Family Day Outing

It was -6 degrees outside and a freezing cold Sunday morning. One would love to stay at home with blankets covered and sleep for hours. But destiny had something else in store for us. As I and my hubby got up in the morning, the first thought that came across our mind was to get ready and get going. We were excited. We packed our bags and an hour later, we were on our way to a destiny unknown.

Ashok, a good friend of ours, had planned to take us trekking to a nearby area - about 60km from Toronto. We met him at Downtown and headed towards Hanks for an awesome brunch. After a sumptuous meal, we headed towards our destination - We were on our way to Hamilton. On reaching the place, we grabbed some coffee and then started trekking. As we walked in the beauty of nature, we could hear slight sound of waterfalls. I turned towards Ashok and asked him- 'Are you taking us to a water fall?' He just smiled and said 'Have patience and discover your destination.' My curiosity knew no bounds. The roads were slippery but the weather was awesome and the experience of trekking was exhilarating. As we walked, the sound of the waterfall grew prominent. Finally, I saw the Falls from far.The view was mesmerizing.Ashok told us that the fall was privately owned and was called the Sherman Falls. The 17m high curtain waterfall in Ancaster Heights looked beautiful. We walked close to the Falls and the ice cold water ran a shiver down our spine. Ashok, who is a passionate Photographer and nature lover, started clicking pictures and we were busy posing. It was a fun experience and I was amazed to see Ashok's dedication towards nature. His pictures tell stories and each picture is a masterpiece.

After enjoying the falls and basking in the beauty of nature, we started moving towards the car and decided to get back to town.On our way back, Ashok took us to China town and the place reminded me of Hongkong. There were Chinese groceries, shops and restaurants everywhere. There was a beautiful Dragon Gate in the middle of the street. There were streetcars buzzing with people on the streets even at 9pm in the night. People seemed to be comfortable shopping and queuing outside those Chinese Restaurants. Chinese being my favourite cuisine, we decided to have dinner at a restaurant there. We had loads (yes!) of crab soup, shrimps and chicken. We chatted for hours, laughed and loved the food. Having had a great dinner, we realized that it got quite late and we said goodbye to Ashok and headed back home.

On reaching home, as I and my husband sat on the couch, we were all in praise for Ashok for planning such an awesome adventurous trip and convincing us to go out on a cold Sunday morning. Had we not gone out that day, we would have never explored the beauty of nature. We would have never known that there was beauty out there that needs to be admired.

So if I were to sum up my experiences about this trip, I learnt three things from Ashok

Explore the world: Ashok is a person who loves to explore the world. We should all have fun and go out and find out what is new. Had we sat at home watching TV or sleeping a few additional hours, we would have missed the fun.

Follow your passion: Ashok religiously follows his passion for photography and that makes him happy in life. We all have a passion but it is up to us to what extent we follow our passion and enjoy our life.

Live the moment: He knew we love Chinese food and he wanted to make sure that we lived the moment. He took us to a great resturant in China Town so that we could feel and live the Chinese experience. As we had a good laugh and enjoyed the food, we forgot about our worries of past and future.

Ash as we call him is a happy go lucky guy and having him as a friend is a gift for one and all.