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After leaving Niagara Falls we drove west to spend a couple of days at St Catherine and Niagara on the Lake region.
Welland Canal ! The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment and bypass Niagara Falls through a series of 8 locks.
There is a museum and observation deck at LOCK 3. We totally lucked out that as soon as we arrived a ship was preparing to enter the lock. The Welland Canal locks lift and lower ships approx 50 feet by the force of gravity to fill or drain a lock moving about 20 million gallons of water. It takes only about 11 minutes to lift or lower a ship in a lock. So cool to watch the massive ship being lifted !
We also stopped at Lock 7 but there was not a ship in the lock or one expected soon. There is a schedule of ships but the slightest delay results in a big shift in times. We did like this interesting sign:
Port Dalhousie - Picturesque waterfront community on Lake Ontario with a small park and beach -- We have never been to Lake Ontario before so just made a quick stop to check it out. Very different than ocean beaches!!
Niagara on the Lake Wine Region ! There are so many wineries in this region and the country roads of orchards and vineyards made for a very scenic day. We had time to stop at a few wineries. The first stop was at Sunnybrook a small fruit winery-- they had the best peach wine and a unique maple apple wine. The next winery was a serious family owned establishment called Pillitteri Estate Winery. We took a tour at this winery seeing the vineyard and cellar. They provided several samples--- the region is known for the unique ICE WINE and it was spectacular. The last stop was at Ice House Winery that specializes in the ice wines and serve slushies which were very refreshing and tasty!
Ice Wine is a type of wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars do not freeze but the water does allowing for a more concentrated grape juice to develop. Ice Wine has a characteristic refreshing sweetness balanced by high acidity. Ice Wine production is risky -- the grapes may rot on the vine before there is a freeze. The grapes must be picked within a few hours, at a moment's notice on the first morning that is cold enough. This results in relatively small amount of ice wine being made worldwide. 75% of ice wine comes from Ontario.
Also in St Catharine's area we visited a small farmers market. We bought a small fruit basket and it included some different varieties of peaches that were great. The market was downtown and held in a very modern and bright pavilion.
In St Catherine's we stayed at Stone Mill Inn that was built in 1860 and was a cotton mill. It was a very comfortable and quiet place to stay. Nearby Niagara on the Lake is a very quaint town with lots of people & shopping options-- but we didn't have time or interest in spending too much time in shops! Of course I did find my way to a small quilt shop to visit- the Kindred Spirit quilt shop was filled with bright and happy fabric and the owner was very engaging - I picked up some fun Halloween fabric and pattern!
We enjoyed our few days in this region- but it was time to return to the US!