3 Jul 2017

BACKYARD 07.01.17 ... " Flags & Rabbits "


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Part 2 in the Series, Exploring Our Backyard

... we celebrate Canada Day and have lunch in " the land of the running rabbit " ...

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Getting There
Open the map as [Full Screen], from the left-sided list choose a Numbered Location and click, zoom in/out.



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Cultural

Numbered Location: 5

Some History

... the Village of Bath was established in 1784 by United Empire Loyalists who fled from the United States after the American Revolution. During the War of 1812, an American fleet stopped long enough to burn a schooner belonging to a local merchant.

... for many years the village prospered as a shipping point for grain bound for the United States and as a centre for local farmers. The first steamship to sail on the Great Lakes, the Frontenac was built in Bath. The village still boasts a number of historically significant structures, the Fairfield-Gutzeit House and the Hawley House located on Main Street. In 1811 the Bath Academy was built. It operated briefly as a public school before being requisitioned as a military barracks during the War of 1812. "

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Bath has a population today (c. 2017) of around 1200 that often swells to 10,000 for the annual Canada Day celebrations. We arrived after the parade ...

The Bath Museum collection features United Empire Loyalist memorabilia, Native artifacts dating back to the 1600's, and memorabilia from both World Wars. The collection is housed in the former Town Hall.
" ... the Old Town Hall was built because a Division Court Judge objected to the noise of the school children when holding court sessions in the Bath Academy and he refused to return until a permanent court house was built. "
The building was used as the Bath Town Hall until 1970 and completely restored in the early 80's. The building now belongs to the Fairfield Gutzeit Society and became the new home of the Bath Museum of Loyalist Township in May of 2009.  It is a designated historical property under the Heritage Act.

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Food & Drink

Numbered Location: 6

Some History


" ... in 1993 a small vineyard was pioneered to prove that the “terroir” was ideal for growing well balanced quality wine grapes, starting Prince Edward County’s Wine IndustryWaupoos Estates Grand Opening was June 15th, 2001.

Ed Neuser, a German-born machinist who came to Canada in 1957, purchased the 100-acre farm century-old house in 1983. Ed chuckles when he recalls the night that he and Rita decided to try planting grapes. “It was after a couple glasses of wine, or maybe it was a couple of bottles,” he jokes. “Everybody thought we were off our rockers – we had no experience growing grapes or making wines. ”

A Definition
Waupoos - Indian word for " land of the running rabbit ".

Our Lunch
We've visited a couple of times before, but this was a good day for a return drive. Lunch was ... two orders of cucumber gazpacho soup (creatively seasoned) and a shared dish of cold smoked salmon (creatively presented) with a glass of the vineyards " The Pioneer " white . 

" The Pioneer is a white wine featuring a blend of Vidal and Geisenheim from our oldest vines planted, " explained Amy Dickinson, of Waupoos Estate Winery. The two varieties were Ed's  favourites. "

All menu ingredients at The Gazebo Restaurant, are either grown on site or harvested within 100 kms. The kitchen " really is exceptional ", staff are all friendly and knowledgeable, this is a fabulous location ... we took some samples home!



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To read all posts in this series click Exploring Our Backyard.

Crusty & Wry ... ' Happy CANADA 150 '

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