Sunset over Sandbanks Park

Part of out itinerary for our outing to Wellington was to photograph the sunset over Sandbanks Park after having dinner at Pomodoro. We weren't exactly successful in fulfilling our goal.

The traffic jam along the 401 on our way out set our whole schedule back. We arrived at the restaurant over half an hour later than planned and finished dinner with a similar time deficit.

According to Peter the sun was supposed to set at about 8:20 p.m. The route to the park from the restaurant is about 24 kilometres. The drive is supposed to take 25 minutes. We left the restaurant at around 8:00 p.m.

The race was on...

Peter's car took the lead again. He was the only person who knew where the "secret" sunset location was.

We had to make a big circle around West Lake on small, country roads to get to our destination. All the while helplessly watching the sun set lower and lower into the sky.

By the time we reached the lake shore it was too late. The sun had dipped fractionally below the horizon. We missed it by just a scant few minutes.

It still afforded us the opportunity to get a few decent shots in nevertheless. What we did see was pretty amazing - a pinky, orange hue reflecting off the scattered clouds in a dark blue sky.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Pomodoro Italian Restaurant in Wellington

The foodie group really lived up to its name this weekend. Doing the extraordinary for great food we made a 2-hour (each way), nearly 200 kilometre trek (each way again) out to Wellington (near Trenton/Belleville) to go to an Italian restaurant, Pomodoro, for dinner.

Out of the six of us, I believe it was just Peter and Janice who had gone there before. It was a first for Brenda, Gabe, Fiona and myself.

The plan was constantly in flux. We picked up Gabe right after texting him to see if he was available to go. He had just finished having dim sum with his family at Metro Square up in Markham.

Next we met Brenda along the way in the McDonald's parking lot off the 401 at Brock Road and Consumers Drive in Whitby. She lives out that way.

Since there were now six of us we split into two cars. Peter drove Fiona and Janice. Brenda took Gabe and I. Peter gave us a walkie talkie so both cars could keep in touch with one another.

The drive should have been uneventful, but it wasn't. As usual, there were idiot drivers out there. Before long we were waist deep in an awful traffic jam that blocked the eastbound 401. Stupid drivers running into one another.

At that point we were ahead of Peter. We radioed them and told them what was going on. In the jam they managed to catch up to us. They told us we should get off the highway and take a side street. We were in the left lane right by the exit as we saw them getting off. It was too late for us. We had already passed the off ramp. Now we were stuck.

Peter had made reservations for 5:30. It was already 5:00 and we were at least an hour away from the restaurant. We radioed Peter's car and suggested they call the restaurant to ask them to change our reservations to 6:30. They said they could only hold our table until 6:00. I guess they were quite busy.

Anyway, Peter's car managed to avoid most of the road problems and get to the restaurant by 6:00. We followed about 15 minutes later. Not too bad all things considered.

Pomodoro is not very large. It's quite nicely decorated though with its tin ceilings and mood lighting.

Currently they have their summer menu. From it we ordered a number of appetizers including the Caesar Salad - croutons, pancetta, medium boiled egg, reggiano; the Fritto Misto - vegetables, crispy calamari, shrimp, fish, wild leek aioli; and Antipasto Platter - marinated vegetables, olives, prosciutto, cheese, grilled bread if I remember correctly.

For the mains we ordered the Veal Parmesan and Spaghetti Pomodoro; the Slow Smoked pork with romesco sauce, grilled potatoes & vegetables, the Fresh Fusilli al forno with 4 oz. lobster tail,shrimp, scallop, tilapia, cheese sauce; and Spaghetti and Meatballs. Brenda ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio to go with our meal.

For dessert we had Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with strawberry compote, toasted walnuts; Chocolate Cake, with zabaglione, fruit compote; and Raspberry Semi Freddo with biscotti, raspberry sauce.

We shared everything. It was all very good.