Alicia - KINETIC MOTIONS

August 7, 2017August 7, 2017

High Park-ing it this Weekend as a Tourist in My Own City

400 acres in the city, with recreational facilities, natural landscapes and picturesque walking trails. It’s accessible by subway and close to shops, restaurants and in the heart of a beautiful city neighbourhood. It is maintained by the City and enjoyed by locals and tourists alike 365 days a year. I’m not talking about Central Park in New York (which is actually 843 acres) or Hyde Park in London (which is only 350 acres) – I’m talking about High Park, which can be found just west of the downtown core in my city, Toronto.

We stayed in the city this past long weekend and again hosted a pile of family. On Sunday afternoon, when most family had moved on to their next destination, we decided that Julia needed to get out and have a good run. Where to go on a gorgeous day in the summer, that is free and family-friendly, in our own city? High Park!

With ongoing renovations on the Collingwood country house, I am continuing my spring-summer-fall series of being a tourist in my own city. I will admit that instead of getting out and discovering the many hidden gems of my city every weekend we often laze around and just lounge in our backyard (which I will admit is an indulgence I love). The summer is not over yet, though how many of us feel that as we pass August 1^st that the best of the summer has passed? I know that I still have weeks ahead to discover and rediscover some of the best spots in Toronto.

Back to High Park. I have visited this wondrous place a few times and have yet to explore many of its attractions. 160 acres of land were donated by John George Howard to the City of Toronto back in 1876. While Howard lived in his home, called Colborne Lodge, until his death in 1890 (he and his wife are buried near that home too), his land was turned into a park for all city residents to enjoy. More pieces were added over the years to create the current 400-acre area that is known to this day as High Park.

We only arrived at the park late afternoon and decided to focus on walking trails on the east side, with a final destination at the famed playground.

I knew that the High Park Zoo was sure to please both the one and seven-year-old. This is a teeny tiny zoo, along a pedestrian-only pathway. There are some interesting and friendly animals in this zoo, such as yaks, bison, llamas and of course the infamous capybara. If you are looking to visit a zoo with many exotic animals with acres and acres of paddocks and cages then this is not the zoo for you. If you want to learn a few things about a few animals on a stroll through the park then this is a must-see!

The highlight of the day for my kids was definitely the Jamie Bell Adventure Playground. This playground was the dream of local resident, High Park neighbour and community builder Jamie Bell whose vision was realized when this playground opened in 1998. This natural playground, built to look like a castle, is a dreamland for children. It is busy on a long weekend, but all the parents and children were in such good spirits to be at this park on a beautiful day that the crowded scene did not seem to bother anyone.

My husband, David, does not like to walk in a straight line or ever take a direct path to his destination. He suggested we follow some of the nature trails on our way back to our car, and seeing that the park was busy with people and cars I followed his lead. We took a few wrong turns and tripped over a couple of tree roots, but it was a worth it. We walked through the off-leash dog area, which pleased my girls. At one point Julia saw three Chihuahuas, her favourite dog breed, and was thrilled to skip alongside them down the path.

We covered only a few of the 400 acres of High Park. I have yet to see the famous Sakura trees and their cherry blossoms in the spring or walk along the western shore of Grenadier Pond to see its ducks and geese. The french fries at concession stand #2, along Colborne Lodge Drive, are tasty, but that’s the only food I have consumed there. High Park is vast, with so many areas I really must explore.

So where to next as I continue my journey to be a tourist in my own city. I am open to suggestions. Comment here, post me an idea on Facebook or Tweet me @AliciaRichler.

August 4, 2017

Everybody Loves Friday Night

I know that the actual lyrics to this song are, “Everybody loves Saturday night.” Saturday night is fun, and it represents the middle of the weekend when many people can really let loose. But for me, it’s all about Friday night. That’s why I have changed the lyrics to, “Everybody loves Friday night.”

