It was a very challenging, but enjoyable day. We took Dad's scooter, which weighs a ton and is very cumbersome, and our 2 bikes to the Pickering GO station, then loaded the cooler onto the back of the scooter and we boarded the train to Toronto. Dad had to go into the "handicap" coach, which was a struggle in itself as he does not know how to reverse and parallel park in a train, so we travelled with him sticking out into the aisle. I was not allowed to have my bike in the handicap coach, so Michael ended up taking 2 bikes into the next one down.
When we got downtown we had go down a level into the station, one at a time in the handicap elevator. A short distance to the ferry terminal, with Dad being very nervous, especially as we were on the wrong side of the road and hit an area of road works, so we had to go into the road for about 100 yards. Anyway, we soon got to the ferry terminal and met up with the kids and then boarded the ferry....
Once on the island Sandy found a lovely spot for us to picnic. On the edge of the water with a beautiful view of the city. Dad did not move and refused to go exploring on the scooter. He and Suzanne went for a short walk to a marina and back. The rest of the time he just sat in the scooter and dozed or ate lunch. At least he had somewhere comfortable to sit!
Then the return trek, when Dad went gaily heading off into the wrong direction, instead of waiting for us to direct him. Of course he is as deaf as a post, so he did not hear us yelling at him to stop. Once we got back onto the platform, we found the train waiting and Dad zoomed up the ramp, nearly shooting straight out the other side of the train, because he always pushes down on the "forward" lever insteading of lifting his thumb when he wants to stop. He would have been killed if I had not caught the scooter and yelled at him to stop. The opposite door of the train was open and there was about a foot drop down to the platform on the other side. The scooter would have landed right on top of him!
Even with the all the hassles, it was still a very pleasant day, especially as Michael and I rode from one end of the islands to the other and left Dad in the care of the kids. I got cooked and the next day, sported a very red nose and red arms. Poor Sandy forgot to bring a hat and sun screen. He is so fair that he had to stay under cover as he burns really easily.
The scooter came in very handy as we were able to put all our "luggage" on it. The cooler strapped very nicely onto the back, on top of the motor.
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