So I Visited 4 WINERIES... No. Make that 5. Or was it 6? | Niagara-on-the-Lake... (50+ Photos)

Feel free to have a few glasses of wine before reading...

It's that time of year. You know, where we celebrate the harvest of grapes with our Grape and Wine Festivals and parades. It's also that time of year, more than ever, to sip and savour local wines at wineries across the Niagara Region. It was a gorgeous day so I thought I'd do the wine-tasting tour thing. I originally thought I visited 4 wineries but after looking through my pics, it appeared I visited 6 in one day - Konzelmann Estate Winery, Nomad at Hinterbrook Winery, Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery, Trius Winery, Stratus Vineyards Winery and Reif Estate Winery, all located in Niagara-on-the-lake.

It seemed the picture-taking got less and less too the more I visited each one.
As the day went on, I also found myself wanting more food than wine but anyhoo, let's get on with it.


KONZELMANN Estate Winery (17 Photos)

I drove by this place a million times and have never stopped in. It was time to check it out. It was fairly busy here when we arrived around 1:30pm.

I have to admit I'm not an oenophile (a connoisseur of wines). Hell, I'm not even a drinker but so? That doesn't mean I can't taste some fine homegrown wine.

Lucky for me, I had a few wine connoisseurs with me.

Port Dalhousie PIER MARINA, ST. CATHARINES (26 Photos)

We visited the marina a few weeks ago and the water levels were still high - but slowly receding.

Located approximately 9 miles west of the Niagara River and adjacent to the beautiful old town of Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines, Ontario, Port Dalhousie Pier Marina is considered one of the premier and most popular marinas on the south shore of Lake Ontario and is always filled with boats from ports all over the great lakes.

I searched Google Maps to find images of what the marina looked like on better days... 

Google image by Paul Chak

Notice the benches?

VIDEO: Landscape of Nations Unveiling

After more than two hundred years the significant sacrifices and contributions made by First Nations during the War of 1812 will be permanently recognized. Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations and Native Allies Commemorative Memorial, a public artwork of deep meaning, exquisite beauty, and power was unveiled on the historic battlefield in Queenston Heights Park on Sunday, October 2, 2016.

VIDEO: Nature Sounds Captured at MALCOLMSON ECO PARK - St. Catharines

We visited the Malcolsom Eco Park in St. Catharines back in May 2015 – what a treat! We captured these actual background noises while filming by this small pond in the park.

(Scenery was ‘enhanced’ using YouTube special effects.)

Malcolmson Park is located on the north side of Lakeshore Road at Niagara Street. It is adjacent to the Welland Canal at Lock One. This unique park offers residents with an opportunity to explore and learn about our native flora and fauna. It contains the Malcolmson Eco Park and nature trails. The Welland Canal Parkway Trail and the Waterfront Trail both travel through this park. The park is located in the Grantham Ward. This park is 14.4 hectares.

Actual photos:

The Welland Canal - Drained (10+ Photos)

We took a walk down by the Welland Canal one Sunday and discovered it was drained. I was like, “OMG! It’s empty!” (Well not quite), but it was the first time I’ve actually seen it drained. They do this every winter to perform any kind of maintenance work on the canal. (Check out some old 2012 photos we discovered from The Globe and Mail, in a slide gallery further down below.)

The Welland Ship Canal is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean where ships, (carrying cargo or passengers), go through to by-pass Niagara Falls.

We’re used to seeing it in the summer time like this:

OFF-LEASH Dog Parks of Niagara

There are many parks to walk your dog in the Niagara area yet there are hardly any actual Dog Parks – places where our four-legged friends can run free and play off-leash in a controlled environment, (under the supervision of their owners, of course). In fact, currently there are only two leash-free dog areas in St. Catharines: Burgoyne Woods and Carol Disher Leash Free Dog Park at Catherine Street Park (see more photos below), and one in Niagara Falls.

We can thank former city councillor Carol Disher, for this.

