We arrived in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario (NOTL) around lunch time today. We stayed in London Ontario last night. It is only two hours away so we could have arrived earlier in the day but we forced ourselves to stop for tastings at a few of the area wineries. We saw two plays at the Shaw Festival (reviews to follow) and had a terrific dinner. Weather was perfect. All in all, a very nice day, indeed.
NOTL is a popular resort town. We come for the Shaw Festival plays but it is a popular summer destination for many reasons. It is close enough to enjoy Niagara Falls and yet far enough away that one is not caught up in the tourist-overload that the town of Niagara Falls can be. Unbeknownst to us, we arrived in NOTL on the day of the annual Peach Festival. That was a mixed blessing. The good news in that Queen Street was closed to autos which made walking around a little easier. The bad news is there were a lot of people here for the Peach Festival so it was more crowded. The crowds were not an inconvenience to us, however as we already had a place to stay, theater tickets and a restaurant reservation.
A friend’s posting on Facebook this morning alerted me to the passing of actor Karen Black. Never regarded as an ‘A-list’ actor, her filmography, nonetheless, includes a number of films that I remember very fondly including Easy Rider, Nashville, The Great Gatsby and The Day of the Locust. She was nominated for a Academy Award for her Supporting Role in Five Easy Pieces. For better and for worse, the iconic image of Ms. Black will always be in her role as the flight attendant in Airport ’75 uttering the classic line; “There’s a hole in the plane.” She was 74.
I am not normally one to gush over engineering but in the restroom of one of the travel centers today I got my first view of the Dyson Airblade Tap. It is a combination water tap and hand dryer that allows one to wash one’s hands and dry them without leaving the sink. You hold your hands together in the center and water comes out. Move your hands slightly apart and the blow-dryer comes one. I want one!
Another loss in the world of entertainment today was singer Eydie Gorme. Performing with her husband, Steve Lawrence, she was a fixture of nightclubs, Las Vegas and television game shows for decades. She won a Grammy in 1967 for her recording of; “If He Walked Into My Life Today” from the musical Mame. To my knowledge she never appeared in a production of the show but I think hers is the definitive recording of the song. Ms Gorme would have turned 85 next week.
Harper's Valley 
I hope you had some peaches at the Peach Festival.
can’t wait til all y’all meet buddybear; he is a wonderful human being and so much fun to be around!
We’re looking forward to meeting him tomorrow in Toronto.
Aren’t you glad they abandoned the practice of trowing peaches at tourists and old tradition from the war of 1812.
Enjoy NOTL and all the flowers. Did you know that all this beautification is thanks to a Chinese Lady who came to NOTL 20 years ago and decided to buy 5 major hotels in town and then transform the city. She likes flowers as you can see. Her family where shipping magnates in HongKong.
I remember years ago hearing about the Asian woman though the feedback we heard from the locals we talked to was pretty negative about her.
Sounds like good times! And while I didn’t recognize Karen Black, I was saddened to hear of Eydie’s passing.
Hope the rest of your trip is fantastic!
Peace ❤
Jay
Ontario looks lovely. Enjoy! 🙂
The Niagara region of Ontario is beautiful.
I’ve only been there once, during our “honeymoon” in 1967. I was very impressed and I wasn’t prepared to be impressed because of all the hype about Niagara Falls. The only other place I’ve visited that lived up to the hype is San Francisco. Spent a weekend there in 1979. Someday I would like to visit the Grand Canyon. I think that would be my third visit where the hype lives up to the reality. By the way, I loved Toronto and all of Canada. Also impressed.