Before I explain why I l believe that everybody loves Friday night so much I think it’s important to give this wonderful folk song, written in 1957, its due. The inspiration for this song goes back to when Nigeria was a British colony, in the 1950’s. The Nigerian people were under curfew every night, and logically they were angry about this and protested. They won a partial victory, as the curfew was lifted one night each week – Saturday night. So, this is a song of celebration. I am sure you have heard it sung in many languages, including Nigerian, French, Spanish and Hebrew, to name a few.

Back to why I believe everybody loves Friday night. In many parts of the world, including where I live, in Canada, Friday is the end of the work and school week. It’s why the acronym, TGIF – thank goodness it’s Friday – is so popular. After a long and often stressful week, we can all rest our minds and bodies as the sun goes down and the weekend sets in.

For Jews Friday night represents the start of the Sabbath, which is celebrated every week in my house. It’s the one night that we always sit down together as a family for dinner, catch up on the week’s activities and take our time at the table. There is no rush to go anywhere, and it’s nice to just slow down. It doesn’t mean Friday night dinner is elegant or quiet – I have a very loud husband and three young and rambunctious children. Someone is always screaming, fighting or throwing some piece of dinner at someone else, but on Friday night it just doesn’t bother me as much.

Friday night is the start of the weekend, and I love the start of anything – like the start of a vacation or the start of the new school year (how many days until that happens?). There is something luscious about Friday night that I look forward to every week, and I savour every moment.

We have more family coming to visit us this weekend, and I have a fridge full of decadent food to feed them tonight. We are a big crowd for dinner, and in a few hours my house will be filled with people and the excitement of the weekend ahead. That’s why I believe that everybody loves Friday night.

August 3, 2017August 4, 2017

Where Did the Evening Go?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? You start the day fresh, with so many ideas and plans of what you will accomplish at work and at home. That brief will be completed and handed in to the boss, dinner will be cooked and on the table at 6:30 pm and all the laundry will be washed and folded. Oh, and you will go through that growing stack of paper on the table in the hall. At the office, you put out fires all day and the brief is left half-written. You pick up dinner on your way home and throw it on the table at 7:00. One load of laundry is left in the washer and the stack of paper has grown again. It’s 11:00 pm, you are exhausted and ask yourself, where did the evening go?

Are the days getting shorter or is my life just getting busier? With three young children and a new career and professional life developing I know I have big dreams. I know I can’t have it all, but at least I can try to accomplish many of the tasks on my list. It seems so easy every morning when I have energy and a cup of coffee in me to dream about everything I want to get done that day, that week and that month. By the end of the day, most days, I ask myself, where did the evening go?

Children really have a great talent of destroying an evening. That’s right I said it. My children are the loves of my life, but wow, I can’t get anything done when they are around. The baby, as cute as she is, monopolizes me and my time when I am home with her. By 5:00 pm, like a typical 14-month-old, Nessa is whiny and crabby and claws at my ankles like a pesky dog. Her seven-year-old sister, Julia, refuses to go to bed lately, claiming there is no bedtime during summer vacation. My husband has been getting home from work late often, so dinner is only cleaned up after 8:00 pm.

By 9:00 pm dinner is usually cleaned up, the baby is usually asleep in her crib and there are only a few toys left on the family room floor. Julia is still running around the house screaming she is not tired and I may have remembered to put a load in the laundry.

When we hit 10:00 pm sometimes Julia has fallen over unconscious on a chair or the couch and I tidy up around her. Now it’s time to get lunches ready for the next day, send the daily email or letter to camp so that Matthew doesn’t think I don’t love him and switch over the laundry (if I remember that I put a load in in the first place).

At 11:00 pm my brain has fallen asleep but I think my body is still in motion. Maybe I will have a snack or take a shower. Maybe I will tidy Julia’s supremely messy room as she is still asleep on the living room chair. Then the baby wakes up and she is screaming and telling me I am a terrible mother for leaving her in her crib in that dark horrible room.

Where did the evening go? That’s where my evening went. Forget preparing for the next day’s blog post or going through that large stack of paper on the table, reading the next chapter of my book, catching up on old episodes of House Hunters on HGTV or cleaning the fridge.

