3 Day Trip to Toronto and Waterloo During A Heat Wave
June and July were quite busy. Some customers told us they’re going back to the office. Also, there are new mechanical keyboards that just came out. I was still able to go on a short trip, as planned, after the boys finished their school year.
We walked to the harbour front to have our take-out sushi lunch. The breeze from Lake Ontario was so nice, as it was very hot out (35c, feels like 43c with the humidity).
Christian brought his Roll-Top Bag and I brought my Large Utility Tote, bags we used on trips like Quebec City before. We both agreed that these were good for a 3 day trip, packed minimally.
Toronto was a rest stop before we had to go back onto the train. This time we rode the GO regional train (for Souther Ontario) to Kitchener-Waterloo.
The train ride was supposed to be just under 2 hours, but with the heat, the trains had to slow down (delayed 30 mins). We finally got to downtown Kitchener before sunset and stayed the night.
In the morning, we took the ION light rail train to Waterloo, which took about 30 minutes. It’s a nice train, clean and efficient.
Why Are We In Waterloo?
I wanted to revisit St. Jacobs Market. My aunt and uncle took me there once when I was a child, visiting from Vancouver. I remember how much I liked it.
University of Waterloo is well known for its engineering and tech programs. I wanted to walk around the campus, but the whole region was under a heat wave (high 30c, feeling like 43-47c with the humidity), so we just passed by on the ION Train.
Fun Facts:
1. Waterloo is home to the Blackberry mobile phone (before the iPhone existed).
2. Kitchener (joint city) used to be called Berlin before 1916.
3. Kitchener–Waterloo has the 2nd largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany.
St. Jacobs Is the largest farmers’ market in Canada. It started as a small rural market serving local Mennonite and area farm families. It brings a lot of tourism to the region with local vendors offering produce, artisanal foods, handcrafted goods and antiques.
Interestingly, it is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites (German heritage) in Canada. We saw families dressed in their traditional clothes at the market and on the bus. I really appreciate that they can keep with their traditions and way of life.
The artisanal products are very good quality and well priced. We tried some pretzels, cured meats and baked goods.
Here are some items that caught my eye from the upper level of the market, the Mennonite Museum and the Antique Market across the street.
I would have really liked to explore Waterloo more by walking the trails and around the village. Unfortunately the heat was just unbearable, but luckily we were able to enjoy the indoor markets.
The trains were delayed getting back to Toronto and again on the VIA train back to Ottawa. In fact, the heat was so extreme that a tornado almost touched down at Brockville (about an hour south of Ottawa) on our ride back. They had to clear the debris before the train could go towards Ottawa. It was close to midnight when we heard near downtown Ottawa was flooded (118mm of rain in a short time) and all Canada Day events were cancelled.
Even though we didn’t get to celebrate Canada Day in Toronto and be outdoors in Waterloo, we felt fortunate to come home safely. June and July are getting concerningly hotter each year.
So this is the first adventure of the summer. The boys rated the trip at 7/10, just because we wanted to be outdoors to explore Waterloo more. I would agree with their assessment. Also, if I was going to do this trip again, I would make it a 4 day trip and stay in Toronto for the first day.
