The Beauty In Exploring New Places
Whether
we’re introverts or extroverts there can be something we all have in common, we
all might long for adventure, even during quarantine during COVID. We’ve been
stuck inside, we couldn’t go see our friends, go out to eat, we couldn’t travel,
see shows or plays, we were inside with our families, which was nice don’t get
me wrong, but having to be around each other for such a long time could lead to
some tension and stress due to having to spend time surviving until we got our vaccines,
resulting in members getting into each other’s hair, some emotional meltdowns
or feeling so drained it led to some health problems. Once people got their
vaccines and the virus was becoming less of a problem, it felt great to do
those things again. Plus, being inside probably made one appreciate adventures
a lot more, sure maybe a lot of us were still in survival mode and some of us
probably still are, but it still was a breath of fresh air.
Even though
I’m an introvert, I do like to get out of the house. Having to stay inside for
a long time was the worst thing ever, because it meant I had less freedom and
couldn’t explore or do things I liked doing, sure I was able to entertain
myself and be with my family and of course spend a lot of time with my kitty.
As a girl who lives in Toronto, I take public transit a lot and that usually
means I can go to different places, plus, we Ontarians have some other types of
transit, like the MiWay transit in Mississauga, GO Transit or York Region
Transit. These can get you to many different parts of Ontario and it can also
mean, you can explore different places and it makes your adventures more
exciting.
Today’s
article is about the joy of exploring different places, hopefully these stories
of my adventures can inspire you or help you resonate with your adventures.
Libraries
It may seem
old fashioned but I love going to the library, either to read my childhood
books, or for me to write my ideas for this blog, either on my notebooks or on
my laptop. One of the reasons I love going to different libraries is that,
sometimes you can find different books or books in different prints. Sometimes
I find Beverly Cleary books in the different styles of illustrations, different
CDs or books that you don’t see at the bookstores anymore. While I’m
disappointed that the library I went to a lot growing up and also the closet
one to home is currently closed for renovations for a very long time, I’m happy
that there are still a couple of libraries that are close to home, just a few
subway stops away, but I still can find places to read or do my writing at.
This doesn’t stop me from wanting to visit different libraries, sometimes,
whenever I go down Woodbine I like to visit the library there briefly, or this
one I went to where you can read fairytale stories in one floor, plus, as I’m
writing this I’m at the library near the mall that’s not too far from where my
friend lives. My favourite one to visit is the one in Stratford, it’s such a
big place, sometimes they sell CDs, there are a lot of books I can find there
whether they’re Franklin or Arthur, I find that there’s a lot more of them than
in a lot of libraries I visit in Toronto, maybe because Stratford is a bit of
an old fashioned place in Ontario, in a good way of course! That just makes it
all the more amazing, whenever I go to Stratford, it’s one of my favourite places
to visit along with the Cat Café, if you ever go to Stratford I recommend you
pay a visit to the Cat Café there, the cats there are so adorable, some live
there while others are waiting for someone to take them home, maybe this is
where you can find the perfect kitty and give them their forever home, plus the
people there are excellent with cats.
If you need
a good place to study, read or do work where it’s quiet, look no further than
your local libraries, and if you’re eager, don’t be shy to look for some other
libraries, you might find different books and maybe find another favourite place to relax, read, work or study.
Thrift Stores
I have
mentioned before that I love going to the thrift stores. The only downside is
that there aren’t many thrift stores that are close to my house, so that means
I might have to go by subway, but whenever I do, it’s always a blast to go to
different stores because they can have different items in different stores,
sometimes if I was hunting or searching for certain things I could check
different stores because of that, sometimes I would succeed, other times I
wouldn’t but whenever I did, it was always awesome. One of my favourite thrift
stores I love to go to is in Missisauga, there are about 5 thrift stores not
too far from each other, one Value Village, one Talize, one Mission, one Goodwill
and one Salvation Army thrift store. Those are some of the places I’ve
collected my tapes, DVDs, books and some of my clothes came from there. I found
out about these places 5 years ago when I was hunting for certain books and had
come there a few times, but my biggest time was in the beginning of 2020 when I
got a television for my bedroom for Christmas and I wanted to use the VCR and
DVD player I got at a thrift store a few years ago, so I had been looking for
certain tapes, but when I went to one of the ones in Missisauga I found the Toy
Story 2 tape and was eager to buy it, the best part was talking to the woman
behind the desk about it who loved the movie, two weeks later I came back and
was able to buy 4 tapes for a good deal and that same woman was there and was
happy with my choices, Monsters Inc was one of them and we talked about how
great it is and I even mentioned about how the Pixar tapes have the shorts and
the teasers for their upcoming movies which she agreed was great. It’s so nice
to see the people at these places be very passionate about selling older things
and seeing the value in them. Visiting the thrift stores was one of the things
I missed during lockdown but I felt more happier once they opened again, I even
had gone to the thrift store with my friend whenever I came to Ottawa a couple
of times, I’m happy to have a friend who sees the value in thrifting as much as
I do.
