The original Day 2 plan was to hike from our hotel out to the Devil’s Punch Bowl and back, but with the temperature feeling like 41 degrees that day, we thought it best to shorten our walk. We took an Uber to the Devil’s Punch Bowl and proceeded to walk the Bruce Trail in that area, making stops at a few waterfalls.
After visiting the Devil’s Punch Bowl we made our way to Felker’s Falls along the Bruce Trail. The trails were quite busy in some areas which is unusual on any day let alone one that was so hot!
Albion Falls was next on our mini-tour of Hamilton area waterfalls. On the way we passed the Bear Meeting Place which is a public art installation on the Red Hill Valley Trail. The stones in the installation are shaped to resemble bear paws and was designed to commemorate the legends of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabek peoples.
The last waterfall we visited, Buttermilk Falls was dried up but here is a picture of where it supposedly is when there is water.
Our hike ended at the Mohawk 4 Ice Centre where we planned to watch the Jays game at Lookout Sports Lounge; however, it wasn’t open. We took the opportunity at the rink to refill our empty water bottles and cool off while we waited for an Uber to take us back to Odds to watch baseball. We liked the drink menu and found the Welland Water option to be particularly amusing. Having been to Welland last year on our hiking trip we know that it is the subject of many jokes by the locals but we fully enjoyed our time there.
After the Jays game we went to Rapscallion restaurant for dinner. We had been to Rapscallion many years ago when it was in a different location and enjoyed it, so were excited to return. We had another great experience this time thanks to the fresh delicious food, local wine, and excellent service.
After dinner it was time to see ZZ Top. We walked to the FirstOntario Concert Hall, which is a beautiful venue, and made our way to our seats. The seats were great but they were in the middle of a long row so every time we wanted to get in or out it was a bit of an ordeal. Regardless, we got to the show in time to see half of the Wallflowers set and then it was the main event! ZZ Top still know how to put on a show, even if they are missing an original member and are obviously lip-syncing at least part of the time. The crowd was full of die-hards with t-shirts from previous tours, and the set-list was mainly crowd pleasers, making it a super fun show.
After the show we went for a nightcap at The Mule. They had cheesy 90s movies on several TVs which was fun, and the drinks were super yummy. Afterward we were pretty tired so headed back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep in advance of moving on to Ancaster the next day!