Hamilton Beach

The temperature continued to drop as I headed into Hamilton. I don't think it was so cold in and of itself, but there was this knife-icy wind gusting through, bringing the region a polar blast. A couple years back it was so hot and muggy I was practically sloshing around in the car seat. Now I kept having to remind myself that it was AUGUST!

The Canadian highways, as far as I've seen, are rather apart from the scenery, so there wasn't too much to see except other cars. I did come to the conclusion that most Canadians seemed to be driving minivans, if not econoboxes. I blended right in with my Sienna. Last trip I had my Ford van and really stuck out, lol. But I missed the height if not the gas expense.

Randomly I pulled off to see if I could get near the lake...there seemed to be a park on the right, so I went that way, following my nose (the map was still fuzzy but indicated there was something over there). I found a little parking lot along a beach park and got out of the car. Went back in and got bundled up, oooooo, it was freezing! And yet people were cycling and jogging by, not particularly phased by the winter wind. Harumph, Canadians.

I walked over to the beach. Signs said this was Hamilton Beach, and all I could think of was blenders and other kitchen appliances. Seemed to be a forbidding and rocky strip against Lake Ontario, at least today.

But it wasn't empty and forlorn. People and gulls milled about on this Tuesday morning.

A trio of gulls posed nonchalantly in front of a breaker.

Rocky shore at the Hamilton Beach.

Some gull's lunch leftovers providing more atmosphere. Though that little stick near the fish's mouth gives the impression the critter had been smoking and finally keeled over from a really bad bout of lung cancer. Or gill cancer, as the case may be. Coffcoffcoffbubbleblubcoff!

The scientist/artist's eye demanded a close-up portrait. I think wind gusts got in the way of sharp focus, though. It was actually pretty good at staying still.

"Fish heads, fish heads..." the silly tune ran through my noggin...nearby was a pile of rocks. Maybe the fishie just ran aground. Not everyone navigates well.

Lake Ontario textures.

A wide shot of the stretch of beach here, facing south.

A pretty view behind the beach grass (which actually took some doing to get into that angle).

Hamilton Beach expanse facing north.

After freezing long enough and getting all the pictures I could from the spot, I looked for a phone so I could call JF. There was one building, an ice cream shop/diner, and seeing nothing outside, I eventually went in. It was rather busy considering it was a frigid Tuesday morning. Interesting decor, but I wasn't hungry yet. I found the restrooms, which were nice and saw that there was a phone outside those, but indoors. So I tried to call JF but it didn't go through. I wasn't sure if I'd dialed it wrong or was just outside of the zone for him, but I figured I'd just drive further before trying again to be on the safe side. I only had so many Canadian coins handy, lol. I went back out and took a shot or two before heading back onto the highway.