Tuesday, June 14, 2016, Ottawa, ON
Day 17

First stop, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Stables which offers a tour and museum.  The horses are beautiful and huge.  The members and horses perform their “Musical Ride” throughout the world but mostly in Canada. Unfortunately, no performances corresponding with dates of our trip.  Next was a visit to and tour of Rideau Hall, the office and residence of the Governor General of Canada.  The Governor General represents the monarchy in Canada and is thus the head of state and commander-in-chief of Canada.  The position has been ceremonial since shortly after WWII.  Back to Byward Market area for lunch, bento boxes at Wasabi Japanese Restaurant. The afternoon was spent at the National Gallery of Canada.  The Museum’s regular collection included many impressionist paintings of VanGogh, Monet and many others. Also very interesting was a special exhibit of Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun.  She was the favored portrait painter of Marie Antoinette and the exhibit included many of her portraits of the nobility of her time. One portrait (the artist’s daughter) was recognizable to us as it was on loan from the St. Peterburg (FL) Museum of Fine Arts. Another fine day and finally a break in the cold weather as we ditched our jackets in mid-morning as temps rose to the mid 70's.

Monday, June 13, 2016, Ottawa, ON
Day 16

Campground to downtown is about 8 miles, almost all the Queens Expressway.  We park at an underground garage and walk 5 minutes to the visitors center where we get free tickets to tour Parliament at 3:20.  We then walk along the Rideau Canal and cross a section with 8 locks in rapid succession.  Visit the Notre Dame Basilica with its beautiful stain glass and interior.  Next its off to the Byward Market which is a fairly large area covering multiple blocks with every kind of food you could imagine.  We have lunch of hot and sour noodle soup at Wang’s Noodle, followed by an almond paste stuffed croissant at a bakery with an unbelievable assortment.  People were lined up taking pictures of the display cases, including me. We topped it off with a bubble tea which we drank on the walk to the Supreme Court of Canada for a 2:00 tour. The court was created by Parliament in 1875, not as I understand it, by the Canadian Constitution.  When I asked the guide can’t Parliament terminate the Court since Parliament created it, the response that they would not do that was less than satisfying.  You can imagine that if the US Supreme Court was not written into our constitution, Congress would have abolished it long ago. A short walk from the Court is the Parliament building.  After our tour, we took the elevator up the Peace Tower (in the Parliament building) to an observation deck which provides a great view of the city.  Both the House of Commons and the Senate were is session and we observed each for awhile.  The House was debating the decriminalization of marijuana. The politeness even with drastically opposed views was refreshing.

Sunday, June 12, 2016, Ottawa, ON
Day 15

On the road early at 8:30 to head to Rockport about 30 minutes away.  Rockport is where we had reservations on the Rockport Boat Line at 10:30 for a trip to Boldt Castle.  The castle, which is in New York, is on Heart Island, an island among the “Thousand Islands” on the St. Lawrence river.  The drive is uneventful until the last turn which is entering into Rockport.  A metal sign announcing “Rockport” is mounted over the road with no indication of the clearance.  We did not enter “Rockport” but park at a nearby place of business with no Sunday hours, detach and drive the short distance to the port.  We are told no RV parking and don’t park at the business we just parked at but park in the grassy area next to the road which is acceptable. We move the coach and check in for the cruise.  We had time for hot chocolate and tea which was needed as there was no sun, temps around 50 and a fierce wind. The boat leaves timely and on the 30 minute trip we passed 2 small islands connected by a short bridge.  One island is in Canada and one is in NY making it the shortest international bridge in the world. We arrive and go through the border authority after showing our passports.  The castle was built by George Boldt, the owner of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia and the proprietor of NY’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel during the Gilded Age.  The castle was his gift to his wife, Louise.  Construction began in 1900 and included over 300 workers.  Six structures were planned.  Before it was completed, tragedy struck in 1904 when Louise died at age 42.  George contacted the workers and had construction stopped, never to be completed and he never returned to Heart Island.  The Island was left to the elements and vandals for 73 years until a society was formed to restore the structures to their condition in 1904.  Although restoration work is still ongoing, the castle is magnificent.  We walked the grounds and went through all the 6 structures.  The weather was freezing and 2 jackets did not quite do the job with a wind that at times would blow you over if you did not lean into it.  We did spend some time by the fireplace inside the castle.  The tour included a shuttle boat ride to the Boldt Yatch house on Wellesey Island which was completed and has been in continuous use.  This is a must visit if one is in this area.  We returned to shore at 4 pm and headed to Ottawa and checked into the Wesley Clover Campground a bit after 6 pm.  A campground neighbor who was an Ontario resident wondered why we came in June since their season begins in summer.  And to think I always considered June to be summer.  Although cold, an absolutely marvelous day.

