We finally made it over to Canada to visit with our friends Tom & Michelle, who had moved to St. Catharines from Toronto a few years ago. We tried to get up in summer of 2022, but life got in the way, so we swore that this year we would make it, and we did!
June 26
We drove from Boston to St. Catharines with little traffic but some rain squalls and were greeted with a party for the lakeside condo complex. It started out at the pool, but moved inside to Tom & Michelle’s place when the rain came. They live in a community of very interesting folks!
June 27
There was a good deal of rain in the forecast so we headed over to Niagara on the Lake where we got a walking tour of the cemetery there, as well as bits of history, much of which we had not known before. After a nice lunch we went over to the Niagara Power Station & Tunnel. This was an active hydro power station from 1905 to 2006, and is now a very impressive museum. The station takes water from above Niagara Falls, drops it through eleven turbines, and spills it out through a 2200 ft tunnel into the river just below the falls. The tunnel is open to visitors and ends in a new platform built at the end for one of the most impressive views of the falls.
June 28
The smoke that has been interfering with our outdoor activities far too often this summer reappeared this morning. We ended up going for a long walk wearing our N95 masks, and ended up for lunch at MJ’s Own Munchies, a burger shack with character. We ate well, but resisted the deep fried Oreos, Mars Bars, and (believe it or not) Twinkies. We were all pretty tired, so we cabbed it home and got down to napping. That evening we went out to a play by local playwright Norm Foster, known mostly for his comedies. This play, Outlaw, was less comedic and quite deep at times. Something of a murder mystery set in the old west. Well written and well performed. The venue was an old barn in Ball’s Falls. Before the show we hiked the short way up to the upper falls which are quite impressive.
June 29
The skies had cleared sufficiently that we ventured our first, and longest, bike ride. We headed up the Welland Canal, stopping at the St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3. We had the great fortune that one of the lake ships (huge! they carry the equivalent of 350 rail cars) happened to be arriving just as we arrived at the museum. We watched this huge freighter go through the lock, taking less than an hour from start to finish. And the lifting of the ship is all done with water, no power needed except to open and close valves. We continued up past several more locks and stopped for lunch in Welland, at a place called Taris on the Water. Excellent food and service. Ben broke a spoke on his rear wheel, so he tucked it back in and we headed back home, stopping occasionally as needed to re-seat the spoke. Ben dropped off the wheel to be fixed after ascertaining that Michelle’s old bike (she’s upgraded to an eBike) would work for rides in the meantime. That evening we went over to Hamilton to see a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. A friend of Tom and Michelle’s was in the choir, and the orchestra and soloists were mostly up and coming young musicians. We were in the front row and the baritone, who has the most solos in the piece, was directly in front of us as he sang. This young fellow, Nathan Keoughan, was absolutely amazing, with excellent voice and musicality.
June 30
Another mostly rainy day, so much spent quietly at home reading and chatting. We did take a walk down to Lakeside Park, where the pavilion is named in honor of Neil Peart, late drummer and lyricist of the Canadian stalwart band, Rush. He wrote a song in honor of his youth at Lakeside Park. Geddy Lee, Rush’s bassist, is quoted in wikipedia saying, “if I hear “Lakeside Park” on the radio I cringe. What a lousy song!”
July 1, Canada Day
When Ben had dropped off his wheel at the bike shop they has assured him that it would be ready Saturday morning at the latest, and they would be open even though it was Canada Day. Well, of course they weren’t. So Ben transferred the rear wheel from Michelle’s old bike, which had actually been a little too small, to his own, and most of the gears worked fine, so biking was back in business. The temperatures were running high, so we got an early start on the NotL loop, riding 33 miles including a beautiful downhill along the Niagara River into NotL where there was an arts and crafts fair in a park on the lake.
July 2
Sunday was another quiet day, with a walk through the park area near Martindale Pond, which was part of the first three Welland Canals. We hit up The Grist brewery for lunch and beer. We had excellent fish and ships, but were slightly appalled by the “tachos”, which are “Nachos with tater tots, pico de gallo, beans, corn, green onions, garlic aioli & triple cheddar blend” with optional meats added. The thing was the size of a small table, and a couple near us was having at it. Again a bit of napping in the afternoon, and some good conversation and trading of stories.
July 3
Another rainy morning, so we did a yoga session at home, then right after lunch the weather started to clear (ahead of schedule, according to the forecast) so we lit out on a shorter (19 mile) bike ride. In the evening we were joined by another neighbor couple to go over to Spirit in Niagara, which distills a variety of fruit liqueurs. They have a restaurant, and Monday was live music night, where three geezers played the blues. Despite the service being slow due to a staffing issue, the food was good and a fun time was had by all.
July 4
Independence Day in the US, but just another Tuesday in Canada. It being our last day in Canada, and perfect weather, at that, we decided to fill it with activities. The morning featured a 27 mile bike ride that took us up the Niagara Escarpment back to Ball’s Falls, then a lovely downhill back to St. Catharines. A quick lunch, then Kathy and Ben went over to the Niagara Rowing School onJordan Harbour to rent a tandem kayak and visit both the lake and the pond (called the harbour). We saw swans with their cygnets along with the old wreck on the lake side, and lots of birds on the pond. Back to St. Catharines to grab dinner from food trucks and listen to some live music at Lakeside Park.
July 5
We bid a sad goodbye to Tom and Michelle early in the morning and headed back home. An uneventful drive (the best kind) and then dinner with the kids, with Edie welcoming us back effusively.
It was the most wonderful trip. Tom and Michelle are consummate hosts, their house is super comfortable, and we found ways to do a wide variety of activities despite some weather and smoke issues.