Niagara On the Lake

  These pictures are from the last few hours in Canada. We definitely didn't stay long enough. Next time we visit Ohio, I want to drive the extra four hours North West of Ontario to Montreal! Aunt Paula says that makes you feel like you aren't even in North America anymore. She says everyone there speaks French, as that is their main language. I didn't know that either. There were a lot of people with stands set up, selling fruit and vegetables at the end of their driveways, once we got further into the town of Niagara on the Lake, and further away from the falls.

  We stopped at the winery called, Inniskillin, because Aunt Paula had some coupons for free tastings. The whole trip, even when we weren't in Canada, everywhere we went included a coupon. Even when we got ice cream! I liked that. I don't like wine, or anything alcoholic really (except a mudslide I think), so I just walked around and took pictures until they were done. I did share the pieces of dark chocolate that the server gave them to compliment the wine.

  This little church below was a small landmark that Aunt Paula wanted to stop by to show us. We were able to go inside and it looked like it would hold about 8 people, plus the priest and perhaps a bride and groom, if they were standing the whole time. I quickly found this blog, Captured Pieces, that shows a bride and groom who got married here and the photographer had to use a wide lens to get everyone in the picture at the same time.

  That week spending time with Jessica and her kids in Ohio reminded me that watching and hearing little kids pray is pretty much the greatest thing ever. (Plus that video I saw online of a dog praying before he ate his food.) I remember we visited them in Georgia one time when Jordyn was maybe 5 and during her prayers she added in to "pray for Rachel and Michael" even though nobody told her to. Oh my goodness, it was so sweet! And even though Peyton doesn't say many real words, when we all sit around the table for dinner, she puts her hands out for us to hold and looks very excited. When we prayed in Ohio Jeremy always got a big smile on his face, hearing us speak in unison. Mommy says its because they are little and still remember Heaven, hearing the angels pray. I like that thought.

  Those were some of the pictures I took from the car while driving through Niagara on the Lake. I didn't think about it until now how clean the car windows were! I wish we had more time in this area too, so we could have looked in the shops that they had, although I'm sure they would all be over priced. I just like looking at the things people make.

  Below you will see photos from another winery, Jackson-Triggs. We only stayed at that one for a few minutes, because the next tour wasn't until an hour later and we needed to stop for lunch so we could make our way back to Canfield, Ohio by 4pm. Aside from the rows and rows of wine grapes, they also had a vegetable garden in the front. We tried some of their blackberries- we were polite and ate the ones that had already fallen on the ground, eating only the clean side. 

 

  Fun fact: Canadians get their gas in liters, so the signs all read about 95 cents. I looked it up and there are 3.78 liters in a gallon, which equals to $3.59 per gallon in Canadian (or $2.78 American, which is kind of expensive since I think we're right around $2.00/gallon in Orlando).

  Some things that we did that I didn't take pictures of on my Canon (Mommy, Aunt Paula and Uncle Larry took pictures on their phones) were after we drove through the tiny town of Niagara on the Lake, we parked in between Battlefield of Fort George and Mississauga Beach, where Uncle Larry and I stood on the rocks. He helped me keep my balance while I took off my shoe and sock so I could say, "I have stood in Lake Ontario!!" The houses in that area were sooo cute and at least $400-600k ($309- 464k American) each even though some were about the size of our new house. 

  On our way to lunch, we stopped into Chocolate FX where I bought some granola that was on a great sale: Buy 1, Get 3 free! The Lawrenceville family restaurant they wanted to take us to was closed on Mondays, so we went to Tim Horton's  instead. The Greek salad I got was very yummy & I picked the Canadian Maple donut (instead of wedges) and it had surprise custard in the middle. My favorite!

  Before leaving Canada, we stopped into the Duty Free store where I bought baby Canada socks, just incase it was our first trip together. (It was not. The doctor confirmed that this past Monday that I am not pregnant and I've started taking medicine to regular my system to work the way it should be.) I was getting excited to plan a trip with Michael and our baby (a couple months after it's born, towards the end of my maternity leave, whenever that may be) to Vancouver, then visit various cities in Washington state and Oregon, like Portland. But Michael would rather put that money towards a deck in our backyard. *Le sigh* Goodbye Canada, you were wonderful!