Think about all the ways you can travel. It’s wild to think I can take a car from my house to the airport, get on a plane to a new city I’ve never been to, and then take a train to a hotel and venture out from there. When visiting Toronto, we didn’t even need to rent a car to explore the city. We took trolleys, trains, buses and even a boat.

We’ve taken public transit while traveling in London and Copenhagen, so my husband trusts me when I say we’re not renting a car (who wants to pay for hotel parking anyway?). Most airports in major cities are connected to downtown via public transport. A little extra legwork to map out a plan gives me peace of mind. The only moment of panic I feel is when we’re finding our way to the actual station platform. Once we get there, I know someone will be around to help us buy tickets if we need it. Plus, most vestibules now accept tapping your credit card, which is especially helpful when traveling abroad and using a currency you’re not familiar with.

Toronto has an entire train line dedicated to moving people between downtown and the airport, called the Union Pearson Express (UP Express). It’s only a 25-minute ride and costs less than $15, plus there are luggage racks and soft seats with trays that fold down in front of you. We stayed at the Toronto Marriott City Center, which is parallel to the train tracks leading to Union Station. There’s a path called the Skywalk that connects just outside the hotel, which is beside several popular tourist destinations, including the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, and the Rogers Centre where the Toronto Blue Jays play baseball—all within walking distance. Sometimes your feet are the best mode of transportation.

Lights up, let’s go

We crossed the single international baseball park off our Chasing 30 race this summer. The Toronto Blue Jays took on the Chicago Cubs at their baseball stadium during a hot week in August. This unique ballpark has a hotel physically built into it, making for a convenient stay for our family. It also has a fully retractable roof, which we could see moving from our hotel room.

It was $1 hot dog night at the game we attended. You could pledge how many hot dogs you were going to eat and write it down on a sign. 40,000 people who attended the game ate nearly 80,000 hot dogs. Wowza. Leigh ate ZERO. He’s a baseball fan who won’t eat hot dogs. Go figure.

We also reserved a table at Sportsnet Grill and watched the game from the floor-to-ceiling windows at the restaurant. This was a really unique experience. Surrounded by both Blue Jays and Cubs fans, we were able to relax in soft seats, snack on food and drinks without getting up and cheer on our team. They serve tasty nachoes and a delicious OId Fashioned cocktail with maple syrup. You need to book your table months ahead, so don’t miss out.

Good food, good time

As always, we did a lot more than go to ballgames, especially on Leigh’s first visit to Canada.

We saw the sights from the CN Tower, right next to our hotel. This structure is actually taller than the Sears Tower! And people were paying extra to dangle off the side of the tower. Sitting with my feet extended out in an enclosure was enough for me. I’m a bit scared of heights.

We took a train to the Royal Ontario Museum, called the ROM for short. “The record of nature through countless ages” was carved into the stone on the museum building. They offer a free guided group tour, which we did and it took us all around the museum.

We watched the sunset on a City Cruise boat tour. It was the perfect night for a leisurely ride on the lake. The moon was noticeably absent from the sky and rose after we docked at 10pm.

We DID NOT touch the Stanley Cup Trophy at the Hockey Hall of Fame. There’s lots of Chicago Blackhawks all over this place.

We hiked up a long, elevated walk to Casa Loma and toured a castle. This was probably the least exciting destination on our trip, but we bought the Toronto CityPass which included admission so we went.

We visited the Distillery District and St. Lawrence Market, two historic parts of town.

We were surrounded by an aquarium filled with sharks that have the sharpest teeth I’ve ever seen. There’s a slow-moving conveyor belt you stand on to keep people moving. It allows you to focus on the fish without worrying about walking into other people. This was the perfect late night activity – it was open until 9pm!

We ate from food trucks and local restaurants where we sampled plenty of poutine, which is french fries topped with cheese curds covered in gravy.

We even took a tour bus to Niagara Falls, with stops at an apparently world famous floral clock and a maple syrup tasting. The immersive boat tour that takes you into the falls to get soaking wet while wearing embarassingly bright colored ponchos is now called the Hornblower, formerly known as Maid of the Mist. This was the same ride Eric and I took when we visited nearly 20 years ago. We had more fun getting wet than Leigh did. Guess he’s not going over in the barrel.

Be a couragous traveler

They say if you can navigate public transportation in a foreign city, you can do anything.

It might be a false sense of security, but growing up in Chicago made me fearless when it comes to public transportation. I was very familiar with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which uses buses and trains (fondly referred to as the L for the “elevated” trains above ground), to get around the city. I didn’t even own my first car until I got a job in the suburbs that went beyond the CTA’s reach, and even then, I could take the Metra train. Traveling via public transportation is a sustainable, mostly traffic-free way to ride. And I love how this life skill makes me a more courageous traveler.