Day 34: Lubert family gathering in Elmira, Ontario and more shenanigans in Toronto

Miles driven to-date: 8,940
States visited to-date: 26
Canadian provinces visited to-date: 2

Today we drove about an hour an a half from Neil and Kersta’s apartment to the beautiful Toronto suburb of Elmira where my Uncle Ken and Aunt Marcia live. Besides having a chance to see family, I love visiting their town because many Mennonites live there. Mennonites are similar to the Amish and I think it’s neat to see their big farms and horse-drawn buggies.

We don’t have a chance to get together often enough with my Mom’s side of the family (her five siblings, all of my cousins, and my Grandma Pal) since they all live in Canada. We were therefore thrilled be able to participate in “Lubertpalooza 2006.” Aunt Sandy had kindly organized the day’s logistics and it was so nice of Ken, Marce, Jessie, and Jocey to host at their gorgeous home. We had a really great time!

Steve, Pal, and Bert chatted by the pool. It was a beautiful day – just perfect for a bar-b-q.

Uncle Ken wowed us with his mastery of the grill and we had yummy chicken, burgers, and pork in addition to fresh vegetables from local farms.

Jessie and Jocey modeled their new birthday hats from Aunt Sandy. You may recognize these two ladies as our flower girls!

Uncle Johnno and Aunt Lorraine brought my cousin Geoff’s 10 month-old baby Mia. Missy also stopped by and it was great to catch up.

The Campbell lads seemed to enjoy the trampoline . . . a lot!

Besides being filled to the brim with beautiful flowers, Ken and Marce’s backyard is a sports paradise. We all loved playing volleyball and swimming in the pool. In the winter, they turn their yard into a hockey rink.

It was wonderful to be able to see everyone and to relax in such a nice setting. Many, many thanks to everyone for the great company, food, and memories!

As the sun began to set, we headed back to Toronto to meet up with Neil, Kersta, Gray, and Mary again. We hung out for awhile at a bar-b-q that one of Neil’s friends hosted, and then we went back to a local sports bar for some fooseball and pool. The night wouldn’t have been complete without another round of 3:00am food so this time we headed to Pizza Pizza.

Thanks so much to Neil and Kersta for hosting us for a couple of great days in Toronto. Tomorrow we're off to Ottawa for our last stop during SoSA!