 

Saturday, June 11, 2016, Kingston, ON
Day 14

Said our so longs to Don and Marilyn and departed Bobcaygeon and headed to Kingston, ON, for a visit to Fort Henry with its military parade and drills at 2:30.  About a half hour from Kingston we experience a definite electrical burning smell in the coach.  We pull off the road so I can try to determine its source.  First I poke my head outside to see if it is a source other than the coach, it is not.  Then as I enter the coach to check things Rosemary hands me a fire extinguisher.  I went through everything I could think of and unplugged what I could.  No sight of any problem and nothing hot to the touch.  Then I checked systems from outside the coach and still could find no evidence of a problem.  After airing the coach out a bit, we proceed and experience no further problem.  We arrive at the Kingston Walmart a bit after 3 pm and decide to pass on Fort Henry.  We do walk around downtown Kingston and visit a farmer’s market where, after a sample taste, we buy our first Canadian Maple Syrup, yummy stuff.  We visit our first grocery store in Canada, Loblaws.  Then we finish our grocery shopping at Walmart.  Having recharged our water softener recently, we are in need of 2 lbs. of non-iodized table salt for the next recharge.  No luck, all salt in Canada appears to be iodized. I miss Publix!

Friday, June 10, 2016, Bobcaygeon, ON
Day 13

We awoke to 44 degrees outside but our heater maintained 69 on the inside.  The McBains had a full day planned for us.  We began with a trip to the Petroglyphs Ontario Park on native Indian land so no photos allowed. Next was a trip to Peterborough and a boat trip along the Trent-Severn waterway.  The waterway consists of 45 locks along lakes, rivers and canals which allows passage from Lake Ontario all the way to Lake Huron.  Our boat trip came upon lock 20 which was a totally man (and women) powered lock.  It looked like quite a good workout for the lock attendants.  After we passed lock 20, we passed a swing bridge (think drawbridge opening horizontally) and a swing railroad bridge.  Then we came to lock 21, the Peterborough Lift Lock.  This lock is the world’s tallest hydraulic lock lift rising 65 feet.  An incredible engineering feat that is 112 years old.  Two chambers, side by side, with one up while the other is down. The chamber moving down contains one foot of water more than the chamber heading up.  The weight of the water causes the chamber to descend when a valve between the chambers is opened.  Boats in the chambers are merely along for the ride, basically floating in like a big bathtub.  After awhile, we turn around and pass through locks 21 and 20 again for the return trip, a trip that is delayed by a train using the train swing bridge.   We also visit a museum adjacent to the Lift Loft which tells its story.  Dinner in Bobcaygeon at the Water’s Edge Restaurant which is at the river’s edge and we dine outside right next to the water’s edge.  A shared appetizer of mussels in a coconut curry was good followed by my dinner of seafood linguini in a white wine sauce. Rosemary had chicken, this time parmesan.

Thursday, June 9, 2016, Bobcaygeon, ON
Day 12

After a long day in Toronto we did not set an alarm.  Slept 10 hours until we awoke around 9:30.  Left the campground with full fresh water and empty “other” waters and headed to Bobcaygeon to visit our Rebels friends, Don and Marilyn McBain, who reside there but travel in their coach in the winter, frequently in Florida.  After driving 2 hours heading mostly north into the boonies, I wondered when we would cross the arctic circle! Finally we arrive in Bobcaygeon and call Marilyn as she requested for her to us give directions.  Another 15 minutes along some narrow, curvy road and we see Don and Marilyn out to greet us and lead us the rest of the way, including after the pavement ends.  We arrive around 3 pm and spent the rest of the afternoon on their porch overlooking beautiful Pigeon Lake while polishing off a bottle of wine. Dinner at the Old Bridge Inn (at least 30 minutes away) was fantastic.  I had tandoori pork tenderloin, Rosemary had salmon.