LAKE FLEET ISLANDS to GRENADIER ISLAND & US CUSTOMS on HEART ISLAND

Sunday was a gorgeous day in the Thousand Islands. It was sunny and warm with perfect white puffy clouds against the blue sky. We departed the LAKE FLEET ISLANDS, and headied North to West GRENADIER dock. The scenery was beautiful and we passed under the Tnousand Islands bridge.  We arrived to the dock about 2 pm and were lucky to find one space available our size :) Once Thistle was secure we went on a long hour and a half paddle against the wind and currents to Rockport. 

Rockport is a small town considered the Heart of the Thousand Islands. They have a few restaurants, art gallery, boat works and lots of ferry tour boats!!! We enjoyed watching some Sunday afternoon Football and exploring the town before our paddle back to GRENADIER.

Back on GRENADIER we met our dock neighbors and enjoyed each other's company for dinner and a few drinks :) they are home wine makers and were we duly impressed with their product (Thanks for sharing).

On Monday morning we departed GRENADIER, and headed North a few miles to Singer Castle on Dark Island ... It's a beautiful castle. After seeing the castle we did a U Turn, and headed South for five miles to US Customs on Heart Island.

We cleared back into the USA with no problems ...Yeah :)

Sunday: LAKE FLEET ISLANDS to GRENADIER ISLAND - Red Line.

Monday: GRENADIER ISLAND to US CUSTOMS on HEART ISLAND - Blue Line. 

Sunday was gorgeous.

Docked on GRENADIER ISLAND.

Paddling to Rockport.

Rockport... Very artsy!

In Rockport... All smiles :)

GRENADIER ISLAND... Another favorite stop.

Saying goodby to new friends XO.

Singer Castle on Dark Island.

Clearing US Customs.

Home in the USA ... Yeah :)

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS to LAKE FLEET ISLANDS

We departed Thwartway Island on Thursday morning, and headed North to the LAKE FLEET ISLAND group.  We were nervous about getting a mooring at either Camelot Island or Endymion Island, as they are both popular destinations. It took us about 45 minutes to arrive and see that there was plenty of availability :)... We are happy that Fall is here and the busy summer demand for moorings has decreased in the Thousand Island National Parks. 

Since there was not an issue with moorings, we decided to take a trip back to Gananoque for some supplies. We have been remote (No stores, restaurants...etc) since leaving Kingston and almost everything was closed on Labor Day when were in Gan on Monday. 

We returned to the LAKE FLEET ISLAND group by 2 pm and had our choice of mooring cans! Both Islands are beautiful, Camelot has four mooring cans and Endymion has six. We decided on Endymion with a little extra space and a nice breeze. We stayed here for three nights and loved every moment!

The 1,864 Thousand Islands range in size from 40 square miles to smaller Islands occupied by a single house, or rocks that are only home to waterfowl. To be counted as an Island it must 1) Be above water level year round. 2) Have an area greater than one square foot. 3) Support at least one living tree. About 20 of these Islands form The Thousand Island National Park, the oldest of Canada's National Parks East of the Rocky Mountains. Our Annual Canadian Seasonal Mooring Permit is good here :)

Looper Tip: With weather and time permitting, if you secure a mooring on a Thursday night in the Thousand Islands stay put for the weekend...it gets crowded! 

Thursday: Our trip from ADMIRALTY ISLANDS to LAKE FLEET ISLANDS with a stop in Gananoque -  Red Line. Three nights at Endymion Island - Red Star.

Quick provisioning stop in Gan.

Homes in The Thousand Islands.

Anything to catch the Captain's attention for the NO WAKE zones!

Thistle at Endymion Island (We were alone on Thursday, half full Friday and full Saturday).

Aloha Friday in the Islands...That's the Thousand Islands :)  Pineapple is a treat!

We are in Canada ...200 yards from the USA ! 

Stand Up Paddling Rain or Shine :) 

Our Paddle Trips while at Endymion Island.

Thursday - Red Line.

Friday - Green Line (Very windy).

Saturday - Blue Line.

After Paddle Shampoo, Rinse and Cold one :)

Rainy Saturday afternoon: College Football (Stanford vs USC) on Thistle.

Our mooring neighbors have a Porcheese Water Dog Puppy. 

Spectacular Sunset.

Moon Light Skinny Dip...Darn too dark for a picture :)

KINGSTON to GANANOQUE & ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

At 10 am on Monday morning we departed KINGSTON, heading North on the Saint Lawrence River towards the Thousand Islands. After a lot of rain and wind in KINGSTON, our trip on Monday was very pleasant. It is the Labor Day Holiday in both US and Canada and we knew it was a little risky finding a place to dock in the popular Thousand Islands. Anyway, we had to be flexible about our Monday night destination ... The options in the Thousand Islands proved to be full and we activated plan "B": GANANOQUE! 