Parks
Another
thing I love to do is go to the park sometimes, specifically if there is a
swing, I just like to listen to music while swinging in the park for as long as
I can, until someone comes and wants to have a go, then it’s all theirs! It’s
always fun and relaxing, except for those times I accidentally kicked some kids
who got too close to the swing, please do not ever stand close to the swing
when someone is using it, you could really get hurt. There were two parks close
to home I liked going to growing up, one was where I used to go to day camp, the
ones meant for pre grade 1 kids, and there was one close to the library that
was closer to my home. Even in high school I would sometimes come to the parks
just to swing after school, sadly these parks have changed, the structures are
different and the swings are a bit too small now, but luckily they’re still fun
for everyone who comes to visit. Luckily, I have been able to visit different
parks, whenever I took walks during the pandemic, I’ve walked by this one park
not too far from one of my local grocery stores and it was always nice to be
around, there’s also another park that’s not too far from Davisville, one of
the subway stops, it’s a nice spot to be around, it’s got a splash pad for the
kiddies in the summer, a baseball diamond for baseball players and it has a
swing set, sometimes I would come by there after my psychologist appointments,
after writing ideas on my laptop in the library or whenever I celebrate my
grandmother’s life either on the anniversary of her passing, on her birthday or
even on Mother’s Day, since she lived in an apartment not too far from the
park, we never really went to that park together, but I can imagine that being
something we could’ve done together when I was little. I also love the
playground at Woodbine Beach, whether it’s hot or cold, it’s a great way to
exercise at such a nice place. I also enjoy going to the one at High Park, you
could call it, Toronto’s Central Park, it’s the biggest park in the city, it
has a zoo, you can go fishing, there’s a couple of playgrounds, and some nice
places to take walks or have picnics, fun fact this park was one of the places
Harriet The Spy was filmed, the next time I go, I’ll be sure to have my
notebook and my spy attire. The best part of High Park is it has an outdoor
pool, it has a waterslide and one day last summer there was a pool party there,
if I knew beforehand I would’ve postponed my hair appointment to the next day
so I could go, because it was sweltering hot! I’d say the best time to go for a
walk in High Park is in Spring or Fall, because it’s a decent temperature and I
would only go to High Park in the summer if I wanted to go for a swim. There
can be many parks where you live and they may be different but that makes it
more exciting and fun!
Krispy Kremes
Another
place that isn’t close to where I live is Krispy Kremes, sure we do have Tim
Hortons but the donuts they serve at KK are yummy, I especially love the ones
they serve around holidays, the Scooby Doo Halloween donuts were totally
delish! I especially want to go there to buy myself some donuts to eat on an
upcoming train ride or even if I take a trip to the zoo, I like to stop by the
Krispie Kremes on the bus route to the zoo as a bit of breakfast (along with
the rice cakes) to eat on the way. I don’t go to KK very often because they’re
not very close to home, but whenever I do, it’s always a treat!
Pools
I don’t
believe in New Year’s Resolutions but one I had for this year was to try to go
to the pool at least once a weekend. There are two pools closer to home, and I
used to go there a lot either for leisure swims or lessons when I was younger.
