Waterworks Park

Just across the river from where we were staying in St. Thomas was a local park--Waterworks Park. It was lovely!











There were picnic spots and what appeared to be a splash pad area in this park as well. School was not out for the summer yet in the area, so the splash pad was not running. A very lovely park to spend some time nonetheless!

I Spy

Things we spotted along the roadways of our trip.


Two of my favorites in one spot!


Clarkes Restaurant in Almyre proudly displays the fact that they have air conditioning! (Note: the town is in the midst of Amish and Mennonite settlers...so perhaps this explains things a bit.)


London Calling!

A plethora of great British pubs!


(Best fish & chips I've EVER eaten!!) Photos by DD


(First time I've had bangers & mash....but not the last!) Photo by DD


(Also serving the local brew from Railway City Brewery! I had the Iron Spike Copper Ale, while DH had the Seasonal Roundhaus Pilsner.)

St. Thomas Visitor's Center & Travel Information (photo by DD)


Also the site of the life-sized statue of Jumbo the Elephant.

1824

The old St. Thomas Church was built between 1822 and 1824.



It bears the crest of Queen Victoria at the back of the sanctuary and still flies the English flag. The church served the congregation until Trinity Anglican was completed in 1877. This church still has box pews which would have been rented by families. Also, Paul (the historical rennovation painter) pointed out the Prisoners' Box at the front of the church where each week those imprisoned at the local courthouse a few blocks away would be brought to church in shackles, climb the ladder to the prisoners' box, the ladder removed and they were...in essence...captive to the worship service each week.(I have to wonder how many lives were reformed in this manner?)





The church's cemetery has several storied graves, including the wife of a rector thought to have been a witch. (Her stone turned black, and continues to turn black after being cleaned to this day. When we were there, it was black!)

City of Murals

Along Talbot St. in downtown St. Thomas, Ontario.















These are just the murals along the main street through St. Thomas. The city has done a wonderful job of maintaining its historic buildings for a thriving downtown/"main street" business district! Interspersed along the way are greenspaces (called "parkettes") where people were actually congregating and enjoying time outdoors. I have a difficult time understanding why everyone thought it so odd that we would choose St. Thomas as a vacation destination!

Ports of Call, Part Two

I only shot a few photos when we stopped at Port Bruce. (Mostly because we ended up having lunch at a lakeside sandwhich shoppe and everyone was busy enjoying the food!)



Across the street from the lighthouse in Port Burwell (photo of said lighthouse in previous post!) there is a maritime museum. Only a block away (off the main street) is Port Burwell's public library which is housed in a historic little building. Here are a few scenes from Port Burwell.

Ports of Call

While in Ontario, we enjoyed some day trips to three port villages on the northern shore of Lake Erie. Today I am introducing Port Stanley. We visited Port Stanley twice. The beach was awesome! Also enjoyed a wonderful ice cream parlour and snapping shots of some of the historic buildings in town. The church here is a sister to the Old St. Thomas Church--and also built in the early 1800s. Enjoy!














(See photo below for explanation of this building!)

Northern Lights

Ok, not the aurora borealis, but a couple of lighthouses along the Great Lakes.

This is the lighthouse at Port Huron, on--oddly enough--Lake Huron.



And this is the Port Burwell Lighthouse on Lake Erie.


DD and I met the gentleman who painted this lighthouse. He does historical restoration painting on old buildings/historic structures and has worked in several countries. We met him at the Old St. Thomas Church where he was refurbishing the doors. We had a terrific visit with him and discovered we had seen a bunch of his work around the area. (More on that in another post.)


Here's a bit of historical info on the lighthouse at Port Burwell:

For the Daring

Want to view the Niagra River whirlpool rapids from above? If you are daring, be their guest! (The Aero Car is on the Canadian side of the river.)


(Click to enlarge the photo....and spot the car tire swirling around near the lower edge of the river. How all that debris got in there makes me shiver!)

Great Lakes

Four of the five Great Lakes comprising a portion of the border between the United States and Canada.

At Lake Michigan we saw the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. (It was 100*F that day.)





Then, it turned cold when we hit the shores of Lake Huron. Also, VERY windy, especially on the Canadian side which was getting the brunt of it.


(Spot the ship?)



This was our second visit to Lake Erie. (The first was ten years ago, 2001.)


The beach at Port Stanley, Ontario is wonderful! You won't even care that you got sun burned!

And finally, Lake Ontario--the most elusive of the Great Lakes for those of us living west of the Mississippi River!