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Toronto

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Can you guess what I’m doing or where I am in this picture?

Right next to the impressive CN Tower, that I walked around a thousand feet up, there is Ripley’s Aquarium. Ripley’s Aquaruim is only a normal height and they do let you walk inside to look at and learn about marine life that you’ve probably only dreamed about seeing or only saw in movies or tv. The pink things swimming around my head are Pacific Sea Nettles. So incredibly cool. But not as cool as…

Not as cool as seeing the endadgered sawfish that close. Sawfish are unusual and rarely seen. Could a sawfish actually saw you, maybe take a finger off if you get too close? Not likely. Sawfish are generally gentle, docile creatures that are harmless to humans if left undisturbed. Because humans are too large to be viewed as potential prey, they will not intentionally attack. However, their famous “saws” (rostra) are weapons that can inflict severe lacerations in self-defense if the Sawfish is harassed, frightened, or accidentally hooked by fisherman. (some of the info is from Wikipedia.) Although the sawfish is really cool to see, there are some better and more eye catching creatures, such as…

Yes, they have multiple kinds of sharks that you can see up close as you walk through glass encased tunnels in the dark and luminously lit pathways in the aquariam. I had sharks swiimming by me only separated by a couple feet and some strong glass. I could go on and on with pictures of amazing underwater creatues, but then you wouldn’t need to go.

Next, I’ll show you my favorite part of the aquarium..

Is there anything better than sea turtles just cruising around and minding their own business. There was a tank where the sea turtles and sharks were together. Sea turtles and sloths are the two most chill creatures on the planet.

Speaking of being chill, the entire aquarium has that vibe. There’s dim lighting, slow moving, neon creatures and zen type music in the background while you stroll being  marveled by the most incredible animals on the planet. Go to the Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto. It’s worth the admission fee. If I could just stroll around this aquarium with a warm cup of coffee each morning, every day would be alright. Trust me, there’s so much more to the aquarium than you’ve seen here.

Stay tuned! One more Toronto blog post coming in two days!

As always, thanks for reading, Phil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkuxtG2_40I

In my life, I have never lived more than an hour and fifteen minutes away from Canada. When I was nine years old, my class took a field trip to Canada. That picture above is not me. It’s a Canadian. When my family went camping, we were no more than twenty minutes from Canada, and there were plenty of Canadians at the campground. My first impression of them was that Canadians were not great drivers. They drove too fast. Little did I know that Canadians were using the metric system. They were traveling in kilometers per hour. What? How do you even do that? Wouldn’t that cause you to go backward in time? Also, according to an aunt who has done extensive research on our family history, I do have Canadian ancestors, and they were cannibals.

Two weeks ago, I went to Canada all by myself to brave the wild territories in the great white north. Speaking of the Great White North, does anyone else fondly remember this song?

Anywho, as the Canucks would say, let’s get to some of the fun things you can do if you visit Toronto. I drove there, and my first order of business was to do the CN Tower Edgewalk. That involves going up in an elevator to a section of the tower over 1100 feet (356 meters) above the ground, then going outside for a walk. Fortunately, they put you in a suit with a harness that attaches you to the building. It’s a beautiful view, and at the same time, it’s a little unnerving to be outside that far above the ground.

That’s me at the end. The most terrifying part of that adventure was those dorky outfits that we had to wear. We did all sorts of things, like turning around and letting ourselves hang over the edge, with the ground waiting patiently for our impact. Once, I tried a move with only one foot on the platform, but I was told they didn’t want me getting creative. The bright side is that on the level above the Edgewalk, there is a nice restaurant and bar. The whole experience costs you about $200 American or $277 in Canadian. SMH, they even have metric money!

If you’re a thrill seeker, this is right up your alley. If you’re not, let your best friend or family member do it while you sit in the restaurant drinking a Canuck Mule. Have a great weekend! Monday or Tuesday, I’ll have more on our mysterious neighbors to the north!

Thanks for reading! ~Phil