Presque Isle, Northeast Wineries, Niagara Falls and Canada

Beautiful Lake Erie Sunset 

We just got back this week from our latest adventure to Lake Erie and Niagara Falls.  Wow!  What beauty and majestic views we were blessed with this past weekend.

We spent 4 days at Sara's Campground on Presque Isle in Erie, a small peninsula on the east shore of the lake.  This was our base for a whirlwind weekend filled with rain, beach glass hunting, wine tasting, a trip to a casino to meet Otto's co-worker, then Canada and the Falls and a finally a breakfast with our friends, Tony and Anne Scalise.

Lake Erie is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes and borders Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada.  It is a very large body of water (can't imagine 3 others larger!) and when sitting at the campsite Sunday night you could hear the waves splashing on the shore just like if you were at the beach.  The only thing missing was the salty smell in the air.  There is a pretty steady wind most days and during the winter the towns bordering the lake feel the bone-chilling result of the 'lake effect'  Weather was chilly and rainy, but Sunday we got a reprieve and experienced a marvelous day in the great North at Niagara Falls, Canada.

We scoured the shores on Saturday morning and Monday afternoon looking for 'beach glass' to increase my inventory for my sea glass creations.  Otto proved to be a worthy 'seeker' and found several lovely pieces to add to my collection.

Seems strange mulling through the sand with the fall leaves on the shore

Almost looks tropical!

On Saturday afternoon we headed to the town of North East PA for some wine tasting.  We plugged a few of the wineries into the GPS and away we went.  We tasted at South Shore (Mazza), Penn Shore, Lakeview and Presque Isle.  South Shore does not make wine any longer, they sell a variety of wines from other produces in this region, including Mazza which is the wine we liked.  South Shore is the site of a winery from the 1800's and has been restored and is pretty amazing.

Historic winery

South Shore Wine Company

The main floor and cellar have been restored using most of the original materials and was quite charming.  We purchased a dry, deep berry and peppery Cabernet here.  Next stop was Penn Shore, located right on the shore of the lake.  Fun tasting here, but nothing tickled our palates and the staff, not so friendly.  Then on to Lake View atop a hill with a view of the lake and gorgeous vineyards and trees of orange, brown and yellow.

South Shore Historic Cellar

Fun winery, but not so good on taste

Awesome location, friendly and fun staff

At Lakeview, we sampled a Cabernet that we both enjoyed and loved the friendly staff and fellow tasters who gave us info on the final winery of the day, Presque Isle.  We were told the winery served sandwiches and such and was situated along a beautiful creek on the highway back to Erie.  Just the place for us to end our journey along the wine trail!  We arrived and to our dismay, the winery had been moved to the top of the hill, losing the charm of the trees and creek.  Progress.  They needed more space I guess.

We began sampling and ran in to the same couple we had seen at the two previous wineries.  And, they were very apologetic about the winery's move.  (like they had something to do with it!)  Very nice couple though......

View from Lakeview winery, you can see the blue of Lake Erie
through the trees. 

View of the vineyard from the parking lot at Lakeview

After we left Lakeview, we stopped along the side of the
road to soak in this view of the vineyards and the lake below

At Presque Isle, we tried the crab chowder and salami and cheese plate.  Good stuff, Maynard!  Tastings were okay, nothing really hit us and we didn't buy, but enjoyed visiting with our new friends and sampling the different wines.  Plus, it had started raining pretty hard and we wanted to wait out the storm.  What better place then a winery to pass the time?

Once back at camp we had time for a quick bowl of chili and then on to Presque Isle Downs and Casino to meet one of Otto's co-worker and his wife.  They were in town for their son's soccer game in Hamburg, NY and were staying near the casino.  It was still raining, and we got lost but finally made it.  Had a nice visit, dropped $50 and headed back to camp to get some rest - headed to Niagara Falls in the morning.