And the next morning, as I wake up fresh and ready for the day I ask myself as I think about the day before, where did the evening go? And I tell myself that that won’t happen today because today is a new day and I will accomplish everything I set out to do. I will keep thinking that way because one day I will come through on my promise and one evening I will prepare the next day’s blog post, go through that large stack of paper on the table, read the next chapter of my book, catch up on old episodes of House Hunters and clean the fridge. When will that day happen?

August 2, 2017

My Local Sports Broadcast Crew Must be a Homer

Kinetic Motions is back to Sports Wednesday today. My son, Matthew, was my inspiration to devote at least one day each week to sports or a sports-related topic, and it’s challenging to be inspired with my muse away at camp. It did not occur to me that when Matthew is not home that there’s no one with whom to discuss strikeouts, trades and off-season signings. I have only, the internet, radio and television to get my sports fix, and that is just not sufficient.

And speaking of sports and radio and television, it occurred to me last night, while I watched the Blue Jays’ game on Sportsnet, that there is something comforting about listening or watching your home team’s broadcast. What do I mean by that? I will explain.

When I went to journalism school I learned that to be a good producer, writer or reporter, I had to be fair and unbiased. It was imperative to tell all sides of the story and be objective. But, that’s not the case in sports media, and it’s something I love about it.

When I flip on the radio or turn on my television for my local team’s hockey, baseball or basketball game, I expect the broadcast crew to be homers. Sports is about passion and excitement. If the play-by-play person didn’t shriek with delight when a goal is scored or a grand slam home run happens I would be terribly disappointed and would be less interested in listening or watching the broadcast.

I look forward to hearing Jerry Howarth’s “And there she goes” or Buck Martinez excitedly yelling, “get up ball” as he just wishes for the ball to jump over the outfield fence. I grew up listening to Joe Bowen screaming like a maniac “Holy Mackinaw” on the radio. Every city, large and small, with any kind of sports team, needs a play-by-play crew that roots for the home team.

The whole experience of watching the game is hugely enriched when the broadcast crew is a fan of the team. Last night, as I watched the Blue Jays game versus the Chicago White Sox, Rogers Sportsnet experienced some transmission issues. I don’t blame them – it happens sometimes, and it was clear they were trying everything humanly possible to get the game, with Buck and Pat, back on the screen.

While they worked on their technical issues they flipped a switch and aired the WGN broadcast of the game. WGN is a Chicago-based network, and it airs White Sox games. Naturally the play-by-play team were White Sox fans, and I felt almost empty and uncomfortable as I watched. My screen looked different, with the score and statistics graphics in a different location. While they were familiar with the Blue Jays players, they clearly did not know them personally like Buck and Pat do.

Every time the Sportsnet broadcast flashed on my screen I felt excited then disappointed again when WGN returned. Finally, the transmission issue was fixed late in the game, and I heard the familiar voice of Buck Martinez. I will admit that this was late at night and soon after I fell asleep and missed the rest of the game.

I’m a big sports fan, and it makes me happy that the people who broadcast the games I watch and listen to support my teams. They do a great job, and I love to listen to them and watch them. Speaking of which, there is an afternoon baseball game today, and as I sit at my desk and work I am looking forward to listen to Jerry and Joe on the radio, and maybe hear, “And there she goes” a few times. Maybe part way I will flip on my TV to hear Buck’s excited screams of “Get up Ball” as it sails over the left-field fence.

August 1, 2017

The Secrets of the Coffee Boutique

Ordering, brewing and drinking coffee has become an art form. For years, I was not interested at all in the beverage and preferred to consume only water and once in a while a cup of tea. When I was pregnant with my second child I became hooked on the taste of coffee and drank the odd decaffeinated drink. When I was pregnant with my third child I craved coffee and over the last year it has become a staple in my diet.

I don’t think I am unique in my change from scorning coffee to falling in love with it. It’s hard to walk more than a few steps in a big city without passing a large franchise like Starbucks, Second Cup or even Tim Hortons or a small boutique that offers its own exclusive roasted beans. Coffee is everywhere, and in a society that is always on the go, when we all feel there are not enough hours in the day, coffee has become our fuel.

