LOGO : Site title

O n August 19th, 2004, I gave birth to my first child. My beautiful daughter Mia. Up until that point I lived the first 37 years of my life sans kids and pretty much did what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. But, things changed and I became a mommy. This meant a shift in finding new adventures with my brand-new daughter! Naturally the first few weeks were just trying to find a routine with this new bundle of joy and being totally housebound was taking its toll on me. At least Luc got to go to work and be amongst adults. So what's a new mommy to do in between feedings, diaper changes, crying interludes? Research fun things to do to get out of the house and feel like a normal human being again! That's what!

Casa Loma: scary, but in a fun way (photo by Mimi Choi)

I thought for our first big adventure it would be fun to take Mia to Casa Loma's Haunted Castle over the Hallowe'en weekend. Finding a costume for Mia was easy even at her tender age of almost 3 months. Luc and I turned her into a fluffy pink rabbit for the day and packed her up and headed over to the castle. Just one thing. I never thought to do any research to see if the castle had easy access for our stroller the size of a Cadillac and, to our surprise, Casa Loma did have a ramp outside for us to use to get into the castle. I specifically remember saying to Luc that I have been to Casa Loma many times and never noticed they had a ramp, and thank goodness they did. This meant one challenge was conquered successfully so we could start our adventure on the right foot 

Once in the castle we headed over to the Library to watch the Mad Scientist show that at that time was only a dollar extra on top of the admission price and well worth the fun. Obviously Mia had no clue what was going on, but Luc and I thought it was great how many families were out having a great time and how adorable all the children looked dressed up in their Hallowe'en costumes. At the end of the show we decided to tour the rest of the castle and see the other Hallowe'en-decked-out sections. Then it happened. We looked at all those stairs and I could tell Luc wasn't too thrilled to have to carry the stroller up and down. Then all of the sudden one the the actors all dressed up in Hallowe'en attire walking around the castle greeting guests told us that there was an elevator we could use. He said, just ask the regular staff and they would help us out. We did and it made our visit so much easier and much more pleasant. The idea was to have fun and not get stressed out. So by the end of our visit I can honestly say we were happy to visit again the following year when Mia was 14 months and she could fit into a giraffe costume and this time enjoy the Magic show....which of course amazed us adults too!!

This year Mia is 26 months and has a baby brother named Justin who will be 7 months when we do the Casa Loma Haunted Castle outing adventure. I guess you can say we will be making this an annual adventure, so we hope to see you out there as well. Until next time,

Happy Hallowe'en!!! 

Nearest subway stops:

Dupont (stairs from platform, escalator to street level; no elevator) - walk north (uphill) from subway to Davenport, take Baldwin Steps to east side of Casa Loma. This route is not recommended for people with mobility issues and may be challenging with a stroller.

At Davenport, you can walk west to stop lights and then turn north along Walmer Road and then west on Austin Terrace. This route is slightly less challenging, and it does not involve any stair climbing.

St. Clair West (escalator to street level) - walk east to Spadina Road, turn south (downhill) on Spadina Road to Austin Terrace. This route is longer than the one from Dupont, but it is entirely flat or comfortably downhill and more scenic. 

Casa Loma

1 Austin Terrace, Toronto

Parking available (not included in admission price)

For more information: www.casaloma.org.