When was the last time you went to a place that you visited as a child? Last Tuesday, my friend Sarah and I spent time together touring the Canadian National Exhibition, aka the CNE, aka The Ex. I never went to the CNE when I was little. Niagara Falls was more of my family of origin's choice for a vacation destination. However, Sarah used to go to the Ex all the time with her family. Based on my shaky recollections, it's been about 10 years since I last went to the Ex. (We took my son and a couple of his friends to the CNE for his 12th birthday, and he's turning 22 this year - happy birthday in advance, Peter!!) Naturally, I was keen to see how things had changed and how they had stayed the same. I was also intrigued to see how Sarah and I (both women in their 50s) would interact with and enjoy the Ex.
Well, Sarah and I definitely enjoyed ourselves. We wandered through the Home and Garden Pavilion, then perused the International Pavilion and warehouse/shopping outlets all in the Enercare Centre. We watched a short show about the planets in a mini-planetarium. We indulged ourselves at the Food Truck area by the Princes' Gates and played a few games on the Midway. We checked out the Food Building and the Arts, Crafts & Hobbies building. We looked at a display called "Carnival - The Exhibition & Archives Exhibit" and enjoyed both traditional and unusual treats. (I even bought pretzels to take home for the family.) I must have taken a dozen photos of Sarah drinking her immense watermelon smoothie, served in a half of a watermelon!
The adult me noticed how expensive things have become (and the impact of shrinkflation). I was particularly surprised by the cost of the carnival games. We played 3 games and it cost $22. I also noted, to my disappointment, that I can no longer eat as much food as I used to. I only had Saigon Chicken Bites (YUMMY!) from Los Vietnamita, an ice cream waffle sandwich, and a Beavertail pastry. I would have chomped on so much more if there was room in my belly.
My adult fun continued later in the week. I flew to Calgary to visit my sister. The two of us will fly to Vancouver to board a cruise ship for an Alaskan adventure. In the meantime, my sister and I have enjoyed spending time together. We have eaten out at some delicious local restaurants and pubs (Borough, Rising Tide, and NotaBle), gone shopping together, chatted extensively and even tried baking Portuguese custard tarts like we had in Portugal when we were there together in July.
Adult fun has to be balanced with adult responsibilities. I brought my laptop with me to work on my ESL Part 2 AQ assignments. I won't be able to continue my studies on the ship - Internet access is too costly and I don't plan on gluing myself to my computer when the rugged beauty of the north is right in front of me - but I will try not to fall behind with my studies.
I also wanted to stick in a summary of a conversation I had with my Cross Fit coaches. I attend three times a week when I am home, but I'll be honest; I don't enjoy going. Unlike my husband, my gym buddy, who savors the post-workout burn of a job well done, I dislike the pre-gym, during-gym, and post-gym time. I only go because I know it's good for me and my husband and I do it together. He's probably a bit tired of hearing me gripe about going to the gym, so he encouraged me to ask our coaches about this attitude of mine. When I brought up the topic to one of the coaches, he had a tough but practical response. "Are you a child? Sometimes we have to do things that we don't like. You don't have to do Cross Fit specifically, but you have to do some sort of exercise to keep healthy." The cockles of my heart weren't exactly warmed by this answer, but he is right. The reason why I attend Cross Fit is because I know I'm not self-motivated enough to go to a gym and push myself to complete a proper workout. With a coach telling me what to do, I get stuff done. My next grumpy question was when I'd get to stop attending Cross Fit class. Again, in his sharp but smart way, he replied that some people would love to be able to work out but just aren't physically able; ergo, continue to work out while your body is capable. It wasn't the reply I exactly wanted to hear, but it was practical and one I couldn't argue with easily.
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