We called the GANANOQUE Playhouse to see if they had docking available. (A fellow Looper told us that you can dock here for free, if you attend a play.) They had space but it was a "Dark" night due to the Holiday. We docked at the nice Playhouse location by 2:30 pm, secured Thistle and rode our bikes to explore the town. 

Looper Tip: The Playhouse is a great location close to town and it is currently $30 a night play or no play. 

GANANOQUE is referred to as the "Gateway to the Thousand Islands", witch lie next to the town in the Saint Lawrence River. The local town attractions include boat cruises to the Thousand Islands and live local theater. In Eastern Ontario speech, the town name is often abbreviated to "Gan". We liked Gan very much and were disappointed to miss the play. Our decision to only stay one night was because we were very excited to visit the Thousand Islands.  

The Thousand Islands constitute an archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddle the Canadian/ USA border in the Saint Lawrence River. Under sunny skies, on Tuesday morning it took us about 1 hour to reach the ADMIRALTY ISLANDS (A group of five Islands in the Thousand Islands). We checked-out a few docking options and selected secluded Beau Rivage Island for Tuesday and then moved to Thwartway Island on Wednesday night.

The "Big" picture map of where we are ... Beautiful Thousand Islands.  

Monday: KINGSTON to GANANOQUE - Red line.

Tuesday & Wednesday: GANANOQUE to ADMIRALTY ISLANDS - Blue line (3.Aubrey  4.Mermaid  5.Beau Rivage  6.McDonald  7.Thwartway)

The Thousand Island Playhouse Dock. 

Downtown Gan...beautiful old buildings. (The Visitors Center has great wifi :)

Gan..."The Gateway to the Thousand Islands" ... Many tour boats! 

Swim at the Playhouse and Thistle's mast back up after the low bridge in Kingston.

GANanouque Brewing Co.... "Naugty Otter" is a favorite :)

Moon rise over the Saint Lawrence River. 

Beau Rivage Island: Very secluded and peaceful, clean swimming water and a nice island trail :)

Perfect...sun, wild flowers and calm water ... Until... Tuesday evening a sail boat docks with us (that is ok and expected) but their fenders SQUEEKED all night ??? Crazy ... oh well, guess we will move on tomorrow :)

Sunset on Beau Rivage XO.

On a mooring can at Thwartway Island, five mooring cans full by evening. The other trawler from Virginia, USA invited everyone in the cove to their boat for BYOB Happy Hour :) Very nice and fun with 10 of us ... Thanks !

The water here is a beautiful deep blue color ... Yeah, we inflated our SUP's again (Reenie paddling to Happy Hour.)

Captain Greg (and Reenie) are happy and smiling with our new quiet location.

Thwartway Island has a nice sandy beach on the other side of the island (a ten minute walk, once onshore.) This could be a favorite port :)

LOWER BREWERS to KINGSTON

On Friday morning we departed LOWER BREWERS at 9 am and arrived in KINGSTON about 1 pm. It was still pretty chilly, but sunny all day. The big event of the day was that we completed the Rideau Canal...Yeah !!! All 203 kilometers, 51 locks (counting in and out of the Tay Canal), 16 lakes, 2 rivers, one dam and too many bridges to count :) We can now fly our Rideau Canal Burgee with pride... It was truly a beautiful journey.

After we checked into the Confederation Marina in KINGSTON we were assigned a dock, secured Thistle and went to explore the town. In 1841 Kingston was the first Capital of Canada. As a political center KINGSTON'S rein was cut short. The location of KINGSTON  was considered  vulnerable to an American attack. Montreal was named the Capital and then Ottawa in 1849. When the Rideau Canal was completed, KINGSTON became the military and economic center of Canada. It's nickname is the "Limestone City" because of all the heritage buildings constructed from limestone. 

We enjoyed our three night stay in KINGSTON and celebrated our 29th wedding Anniversary!

Looper Tip: it's a beautiful City to spend to or three nights... In the Marina :) 

Fridays trip LOWER BREWERS to KINGSTON.

Finishing the last lock on the Rideau Canal.

Rideau Canal Burgee :)

Arriving in KINGSTON: The City skyline, old military towers and a VERY low bridge!

Thistle docked at Confederation Basin Marina.

KINGSTON City Hall , Shoal Tower and Customs House (All viewed from our dock at the Marina).

Friday night Concert at City Hall.

Unique items at the KINGSTON Farmers market.. Beet cured Salmon Gravlax (Cooking demonstration and taste), Maple Sugar Candy and Wolfe Island Bread. 

The Marina Park Saturday afternoon concert, Kingston manufactured locomotives and home to John Macdonald (The Frist Prime Minister of Canada).

Sunday, Ferry ride to Wolfe Island.

Bike ride around Wolfe Island, very scenic with old churches, homes and an interesting old tree stump...What do you see?

Ferry ride :)

The numerous Military Towers surrounding KINGSTON.

August 31st...Happy 29th Wedding Anniversary...there were Fireworks, Flowers and a special " Once in a Blue Moon" cocktail at the Blue Martini Restaurant XO.