I was at a party a couple of nights ago and this topic came up in the conversation. We were a lively group, enjoying a beautiful summer evening outdoors, so when one person pulled out his smartphone to share some Starbucks secrets with us we were game to hear.

Have you ever looked at the colour of your Starbucks barista’s apron? By the way, until a few years ago, had any of us ever heard the word “barista?” Starbucks recently revealed the meaning behind some special edition aprons. Most of us associate Starbucks with their signature green apron, but oh, there are other colours too!

If you see a rare purple apron, for example, you must be at a Starbucks in Europe, and it means your barista is a winner of the Europe, Middle East and Africa Barista Championship. In the United States, there is a Starbucks College Achievement Plan, and those graduates get a mortarboard embroidered on their green aprons. Then there’s the black apron, which is more common than the coveted purple in Europe, and it is given to baristas who are Coffee Masters.

So, I learned a Starbucks secret. Then I wondered, are there other coffee secrets? Are there secret menu items at my local coffee establishment to which I was not privy? A quick search on Google and I learned a few things.

I found an article from a few years ago from Yahoo that gave me some ideas of secret menu items that I will have to try. I like the “Red Eye” at Second Cup, which is their brewed coffee with a shot of espresso. Regulars at Starbucks sometimes order the “Marble Mocha Macchiato,” which is “white mocha on the bottom with no whip, shot on the top and mocha drizzle.” It is popular at Tim Hortons to order half-half drinks, such as a drink that is a half-brewed coffee and the other half cappuccino. The Yahoo article also mentions that officially, a “Double-Double” is not on the menu!

What are some other coffee secrets? Are there classified menu items that I should whisper to my barista the next time I visit my local café? I really would love to know. Post a comment here or on Facebook or tweet me @AliciaRichler.

July 31, 2017

Filling the House with Family

How many members of your family – or your spouse’s family – have you crammed into your home in one day, one evening or one weekend? The most relatives I have ever hosted for dinner was 32, and Holiday meals at my house average 25 people. I have hosted parties for family or friends with dozens of people too. But how many of these relatives have stayed at your house overnight?

Each year, throughout the summer, my husband, David, and I host a ton of close family who are visiting from overseas. So, when I say we “host” I mean we cram in various family members for days at a time into our house. David’s family lives all over the world, from faraway places like Israel and New Zealand to various towns in Ontario like Peterborough and London. Their main destination is the family’s beloved country home in Saint-Donat, Quebec (details on that house coming in a future post). But they also enjoy some big-city fun, BBQ steak and a visit to our home while they are in Canada.

Once in a while we will host a few relatives, but usually when one plans a visit they line up behind him or her and come along too. In the summer of 2014, just after we moved into our current home, I believe we crammed 12 or 13 people into the house for four days. I had people sleeping on couches, a futon, a couple of beds and even the floor. There were toys, clothes and scraps of food everywhere. My fridge overflowed with food and emptied every few hours, and we gave our stove and oven a good workout. There was screaming and whispering and tears and laughter.

This week was the start of our annual summer hosting of David’s family, and this weekend we were a rowdy group of 8 people in the house. We made full use of our spacious home, with people sleeping on the futon, a couch, beds and even the floor. I cooked from all the food groups, starting with a huge steak and chicken BBQ dinner on Friday night, and the festivities came to a crescendo Sunday night with my first-ever attempt at fish and chips.

Family will continue to arrive and depart Canada in the coming weeks, and most of them will make a stop at our house. Next weekend David’s sisters are joining us, then a few days later his brother arrives. Each guest is different, and as is the case with all of us (including me, David and our children!), everyone has their quirks. Some are cleaner and tidier than others, some are loud while others are quiet, but one thing is clear – they all like to eat!

Now don’t get me wrong – I enjoy hosting family, and I love to cook for a crowd. In particular, I like to cook for a crowd who appreciates food and like to eat. David and I look forward to the summer visits from various relatives, and we carefully plan our menus, sleeping arrangements and activities. But of course, it’s a lot of work, especially when our house is crammed with people for days.