They are such fun pools to go to, they can have waterslides and are just nice
places to refresh, I never thought I’d go for any other pools, until recently. One
day I wanted to shop a bit while still going for a swim, so I found a pool that
was not too far from the place I wanted to go, so I made a plan to go swim
first before exploring the thrift stores and Krispy Kremes, it was quite a
journey to get there, but once I did come, I was amazed. It had a waterslide
that made me think of the ones at Great Wolf Lodge, it has tropical trees
around there to make it feel more nicer and even the kiddie spot had jungle
like decorations and slides which make me think again of Great Wolf Lodge, and
it’s just so nice, I heard 5 years ago it was ruined by a fire but after two
years of repair it’s as good as new! Last weekend I got to go for a swim with
my best friend, at the pool that was closer to her place, it was a nice pool,
it had a waterslide and maybe was a bit of a smaller pool but it was a nice
change in location, and doing it with a great friend like her was even more
fun, from us challenging each other with a few swimming exercises, and just
enjoying each other’s company. When I went to Ottawa, I went to the pool with
my friend’s mom, we did some exercises and swims together, she even told me
that was the pool she went to for lessons growing up and even still goes there,
it was a nice pool, it had beach paintings in the room, to make it feel like we
were out in the beach even when it’s cold, it made the experience all the more
fun! Hopefully in the coming weekends, I might look for more pools in Toronto
to go swimming at, it may take time to get there but the journeys I take will
make it all the more worth it.
Movie Theatres
I love going
to the movies, Ontario’s local cinemas are called Cineplex, there are a few
cinemas I have gone to growing up, those that were closer to home, however, the
Eglinton one was the one I went to a lot and while it was always fun to go
there, as time went on, it got a little bit boring. By the time I turned 18, I
wanted to go to different cinemas, even the ones I had been to when I was
younger, probably because I liked going on adventures to get there. I remember
when I saw the new Minions movie back in 2022, I went to a cinema by
Scarborough Town, and while I didn’t really have the best time when I saw the
movie, it got better afterwards they had an arcade, much bigger than the ones
at the other cinemas I went to, they had a lot of games, like Deal Or No Deal,
Wheel Of Fortune, a crane game, digital bowling and more! I had a great time
playing there, it reminded me of the times I went to Dave N Busters or Great
Wolf Lodge, it was fun to play games and earn a few prizes, when I played the
Crane game or the claw game, I got to fish out Buster Moon from the Sing
Movies. I had so much fun, that when the Mario Movie came out the next year, I
wanted to go to that cinema so I could play at the arcade afterwards, which I
did and it was a great day. A little over a week after I saw the Minions movie,
I had the opportunity to see ET for the 40th anniversary of
Spielberg’s classic, I saw it in a bit of a bigger theatre, and it was really
neat, the best part is it had a little arcade and it included a crane game, two
of them, one is the impossible one where the crane tries to catch big prizes
and the one where they try to catch smaller prizes and you can play that one until
you win. I couldn’t fish out the baby Po (Kung Fu Panda) plush but on the
smaller game I was able to fish out some toy balls, I brought them to my local
pool for the kids to play with, once I tossed them in the pool and the kids
were playing with them it was so nice to see them have fun.
There’s also another different cinema called, The Landmark Cinemas. Last summer, Disney was celebrating their 100th anniversary and to celebrate, they re released 8 of their movies, and Toy Story was one of them. I had only seen 3 and 4 in cinemas(the latter twice, I got to see it the second time with a friend and it was a wonderful day) because I wasn’t born yet when the first movie came out and I was 9 months old when the second movie came out, so I really wanted a chance to see them and it looked like this was my chance to see 1. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any screenings for Toy Story at any Cineplex cinemas, and I remembered passing by one Landmark Cinemas on the drive home from a weekend visit at my friends’ cottage, in Whitby and a part of me wanted to go to that cinema one day, so I looked up Landmark Cinemas and they said that they were playing Toy Story at that cinema. I looked up some routes to get there and I spoke to people at the GO Bus Station, then the day after, I went out to eat with my brother and friends and I decided to tell them about my plan to see Toy Story, and since they had taken the Go Train before, they gave me advice on what to do, and along with talking to the people at the train station, that gave me more confidence that I could try it. So, once the day came, I had a plan in mind and went to the train station, the excitement about the trip had me motivated to wake up at a good time, get on the train, pay attention to when my next stop was coming, even walking out in the sweltering heat to get to the cinema, it was all worth it once I finally did enter the cinema, I bought my ticket, spoke with the person about how amazing it is to see the first movie seeing how much computer animation has changed since then. Because I had time to hang around before the movie, I got to see the concession stand and it was so cool! It had a candy “factory” where you could choose different candies to put in one bag, you can pick your bag of popcorn before heading to the checkout and they have a “gift shop” you can see a variety of plushes, mostly Disney ones, and sometimes Funko Pops, I found one of Josh Baskin playing the piano, fitting seeing I was about to see him soon. It got better once I got into the room, they had recliner seats and it was so relaxing, and it made my experience of seeing Toy Story on the big screen a lot more fun, especially getting to see Buzz and Woody flying on the big screen so awesome, I even quietly recreated that scene with my Buzz and Woody bendable dolls as it was happening. Afterwards I felt so happy, it felt so awesome to see the first Toy Story and being able to see it at a place I had never been to, let alone a really cool place just made it more awesome!
