Youngstown - N.Y.

Small town USA has become one of my favorite sailing destinations on Lake Ontario.  Last weekend my husband and I sailed across the lake to the Village of Youngstown situated at the mouth of the Niagara River, which separates the international border of Canada and the United States.

We stayed at the public docks next to Youngstown Yacht Club (YYC).  From our boat we could see Niagara-on-the-Lake across the river, and where the river connects with Lake Ontario, one could make out the silhouette of Toronto in the far distance.  During this particular stay, YYC hosted a Regatta and by the end of the evening there were over 50 sailboats tied up to the docks.  It was a great sight! 

Stairs leading down to Docks at Youngstown

A climb up a fairly steep hill, or up the stairs, will lead you to the Village of Youngstown located at the edge of the riverbank.  This is such a quaint village; looks like it's been frozen in time.  

There is only one grocery store in town and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that it had received a makeover since last year.  I enjoy walking up and down the aisles looking for something different to bring home for the kids.  

I love biking through this quaint village where the streets are lined with houses reminiscent of yesteryear.  

While biking along Main Street, I passed a young family having supper at a small round table, covered in a white floor-length tablecloth, in a shady corner of their large Victorian front porch.  The lanterns were lit on their table, wine poured in their glasses, and a beautiful wisteria vine cascaded down the corner of the porch framing this perfect moment.   I wanted to stop and take a picture but felt that I would be invading their space.  

They have some very spectacular gardens in Youngstown; perhaps thanks to the garden club that's been active for more than 50 years.   
 

 

Fort Niagara State Park

I continued my ride to Fort Niagara State Park, which has so much to offer.  There's a winding walkway that follows the riverbank down to Old Fort Niagara which stands on a bluff above Lake Ontario.  I didn't visit the Fort this time as my son and I spent an afternoon there a few years back.

The fort situated at the mouth of the river overlooking Lake Ontario

Next to the Fort is a great swimming pool with slides overlooking Lake Ontario.  It's almost like an infinity pool.  

The weather was fantastic; nice and hot.  There were so many families out enjoying the picnic grounds, and playing sports in the fields.   It brings back so many happy memories from when my children were small.

Sunday was Father's day so before setting sail for Toronto, we went to the local Village Diner for a full breakfast.http://www.outdoorsniagara.com/villagediner.htm  The place was crazy busy with people.  Of course, everyone was out celebrating Father's Day.  The diner has a beautiful view of the Niagara River and the sailboats participating in the Regatta were leaving one after another.  

Though I have been to Youngstown numerous times, I always manage to catch a glimpse of something new and unexpected each time.

On a front porch in Youngstown

McLaughlin Bay Wildlife & Darlington Park Trail

Time for a weekday "hike" again.  The hiking group I belong to  meet every Wednesday evening throughout the spring and summer months for an hour walk/hike.

Today we met at Darlington Park Trail,  http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/darl.html, which actually is a Provincial Park offering camping, boating, fishing, hiking etc. within a 45 minute commute to downtown Toronto.  Wow, one doesn't have to go far to take the kids camping for the night.

It never seizes to amaze me how much is out there.  There is something for every pocketbook.  Toronto and surrounding area is amazing for all that it has to offer its citizens. 

The park is situated next door to General Motors Canadian headquarters in Oshawa, and borders onto northern Lake Ontario.

The park was very quiet, with only a few campsites occupied.  I'd love to come back in the middle of summer to check this place out.  I bet the park is busy with kids playing in the sand; Dads barbecuing; people canoeing and enjoying the outdoors.  Well, that's my vision of a beautiful summer day at the park.    

Hypnotisören - "The Hypnotist" By Lars Kepler

I've been reading books in Swedish lately, and in order to "keep up" with my friends and family back home I researched the most sold Swedish books in 2010 and Hypnotisören by  Lars Kepler** came in as #3.  I downloaded it as an eBook in Swedish, but the English version will be released in Canada on July 5th under the name "The Hypnotist".   Take a peek inside a chapter:   http://browseinside.harpercollins.com.au/index.aspx?isbn13=9780007359103

The story begins with a triple murder.  A man is found brutally murdered in the change-room of a local sporting complex.  Shortly thereafter his wife and daughter are discovered butchered in the family home.  Their teenage son is found severely injured with over 100 knife wounds and barely alive.  He is rushed to emergency where he floats in and out of consciousness.  Detective Joona Linna discovers that there is one more family member alive; a sister and he needs to find her before the killer does.  
Doctor Eric Maria Bark is called upon to hypnotize the boy in the hope of getting a description of the killer.  However, Eric Bark had sworn never to practice hypnosis again.   When Erik breaks his promise and hypnotizes the boy...a chain of events begin to unfold leading you into another story, and another story, which eventually leads to the kidnapping of Eric Barks son, and Eric having to revisit his past.

I really enjoyed this book and stayed up way best my bedtime for a few nights to finish the book.  I like books that are unpredictable, where I have a feeling about "who did it", but I'm not quite sure.  The only criticism I have about "Hypnotisören" is that some of the plots seem unresolved, specifically the "bullying kids and the Pokemon".  

I would love to read the book in English as well, to see if I feel differently about the book.  I preferred the Stieg Larsson http://www.stieglarsson.com/ books in Swedish, but I thought Henning Mankell's, one of the words best selling authors, books were better in English.  Perhaps it has to do with the translation.

The movie rights to the title has been sold and with the right cast and director, it should make for an interesting and thrilling story.

**Lars Kepler is actually a pseudonym, and when the book was first published in Sweden, the hunt begun to figure out who had written this book.   A married couple in their early 40's, Alexander and Alexandra Coelho, eventually went public.  A sequel to this book "Paganinikontraktet" was published in July 2010 and  has received great reviews.   Some believe the sequel is an even better book. 

I'd give this book a 4 STAR out of 5.