Wine Country Tour Day 3

This is the last entry of a series from my Niagara on the Lake wine country tour. 

If you haven't read them yet, hop on over to entries for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 2 part 2. 

By Day 3, I had enough wine tasting.  

I hadn't slept well the past 2 nights, was a bit cranky and was longing to return home.  I was wondering how the kids were doing and if they were taking good care of the cats. 

Our early morning hotel checkout led us into a sunny, fresh Sunday.  We were bracing for the long drive to our next destination, The Waring House.  

We enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch, part of which I assume was prepared by the cookery school students.  Thank goodness there was no wine tasting scheduled.

After lunch, my elderly friend and I agreed to get some fresh air and shake down our meal with a stroll through the back gardens.

We noticed a relaxing porch setting to one side.  

She pointed out a lovely bunch of Lavender, brushed her hands over the flowers, gave the leaves a pinch and a sniff.  I was happy to finally experience Lavender in full bloom after a disappointing attempt earlier this summer.

My friend was contented to sit on one of the garden benches as I wandered off to explore and take photographs.  I promised to return in a few minutes and accompany her back indoors. 

I came upon a gazing ball.  As hard as I tried, I could not hide while taking this photo.

I came upon evidence of a party the night before.

I happened upon one of their vineyards. 

I located other group members near and in the gift shop where I browsed the wares then finally bought some tasty jams.  

I returned to retrieve my friend, to escort her up the steps then to a strategic seat near the front of the building. 

As we waited for boarding time at the front grounds, I took more photographs of trees and berries.  The clouds were moving in.  My head was throbbing again. 

It was time to board the bus and move on to the next destination.

The next stop on our tour was Waupoos estates winery in Prince Edward County. 

I was starting to lag behind the group.  The clouds were becoming thicker. My mid-section was still feeling thick from lunch and the dinner from the night before and...

My iPad took several photographs of the handsome winery tour guide's feet.  Sigh...

On a serendipitous note, I was intrigued by the estate's name which is the native word for Rabbit. 

I found it interesting, strange that the name of the last #winery is native for #Rabbit http://t.co/ap9GVWibUS http://t.co/8jrOBTnbgl
— Florence T Lyon (@FloTLyon) September 16, 2013

Apparently the natives called this area of Prince Edward County Waupoos due to the shape of this particular area of the island.  Thank you, Google and some guy named Archbishop Terry.

After our tour of the grounds and the cellars, we entered the gift shop.  I was tired and becoming overwhelmed by so many tourists in the shop. Go figure! I declined any offers for wine tasting yet purchased a variety of bottles as gifts since I still wanted to satisfy my family and friends' requests for Red and White wines.  I liked the names of Red Rabbit and White Rabbit.  I also liked the fact that the store offers free delivery if you purchase six or more bottles.  There was no way I was going to lug these to the bus and home somehow. 

We soon departed for a scenic tour, to visit a special place above the Bay of Quinte.

We arrived at an Ontario park called Lake on the Mountain where our driver carefully navigated the small parking lot. 

This was quite interesting.  We visited this little park where to the right and far below is the Bay of Quinte (notice the ferry), and to the left is a lake whose legend lives on with the natives and whose geological makeup is still a mystery.

At the Bay of Quinte lookout, I came upon another information centre plaque describing the Mills of Glenora.  

I suppose if I had more time and no timidity, I could have peered over the ledge to look for remaining buildings and learn more about this place called Glenora.  The best I could do was snap this photo, make a note to Google it then skitter back to the bus.  

Home sweet home

I was very happy to return home by taxi that Sunday evening, to see the kids and cats were in good form.  The "kids" were happy to see and taste the chocolatey treats I had brought them.  

You are likely glad to have reached the end of this journey too! 

So, did I meet my objectives for this tour?

1. Test out my travel legs (in preparation for longer, more distant adventures);
2. Meet new people;
3. Perform wine research;
4. Bring gifts back for family and friends who offered suggestions or made requests;
5. Post something interesting in this blog that people would read and comment on. 

Responses: 

1. I tested out my travel legs and confirmed that in future travels that I would want to have plenty of opportunities to stretch and walk around; 
2. I met many new people from whom I learned about other interesting locations for bus trips, cruises and overseas travel;
3. Ah, yes... Perform wine research.  Out of the three days and dozens of different wines we tested, I would say that I had plenty of time for research.  I will have to revisit some entries in the novel, applying factual information about orchards, vineyards and wine making in and around the region in the early 1970s. 
4. Oh, yes!  I brought gifts back for family and friends who offered suggestions or made requests.  I also had some delivered plus made notes for purchases at Ottawa area wine stores.
5. Post something interesting in this blog that people would read and comment on. 

On that last note, did you find this series and individual entries funny, interesting or inspiring? See the reaction check boxes below.  

If you enjoy my style of writing, you may like to read The Year of the Rabbit, a novel about fate, family and forgiveness, and hop on over to its related blog entries.  
 
Thanks for dropping by. 

Cheers and Bon Appétit! 

T