IT'S MARCH BREAK!

Hey! It's March Break here in Canada! That means the kiddies in public and high school get a week's break from school! 
Many families are on their way somewhere warm(er) and sunny(er) than the Great White North. 

Sadly, for me, my kids are not at home anymore, but that did not stop me from getting in a little family time. So, although my March Break involves mostly working the 12-8 shift, we did get one day with our son Adrian. 

So, here in a nutshell, was my "March Break", one gray day in Hamilton.  

We had a surprisingly easy drive through Toronto and made it to Hamilton in excellent time. I don't know about other families, but our time together usually involves eating so we started off at a restaurant called "541". 

This restaurant is a unique spot. Food is simple and good with vegan and vegetarian options. I had a bowl of spicy red pepper and squash soup with a cappuccino.

But the cool thing about this place is the clientele, a mix of everyone from the upper crust to the struggling on the street. You can buy your meal and then to help someone else, you can buy "buttons". $1 = 1 button. You buy a button and it is deposited into a button jar. 

When someone comes in who doesn't have quite enough to buy a meal, they can use buttons from this jar!

It is a lovely pay-it-forward-kinda deal. Here is the website: http://fivefortyone.ca

The staff are friendly and go out of their way to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome. 

After a little face filling and people watching we went to  the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology. This place is a thing of beauty and watching the huge 70-ton steam engine pump and chug was incredible

This is a great spot for any child fascinated with engines!

After that, it was back to food - cause that is what we do. Adrian wanted to check out a Bakery he had seen in his travels so we headed there and loaded up on goodies. It's called the Cake and Loaf Bakery (www.cakeandloaf.ca) on Dundurn St. South. 

Two thumbs up! I ate the taffy tart - the WHOLE taffy tart myself.

Then we made our way down Locke Street to pick up some cheese to take home. But then we spotted this sign:

And it literally points down a small alley off the street. Adrian had heard about it so we headed down the alley to this little counter. 

You push a little bell and this fella pops is head out a door. 

"Fries please"

"That'll be $4" he says - all cloak and dagger like.

Then he disappears into the door and you just stand in the alley trying to stay warm. After a few minutes he pops back out of the door and drops these golden brown beauties, sprinkled with sea salt in front of you. I want you to know I did not "enhance" this photo in any way. 

A generous order, but you sorta feel like you are ordering contraband fries. And they are worth it!

So that was my March Break! Food fun and family. What are you all doing? Enjoy it!!