This weekend’s relatives have moved on to other destinations and for a few days the house is quiet with only me, David and our girls at home. We will open our home again this coming weekend to family, find various places for them to sleep and fill the fridge with wondrous delights. Then we will come up for air, jump back in for another weekend, until it’s our turn to make our way to Saint-Donat and join the throngs of family along the shores of Lake Archembault.

July is almost over and as usual summer is flying by too fast. It’s nice to know that we can always count on visits from family to enrich the season. We feel blessed to have a large family who actually want to spend time together year after year, and we look forward to hosting them for years to come.

July 28, 2017

Will Canada Ever have a Real Child Care Program?

“Canada succeeds when women and girls are given opportunities to succeed.” This was part of a statement I read by a spokesperson at the Canadian Department of Social Development. On its own I agree wholeheartedly with this statement, and I believe that the current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is a strong advocate of advancing the role of women in our society. However, while women and girls have more opportunities than ever to be educated and follow the career path of their choice, when they become mothers they have few choices for child care.

Our government is not doing enough to support educated and ambitious women who want to continue to pursue their career goals once they become mothers. Limited funds have been allocated to help Canadian families pay for the exorbitant cost of child care.

This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that the Government of Canada could spend $8 billion annually to help families reduce the cost of child care. Not only that, according to the IMF, this program would pay for itself, with more women going back into the workforce, contributing to the economy and paying more income tax.

I’m not going to analyze and discuss all the pros and cons of this specific idea brought forward by the IMF. I’m not a finance expert and have not read the full report. But I’m glad the report re-energized the conversation about the very high cost of child care.

In this year’s budget the federal government announced a new child care benefit plan, with money paid directly to families. The amount a family received was based on their income from the previous year. With this new initiative, lower income families, logically, receive the greatest amount of money. It is explained well in a Toronto Star article published on July 26:

“The $23-billion-a-year benefit is worth up to $6,400 annually for a child under six, and up to $5,400 a year for children six to 17. The benefit is income tested, meaning that the less a family earns, the more it receives in benefits per child.

“The IMF says the benefit doesn’t provide incentives for parents to work or get job training.

“The effect on low-income families may be the largest, with the IMF team calculating that they would see their finances worsen if both parents work due as a result of a reduction in the child benefit, increases in taxes, and covering the high cost of child care. Middle and high-income families see their finances improve or not change at all if both parents work, the report says.”

I definitely agree that the high cost of child care is encouraging women in low income families to just stay home. They get little financial benefit from working, often long hours, and paying someone else to care for their children.

However, while the financial benefit is significant in middle to higher income families when both parents work, the high cost of child care does take a hit on the overall financial situation of the family.

Middle income families in Canada are often faced with big expenses, such as a mortgage, carrying costs to run a home and the general cost of raising children (other than child care). The two incomes are necessary to pay the bills, and the added, often large child care expense, takes its toll. For a family with two or sometimes three young children, the child care bill can easily balloon to well over $2,000 per month, which represents a significant percentage of any salary.

I was lucky to find good, safe child care programs for my first two children, who thrived in daycare and full-day preschool. They attended full-day programs from the age of 12 months so that I could continue to work and contribute to the finances of my family. But it was very expensive.

My life has changed since my third child was born, and I am no longer in a full-time job (something I have discussed quite openly in previous posts). I do not need a full-time daycare program right now and am blessed to have the most wonderful and loving child care support part-time in my home for the baby. Right now, as I find my way in my career, I continue to balance my desire to work and earn an income with the cost of paying someone to be with my children when I do work.

It is a challenge that thousands of Canadian women are facing, and unless our government steps up to support young families, it is a challenge we will face for years to come.

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017

Life can be Beautiful

It begins with Carole King sitting in front of a grand piano speaking to the audience. She tells us that life doesn’t always go the way we plan. It’s what we do with where life takes us that can make it so beautiful. Then she sings So far away.

