watercraft. Canoes, kayaks, surf boards in brilliant colour filled the beach in preparation of all the paddling that will happen.

Hopefully no one will fall in because the water is probably a little cool still. More pictures after the jump.

There was also a photoshoot going on in the pavilion - at first I thought it might have been a lovely vampire picking out her next victim. 

Toronto Ferry and the Islands

A magical place exists across Toronto's harbour on the Islands that grew up from the sand of the Scarborough Bluffs. The collections of Islands are full of excitement with the Centre Island Centreville Amusement Park, the yachts and other big boats in the marinas and the many beaches (including that clothing optional nude beach known as Hanlan's Point Beach). The Islands are so much fun to roller blade, bike or walk that you forget the fun of riding the ferries that run between the various islands and the City of Toronto Ferry Terminal at Harbourfront's Queens Quay ("half the fun is getting there!). The view of the city's skyline is fabulous.

The ferry service runs from the mainland to Centre Island (in the middle), Hanlan's Point (west) and Ward Island (east) and the adult ticket only costs $6.50 (return included for free!). The ferries run 7 days a week, generally from 30 minutes to an hours between each trip (times are different on the weekends and weekdays). The islands are connected so you can start on one side and travel through to the other side - you can even rent bikes on the islands.

See more pictures after the jump.