Exposure

If Istra was conscious of anything more than two feet in front of her face she would have gotten quite the education today.

The moms and I (I think from here on out I will just refer to my prenatal group as "the moms" if you don't mind; you all know who I'm talking about) went to the Toronto Islands today with our babies. It was the first time I've taken Istra on public transit with the stroller and as much as I was dreading hauling my huge and heavy jogger around while fellow riders sneer at me and cast otherwise dark looks in my direction, it didn't turn out too badly. We basically managed to avoid rush hour, and the north-south line wasn't bad at all (though Pam and Anna on the east-west line reported otherwise).

The ferry ride was short and uneventful, and the island was lovely, green and peaceful from the very start--besides Simon's wailing, which started off our little odyssey. Simon is teething; he has, in fact, two teeth already--both on the bottom in the middle. They've just sprouted, so you can't really see them unless Anna pulls his bottom lip down. So "teething" was our catch-all for the day--why was this or that baby upset? Teething.

Istra was pretty calm all day. She is decidedly "not teething."

Anyway, our fun began in trying to find a place to picnic. Amy suggested the beach. She did mention that it was a nude beach, but I just figured that there wouldn't be anyone adventurous enough to be naked outside in October. I was wrong. Apparently old men are adventurous enough to be naked outside in October. We now have a nice picture of the moms with the babies against a lovely backdrop of droopy nakedness.

Amy mentioned that the nude beach is a bit of a "gay scene". Apparently Toronto's gay scene is all over 60.

Toronto Island is really very lovely. There is a school there, and various centres for arts, even a senior's summer camp. It is mostly parkland and residential and I don't believe I saw any stores of any kind--hardly any commercial establishments at all; just two small cafes. The houses on the island are smallish and colourful. The gardens are wild. There are lots of old elections signs that people haven't taken down--some for David Miller for mayor and others for the NDP. My kind of people.

Apparently there is a waiting list to buy a house on the island. They cap it at 500, so I think the chances of ever living there are slim even though I hear the prices are reasonable.

I discovered today that Istra loves to be flipped upsidedown and then swooped back up again. She makes a wide-mouthed smile when you do that.

The moms depicted above are (from left to right): me, Amy, Pam and Anna; Diane took the picture. Sorry to tease you so with this hidden-Istra picture.