Last night at the theatre I felt like Carole King, played so eloquently by Chilina Kennedy, was speaking directly to me. Besides the fact that this play, Beautiful, was one of the best I have seen in a long time, with great music and a strong story, it got me thinking about the path I have taken in my own life.

Young Carol Klein was a brilliant and talented young woman who convinced a record producer to buy her song, at age 16. She was on a career path to become a teacher but instead became a composer, a lyricist, a singer and ultimately one of the greatest female artists of the past 50 years.

While it was never my dream to join the music industry (I play piano, but not like Carole King!), Beautiful made me think about the dreams I didn’t pursue and the path I have taken in life. Have I followed my dreams, and even if I haven’t, am I happy with where I am and what I have accomplished?

As a teenager I attended a performing arts high school for one year, with a major in dance and a minor in drama. I loved theatre and acting and at the tender age of 14 had aspirations to follow that path. While I participated in dance and drama classes and directed camp and school plays I kept this dream to myself and never pursued this path.

At age 16, the same age that Carole King wrote It Might as Well Rain Until September, I experienced that moment in chemistry class, soon after I created Kinetic Man, which made me want to drop science and become a journalist. I loved to write, but again, I pushed the idea aside.

I guess you could say I considered myself to be a sensible person. Instead of following my instincts to be a member of the arts or media communities, as an actor, a writer, or a journalist, I went to university, on a path to be a doctor. I soon realized that being sensible wasn’t going to work for me, and I am happy I followed my dream to become a journalist.

I will admit that over the past 15 years my career and life path have traveled in various directions and gone off on sometimes unplanned tangents. If I look back at my 14 or 16-year-old self, would I be happy with where I am now?

I’m definitely writing, and this blog is fulfilling a dream I have had for over 10 years. It has taken me years and many jobs to figure out that my true path is writing. Will I write a book, contribute to a publication or see where this blog takes me? Right now, I don’t know. But I do know that no matter what path I follow I will make it beautiful.

July 26, 2017

The Wonders of the Hotel Breakfast Buffet

I traveled back from Halifax on Monday, and Tuesday was so busy that I did not have a chance to write and post. My apologies to anyone who was looking forward to Sports Wednesday today, which will not happen this week. Instead I have a few more thoughts from my trip to the Maritimes. As you can imagine from the title of today’s post, it’s about the wonders of the hotel breakfast buffet.

As I ate breakfast on Monday morning, with an overflowing plate of delicious goodies in front of me I started to think about the various hotel breakfast buffets I have enjoyed over the years. When I travel, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially when I stay at a hotel which rolls out a vast breakfast buffet.

When I am at home breakfast often consists of a bagel with cream cheese, yoghurt with fruit and granola, or if I am in a rush sometimes it’s just a banana. I’m really not much of a breakfast eater, mainly because of laziness. But when I stay at a hotel that offers a breakfast buffet suddenly I become an eager breakfast eater and dive right in.

Unfortunately, it did not occur to me to take photos of the various hotel breakfast buffets I have enjoyed over the years, but I will describe some of my favourites here to create a written picture.

Israeli hotels are known for their spectacular breakfast buffet. I remember the first time I laid eyes on one, back in 1988. My family traveled to Israel, and on our first morning in Jerusalem, at the Moriah Hotel, we came upon a breakfast buffet that seemed a mile long. Chocolate pudding for breakfast?! I was in love. Over the years, as I stayed in numerous hotels across Israel I became an expert in cruising through the selection. One will find a vegetable area, with a choice of every kind of local produce, and of course a variety of fresh fruit too. Don’t miss the endless selection of dairy offerings, such as cheeses, yoghurts and creams. There is fish for those who enjoy it and various kinds of pastry and cakes.

I also recall the English hotel breakfast buffet that I enjoyed in London over ten years ago. When my husband and I arrived on a cold December day our hotel realized it had made an error and did not have a room for us for the first night. They moved us to another establishment nearby which was huge and basic but did offer a breakfast buffet. I remember how heavy the food was, with a lot of eggs and meat choices. That was the first time I saw (but did not eat!) Black Pudding. Not for me.

