Niagara-on-the-Lake

Apparently the awesomeness of the city had to be balanced out somehow, because today pretty much completely blows.

I left Toronto in a great mood, ready to drive out to the edge of Canada and see some effing natural wonders. Instead I spent my day as depicted at right. Notice the brakelights. And my safe following distance. Anyway.

My estimated-less-than-90-minutes drive did not quite go that way. Within minutes of starting down Queen Elizabeth Way (the highway I was to take all the way over), I was at a standstill. Around Burlington, they had a big LED sign reading QEW moving slow. Prepare to stop. Had I been in better spirits, I would have chuckled and snapped a picture, since I was stopped in view of it with plenty of time for photos. As it was, having been in traffic for over 2 hours and only getting 30 miles from Toronto, I shouted "Really?! Ya think?! You're FUCKING HILARIOUS!!" It was like that for the entire rest of the trip. All told, I drove for over 5 hours to get here.

In Seattle, I will drive far out of my way on side roads to avoid sitting in highway traffic. In unfamiliar towns, I don't have that option. Traffic is possibly the thing I hate most in the entire world.

My only sanity break was a brief stop off in a strip-mall town along an exit, where I made a burger and bathroom stop at Harvey's. No, HIMYM fans, I did not steal the tray. I'm not like that. Plus, the tray was blue, not orange. Who wants to collect that?

When I finally emerged from the QEW traffic nightmare, my Google directions misled me down a road through a couple of the various villages in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Evidently when they said turn right, then turn left, they meant follow the exit straight ahead for a minute, and it will take you directly into the hotel's parking lot. Oops. Anyway, my little detour wasn't so bad. It was pretty, and there was no traffic. So instead of immediately turning around, I drove for a few miles, seeing nothing but vineyards and farmhouses. I thought, "Fantastic! Wine! I love this place!"

Then I realized there really is nothing here but mile upon mile of wine grapes, with a few Bed and Breakfast inns hidden between. Seriously. I've never seen so many vineyards in one place. With nothing else around them. The few stores in this "town" closed at 5pm, shortly after I arrived. It sucks. I hate this place.

Niagara-on-the-Lake is not my cup of tea. Literally. I can't stand B&Bs or their bloody tea. Oh, am I cranky? All I can say is thank goodness there's a winery every 100 feet. Just as I was about to give up on this trip and run my rental car into the nearest tree, I spotted a tasting room still open at 6pm, at a winery called Pillitteri Estates. I popped in, and managed to pick up a lovely dry Cab-Merlot blend, and a wine key, on the cheap.

Yes, I am drinking it now. And lo, it is good. This day might just be salvageable.