I had such a great time that I wanted to come back someday, I was hoping to see Beauty And The Beast there, unfortunately that was around the times I was getting ready for my vacation, on the Disney Cruise and when I did come back I was unable to go to the last day because I had gotten sick from the cruise (though it was still a great vacation I’ll never forget!) but luckily I was able to come back again on occasion, from seeing the Lion King on Thanksgiving and seeing Luca on Easter Monday this year (its kind of a tradition for me to go to the movies on Easter Monday) and it was a bit more easier since I knew what to do but still fun, the day I saw Luca was great, because afterwards I got to visit some thrift stores and even during my walk, I passed by a duck pond and saw some mallards, I love seeing ducks in the pond!
I’m thankful
I took this opportunity and if you ever get one like this, take it! Just one
word of advice, if you take the GO Train, when you get to the stop before your
stop, make sure you get up and get ready to get off because the doors open and
close quickly because the train is trying to follow a schedule.
I also have
gotten to go to retro cinemas, there are two of them in my hometown, and they
can play movies a lot of us saw in our childhoods, or movies we probably wanted
to see in cinemas but never got the chance, they are so cool to be in, it feels
neat being in a cinema with just one room, as opposed to one with different
rooms and movies playing at different times. The Revue is a really cool one,
they make posters based on the movies they play, especially their Throwback
Cinema screenings, where they share fun facts about the movie before it begins
and they have employees who seem very passionate about the movies playing. It
was also a great place to see movies I didn’t see in cinemas when I could’ve, like
The Incredibles or Arthur Christmas, or even seeing Turning Red on Mother’s Day
last year (months before Pixar re released their Disney plus movies to cinemas,
the way they should’ve been seen). It’s also funny how when they do family
screenings, particulary Disney ones, they have the Meet The Robinsons PSA where
Frankie the Frog gives everyone the rules and warns them that if you use your
cell phones during the movie, they’ll get booted so turn them off! Comment if
you saw that PSA back in 2007.
Before I get to the next one, I'm hoping to go there next Saturday, as they're playing Honey I Shrunk The Kids for their Throwback Cinema in May, can't wait to see it!
The Fox Theatre is a really cool vintage cinema to be
in, they can also have some fun events like an interactive screening of Shrek,
a period positive screening of My Girl or a sing along Mary Poppins. Those
times I’ve come to the Fox Theatre were really fun, especially the Shrek
screening, we were allowed to sing along to All Star and even be a bit rude, at
the scene where Shrek and Fiona burped, we were allowed to let our biggest ones
yet and wave our glowsticks from the prop bag we got for the Hallelujah scene.
The best part is that it’s a block away from Woodbine Beach, whenever I go
there, I usually like to walk on the beach either before or after the movie,
even if it’s not summer. I hope one day this summer, I can go to the cinema and
hopefully go swimming at the beach afterwards. Another cool thing is that
sometimes they play trailers for the upcoming screenings but not just any
trailers, they actually play the original theatrical trailers that you might’ve
seen if you been to the movies in the past, when I saw the Mary Poppins sing
along they used the actual Shrek trailer to promote the upcoming interactive
screening, (you might remember seeing that trailer on disc 2 of the DVD) and it
was so cool to see it like this, especially since I never saw that trailer in
theatres because I was too little to go to the movies at the time. I admire
them for giving viewers that kind of magical feeling one gets at the movies, a
good way to let go of life’s hardships for the time being.
