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Our last CLEE outing for this school year was to Gananoque and a tour around the 1800+ islands in this part of the St Lawrence River. There are various sets of criteria as to what qualifies a chunk of rock to be called an island and, as such, there are a number of estimations as to how many islands exist. At a minimum they need at least one tree and to be above water most of the year round. Most islands are privately owned. It seems also that as long as you own it you may build on it and some dwellings we saw appeared to have more house than island. It got me thinking, after the event, about how they get power, phone, TV, water, sewer and regular services like garbage removal, newspaper deliveries and even junkmail.
I've since found some of the answers on http://www.gananoque.com/history.html
It has quite a colourful history. It featured in a number of border skirmishes between the Americans and the Canadians (before hockey was invented as a means of sorting out their differences.)
It's also been home to innumerable wealthy, famous or notorious residents - unfortunately I do not have the bank balance to join their ranks but I do find the idea quite appealing.
Of all the millionaire's homes, none is more famous than the Boldt Castle built for the owner's beloved wife. If only I loved my wife enough to put such effort into a show of my undying love for her. The trade off, thankfully, is that my wife didn't drop dead in the middle of construction and is still around to appreciate my pitiful efforts. The Boldt story makes better reading.
http://www.boldtcastle.com/history.html
The day of the cruise wasn't spectacular - overcast and drizzly at times. Sunday,Father's Day over here, however turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and we got to see the islands in all their glory. Spent the day at Kingston perusing the town, having a horse drawn carriage ride and a nice Father's day lunch on a balcony over looking the river.
