CN Tower and Hockey Hall of Fame

Anyone know where the CN Tower is?
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Apparently the CN Tower is the tallest completed freestanding building in the world and its observation platform is where Archie, Stan and I found ourselves this morning while Sam was at work. The ride up in the lift takes only 58 seconds but don't let that fool you, once there it is high. Oh yes, it is really, really high. And thin. Really thin. And I think that's why everyone who finds themselves up there is so unnerved. The big donut shaped observation deck seems too large for such a slender structure to maintain, as if a gust of wind or, indeed, too many birds landing on one side of it could send the whole thing tumbling. And poor Archie who is always the more reticent of the Bates clan, as with the canoing, motor boating and swimming in Parry Sound, took a lot of persuading just to get him to participate and into the lift.  Pressing his back against the wall of the lift and gripping my hand I knew my work was cut out if we were not to be on the same lift down without getting out. Bravely though he emerged and with my fingers white through lack of blood flow we managed to walk around and take in the views which were utterly breathtaking. The floor below the observation deck is where the famous glass floor is, and my how we had earlier scoffed as Sam told us that 3 years earlier she could not find the courage to walk on it. Archie, of course didn't even want to go and look at it but with some kind words ("Well just come and look at me and Stan standing on it...") and my considerable weight advantage he managed to make it down the flight of stairs to where a group of people stood around the edge of a very clear and bright hole in the floor, on top of which a couple of millimeters of plastic glass lay, separating  anyone fool enough to venture out onto it from a 1500ft fall to a very messy, and flat, death. Just standing next to it and looking over the edge made me feel completely queasy, with palms sweating more than when I used to watch those old Harold Lloyd films. I looked at Stan who was also as white as a sheet, gripped his hand and said "If you do it, I'll do it.....". But as we strained our necks over the precipice so as not to overbalance and smash through the flimsy plexiglass to our doom we knew we were not man (and boy) enough. I attempted a single foot, with no weight, but even me, with years of thrill seeking behind me (white water rafting, paragliding, parachuting, tiger-wrestling etc) had met my match. Resigned to a humiliating journey back to terra firma we looked around for Archie who we assumed we would have to pull off the wall like a velcro strap. No Archie. I looked at Stan, who shrugged. A few seconds of panic. Until that is I saw a small blond head bobbing up and down in front of an admiring crowd and, pushing my way through them, found my son taking the applause and beaming from ear to ear as he JOGGED back and forth on the glass floor. Fearlessly, to the ooohs and aaahs of his audience, and with some crazy pogo music playing in his head he bounded and bounced, testing the strength of his flimsy support shouting "Crack" every time he landed. A proud moment for any father. Perhaps. Anyway, it was Archie's time to coax Stan and I out of our comfort zones but he did it and eventually there we stood, shaking like two crack-heads going 'cold turkey' for our brief photo opportunities. Told by a man who supervises the area to focus on a single point below until my nerves calmed, I managed to focus only on the growing pool of urine collecting around my Crocs before grabbing the boys hands and sloshing to the nearest elevator down.

And finally, the Moonwalk!
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Oh, yes, the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. If you like ice hockey I'm sure it's great. If like us you don't know Wayne Gretzky from your elbow then the exit can't come soon enough, but we did get to see the Stanley cup. Great.