I took a sock on a day trip this week, and got through part of a heel flap:
Eventually I had to give up. It's just too hard to be sure you've counted rows accurately in a moving car, over black stitches. But it was pretty great to have a flashback to the old days, when we'd get out of town and head somewhere nice...
... with a modest goal of some kind.
The modest goal this round? A purchase at Maple Leaf Fudge, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Fudge like no other! and that town is always so pretty. Niagara Parks spends a ton on gardening for the area, and Niagara-on-the-Lake is the showpiece. Check out this planting, one of a ton that line the strip between road and sidewalk:
There were visitors from Florida while we were there, and Texas too. I didn't ask if they'd brought knitting, though.
After we locked down our fudge, we went looking for a nice place for a picnic, and landed in a park where I found that cute metal bike atop a bike rack. Can you guess where? Here's another hint:
It got kinda cloudy where we were there - sorry for the dark image.
If you're from the Niagara area, like me, or have visited a lot, also like me, or if you've been hanging around Hugs for years and years, definitely like me, you will know that spire right away as Brock's Monument.
It really sticks up there, doesn't it! If you're driving up from Niagara-on-the-Lake, it looms over the edge of the escarpment, too.
When I was a kid there were concerts in the bandstand here at Queenston Heights, and my parents brought me along to them, but I also came on school trips and trips with houseguests.
Once I visited the wax museum in Niagara Falls where I saw a scene of General Brock dying in the battle that was fought here during the war of 1812. If I hadn't considered that the monument is a grave marker before, I sure did after. I also decided wax museums are too scary for me and my outsized imagination!
Compared to the thrills of Niagara Falls or the fudge of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Queenston Heights might seem like a bore, but as I realized on this most recent visit, it's really the spot I love most on these trips. I's a lovely wide space, with amazing views...
... and generous amenities for picnickers. It's often quiet, though, popular with locals and their dogs for a leisurely walk.
And it's a battlefield. Every time I go, I look down at the foliage softening the sides of the escarpment and think, people had to climb this with weapons in their hands to come into the various battles fought in this area in 1812 - maybe not exactly here, but close enough.
Here are some more pictures of the monument, which I find so striking:
And also, of the gorgeous flower beds, so carefully maintained:
We often think how nice it would be to live down here ourselves, and be able to pop over for walks through this park whenever we want. But I suppose if we did, we'd be dangerously close to Maple Leaf Fudge. Better just to visit.
Hope you did something nice this week! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next Saturday.
