Day in the Niagara Region

After days and days and days of rain, Saturday morning of the long weekend dawned sunny and bright with only wispy white clouds in the crisp blue sky. Gloryoski! Not a single rain cloud was anywhere in sight.

After a delicious breakfast we set off for the Niagara Parkway and made our first stop at this Lilac Garden. The weather had delayed many of the blooms, but we still saw plenty of colour, and the fragrance was intoxicating. I took the picture below from the parking lot, looking up the main path through the garden.
This next picture is of AC at the top of the hill, and I am looking back towards the parking lot.
We wandered in and out amongst the bushes and drank in the aroma while taking picture after picture after picture.
Mixed in amongst the lilac bushes were this beauties.

From the lilac garden we continued on down the Parkway, but didn't go as far as Clifton Hill in the Falls area. That just didn't interest us this time. Instead we set our sites on the little Town of Niagara-On-the-Lake, and enjoyed a leisurely drive all along the river. We stopped for a picnic lunch along the way, and it was so hot and sunny I had to dig my sunhat out of the car, and wrap myself in a shawl to protect from sunburn. What a treat after all the rain we have had.
This was my view from the bench while I munched my lunch. Pretty huh?
We arrived at Niagara-on-the-Lake shortly after our picnic stop, and as we drove along the main street I kept thinking I saw a park up ahead, but as we approached each green area we discovered it was a private house, not a park. This happened over and over again. Sheesh, the houses were amazing.
We soon reached the shopping area, and I managed to pick up a trinket or two on our travels through the interesting shops. You can see some of the bling here on AC's blog.
There were lots of interesting things to see and do in this fabulous little town.
At the end of the day we returned to the Burlington area and enjoyed an early evening stroll along the water, and sat by the shore soaking in the last rays of sunshine being sent our way that day.
What a great day! Happy 42nd Anniversary to us.