sssshhhh! our little secret...

Wow, I've got quite a few posts up my sleeve with some practical info in them...but they continue to take a back seat to me getting my butt out of the chair, and away from the computer - especially now that summer is officially here!  So for now...they will just have to wait.  HowEVER...in the meantime, I thought I'd share a little secret with you.  

First of all, it was simply a glorious first-day-of-summer weekend in my neck of the woods - I sure hope it was the same for all of you!  I saw a LOT of variations of this little graphic ALL over social media this weekend:

Ain't it the truth!  :)  And to make it even better, I had the whole weekend off (I usually work every other Sunday).

On Saturday, I FINALLY had a chance to follow through with plans that we'd been trying to make happen since early January - to take my mom to lunch at the Good Earth bistro/winery for her birthday (I just wrote all about my love for that place here) - but were always stopped due to the horrid winter we just endured. Well, it was finally a simply gorgeous day, and we did it!  My sister and eldest daughter accompanied us as well:

L to R:  My mom, daughter, and sister

Apologies to my sister, who probably won't be happy about that photo of her, but you know how it is, trying to get a good shot of more than one person isn't easy!

Anyway, the day was gorgeous, as you can see:

And as usual, the food was superb, in flavour, and presentation.  Case in point - the charcuterie platter we shared as an appetizer:

And then there's my absolute favourite dessert, these scrummy fruit wontons with a dulce de leche dipping sauce (I know, I know...sugar, deep fried, but what can I say - it happens, people!):

Well, I could go on about how much I love this place (and I probably will in future posts!), but needless to say, it was a wonderful start to summer, and to the weekend.  Now, for that little secret...

Yesterday, Rob and I decided to take the bikes for another spin, and believe it or not, we headed back Niagara way.  We settled on the Niagara Falls to Fort Erie portion of Ontario's Waterfront Trail - and what can I say, the day was spectacular.  But the curious thing is - it was a summer Sunday, the weather was off-the-charts stunning, the location couldn't have been more sublime...but we were almost the ONLY ones on the trail....for 50 kilometres! (there and back):

This is A-OK by me - I am decidedly NOT fond of having to dodge other cyclists, roller-bladers, runners, walkers, cars, you name it, when out riding my bike.  It's not that I'm anti-social, it's just so much less stressful when you're on a bike not to have to worry about bumping into someone accidentally - or having them bump into you.

So it is with some hesitation that I write about this trail...because I'd like to keep it our little secret. Kidding. Not kidding. ;-)

Anyway, if you live in, or plan to visit Southern Ontario, and you're looking for a fantastic place to take your bike for a little tour of the Niagara region, I would highly recommend this trail.  It follows the Niagara river the whole way, to Fort Erie - so for the entire length of the trail you've got river views on one side, and some gorgeous swoon-worthy homes on the the other side, and quaint bridges over babbling brooks and creeks. You can take it as slow or as fast as you like - we took about 4 hours to do it, with stops along the way:

But don't just take my word for it - a few sights from our little bike tour:

Couldn't resist!  You know my love for Waterlogue...

My future home...(well, it actually was for sale...I can dream, can't I?)

French Chateau with river view, anyone?  This one was for sale too...

Happy campers cyclists!

After finishing the day with a well-deserved beer and a bite to eat on the patio at the Riverside Tavern in the charming little town of Chippawa, Ontario, we headed home as the sun set over Niagara Falls:

The American Falls

Mist at the edge of Horseshoe Falls (the "Canadian" Falls)

Sorry about the quality on those last two - drive-bys from my phone - but you can't come to Niagara and NOT drive past the falls...(well, maybe you can, if you've seen them a gajillion times before) - but they're always a sight to behold - it never gets old!  :) 

So all in all, not a bad way to kick off summer!  Hope everyone else had a spectacular start to the sunny season, doing what you love to do! :)  

P.S. See what I mean? - we literally had the whole trail to ourselves: