I haven't spoken to Steve in a while, but I did get an e-mail from him yesterday. He wrote to tell me he liked my posting about our trip to Guildwood Inn. He apologized for making me take the picture of the caterpillar, but there was no need to apologize! He also apologized for making us go to the bluffs and having our food go cold, but you know what? It didn't go cold! It was perfectly warm. So once again there was nothing to apologize for. The lesson here? We had a nice day.

This is the picture Steve made me take. 

This is a picture of Steve enjoying the sights in Scarborough. 

I wonder what Steve did today. He's a nice guy.

Steve called this morning, just after ten. We chatted for a while, and eventually decided what we were going to do today, and where we were going to meet. Steve and Sonya thought they might like to go to the Guildwood Inn, a couple kms east of the Scarborough Bluffs. There's a disused (and reportedly haunted) inn there, attached to a creepy (and disused) 1960s-era apartment complex. We agreed to meet at noon.

My wife and I were late. Steve and Sonya, of course, were good-humoured about it, and we proceeded to have a very pleasant afternoon. The gardens of the Guildwood Inn are a popular spot to take wedding pictures, and to relax. Steve, Sonya, my wife Brenda, and I decided simply to relax. We walked through the gardens, which are inexplicably filled with roman columns and other strange faux-ancient bric-a-brac. Some kids saw Steve and Sonya's daschund, Wally, and fussed over him for a short time.

We proceeded to walk along the bluffs. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, lots of sun, and the lake was very blue. We walked along the wooded trails, chatted, and took some pictures on our digital cameras. Steve made me take a picture of a fuzzy caterpillar on a tree, even though I didn't want to. After some pleasant chatting and strolling we came upon the western boundary of the trails (a parking lot and apartment building), and went back in the other direction.

After the Guildwood Inn, we decided to eat some lunch at a popular fast-food outlet. We drove for a very short time before finding it (this was Scarborough, after all). Steve bought one chicken combination dinner and one single chicken sandwich. He tried to get a chocolate milkshake, but the machine was disengaged, so he was denied. Then he suggested we eat our lunches at the Scarborough Bluffs - specifically, Bluffer's Park.

We drove a short distance to the park but, this being Labour Day, and beautiful out, we couldn't get a parking spot. After travelling from one lot to the other, we decided just to eat our lunches as we made our way back to our respective homes. So Brenda and I said goodbye to Steve and Sonya and parted ways.

I think I can speak for Steve when I say we had a terrific day.

This is the menu for Simon's Wok. Steve liked the food.

Today Steve slept in until 9:30 am. This is late for him. He went for a jog around High Park, then had breakfast, which consisted of a scrambled-egg-and-salsa sandwich, banana, peach yogurt and coffee. He spent the morning jumping between the computer and Coronation Street, which Sonya had taped. (The character, Sarah Lou, is preggers again.) He had a bowl of Shreddies for lunch. He read a bit of Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, and then took a well-deserved nap. He took his little daschund, Wally, for a short walk and then played ball with him.

He and Sonya went out for dinner at Simon's Wok, which is a Chinese vegetarian restaurant near Gerrard and Logan. They ordered lots and had a ton of food left over. They went for a lovely evening walk through Cabbagetown and then home. They went to the convenience store and bought a Klondike bar.

Tonight Steve made himself a screwdriver (vodka and OJ). It's the first screwdriver he’s had in many years. In high school the screwdriver was his preferred non-beer drink. The trick was to half-empty a jug of OJ and then fill it up again with vodka. That way he could walk around town with what appeared to be a bottle of OJ. Worked like a charm on the cops.

I got an e-mail from Steve last night.