Leading up to the trip I was super anxious! I don't do so well with the "unknown" and driving in Canada and taking a Groupon vacation were both new experiences for me. For some reason I was imagining every worst case scenario: we get pulled over for not abiding by Canadian traffic laws and get arrested and sent to a foreign prison, something bad happens on the road and we have no one to call for help because our phones won't work, the hotel doesn't remember our reservation and we have to pay double, Groupon customers get the shoddy accommodations and we get stuck in a dirty, bug infested room...I could go on! I recognized this was a problem after I burst into tears just starting the trip as we were driving through Grabill and New Haven and I thought Zach was driving too fast and recklessly. Not a good way to start a trip :( We prayed for safety and for my anxieties and I tried my best to not criticize his driving ability.
The drive went as smoothly as it could! We didn't get lost and we didn't see a traffic cop once!! Once we made it to our hotel I started to get a little bit nervous again. They had our reservation but the hotel looked pretty sad as they were in the process of a major remodel (hence the Groupon deal). Our room was in the old part of the hotel and I immediately started noticing EVERYTHING nasty about it! When I was a kid I saw this news special on the cleanliness of hotel rooms and I've been paranoid ever since :/ There were spider webs, mysterious stains, and cough drop wrappers stuck in the sink drain...(what?!?) I became a stressed out, entitled, brat, compulsively apologizing for the bad hotel choice and for ruining his birthday weekend. Zach assured me the place was fine and the only thing that would ruin the weekend was if I kept making a big deal about it and didn't relax and let us have a nice time! If only I could let things go much more easily...
The next morning (Saturday) we got up and ate some breakfast (we did a great job of packing food to save money this trip)! We waited in the lobby to get picked up by our Winery Tours of Niagara guide who was going to drive us around to 4 different wineries for 5 hours! I had read online about this company and there were rave reviews about the experience so I decided it would be worth the money spent. What I neglected to remember/look into was that our Groupon purchase came with that couples package which included free wine tastings at wineries in the area. I was
We started at a world renowned winery called Pillitteri. It is family owned and run by an Italian immigrant family and they are most famous for their ice wines. Ice wines very popular in the Niagara area because of the low winter temperatures. Apparently, the longer a grape is on the vine, the sweeter the wine. Ice wine is made when the grape freezes on the vine for 2-3 days in -8/-12 degree weather. The nectar inside the mostly frozen grape is what makes the wine. This winery was beautiful and the design was very intentional to represent the family.
The next stop was a place called Konzleman, a German family owned winery. They're well known for their peach wine because the vineyards used to be a peach orchard. We were told that the wine maker is a purist and does not like being known for their fruit wine. Who cares, it was amazing! We bought a couple bottle and want to order more for friends :)
You can see tiny Toronto in the distance. Spring or summer would have been a much more beautiful time to visit Niagara but we enjoyed anyway :)
After Konzleman we took a break at Niagara on the Lake which had lots of shops and restaurants. We grabbed some lunch at a sandwich place and walked around. I wanted to buy a mug that would commemorate our trip (we collect coffee mugs from the places we visit) and settled on one from Starbucks that is a part of their destination collection and dropped one while we were waiting to check out. It shattered everywhere in front of all the customers. I was mortified. I have this problem of never wanting to attract attention and when you drop a ceramic cup on hardwood floor in a crowded coffee shop, you're going to attract attention. Had a hard time letting go of that not-so-fun experience for the rest of the afternoon :/
We hit up the last two wineries on the tour, Reif and Between the Lines, then got some chocolate at a chocolate factory nearby and were dropped off at our hotel. Overall we had a great day with our guide and the other two couples in our group and would highly recommend others to take a tour through them. We relaxed for a bit before heading to the Skylon Tower restaurant (another Groupon ;D) for a fancy dinner. The setting was perfect inside a revolving restaurant overlooking the falls but we were a little disappointed by how expensive it all was even with the Groupon. Definitely a tourist trap :/ I again profusely apologized for ruining the weekend, this time by blowing our budget. Zach was, as always, kind and forgiving :)
I think the lights weren't working right because this was as lit up as they got and then shut off soon after
Our plan was to swing by the falls Sunday morning before starting the 6 hour drive home but we decided to be adventurous and save time by walking down there after dinner and then leaving earlier than we planned so we could get home sooner. It was pretty chilly but being up close, even in the dark, was awesome.
We made it home in great time and took the American side home. I crossed two more states off my list of visiting all 50 (New York and Pennsylvania)! I got out of the car in New York at a gas station (it counts!) but we forgot to stop somewhere in PA so I could stand on PA soil :( Oh well, Philadelphia is on our list of places to visit someday ;)
Near Toledo we found a PF Changs! One of my favorite places! Zach let us stop there for dinner on the way home. The budget was already blown, might as well ;)
Happy Birthday, my love. Thanks for dealing with my unmet expectations for this trip and for loving me anyway ;) You were right, it was a great weekend and all the mishaps are now only fading memories!
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