Road Nomad 21 -- 100 Islands
On our previous two videos we visited Toronto, and then admired the majesty of Niagara Falls.
Today we are back in Toronto on this rainy misty morning, but not for long.
It is our intention to begin driving east, towards Kingston, Gananoque, and the famous
1000 islands of the St. Lawrence River, so lets hop on our red car and hit the road,
shall we?
We are going to 1000 islands.
The quality, the enjoyment of your trip is highly determined by the quality of the weather,
and on this particular occasion Mother Nature doesn't really want to cooperate.
The drive is nearly three hours, and the weather doesn't let up much.
But we make a quick stop halfway near Trenton.
We decide to take a secondary road to see some of the countryside.
Now crossing downtown Trenton.
There is a Canadian air force base nearby, hence the military plane landing.
We drive through this trailer park, probably military housing in order to see the river
and the USA on the other side, but there's really not much to see here, so lets continue.
And another military plane lands.
The air force base to our left.
We also pass the town of Bellevile, and eventually we reach our destination.
Yeah, eventually we arrive at Gananoque, where we will board a boat for a tour of the 1000
Islands and our boat arrives soon enough.
The "1000 Islands" is an archipelago in this wide area of the St. Lawrence River northeast
of Lake Ontario.
It is, to be exact 1864 islands.
The river is the border between the United States and Canada so some of the islands are
part of either country.
Actually for it to be considered and island here, it must be above water all year round,
have an area of more than one square foot, really, just one square foot.
And have at least one living tree; ok that's a lot more reasonable.
Today we are visiting a small part of the archipelago, mostly on the Canadian side of
the river, near the town of Gananoque.
One curious fact is that the Thousand Island Dressing was invented around here.
According to the book of knowledge, at the turn of the 20th century some lady called
Sophie Lalonde, who lived in Clayton, New York served this type of salad dressing to
her guests.
Apparently the vegetables in the dressing looked like the islands, and eventually the
actress May Irwin and Waldorf Atoria's manager George Boldt popularized the name.
Obviously some of the islands fall under US jurisdiction, while the others are Canadian.
The agreement in 1793 was that no island would be split in two within 100 yards of either
shore so the official border zigzags the area.
Many rich and famous have homes in these islands.
I find particularly interesting all the small houses barely covering the surface of an island.
Must be pretty cool and interesting owning property here, for the 400 or so permanent
residents of the area.
My parents visited this place ten years ago back in back in 2003, but they took another
tour, which leaves from Rockport.
That's the northeastern part of the 1000 island and arguably the more famous one.
Let's go back in time with them.
Here they got the see the Zavikon islands, which allegedly have the smallest international
bridge in the world, but it is not really true, the actual border is actually 140 meters
to the southeast.
So don't believe everything the tour guide says.
They also got to see the Boldt Castle on Heart Island.
The castle was originally built 1900 but abandoned in 1904 after the death of the owner's wife,
which was George Boldt of the Waldorf Astoria.
It was left in ruins until 1977, when it became a tourist attraction.
Off we go.
Destination Ottawa, Canada's capital.
Before heading north however we are going to pass by the historic town of Kingston.
Kingston was the first Capital of Canada for a very short period of time.
It was originally settled as Ft.
Frontenac.
British loyalists called it King's Town in honor of king George III, and eventually the
name was shortened to Kingston.
It is a very historic city mainly thanks to its strategic location.
It's right on the spot where Lake Ontario spills into the St. Lawrence River.
It is also in very close proximity to the border with the United States.
The Rideau Canal also originates here which goes all the way north, through many locks,
to the Ottawa River.
It was our original idea to eat here at Kingston, but it is 6 p.m. and we decide to continue
onto Ottawa non-stop, but that will be another video.
Meanwhile enjoy the trip and see you on the road.
I am Robert Morales wishing you happy travels.
Ciao.