Torontopalooza

About a month or so ago, I got an email from Heather saying that she and John were coming up for a visit, so I jumped at the chance to go and meet them. I emailed some of our mutual bloggy buddies to join us, but some couldn't...so it ended up being Heather and John, Michelle and Mark, and Dolores and Shawn. We finally agreed on a place to go, so I called up Canyon Creek and made a reservation.

I was talking to a manager and made the reservation for eight people and I asked for a round table (so we don't have to yell to be heard). He asked me 'are you having a meeting?' so I said 'yes, kind of' and he said 'well we don't have a round table, but I'll see what I can do'. (I had visions of a man coming to the table with a saw and cutting the corners off it. :P)

To make a long story short, I got a call on Thursday night from someone else at the restaurant to confirm our reservations and she said 'and by the way, I just wanted to let you know that we've set you up with a private dining room'.

BONUS!

So we all met up last night (I've met Michelle and Mark and Dolores and Shawn before), but last night was the first time we met Heather and John...and it was like we'd known each other for years. We really hit it off!

When they said 'private dining room', they weren't kidding. When we sat down, someone said 'so, did anyone bring the minutes of the last meeting?' (we had to make it sound at least a little legitimate that we were actually using the room for a meeting). I think if we have another get together like this, I wouldn't hesitate to use Canyon Creek again...

I don't think we ordered our food for about an hour and a half (it was like the first time I met Nic and Tim...we just sat and talked...and talked...and talked). I also had to show them the invitation which, can only fully be appreciated once you see it in print. It was priceless seeing the guys reactions which were a combination of shock and awe, as they had no prior knowledge of it. We also had a discussion about who has the 'crazier' relatives...and I'm not sure who won that debate.

We finally got around to ordering appetizers and it's funny what people hear. When the waiter was asking if we wanted any, I swear I thought he said 'with a group this size, they're free.', so I thought 'hey great, let's get a couple!' It was only after he left to go back into the kitchen that someone said 'no, what he said was...with a group this size, get three.' Oops.

Since it was Heather and John's first time in T.O. (and only second time being north of the border), we decided to indulge and order a bottle of wine from the Niagara region. Josh is a bit of an oenophile, so he did the ordering for us.

I cannot confirm or deny if we partook in more libations over the course of the night...

We got our appetizers and we continued talking...and talking...and talking...and we decided to exchange gifts. Unfortunately, Michelle realized when they were halfway to the restaurant that her gift for Heather was sitting at the front door to her house. Oops.

Dolores and Shawn got me a very nice bead necklace and bracelet, and Heather and John got us a coffee mug with a picture of our header from our blog and a shovel keychain (so we can dig our very own hole to China). ;)

I loved how creative she was in her presents. I'm sure that my 'regular' readers already know that we're not getting anything for "Little Maple" until we get her referral, and it amazes me how considerate people are in their choices of gifts. Not that we expect anything from anyone when we meet them, but it's always nice to see how thoughtful everyone is.
This is a better view of the pressies. (Yes, Josh got on a chair to get that picture...what he won't do for you people...) Click on the pictures to get a better view of them.

We got to the restaurant at 7:00pm and didn't leave until 12:15am. We literally closed the place, we were the only table still occupied when we left (aside from some people sitting in the bar).

When we were saying our goodbyes, I said to Heather 'it's great to see you again' and had to backtrack and say 'it was great to MEET you.' After the wonderful evening I had with them (and everyone), it really felt like we had all known each other forever.