Disher passed away in August 2015 but she realized the need for off-leash parks in the region and fought passionately for them.

“Of all the areas that she participated in and volunteered, one of the greatest accomplishments was initiating leash-free dog parks in the city,” Port Dalhousie Coun. Carlos Garcia said.

As a result, a leash-free park at Burgoyne Woods was opened in December 2006 and more recently, in honour of Carol, The Carol Disher Leash Free Dog Park located at Catherine Street Park...

A Visit to LAKESIDE PARK, Port Dalhousie – ST. CATHARINES (30+ Photos)

A popular park with the locals and the likes is Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie, a 1,500 feet of sandy beach, picnic area, concession stands, a carousel, playground equipment, dressing rooms, washrooms and parking area, pavilion, Waterfront Trail and the Port Dalhousie Harbour Walkway.

It’s been awhile since we’ve visited the old Harbour and Park. The weather was fine, around 24 °C on a bright, sunny day.

Prudhommes Antique & Flea Market - PART 2 - The BARN Opening

Back in late March, I posted my visit to Prudhommes Antique & Flea Market – but that was before they opened up another area – the barn. Manager, Leroy, recently contacted me to let me know it was now open, so I went over to check it out and just as before, I was there for over a couple of hours just in that barn because there were so many awesome things to see – and talk about!

The vendors, as usual, greeted me with their friendly smiles and couldn’t wait to show me all the stuff they had, and boy, did they have stuff! There are three levels in the barn and no space was spared.

Between all three buildings, (the two houses and now the barn) there are a total of 50 vendors that gather each week from Thursday – Sunday to sell their items. They even open on holiday Mondays so if you’re bored and have nothing to do, head on over there.

One can learn so much at these flea markets, especially from the older generation of vendors that have been collecting all their lives and listening to them tell their stories about how they came upon their items is just as intriguing as the items themselves. You almost get the feeling they were there to ‘show off’ their collections instead of selling them. ☺

As usual, I took tons of pictures. So many pictures that I had to break all 3 levels up into separate galleries, so take your time and go through each one.


First Level:

We entered the first level from the south-side of the building and the rusticness of the woodwork, which is seen throughout the entire barn – all the way up to the attic, gives it a warm, inviting feeling.

Jaycee Park - Port Dalhousie, ST. CATHARINES (50+ Photos)

Jaycee park is one of St.Catharine’s largest parks located in Port Dalhousie, with about 8 hectares of landscapes consisting of many different flowers, trees and lush green grass.

It’s one of many parks in the St. Catharines region within the Niagara Area, which allows you to escape the city even though you’re still IN the city.

Prudhommes Antique & Flea Market – VINELAND (In Photos)

(See Part 2 – “The BARN Opening”.)

If you love antiques, bargain hunting, looking for that special collectible item or just plain love the thrill of this whole experience, this is the place for you!

Located on the North Service Road, just off the Victoria Avenue exit of the QEW highway, there are two houses that can be seen – one an old Victorian mansion and both with the signs ‘ANTIQUES’ placed on them. It’s the Prudhommes Antique & Flea Market and even though it’s open all year round, you get to experience even more when you visit during the summer.

During the summer months, there are an additional 12 small outdoor cabins that are opened up which makes the atmosphere for visitors even more pleasant as the beautiful Lake Ontario can be seen in the background.

Driving into the market, you could see the vendors with their merchandise set up on the lawn. I must admit, I wasn’t really into antiques (as I get older, I’m starting to appreciate them more and more), but I was nevertheless so excited! I thought to myself, who knows what one will find in a place like this!

Prudhommes Antique Market is home to 25 vendors offering a wide selection of antiques & collectibles from furniture, glass, china, jewelry, tools, music-related items to vintage clothing and signs… and everything in between!

DeCew Falls/Morning Star Mill/The Miller’s House – ST. CATHARINES

Summer came and went so fast and now that I have a moment to go through my summer pictures from last year, I came across some photos of our visit to Decew Falls and the Morning Star Mill.

