We drove to Kingston, located midway between Toronto and Montreal. Kingston is nicknamed the “Limestone City” because of the many heritage buildings constructed using local limestone.
Kingston Mills – Rideau Canal
We drove 4 miles north of Kingston to Kingston Mills, one of 24 lockstations of the Rideau Canal system. The Rideau Canal is a 202 kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River with the St. Lawrence River. The Canal opened in 1832 for commercial shipping. Today, it remains in use for pleasure boating.
We parked the jeep and walked to get a view of Lock #1.. There were a few people milling around but not much activity at all even though there were a few old buildings; the lockstation office and the original lockmaster’s house which is now a visitor centre. Ken, being adventurous, climbed down the steps along the lock for a closer view. He saw a canoe paddling towards the lock. Soon, there was a scurry of activity out of one of the old buildings. We were told that a canoe would be coming into the lock if we wanted to wait and watch. Of course, we waited and got to see first-hand the raising and lowering of the lock. What a fun and enjoyable afternoon!
Day 3 1000 Islands- Rockport
On our last day in the 1000 Islands region, we drove to Rockport, a small village along the river. We stopped at Cornwall’s Pub for lunch. During lunch we met two very nice couples from Canada. We always learn alot when we meet new people on our travels. So far, everyone has been nice and quick to offer suggestions for our must-do list.
We stopped by the General Store and found the employees there to be friendly and helpful. The owner gave us lots of suggestions for our trip to Quebec City and the Maritimes. I even bought a few souvenirs!
1000 Island Dressing…Did You Know?
1000 Island Dressing…Did you know?
The origin of 1000 Island Dressing is related to George Boldt, one time owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and of the Bellvue Stratford in Philadelphia.
The legend is that George Boldt was cruising the 1000 Islands aboard his yaht. When his steward began to prepare lunch, he discovered that some of the normal ingredients used in his dressings were not available. The steward prepared a dressing using a variety of ingredients that George Boldt found so pleasing that he decided to have it served in his hotels. It was named 1000 Island Dressing in honor of the beautiful area where it was first prepared. Later, the steward was promoted to work at the Waldorf Astoria and subsequently rose to international fame as the Oscar of the Waldrof.
The story of 1000 Island Dressing is intertwined with the romace of Bold Castle.
We checked the forecast for our drive to Montreal tomorrow and it looks like more Rain!
Au Revoir 1000 Islands!
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