Headed out early for Niagara and enjoyed the scenic drive up through New York and finally to the Canadian border.  Didn't take long to cross and we were there!  But, there was a half marathon that day and the roads were packed.  Took us an hour just to find a parking spot, but who cares we are at Niagara Falls.  Here's some of our first views of the falls.

Before crossing into Canada

What?

There's always a rainbow!

Horseshoe Falls

American Falls

Horseshoe Falls through the mist

US side of Horseshoe Falls through the mist

We walked along the path and stopped every few minutes just to take in the majesty of the falls.  It was breath taking for sure.  At this point, the spray from the falls was so strong we were getting soaked!  The breeze just captures the water and flings it up, we were pretty far from the falls and it is very misty.

On the Maid of the Mist, after our adventure to the bottom of
Horseshoe Falls

We headed over the the Maid of the Mist for our ride down to the falls.  We rode on a boat similar to this one in the picture below.  At one point, the boat was full motor as we faced Horseshoe Falls, but we weren't moving.  We were held at bay by the powerful, thundering falls.  It was difficult to even get pictures at this point unless you had a waterproof camera.  But, I did manage a few.

Maid of the Mist

Getting up close and personal!

At the bottom of Horseshoe Falls - very powerful and wet!
Trying to stay dry.

Thundering falls!

After our visit up close and personal to the falls, we headed into town for a brew and to our surprise saw a Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.  Now, some of you may say 'why go to somewhere like that, when you can experience some local flair?'  First of all, there wasn't much 'local fair' besides a casino and a few other chain restaurants and heck, who doesn't love a little beach music!  We've been to several others, Jamaica, Cayman Islands the original in Key West, Vegas and Arizona, just to name a few.  So thought we'd add Canada to the list as well!

Looking down the quaint street up to the city

One of the many overlooks

On our way out of town, one last look

 Okay, funny quick story.... at the border headed back into US, of course they ask you all kinds of questions about why you were in Canada, how long did you stay, etc.  But, the one question we weren't expecting was 'why do you have an AZ plate and a PA plate on your car?'  What??  Otto still has the personalized plate, DSPROTO on the front of the truck.  UGH!  Really?  'What does that mean, he asks?'  So, Otto says 'it's a long story'.... duh, he doesn't want the background dear hubby, just what it means.... just tell him Desparado, please and let's get home!  LOL  good times....

Good Bye Canada!  We enjoyed our day with you.

At the border of US and Canada

So, we headed back to Presque Isle for our final evening at Sara's.  But, on the way home as the sun began to set, we decided to get off the Thruway and head over to the lake to see one of the most amazing sunsets that looked to be in the making.

The colors painting the sky were calling out my name and although I knew we were running close to missing the sunset, Otto sped up to get off just in time to spend a few minutes as the sun sunk down into the water.

Erie at dusk

Erie Sunset

What an amazing day!  Once back at the campground, we built a fire and had dinner outside.  We decided to take a walk over to the beach area after dinner.  The waves were crashing loudly and just beckoning me to come dance on the shore!  Otto brought the flashlight and we found ourselves searching for beach glass once more.  We did find a few small pieces despite the locals telling us this wasn't a good spot for it.

Monday morning arrived with a beautiful peaceful sunny day ahead.  We packed up the trailer and headed over to Tony and Anne's for breakfast.  Our friend, Susanne (from AZ) was born and raised in Erie.  We met her parents, Tony and Anne a few years back.  Anne attends our bible study when she is in town so she knew we were in Erie and invited us over.  We visited for a few hours, enjoying the view of the bay from their backyard, then headed back to the trailer to pack up for home.  We decided one last drive around the peninsula was in order and a walk along the beach was needed before driving back to Greensburg.

What a wonderful weekend we had exploring the shores of Erie, the wineries of the Northeast and experiencing the majesty of Niagara Falls!  As I look to the future who knows what is in store for us, but I can truly say that we are very blessed and grateful for our time here in Pennsylvania.  Who knows if we will experience another winter here in the east or if we are headed off to warmer weather in the west.  But I do know one thing, we will certainly enjoy the journey!