Source: thecityofstcatharines

Upon our arrival at the mill, it almost felt like we had stepped back in time, and rightfully so. The mill, a heritage site, and a fully restored nineteenth-century gristmill gave us a rare glimpse back in time when moving water was used to mechanically grind grain into flour.

On the Mill’s sign it reads partially: ‘flour and feed – always on hand’.

The Falls along with the sign were two of the main things that initially caught our attention.

Immediately, I started to picture what it must have been like back then.

NIGHTMARES FEAR FACTORY - Niagara Falls (The REAL but Comical FACES OF FRIGHT)

It's that time again folks! So let the nightmares begin!

Traveller Photo by coastermeister courtesy of tripadvisor

The Nightmares Fear Factory is a haunted house attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario, (across from Casino Niagara) and is the oldest haunted house in North America in continuous operation.

I’m still gathering up the courage to enter this ‘two-time Niagara Falls Attraction of the Year‘ haunted house which is said to be THE scariest haunted house attraction in Niagara Falls.

It’s roughly a 15 minute walk-through attraction that preys on each visitor’s fears and phobias. 15 minutes! That’s a long time folks to be in a constant nail-biting state of paranoia!

Nightmares Fear Factory
5631 Victoria Ave
Niagara Falls, ON
Go here to get directions.

As the story goes…
The haunted house is built on the site of the once industrious Cataract Coffin Factory where eccentric proprietor Abraham Mortimer dedicated every waking hour to surveying the progress of his domain.

At night, the old man was tormented and taunted by young hooligans. Abraham would chase the riff-raff from their pranks and dares. They always laughed at his threats… until one fateful night Abraham confronted a rowdy group of thrill-seekers. In the ensuing struggle, a stack of solid oak coffins overturned, and Abraham was crushed to death!

The guilty ran off and were never apprehended for their part in the gruesome murder.

Soon after the funeral, Abraham Mortimer’s coffin was found unearthed and empty!

To this day it is said, he walks the halls for revenge on those who dare trespass on his beloved, and now abandoned factory.

An ALL DAY Visit to Clifton Hill – NIAGARA FALLS (40+ Photos)

Next up on my continuing exploration of the Niagara Region is Clifton Hill – “The Fun At the Falls” street.  It’s the most exciting stretch of street and one of the most famous in the Niagara Region, (and possibly the world), which I rarely get a chance to visit but when I do, I always get all giddy and excited like a child heading to an amusement park for the first time. It’s always so busy and bustling with tourists and attractions ANY time of the year and once there, I always feel like I’ve just entered another dimension.

The Skylon Tower – NIAGARA FALLS

Our visit to The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, was long overdue! We’ve passed it many, many times for many, many years and each time we did, we would always say, “One day we’ll have to go up there”. Finally we did… and it was great!

The Tower at night

We had dinner up there, at the Summit Suite Buffet and the view, as was expected, was spectacular. I’m usually deathly afraid of heights but the ride up the tower I found, was too short and I remember wishing it would have lasted longer. I think it took under a minute to get to the top!

As we were heading to the top, I remember asking the guy who was operating the elevator: “You’re probably tired of doing this everyday?”, to which he replied, “oh, you get used to it”. He later mentioned he did this roughly over 50 times or more a day!

We also asked if he’s ever gotten stuck in these elevators but he quickly told us “.. things happen, but it gets fix quick though.” It’s just like any other elevator – it has it’s good days and bad.

The Skylon Tower is an observation tower that overlooks both the American Falls, New York, and the larger Horseshoe Falls, Ontario, from the Canadian side of the Niagara River.

It was interesting to note, those yellow elevators were the first of its kind during the construction of the tower.

The St. Catharines KIWANIS AQUATICS CENTRE & LIBRARY (+ 30 Photos)

It’s been over 2 years since the opening of St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre, and its 7,000 square foot branch of the St.Catharines Public Library, the Dr. Huq Family Library Branch...

A Few Years Earlier...