To Toronto and beyond!– Our planned trip across Ontario was to be a big Zorro-like “Z”.   Well, not quite but definitely not a straight line either.  Check out the route.  Turns out it will cover almost 1700 miles. 

From Ottawa, we were heading down to the 1000 Islands National Park area along the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Then, into Toronto proper to visit friends. Then to Niagara Falls to see, well, the falls!  Back northeast to Peterborough to visit Gail’s “boss” and friend.  Then up to North Bay and Sudbury until we get to Sault Ste Marie and back into the US.  The seaway, the big city, the big sight, and the big woods.  Lots of different places in a short time.

First, we headed out of Ottawa and onto the main Hwy 416 south to the St. Lawrence.  As it turned more west, it turned into Hwy 401 which we will see again as well.  We got off and onto the Thousand Islands Parkway along the north shore of the Seaway.  The drive was very nice.  Our destination was a KOA park on the St. Lawrence called, as you might expect, 1000 Islands KOA.  The park was nice and had full hookups!

First thing, we took off to check out the Ontario Visitor Center to get more info on the area, including local hikes, then to Rockport to check out the scoop on the boat tours.  We went on to Gananoque, the “big town” in the area, and had a nice walk around the park lake which was full of mama and baby geese, some ducks, a pair of swans and 1 heron.  We finished up the day with dinner back at the waterfront pub in Rockport. 

The next day we did a short hike at a Canada Park called Landon’s Bay.  The hike was up to a rock summit which had a nice view of the Bay. 

Then on to our “2 hour boat tour” around the islands.  The area is a summer get-away for Canadians and Americans as the border runs between the islands with Alexandria Bay, NY and there is an international bridge crossing the St. Lawrence as well. 

The area is called 1000 islands, but there are actually over 1800 islands.  The most famous is an island with a home that was built by William Boldt who owned the Waldorf Astoria and other hotels at the time.  He was building the Boldt Castle for his wife and he actually had the island modified into the shape of a heart.  It is called Heart Island!  It was almost finished when his wife died.  He never set foot on the island again and the construction was halted.  It went into disrepair and vandalized until it was purchased as a regional park and semi-restored although it was still never finished. 

Additionally, we found out that on one trip to the islands, Boldt’s chef had run out of his regular dressing and so he created a salad dressing using ketchup, mayonnaise and pickle relish.  Boldt liked it so much he decided to serve it at the Waldorf Astoria and call it Thousand Island dressing.  And now you know!

The boat tour was very enjoyable.  We toured around the islands including the Boldt castle and others.  To be considered an island, it has to have at least 1 tree that remains above water for 365 days.  So, there was quite a variety.  One of the interesting ones is an island that has a nice home on it that is in Canada and there is a bridge over to a small island they also own in the US.  The bridge is famous for being the shortest international bridge.  We wondered if the owners had to clear immigration to cross to over!  And as always, we enjoyed being on the tour and seeing the local area from the water.

Then on to the Toronto area.  On the way there, we stopped in Coburg to have lunch with Lois.  She is one of the editors that Gail has worked with for over 5 years and had never met in person.  We had a nice lunch at a small café and then did a nice walk down to the beach and marina.  It was great to meet Lois and see her town!

On to the campground.  We stayed at Darlington Park (an Ontario Provincial Park) on the St Lawerence Seaway just east of Oshawa.  The camp site was larger than our back yard at home.  But like the other Ontario park we stayed at there was no water and no sewer hookups!  And the power was shared with the next campsite.  We don’t have a very long power cord, so we had to pull in forward and at an angle top hook up!  We enjoyed some nice walks around the park and to the beach area.  And the location. 

Our sightseeing in Toronto was planned around visiting a few other of Gail’s friends from work.  We went downtown to meet Sarah.  We parked at her condo and then walked down to the waterfront via the Toronto Water Garden and the Spadina Wave Deck.  It was Saturday so there was lots of activity in the area.  We had another nice lunch/brunch and then walked back by the distillery district, the CN tower and the Rogers Center

We also went to the Scarborough Bluff Parks area, did a nice hike at East Point Park, and ended with a walk around the Rosetta McClain Gardens.  After our walks, we met Shika for dinner at the Dogfish Pub & Grill at the Scarborough Bluffs Marina.  Shika ordered poutine and we had our first taste.  This one had barbecued pork in addition to plain poutine and was very good.  It was great for Gail to finally meet Sarah and Shika in person. 

The next part of our Toronto leg was on to Niagara Falls.  But on the way we had to make a stop in Burlington, ON at Walker’s Chocolates.  Gail had been gifted mints from there and she wasn’t going near without a stop. She bought chocolates for herself, Gail M, and even some turtles (or Walkers called them tortoises) for me! 

We had booked another KOA in Niagara, and it was very nice and close to the falls.  With time to spare before our trip to the falls the next day, we drove into Niagara-0n-the -Lake that is located where the Niagara River flows out into Lake Ontario.  It is historic due to its location during the early days of North American settlement and conflicts between the British in Canada and the Americans to the south.  Now the town attracts tourists for the quaint village and the old forts and parks along the shore.

The next morning, we had reservations for the boat ride at the falls but were concerned about the availability and cost of parking.  With that in mind we decided to take the city bus for $3.50 each instead of paying over $30 for parking for the day.  But as we walked down to the falls, we saw several lots charging only $10 per day! 

We had both been there years ago but had only viewed the falls.  Gail was on the US side and I had been on the Canadian side.  So, we had purchased the Canadian tour of the falls by boat like the famous Maid of the Mist ride from the US.  It is only a 20-minute ride out and back and it’s wet!!  The boat goes right up to the falls, and the wind picks up a lot from the motion of the falls.  So, the spray, mist and actual water get blown on you.  The tour company provides you with a “reusable, recyclable poncho” (red for the Canadian boats and blue for the US boats.  We had added our own rain jackets and seemed prepared.  But we still got wet, which is part of the adventure.  Fortunately, we didn’t go to the top deck, so we stayed a little dryer.  But it’s an amazing site no less! 

Next, we went to the Journey behind the Falls.  Here you take an elevator down into the wall behind the falls (hence the name) and walk into a tunnel that opens up just behind the falls!  You end up standing just feet from the water.  Again, an amazing site. 

We  decided to come back to watch the fireworks over the falls at 10:00!  A little past my bedtime but we felt it was worth the effort. Before heading back to the falls,  we drove around the area and stopped at several historical sites and lookouts. 

 

Then, we drove back into town and took one of the $10 lots close to the walkway down.  We got there about a half hour early along with hundreds of others and still got a decent spot right on the rail looking across at the falls. 

There was a colored light show shining on the falls as it got dark and then the fireworks went off.  They were from the Canadian side and just above us.  Although only 5 minutes long, they were pretty spectacular. 

We were ending our trip across Quebec and Ontario with a stop at Gail’s friend’s house and her friend’s friend’s house.   Sounds confusing?  Come along and find out.