My daughters, 15 and 17, and I took a road trip from Wisconsin to Toronto for spring break, with stops in Detroit and Niagara Falls. The border crossings in Detroit and Windsor were uneventful, although I was quite worried ahead of time. I had a notarized letter from my husband with permission to travel with our kids, but it wasn't asked for. We took the Ambassador Bridge (very tall and narrowed to one lane each way for construction) on the way there and the tunnel (only one lane in each direction) on the way back. The tunnel was less stressful since I’m a bit scared of heights and the speed limit was relatively low.
When I saw we'd be going through Detroit, I wanted to stop for the Detroit Institute of Arts to see the Diego Rivera murals in person. I am glad we did and the kids enjoyed it, too. I also enjoyed the Impressionist paintings and the Dutch paintings on the third floor, which a docent recommended.
In Toronto, exploring Casa Loma's grand furnishings, underground passage, and towers was a fun morning. We all found the secret cupboard and the room with Group of Seven paintings tucked away in a corner. It was amusing to think of the lady of the house hosting Girl Guides picnics.
Even with the dinosaur and mammal area under construction, there was a lot to see at the Royal Ontario Museum, although I made the mistake of not checking what time the cafe closed and trying to get a snack at 4:05. One of the kids and I really liked the arrangement of the birds exhibit - the taxidermied birds hang suspended as if flying in a flock of different species but it was frustrating to try to identify them.
We went shopping at the Eaton Center and on Spadina, as well as walking through The Well building to look at the architecture and alongside the lake near the CN Tower. It had been snowing lightly that morning, but was warm enough in the afternoon to walk along with a smoothie and bubble tea. Not gelato, but still satisfying.
Through booking.com, we stayed in Toronto at Town Inn Suites, near Bloor and Yonge on the northeast edge of downtown. It was clean and comfortable; the pictures on the website were pretty accurate. Having a sitting area and kitchen separate from the bedroom makes traveling with my kids less stressful. And I appreciated that there was a front desk attendant. I was glad to park the car and leave it when we got to Toronto, although the parking garage was very tight quarters and a steep slope in. We took the bus or subway or streetcar. The kids’ debit cards didn't work to tap for transit, so they each carried one of my credit cards.
The restaurant ONoir uses the basement of the hotel. They serve your meal in a completely dark room with wait staff who are blind and the kids wanted to try it, so we did. You turn your phone and all devices off. As we entered, the waiter had us place our right hands on the shoulder of the person in front and use our left hands to hold the door open and then walk along to our table. He then described that he was setting our water glasses on our left and so on. Part of the intent is to give some experience of what it is like to be blind. We managed to find our food and eat and even share bites and the food was pretty good. We still don't know for sure if the vegetable side was skinny green beans or what the filling was in the mystery dessert pie.
Other dining experiences included Storm Crow Manor, decorated for fantasy, Star Wars, and futuristic fandoms; Whiskful Thinking bakery; Mogouyan Hand Pulled Noodle; and Loaded where you start with perogies or poutine and then have vegetables or meat added on top. And Meltwich, a Canadian chain that my daughter says has the best vegan version of a crispy chicken sandwich; and plenty of carnivore food, too.