I
will be talking more about the joys of the cinema in a future article so stay
tuned!
Bonuses
Sometimes,
if you go somewhere just for a specific place, there could be times you might
find a place you like and it will make the journey more exciting and maybe a
bit rewarding.
One
time I went to Richmond Hill to visit a thrift store, afterwards I decided to
walk back to find the bus station, but on the way I found this pet store called
TruPet, I decided to stop by there for a bit and I saw a cage with some cats
waiting for someone to come and take them home, they were so cute, I especially
was so happy to see this one kitty that looked a lot like my old cat Cassie
(she was still alive at the time), heck she even had a closer name, except
replace the ss with the lls. I was so excited to show my parents. After that,
on occasion, I would go to Richmond Hill to go to the thrift store and then
visit the pet store, sometimes I would buy a cat tickler at the dollar store
nearby, and play with the kitties through the cage, one time I played with
these kittens, one of them landed in the food bowl, and one did a flip trying
to catch the toy. They were so adorable, I hope they went to good homes. Little
did I know, this store would also become part of a memory. After Cassie passed
away, we agreed to adopt a new kitty at the end of the summer, and we looked up
the organization we got Cassie from, Forgotten Ones Cat Rescue (which is an
organization the pet store was supporting), and we knew little Marly Mew was
the perfect one and I felt more excited when my dad told me we were picking her
up at the TruPet store, I was able to play with the kitties at the cage until
little Marly came with her foster mom, I felt more happier the times I came
back to the store, one of the employees told me she had been at the pet store
around June of that year, I’m so happy that those people have done well at
caring for the pets, especially kitties and making sure they came to a nice
home. I haven’t been there in a long time, but it’s a nice place to visit,
especially if you’re a pet lover.
Here are some of the kitties I met at the pet store
Sometimes
when you go to different malls, you might find places you never expected to
find. My friend told me about the Disney Store in a mall called Vaughan Mills,
so one day, I wanted to have a look at it myself, so one day I took the subway
to Vaughan and took a bus to the mall, and I did find the Disney Store, it was
a bit different than the other ones, the screen was by the check out desks and
it was more like an outlet store but it was so cool to see. However, once I got
there I also saw a Build A Bear store, I never had been there before, so I
decided to browse and it was so cool, I got to see cute plushes in costumes,
and adorable clothing for them, it’s also cute to see the kids be so eager to
build their own stuffy and friend and dress them up too. It inspired me to
build a bunny for my friend and dress her up in a Bo Peep costume to give her
as an early birthday gift and since we were planning to see Toy Story 4
together at the end of the month, it eventually had me want to make myself my
own bunny too, that’s where I got my darling Easter, ever since then, I had
taken occasional trips there or to the one in Mississauga to get her new
outfits, like the Bo Peep costume, her Cinderella dress she wore on the Disney
Cruise I went to and I’ll be sure to bring those costumes for her when or if I
ever go back to the parks, and even a cute ballet tutu, since she’s my prima
ballerina, one time she danced to Tightrope from The Greatest Showman, that’s
her favourite movie!! Even when the Disney stores closed down, I’m so happy
that there still is Build A Bear, a nice place to visit, whether you want to
shop or if you want to embrace your inner child, that’s your place! I have to
thank my best friend for letting me know about the Disney Store there, if she
hadn’t I wouldn’t have been to Build A Bear.
This summer
I am hoping to explore different parts of Ontario, via GO Train, like visit a
beach down Rogue Hill, I also hope to go to different outdoor pools in Toronto,
or maybe go to the waterpark down Brampton, I do feel a bit nervous about this
but if I remember the times I’ve explored different and new places and make
plans for it, I know I’ll be okay.
This is why
it’s so cool and fun to explore different parts of your city or your province,
because sometimes you never know what you’ll find there but that’s what makes
it all the more exciting, you might be surprised with what you find and be more
eager to come back and take the journey again! If you feel nervous about it, I
completely understand it can be a bit scary, but if you make a plan, and trust
yourself, you’ll be okay and it will be all the more rewarding, you’ve got
this!
Have you
explored different parts of your hometown? Feel free to share stories about
your adventures in the comments, maybe you can inspire others to try it out
too!
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