Day 3 - Friday 5/5/2023 - Niagara Parks Power Station / Skylon Tower / More Niagara On The Lake Wineries
Slept in a bit (as this is a vacation for us from our 2 year old) but made a point to be more dressed and ready to go once breakfast came at 8:30. It was French toast with blueberries and bananas and a side of bacon. Excellent again! We really can not sing the praises of this airbnb more. We truly enjoyed it immensely. We left about 20 minutes earlier today and got to parking lot A at Table Rock right at Niagara Falls at 9:40 or so.
We took in the falls a bit and shopped at the gift shops once they opened at 10:00. We then headed to the Niagara Parks Power Station for a tour arriving at 10:30. The next guided tour was at 11 but we could probably squeeze in the tunnel portion while we waited. The tour basically had two parts, one was a guided tour of the facility itself and the other was an elevator ride down to the exit tunnel. You then walked the massive water exit tunnel to its exit at the base of the falls. A family of four (grandparent and parents) with an about 9 month old did the same and attempted the tunnel in the 30 minutes we had. It took about 10 minutes to walk the tunnel to the base of the falls so it was doable in 30 minutes. The tunnel was massive and completely lined in brick! It was what carried all of the water that spun the electric turbines of the power station, back to the river. Really neat experience! We arrived just slightly late for the tour but no harm. The tour of the power station went about an hour and was very informative. We highly recommend doing the power station and doing the guided tour. We left just before noon.
We took in the falls a bit and shopped at the gift shops once they opened at 10:00. We then headed to the Niagara Parks Power Station for a tour arriving at 10:30. The next guided tour was at 11 but we could probably squeeze in the tunnel portion while we waited. The tour basically had two parts, one was a guided tour of the facility itself and the other was an elevator ride down to the exit tunnel. You then walked the massive water exit tunnel to its exit at the base of the falls. A family of four (grandparent and parents) with an about 9 month old did the same and attempted the tunnel in the 30 minutes we had. It took about 10 minutes to walk the tunnel to the base of the falls so it was doable in 30 minutes. The tunnel was massive and completely lined in brick! It was what carried all of the water that spun the electric turbines of the power station, back to the river. Really neat experience! We arrived just slightly late for the tour but no harm. The tour of the power station went about an hour and was very informative. We highly recommend doing the power station and doing the guided tour. We left just before noon.
We then headed to the Skylon Tower. It was a little walk up from the river but not too bad. It was the only time we actually ventured up into the casino / hotel area of Niagara, Canada. The Skylon Tower is a 'space needle' style observation tower in Niagara that has an observation deck as well as a restaurant. The views were great from 750ft up but the entire experience was disappointing. The supporting buildings we had to walk through were very dated and the entire thing seemed to bank on the great views to get you in it.
After that, we walked back to Table Rock. We took in the crest of Horseshoe Falls as we figured this would be the last time for this trip we would be there. We grabbed lunch there at Table Rock (split a burger and fries) and left right about 2:00 to head north to the wineries!
After that, we walked back to Table Rock. We took in the crest of Horseshoe Falls as we figured this would be the last time for this trip we would be there. We grabbed lunch there at Table Rock (split a burger and fries) and left right about 2:00 to head north to the wineries!
The day had cleared to a beautiful sunny day. We decided to do a quick stop at the Lailey Winery before our Peller tour at 3:00. Lailey was a fine winery but nothing of note. It didn't make our best of list but was a nice little winery.
Peller Estate Winery is one of the 'major' wineries in the area and has a massive, built up estate. We arrived slightly before our tour at 3:00. We gathered on their lawn and took in the sun. Our tour guide was doing his first for the season and did a great job. We got 4 tastings during the tour with the first being on the lawn. We then went to some of the near by vines before proceeding to a cellar area with another tasting. Then into their "ice bar" / freezer area to try their ice wine. (Don't remember where the fourth tasting was, maybe two on the lawn?) The tour at Peller was very nice and thorough though a little staged in the cellar. Though the ice bar was an obvious thing just for the tour / tourist it was neat. They let us sample a rose, a white a red and then an ice wine in their -10C ice bar. The estate was very beautiful.
Peller Estate Winery is one of the 'major' wineries in the area and has a massive, built up estate. We arrived slightly before our tour at 3:00. We gathered on their lawn and took in the sun. Our tour guide was doing his first for the season and did a great job. We got 4 tastings during the tour with the first being on the lawn. We then went to some of the near by vines before proceeding to a cellar area with another tasting. Then into their "ice bar" / freezer area to try their ice wine. (Don't remember where the fourth tasting was, maybe two on the lawn?) The tour at Peller was very nice and thorough though a little staged in the cellar. Though the ice bar was an obvious thing just for the tour / tourist it was neat. They let us sample a rose, a white a red and then an ice wine in their -10C ice bar. The estate was very beautiful.
It was about 4:00pm when we got done with Pellar. We set our sights on visiting Icellers Winery since we kept getting told they and Fat Heads Winery were both known to have really good red wines. This winery seemed the most start up / mom and pop of all of the ones we visited which isn't a bad thing. It reminded me of the smaller / startup breweries you visit. The reds were, in fact, very good there and we got a bottle of their aged rose to take home.
We then headed to Wayne Gretzky Estates for a bit of a change of pace as they did both wine and whiskey tastings along with having a restaurant. There we shared a tasting as well as some baked Brie and fig jam to snack on. I chose a maple whisky and a maple crème and Em got two reds again. Very good across the board. The Gretzky setup was on the level of Peller and was very built up and polished. The food was welcomed as most of the wineries didn't have many if any options. We walked over to Trius Winery but didn’t have much luck finding the tasting area and only their little shop.
By this time, it was getting late and we were hungry for an actual sit down meal. We considered just eating at Gretzky's but ended up driving down the road to The Garrison House for dinner arriving at 6:10. Really very good food but it took 2 hours to get it and eat. I had a shepards pie with lamb that apparently took a while to make. Em had a duck breast that was massive and delicious. I chose a beer and Em got a Fat Head red blend.
After dinner, we considered going to go see the falls lit up again but we were both tired so just headed back. We watched the first two episodes of the new Bridgerton series and called it a night close to 11. Another really nice day!
We then headed to Wayne Gretzky Estates for a bit of a change of pace as they did both wine and whiskey tastings along with having a restaurant. There we shared a tasting as well as some baked Brie and fig jam to snack on. I chose a maple whisky and a maple crème and Em got two reds again. Very good across the board. The Gretzky setup was on the level of Peller and was very built up and polished. The food was welcomed as most of the wineries didn't have many if any options. We walked over to Trius Winery but didn’t have much luck finding the tasting area and only their little shop.
By this time, it was getting late and we were hungry for an actual sit down meal. We considered just eating at Gretzky's but ended up driving down the road to The Garrison House for dinner arriving at 6:10. Really very good food but it took 2 hours to get it and eat. I had a shepards pie with lamb that apparently took a while to make. Em had a duck breast that was massive and delicious. I chose a beer and Em got a Fat Head red blend.
After dinner, we considered going to go see the falls lit up again but we were both tired so just headed back. We watched the first two episodes of the new Bridgerton series and called it a night close to 11. Another really nice day!
