Summer Road Trips

IMG_20150425_190711Last Saturday I spent the afternoon exploring some of Toronto’s hidden gems with the Ford of Canada team and adventurer and best-selling author of The Great Canadian Bucket List, Robin Esrock. Robin was in town to launch the newest edition to his best-selling travel books and we joined him (and his mom!) as he hunted for some bucket list spots in Toronto. After a day with Robin and Ford of Canada, summer road trip plans were inspired!

 

 

 

 

 

Lawrence MarketOur day started at one of the best markets in the world, Lawrence Market, where we had a quick lunch before zipping off in shinny new Ford vehicles (a shinny blue 2015 Mustang for Esrock!) to the Toronto Archives. I had not heard of this spot before my visit but I hope to make it back here to go through the over million photographs of Toronto and the city’s many memorabilia that live in the Archives. There were some old school ads in the foyer which caught my attention and I can only imagine how much fun history buffs would have here. Our day ended by exploring the stunning Casa Loma which I hadn’t been back to since last August when Little Monkey and I popped by to visit Dora (seems like ages ago!). Casa Loma is most definitely a hidden gem in our city, I mean a REAL castle in downtown Toronto? That’s pretty cool! There’s so much history and detail here that was well ahead of its times and I found it fascinating that this castle had electricity, telephones and a 360 shower! Crazy eh? Dare I mention the secret tunnels which Robin feels are definitely bucket list worthy? I highly recommend getting one of the guided tours here at Casa Loma if you can…the space is very stroller friendly and many moms were spotted strolling the hallways and gardens of this magnificent Castle. Spending the night here with some friends would definitely make my bucket list!

 

Casa LomaDuring the course of the day Robin inspired me with his globe trotting tales and continuously growing bucket list of experiences (though he doesn’t find it easy travelling with his 2 year old!). He has been to quite a few spots near and dear to my own heart (my hometowns – Dubai & Colombo) and explored the hub’s hometowns (Nova Scotia & Newfoundland). I’ve been saying how I need to head back to Newfoundland and explore parts of Labrador and his adventures have me itching to head East again. Robin’s tales of driving through the Trans-Labrador Highway in his Ford Escape have me pretty excited about our upcoming road trips this summer. 

 

 

 

 

summer road tripsWhile we may not be conquering anything as wild at the Trans-Labrador Highway, it is very comforting to know that Ford vehicles will keep our family safe and comfortable on the North American roads as we go in search of culture and culinary delights with the tots. Our summer travels kick off next week as we head to Portugal (don’t worry, we’re flying to Portugal, not driving) where we will be driving from Porto to the Algarve on our multi-generation trip with the hub’s parents. June will see us on the road in a Ford Escape as we spend an extended weekend in Montreal and July will see us heading to Vermont in a Ford Fusion Hybrid (the hubs is pretty excited for this one!) for 4th of July celebrations and their fine foodie trails. Our August plans are still up in the air but given that it is our anniversary weekend and that we loved our kid-free getaway to Stratford in our Hybrid Lincoln MKZ last year, we’re thinking about sneaking away in a 2015 Mustang. Any ideas on where we should head to?

 

If you’re looking for some summer road trip ideas be sure to check out some of our favourite drives from Toronto, no matter the season.

  • gene d
    May 3, 2015 at 10:23 am

    that Mustang looks nice!

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