Monday, October 29, 2013 was sunny and a good day for a truck tour.
We packed our picnic lunch set the GPS for St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. The GPS lady took us on a route we had not driven before through the Escarpment area near Hamilton. From the 'Upper Middle' we had a good view Lake Ontario and Toronto. Before taking the Queen Elizabeth Freeway towards St. Catharines, the Niagara on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls.
This route was in the Niagara Escarpment & Twenty Valley Wine Country one of Ontario's best known region. We had many choices of Wineries to choose from to visit. In Beamville, we drove to the end of a road to Crown Bench Estates Winery.
The Hungarian-born owner was very informative and told use how they got started in 1999 after buying the winery that was developed in the 1960s. They have been accumulating international medals for the company’s VQA wines, including 16 won just this year. The artisan winery boasts some of the oldest plantings of “viniferas” (derived from a European grape, widely cultivated for making wine and raisins). in Niagara, including a 30-year-old block of Chardonnay. Some of the winery’s unique innovations include Ambrosia, a chocolate and Icewine combination; and Hot Ice, an infusion of hot peppers in Icewine.
We tasted a couple of wines and purchased two bottles for $75.25. We were given a map and were encouraged to take #81 through this region to get the feel of the environment and possibly visit more Winery Estates.
Shortly after we arrived St. Catharines. GPS lady gave out her route, which mixed us up. Randal had intended to go towards the coastal road and expected me to tell him which street to turn onto. Well, an argument pursued between us. Randal finally figured which street to take to the Lakeshore Road.
As we went under a large concrete counter balance for a draw bridge, we look toward the lake and saw a large ship in the canal below.
When we arrived at a bridge over the St. Lawrence Seaway-Welland Canal we saw the Algoma Mariner, a freighter coming through the locks.
We circled around and found a place to watch what we had never seen before. A ship being raised to a high part of the Welland Canal.
At the low water level only the top of the ship could be seen.
Using these winches and draw lines the shore crew we able to attach the ships control cables to post.
The ship was then floated higher and higher.
More and more could be seen.
It takes ten hours for a freighter to go through the Welland Canal. Two years ago this freighter was built in China. Wellington Canal was built in 1930s replacing three other wood structured ones.
There were new crew getting on board and others departing. The rest of the supplies were loaded before the bridge was raised and the ship moved to the upper west water way.
We had to relocate to the west side of the road to get a better view. A man who was also watching informed us of the history of the canal and the freighter.
We saw the freighter being raise in the lock, provisions being loaded and the street bridge raised for it to pass through and move down the canal.
Finally the ship cleared the first lock and moved on the the next one about a mile farther west.
It was an unexpected viewing.
After that we drove a few kilometres on the lake shore road to Niagara Falls. Stopped there and walked along the park across from the falls and took pictures. We met a young couple from Saskatchewan who where there on their honeymoon. We recognized them as Rider Fans from the cap he was wearing. She offered to take a picture of Randal and I with the falls in the back-ground.
Until next time remember to "Discover It and Live It".
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