We
are currently snugged in port at Treasure Island Marina on the outskirts of
Kingston, Ontario. We’re definitely ‘outskirts,’ but we do have a marina
restaurant called Driftwood and a nearby homegrown strawberry stand. More
importantly, we have a ‘home base’ for a few days while Caroline Gower visits.
Our ‘home base’ has some of the amenities of home: a driveway/parking lot where
Caroline can park her rental car for the duration of her visit; electricity (we
actually have a 50-amp plug here whereas normal for Canada seems to be two
30-amp plugs for which we use our splitter); water on the dock (lake, not
potable, which means Clay can rinse the boat to his heart’s content, but we
can’t connect for use on our boat); a lone washer and dryer at the restaurant
complex as well as restrooms and shower. The resident boaters here are
extremely warm and welcoming…probably some of the friendliest we’ve
encountered.
In
prep for Caroline, I hoped to cycle a few laundry loads and to make a grocery
run, both of which happened within the first 24 hours. Score! I snagged the
washer and dryer upon arrival here; both were available which was a huge bonus.
And making acquaintance with stern-to-stern dock mates Dave and Marilyn, I soon
accepted the invitation to accompany them to Loblaw Grocery Store. Betwixt and
between, I managed a few paperwork tasks. I’m sure Clay was as task-oriented as
I, but I tried to keep track of neither his whereabouts nor his activity (I’m
sure he was washing/rinsing the boat at least part of the time). Busy as Clay
and I were, I welcomed dinner at Driftwood Restaurant which featured smoked
meats from the huge smoker nested adjacent to the building. Smelled so good!
Friday
morning Clay and I walked nearby residential and very scenic Treasure Island
Road which immediately became our daily route. The homes in this neighborhood
had beautiful, picturesque views of the St. Lawrence River which were enhanced
by intriguing natural rock formations which were incorporated into gorgeous
landscaping. We saw a chipmunk, a black squirrel and even what we thought to be
a fox (we were later told a family of six foxes live in that area). Following
breakfast, we motored to the gas dock to fill our water tank. We had to wait
our turn as today, Canada Day, had many if not most of the boats in the marina
in travel mode. SaSea Sally is one of the bigger boats here with a commanding
presence, so we crowded the gas dock with our occupation of 43’ of its length.
A few runabouts had courage to jockey their way around us to take on fuel while
we took on water.
Caroline
arrived early afternoon after landing late morn in Syracuse, renting a car,
driving 2.5 hours to Kingston with a midpoint’ish stop to check in at Canadian
Customs. What a gal! Once settled into her stateroom accommodations aboard
SaSea Sally, Caroline taxied us to downtown Kingston with the intent of a
trolley tour of Kingston. The harbor was alive with activity in celebration of
Canada Day. Live bands, clowns, and red-clothed people of all ages crowded the
landscape around Federation Basin which harbored a maximum crowd of boats. We
had even donned red shirts (Clay’s was a Cardinals tee shirt) in celebration at
our marina dock mates’ insistence when they assured us they’d be dressed in
red/white/blue on our July Fourth.
We
nabbed a red open-air trolley and endured a tour of Kingston. I use the word
‘endured’ because it was cold (despite our windbreakers breaking the wind) and
the loudspeaker system was inadequate at best (we heard very little of the
canned descriptions and a bit more than very little of the driver’s
commentary). Nothing wrong with our eyesight though, and coupled with the tour
brochure, we saw much of what Kingston had to offer in the way of architecture
and history. Our tour began and ended at City Hall with such points of interest
along the route as: the Royal Military College of Canada; Fort Henry; Springer
Market Square; the Marine and Pump House Steam Museums; Bellevue House, the
restored home of Canada’s First Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald; Canada’s
Penitentiary Museum (Kingston is ‘famous’ for all of the penitentiaries which
have been located here—some still active); and Queen’s University. I had gotten
an earlier personal tour from dock mates Dave and Marilyn on the way to the
grocery store, so I was able to add a few verbal tidbits as we passed by many
of these sights (Dave had graduated from the Royal Military College and
Marilyn had graduated from Queen’s University, so their knowledge of Kingston
which they shared with me was vast).
We
were in relax mode as we headed back to the marina for wine aboard SaSea Sally
then dinner at the Driftwood Restaurant onsite. We knew there was to be a
fabulous fireworks display at dark, shot from Fort Henry, but the prime viewing
spot was Federation Basin not our location. We opted out, knowing we’d be
maneuvering massive crowds should we decide to go. Instead, we tucked in for
the night, having had a full day with more to come tomorrow.
Caroline
got a good dose of boat maneuvering Saturday morning as we departed Treasure
Island Marina with the stiff winds in our favor, but working against us when we
docked first at RJ Marine for refueling and pump out, then again at Clayton
Village Marina. This latter docking was a disaster, but ‘no one was hurt’ as we
boaters adeptly evaluate so it was a good docking after all. Because we were
now in the United States (Clayton, NY), we had to report to Customs to receive
our arrival number. Our ‘reporting’ was done via phone at a nearby customs
check-in location at which time we gave boat documentation number, names and
passport numbers of those aboard, and voila, done deal. We then meandered
through the town, our destination being the Antique Boat Museum where we
arrived one-half hour before closing. Half price admission got us all the
viewing we really needed. Heck, I remember learning to ‘surfboard’ behind the
Crums’ beautiful wooden Chris Craft, and now they’re considered antiques.