Then there’s the beautiful breakfast buffet offered at the Westin Nova Scotian in downtown Halifax, where we stayed this past weekend. We stay here every summer and always look forward to breakfast. It is elegant and tasty, with many choices for adults and children. It offers many of the typical foods one would see at any North American hotel like scrambled eggs and bacon, pastries, fruit, cheeses and cereal. But what puts this one over the top is the chef who makes made-to-order omelettes and waffles (with whipped cream and chocolate sauce if you want to indulge). Yes, we indulged.

My mother-in-law can’t stop raving about a hotel breakfast buffet she enjoyed in Paris this past winter. It even had fresh Japanese food. Our hotel in Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands ten years ago also had some unique food, with plates of local pineapple and avocado. I am getting hungry just thinking about all these delicious hotel breakfast buffets!

As I do not have any photos of my favourite hotel breakfast buffet locations, please send me your photos and I will add them to this blog post. Post them to me on Facebook, tweet me @AliciaRichler or send an email to kineticmotions17@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing photos from your favourite hotel breakfast buffet.

July 24, 2017

There’s Nothing Like Maritime Hospitality

I’m sitting here late Sunday night writing this Monday post, hoping to get ahead before I fly back home to Toronto. I have a couple of the best chocolate chip cookies on a plate beside me, baked by the very special Cathy at Camp Kadimah. My husband and daughters are asleep behind me, tucked in to the comfortable beds in our hotel in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the end of a busy long weekend, filled with the very best in Maritime hospitality, good friends, close family, tasty food and of course our beloved Camp Kadimah.

For the last few years we have made the annual trek out to Atlantic Canada in late July to visit our son at camp. We have grown to love this part of Canada. Every time I land at the Halifax airport I feel energized, and as I walk off the plane and am greeted by some of the most cheery and friendly people in the world.

Halifax is one of my most favourite cities in the world. It has all the features of a big city, with shopping, restaurants, historical sites and trendy neighbourhoods but still retains a small-town feel. Getting around Halifax is easy and quick, and the downtown core has maintained its maritime essence. The famous Harbour Walk, along the boardwalk, runs north to south and is always crowded with both locals and tourists, all out enjoying the city.

When you visit a city year after year, in the same season, you start to feel at home and crave some of the local delicacies and treats. Our checklist included a visit to the historic Seaport Farmer’s Market that has been operating since 1750 (though not necessarily in the same location). We visit some of the same vendors each year to pick up picnic supplies to bring to camp, and it’s always easy to shed our cash and fill our basket.

There’s our daughter’s favourite spot along the boardwalk, the tugboat playground, which sits beside a famous wave sculpture. I love the sign beside the wave which says, “Please do not climb on the wave,” which is ignored by locals and tourists alike who love to climb and slide down.

Then there’s the food which we must sample every year, and woe is me if I miss out on anything on my list. I must have some fish and chips, a strong and high quality iced-coffee (the spot I love is under new management now but it’s still just as good), sushi from Momoya (up on Barrington Street) and the day is not complete without an ice cream from COWS. Other snacks and attractions may pop in here and there, but these are my staples.

The climax of our family’s annual summer weekend to Maritime Canada is the visit to Camp Kadimah. As I have mentioned in a couple of previous posts, overnight camp is a wonderful privilege shared by many children across the world, and the few hundred children who call Camp Kadimah home every summer know it’s a special place.

I get goose bumps and my eyes get teary every time I get my first glimpse of the camp. As the car goes around the bends in the road and the whole camp appears before my eyes, my excitement grows. As I saw the tanned smiling face on my son this morning I knew my trip was complete. Matthew ran to hug, hold and cuddle his baby sister, then we enjoyed a wonderful day at camp.

Camp Kadimah is the very essence of Maritime hospitality, with friendly faces and a welcoming spirit all around. It is the heart and soul of the Atlantic Jewish community, and I’m excited to be at camp next summer when Kadimah celebrates its 75^th anniversary. I’m sad my short trip is over, and I look forward to returning next summer when no doubt I will be greeted with yet more Maritime hospitality.