Unfortunately, seeing a ship pass through Lock 3 of the Welland Canal at St. Catharines wasn’t to be. Still it was a great place to stop, wander around and marvel at the technology of raising and lowering the ships. Athough the signs tell visitors to enter through the main entrance, we were rebels and walked down along the canal to the viewing platform. At the foot of the stairs, this sign caught my attention.

That’s a lot of bread. We climbed the steps to the top level of the viewing platform. With the exception of the high iron bars to keep folks from climbing over into areas they shouldn’t be in, the views were spectacular.

Looking towards the south and the lift bridge we’d crossed on our way, there were no ships in sight coming through locks 4, 5 and 6 which are in quick succession of each other. All three are at different levels so a ship in any of them would be visible, even if the ship was being lowered for readiness to continue towards Lake Ontario.

Towards the north, the Garden City Skyway crosses the canal at a level high enough that the ships can pass under it. No lift bridges of any form needed that snarl vehicular traffic to allow the ships passage. The trouble with the height of the skyway is, on a windy day it can be quite the scary experience to drive over it.

Inside the Welland Canal Centre, there are many items on display on the second level including a liftbridge model, Algoma Central Corporation’s ship Algoway.

Down on the main level, they have a model of lock 3. The only thing missing from it is the viewing platform.

Within the grounds at the Welland Canal Centre, there are a number of anchors and other shipping paraphernalia. One of the more interesting is the signpost with the distances from that point to various major locations around the world.

There was one more place I wanted to stop before returning to our hotel in Mississauga so we bid farewell to the lock station, disappointed at not seeing a ship but still it was a place our grandson had never been before.

Our next stop was at Jordan Harbour where the two-masted wreck is anchored. The first time I remember seeing it was in October 2005 when we took my friend (visiting from Wales) to see Niagara Falls. From that time on, I wanted to stop and photograph it. On this trip, the light was perfect and so were the shots.

When we finally got away from here, the traffic heading into the city was picking up. The overhead sign before the Burlington Skyway indicated high winds and drive with caution. The wind buffetted the car the entire trip but a few gusts actually threatened to move the car from one lane to another.

Prior to the interchange for Winston Churchill Blvd, another overhead sign told that the traffic from there on was moving extremely slow. So since our exit was the next one, we got off there and onto the street our hotel was on. We were back in our room before one of the transports we’d seen stuck in the tailback passed by.

After much debate and walking around near the hotel to find a place to eat, we went back to the hotel for the car keys. The plan was Montanas. Not within walking distance but a bit further from our hotel than originally thought. Still, it was worth the drive. Our server “Fred” was fantastic and so was the food! Since we drove, only one of us could drink but from the time it was decided we’d do Montanas, I immediately went into “Virgin Caesar” anticipation.

When it was time to pay the bill, Fred stayed and chatted with us for a bit. The thunderstorm that according to the weather network would pass through that night was beginning to put on the light show. Fred told us that Toronto was under a tornado watch.

The rain was just starting when we went back to the car and by the time we got back to the hotel about 9:00 was coming down steadily. Up in our room, we turned on CP24 and watched the news. Mississauga, where we were staying had been upgraded to a tornado warning. The lightning displays outside our room were phenomenal and much better when we turned off the one bedside lamp.

Thursday morning before leaving the hotel, I checked CP24’s website for updates on the previous night’s storm. I’ve included the link to that page. If you scroll down, there are a number of pictures of the lightning strikes.