(Please don’t think, ‘that makes her an antique as well!!!!’) Even Clay deemed
our half-hour of boat museum adequate.
Showers,
then wine and dinner at Bella’s (Clay’s choice since it was his birthday) made
the day complete. I was able to secretly arrange a sparkler-lit cupcake for
Clay’s birthday celebration; can’t blow that one out Birthday Boy.
Captain
called an early departure Sunday morning so as to secure a dock spot at Heart
Island to tour Boldt Castle. That fella had done his research. I’d heard
nothing about Bolt Castle but learned upon arrival that Boldt Castle was built
by self-made millionaire George Boldt. “Boldt Castle was to be the testimony of
the unsurpassed love of a man for his wife. The magnificence of the structure
was to be equaled only by George Boldt’s adoration of Louise, who was the love
of his life and reason for the construction of such an elaborate summer home.”
“George
C. Boldt came to America in 1864 from Prussia, the son of poor parents. A man
of tremendous organizational skill, daring and imagination, he became the most
successful hotel magnate in America managing and profit sharing the
Waldorf-Astoria in New York, as well as the Bellevue-Stratford in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He was the president of several companies, a trustee of Cornell
University, and the director of the Hotel Association of New York. Boldt Castle
stands as an eternal monument to the memory of the man whose dreams were no
more far-reaching than his capabilities.” You can go to www.BoldtCastle.com to learn more about
the tragic loss at an early age of his wife Louise at which time the
construction and completion of Boldt Castle was halted and the project
abandoned.
What
a fabulous creation and architectural feat Boldt Castle was to behold. Located
on Heart Island, Boldt Castle is reachable only by boat. And, we were not the
only boaters to desire a look-see this holiday-weekend Sunday. So glad Clay was
proactive in securing a dock spot early on. Many boats came and went during our
time spent there; we toured much of the day, taking it all in, including the
Power House, the Italian Garden and the Yacht House (pontoon shuttle ride
required). The heart theme was woven throughout the landscape and architecture,
and it was obvious George Boldt spared no expense in his quest. The completion
and restoration of Boldt Castle is now an undertaking of the Thousand Islands
Bridge Authority who owns both the castle and the yacht house.
We
cast our lines at 3:20 p.m., having gotten a full dose of Boldt Castle; I think
we saw most all of the nooks and crannies, finished and unfinished, restored
and unrestored. The weather was picture-perfect, and Clay had picked a great
way to spend this Sunday. Upon departure, we motored the American channel again
although Clay’s original plan was to follow the Canadian channel to Gananoque,
ON for the overnight. An older woman tour guide at the Boldt Castle Yacht House
had warned us of wind, current, and narrow channels and passageways en route to
Gananoque along the Canadian channel. Her alert coupled with the unfamiliarity
of these Thousand Islands waterways guided us back to Clayton for Sunday night.
Our bonus in Clayton was the July 3rd firework display planned
directly across from the marina.
When
I called the dock master to ask if he could accommodate us, I’m sure he had
extremely apprehensive thoughts of allowing our return based on Clay’s first
docking performance! But he gave consent, and we docked safely and securely
with a brilliant performance by Captain Clay. He redeemed himself! Following
snugging in, we grilled salmon, romaine and yellow saffron rice and delighted
in the fireworks display nearby. As much if not more enjoyable was watching and
listening around us in this New York boating community prior to the fireworks
feature. One boat played patriotic music through a loudspeaker as the skies
darkened, broadcasting such songs as “I’m Proud to be an American,” which had
all of us boaters singing along as we sat atop the boat bows and in the fly
bridges. This moment in time was almost as awesome and memorable as the
fireworks themselves.
Still
intent on visiting Gananoqua, Clay awakened Monday morning to study the maps
and charts for the best possible route through the Thousand Islands to Gan. He
felt confident we’d have no problem, so off we went to arrive uneventfully at
the Gananoque municipal dock. It was a really pretty cruise, making us all glad
Clay insisted on the trip; we’re convinced our Boldt Castle Yacht House guide
was a non-boater, fearful of Mother Nature. Our first mission upon arrival was
Canadian customs check-in followed by a late lunch at the English Pub and a bit
of souvenir shopping; our day was complete as we slipped neatly into our ‘home
port’ of Treasure Island Marina in time for wine and beer on the fly bridge and
an Italian pasta dinner aboard.
We
awakened Tuesday morning with a reprovisioning grocery run on the agenda prior
to Caroline’s departure. I suggested Loblaws because I was somewhat familiar
with the store’s layout, having been there previously. And, I thought Caroline
would enjoy poking through the clothing offerings while I filled my cart with
groceries. It was a win-win for us both! She nabbed a few items for an upcoming
trip to Africa while I was able to replenish our frig and pantry.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to browse the clothing department nor the
housewares department, both unusually large and appealing for a predominantly
grocery venue!
We
bid Caroline goodbye with encouragement for safe travels about noon, then I
went about the task of regrouping (laundry, catch-up with computer
communication and bill paying, etc) while Clay tended to maintenance issues.
One maintenance issue led to another and pretty soon SaSea Sally’s interior
looked like disaster had struck! I’m fearful our one-day planned layover here
may be extended by a day or two more. Despite the stock of spare parts,
acquiring other parts looks to be the biggest challenge thus far; doesn’t it
always happen that way? I’ll keep you posted.
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