One-Tank Trip /Ontario
One Tank Trip: Get away from it all in St. Catharines, Ont.
ST. CATHARINES, Ont.—“Cheap, cheap, cheap,” calls Summer Bird of 2009—a reality especially true in the vacation department. Let’s face it, finding fun things to do on a dime isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible, either, as a recent One-Tank Trip into Canada proved.
While there are many wonderful stateside experiences, heading across the border gives your journey a feeling of “getting away” when you’re really only going about 30 minutes from the Peace Bridge.
Three stops in St. Catharines—The Morningstar Mill, the St. Catharines Farmers’ Market and Lakeside Park Carousel— provided enough good old-fashioned entertainment for a day trip altogether or to do each separately if you added further exploration at each stop. And what trip would be complete without some ice cream? But more on that later.
So pack up the troops for an adventure to find that Cheap Bird in the Canadian wilderness, and you might just discover Summer 2009 is rich with rewarding adventures.
Morningstar Mill
This “living museum” of sorts pays homage to Ontario’s milling heritage. The setting is beautiful. The water that powers the turbine to move the millstone that grinds the grains into flour still flows today.
Originally built in 1872, Wilson Morningstar purchased the mill in the early 1880s. By 1890, he built a home just up the hill from the mill, where he and his second wife raised two daughters. Eventually, his grandchildren (Don and Lorna) inherited the home where they lived as caretakers until their deaths in the early 1990s.
Today, visitors can explore the mill and the grounds, which are maintained by Friends Of Morningstar Mill volunteers.
Youngsters will enjoy the thrill of a waterfall and exploration of the mill’s tools and giant millstones (brought over from the LeFerte fields of France). Especially intriguing is the turbine shed, where a “horizontal reaction” turbine generates horsepower to run the mill.
Because of the work involved to run the millstone, volunteers demonstrate the grinding on occasion throughout the year. However, don’t let that deter you from discovering how the grains are separated from the chaff and ground into flour, or from breathing in that wonderful old building smell.
On our trip, the Morningstar home was open for visitors. Volunteers provided a tour. The interior has been restored to reflect the lifestyle of the Morningstar family during the 1920s and ’30s.
You’ll see a wonderful wood stove, a roller-style washing machine and a cistern in the floor that captured rainwater Farmers’ Market is open year round in downtown St. Catharines at Church and King streets. For over 160 years the market served customers. In 2001 the area was enclosed.
It’s a nifty design. Vendors can back their trucks right up into spaces that open into the market. Along with the usual fresh fruits, vegetables and plants, there were wonderful baked goods, preserves, honey, dried sausages and scrumptious smelling food stands, including Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisines.
Of course, the mystery of what you can and cannot bring back across the border had us (and the sellers) guessing. No plants, of course. We bought fresh strawberries to eat before crossing, and lovely feta flat bread and creamy 8-year-old Quebec cheddar to bring home. At $16 per pound, we would have fought the customs guy had he discovered it.
You could grab picnic items before heading to the next destination on this trip (Lakeside Park Carousel). Or extend your day by walking the streets of this quaint area. There are shops, boutiques and cafes right around the market. Download a map and guide at the St. Catharines site ( www.stcatharines.ca ). If a picnic isn’t in your plans we found a great, gourmet bargain lunch at a place called Stella’s on James Street ( www.stellasdowntown.ca ). Items like the Salmon Rosmarino (linguine tossed in a lemon rosemary cream with peppers and grilled salmon) weren’t more than $9.95 (Canadian) and came with fresh bread and spreads. The St. Catharines Farmers’ Market is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 5:30 a. m. to 4 p. m. Parking is free
to be used for laundry and cleaning. There’s a butter churn and fruit press, and a pantry with a dumbwaiter. Watch your children’s eyes grow big when they see a room with scant toys (as their predecessors spent more time on daily tasks). Also on the property are a sawmill (across from the mill), carpentry shop and blacksmith building.
To extend your adventure here, you could hike on a portion of the gigantic Bruce Trail (http://brucetrail.org), which butts up right near the house (you’ll see the marker). The Niagara section follows the Niagara Escarpment, with side trails like the one near the mill that wind through St. Catharines.
The Morningstar Mill is located at 2710 DeCew Road. For information: (905) 688-6050, www.morningstarmill.ca . Admission is free. Open now through the fall. Hours are “usually” Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a. m. to 2 p. m.; Saturdays, Sundays and Canadianholiday Mondays from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m. Since volunteers man the posts, call ahead to find out if the mill/house are open for visitors. On Aug. 15 and 16, Morningstar Mill will celebrate Industrial Rural Roots, and the gristmill will be operating starting at 1 p. m. on both days.
Farmers’ Market
Billed as the “newest and oldest meeting place,” the charming St. Catharines on Saturday.
Lakeside Park Carousel
What does a nickel get you nowadays? How about a ride on the magnificent Lakeside Park Carousel, Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines. Built by the Charles I. D. Looff Co., it began its life in Brooklyn in the late-1800s, early-1900s.
In 1921, the carousel came to St. Catharines via a brief stint in Scarborough, Ont. It was one of almost 60 attractions located in Port Dalhousie at the time.
Along with carved horses, there are giraffes, goats and a lion—specifically a “Looff Lion” that is one of only five in North America. According to the brochure, he is the only one with his head turned to watch onlookers.
The carousel is fantastic to see, and even more fun to ride. Pay your nickel, get a ticket then hop on! What animal to ride? It’s part of the game. Be sure to look for moving posts if you want a creature that goes up and down while the organ music grinds away. Silly? Yes. As thrilling as a roller coaster? No, but nonetheless a joyful nostalgic turn on a piece of history.
Extend your day by taking in the town’s shops, or walking the long Lakeside Park pier where people and boat watching are the order of the day. There’s also a nifty beach to amble along and playgrounds where the kids can rip around while you relax.
If you brought picnic items from the market, there are plenty of open places here to spread the blanket out and eat. Or, you could explore the town’s shops and cafes; even grab a cup of coffee at the old Port Dalhousie jail. Visit www.portdalhousie.com . Avondale Dairy Barn
Be sure to swing up toward Niagara-on- the-Lake before going home for a stop at the Avondale Dairy Barn—a superb ice cream palace that fronts a dairy processing facility and the barn.
Operating since 1956, these folks do ice cream right. On a regular day, there are 40-plus flavors to choose from like Chocolate Doughnut Delight, Watermelon Sherbet or Graham Cracker Crunch. There are tempting combinations of sundaes, including 10 kinds of banana splits like “The Great Canadian, Eh?” or “Tropical Dream Supreme.” A “Monster” split will set you back $8.29 (Canadian). More importantly, Avondale makes ice cream with 14 percent butterfat content (the kind that leaves that luscious coating on the roof of your mouth). Pure heaven to enjoy outside on the picnic tables or lollygagging on nearby swings while you reflect upon your cheap day.
The Avondale Dairy Barn (Stewart Road, Niagara-On-the-Lake, (905) 687-7403, www.avondaledairybar.com ) is open seven days a week during the summer. Hours are 10 a. m. to 10 p. m. Sunday through Thursday; open until 11 p. m. on Friday and Saturday.
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