"Sittin' on a bench by the lake...."

Remember the song by Otis Redding years ago?

(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay

Otis Redding

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

That is kinda the way I felt last week, only I would need to substitute 

"Sittin' in the afternoon sun

I'll be sitting' when the evenin' come

Watching the sailboats float in

And then I watch 'em float away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on a bend by the lake

Watching the water lap the shore

Ooo, I'm just sittin' on a bench by the lake

Wastin' time......"

On Thursday last week (Sept. 14) Gary and I started the day with riding the Maid of the Mist under and around the American and the Horseshoe Falls, then we drove into Canada to view the Falls from that side.  First we drove to see the floral clock and onward to a place called Niagara-on-the-Lake.  E. Anne, her sister, and their two cousins had stayed there a few weeks ago on their annual Sisters Trip.

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake was impressive for as we reached the edge of town, gone were the country views from the windows.  They were exchanged for narrow streets, crowded sidewalks, and quaint shops close to each other, ready for tourists.  It was not a 'tourist trap' full of cheap souvenirs like we saw later on Clifton Hill.  No, these were high end shops, restaurants with $$$$ menu items, and 5-star hotels. 

We continued to drive and eventually found ourselves pulled off in a parking space, next to an area with staggered benches overlooking a lake.  Lake Ontario.

 

While I was reading the historical landmark sign explaining the battle of one war hero as he commanded his troops to fight unsuccessfully against the American soldiers at Fort Niagara across the Niagara River, Gary had wandered down a path to a bench and was seated, gazing out over the water.



When I joined him, I was impressed. Sparkling blue water.  Blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds. White sailboats gliding across the water, criss-crossing in unknown patterns.



Totally peaceful.

We sat for quite a while, just gazing at the water, watching the sailboats, talking about the war which had been fought many years ago.  The Americans won the first battle, but the Canadians won the second; otherwise we might have been sitting on American soil that afternoon rather than Canadian.

Eventually we decided to pick ourselves up and move back to the car, re-traced our steps (somewhat since we by-passed the downtown part of shops, traffic, and pedestrians), and returned to  Niagara Falls.  The spell was broken.

But for about an hour it was total bliss.  Peaceful.  Tranquil.  Beautiful.  Nature in all its glory.

What could be better than sitting on a bench by the lake, wasting time........