A Day in the Life of 19th Century Upper Canada Village

After a leisure afternoon relaxing in the breeze at a bird sanctuary campsite on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, the following day was spent nearby exploring Upper Canada Village located 7 miles east of Morrisburg. This recreated town is made up of 40 authentic pre-Confederation (1867) buildings, relocated from the surrounding area to save them from flooding during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway project in the 1950s. The historical site is a colorful reminder of Ontario’s social history. There are primitive structures of early days to fine houses in brick and stone.

Actors outside Cook's Tav

Costume villagers work the 1860’s village with its blacksmith forge and sawmill while a tinsmith, shoemaker, baker, broommaker, cheese maker and cabinet maker employ their skills.

Travelling Tilton Singer

A school house, two churches, printing press shop, a general store, a woolen mill, three farms, and a tavern are all part of the village life. It was comparable to spending a day at Colonial Williamsburg.

Hay wagon passing by old Christ Church

                                                          We celebrated our 27th anniversary in gorgeous weather here at the village on the bank of the St. Lawrence River.

Horse tows scow down canal with a rope at the village

Boatman blows horn as he boards the boat to long pole turn it

A canal ride on a scow pulled by a horse with a tow line down stream was idyllic.

At the end of the afternoon a horse drawn wagon pulled us through the streets of Upper Canada Village wrapping up another wonderful day of adventure.

Time to soak our feet with Yukon at the end of a day in the St. Lawrence River at our campsite

Cruising through the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River

Embarking on a 2.5 hour boat cruise along the American and Canadian span of the 1000 Islands from Gananoque to Iva-Lea with an added 2-hour stopover at Boldt Castle was splendid.These beautiful wooded islands have been the playground of the wealthy living on or along the St. Lawrence River with their magnificent homes, lovely boat houses, and yachts for a century and a half. Our passports were required getting off on the cruise to visit Boldt Castle on an island in upstate New York. So you might say we made it back to the USA from Canada for two hours before the return cruise back into Canadian waters. Enjoy a few candid snapshots from our voyage of a few Thousand Island homes and Boldt Castle.

Bungalow on one of the 1000 Islands

Just a little cottage

Catch the front landscaping

Of the various luxury residences none was more extravagant than Boldt Castle built by the Austrian owner of New York’s Waldorf Astoria, whose chef, it is said was inspired by sojourns here to invent Thousand Island salad dressing.This was a folly of millionaire hotelier George Boldt that began in 1900. Intended as a summer home for his wife it was abandoned in grief before completion when his beloved Louise died in 1904. Upon her death he ordered all construction on the castle stopped and never returned. It was never finished or occupied. The estate sat empty for 73 years and turned to almost disrepair until it was acquired and has been under restoration by the International Bridge Authority since 1977.The castle estate on its private little Heart Island reflects the whimsical imagination of the wealthy Boldts.

There is Alster Tower(The Playhouse) which the Boldts lived in with their two children while the castle was under construction. A Powerhouse was built as an intent to electrify the castle in an age when gas lanterns were in vogue.

                    The Dove-Coit housed pigeons as part of their collection of fancy fowl.

A stone gazebo on the front lawn was a place of entertainment while the castle was under construction. The Italian Garden today reflects what the grounds might have been like if the castle had been completed.

Boldt Yacht House just across the waterway is on Wellesley Island. It housed the Boldts three yachts and houseboat with its berthing slips 128 feet long.

If we sell Buckhollow we could live on Bucktide and cruise the 1000 Islands June-Sept then fly south to somewhere to avoid the cold, cold Canadian winters. Who knows the endless possibilities retirement can bring...

Hello from Ottawa, Ontario

Arriving at the capitol of Canada we discovered the Ottawa Municipal Campground in a wooded area fifteen minutes outside the heart of the city. Each day there comes a free shuttle bus from the campground into downtown to a kiosk drop off directly across from Parliament Hill. With a three day city tour bus pass we’ve been able to hop on and off at choice sights. There are more galleries, museums, and exhibition activities than ever. 

Ottawa is a city of monuments with an amazing oasis of things to do and see.
Parliament Hill was the first destination for a walk around viewing the numerous monuments around the three Parliament buildings and focal points off in the distance. Touring the interior hallway quarters of the Parliament Building is an architectural delight. It is equivalent to being inside a European castle with its neo-gothic style arches, columns, and gargoyles. The Parliament circular library’s exterior and interior was by far the most impressive feature. The East and West block Parliament Buildings glow green above the city skyline because of their copper roofing. These neo-gothic sandstone buildings were completed in 1860. The Parliament Buildings are distinctly reminiscent of London’s Westminster.
Our first day adventure enjoyed viewing the changing of the guard marching parade on the parliament lawn during the morning.

Parliament Library Exterior and Interior

Afterwards we hopped on the top of a double- decked bus for two hours of a narrated tour around the city. It was money well spent and JR was a happy camper free from driving the big city streets. This gave us a chance to decide were we might want to spend more extended time as the tour points out the top belvederes.Departing off the bus at the Info Centre found us gathering booklets for upcoming places in eastern Canada and lunch nearby at an outside pub where pigeons clamor for tidbits.

Watching boats passing through the locks on the Rideau Canal was interesting. Here the system is the only one still done by hand-cranked levers out of the 47 locks along the St. Lawrence River. It costs $250 to pass through the locks on the Rideau Canal from Ottawa to Kingston 225 kilometers with ones boat , but it is said to be well worth it.

On the second and third day we took in the most popular two museums as our visit in Ottawa had allowed for only three days. First off The Museum of Civilizations was so captivating that it took us a full day to tour. The four floors had artifacts and exhibits of aboriginal and first nation people, famous people, horses through the ages, and the history of Canada through the provinces.

In the Grand Hall an alabaster carving at the Civilization Museum

Flags on Canada Day July 1 at Tomb of the Unknown soldier

The Canadian War Museum was also a top ten belvedere. Canadians may have a reputation as a peaceful people but they have seen their share of the world’s battlefields. This museum relocated to a new home on Vimy Place in 2005 and houses the country’s largest military collection.

World War II Lt. General's Medals

It displays an excellent overview of the history of Canadian wars from the 1600s to the present. The French, British, and Indian wars on her soil through both world wars to present day peace keeping honor and commemorate the nation’s military history.

Rideau Hall, the official residence and work place of every governor general since 1867, was a delight. The historic site hosts foreign dignitaries and has a magnificent collection of Canadian art and furniture inside the home. The residence is equivalent to the White House and open to the public for tours. Ceremonial sentries, led by a piper, march to their guard posts at the Sussex Entrance Gate every hour on the hour.

Next stop was at Notre Dome Basilica Cathedrale built in 1839. With its twin spires as a landmark, inside it features a spectacular Gothic style ceiling, stain glass windows, ornate altars, wooden carved pews, and granite marble columns and floors.

Bascila Altar Ceiling

  By the end of the last day in Ottawa our sightseeing was almost maxed out. As the shuttle bus pulled back into the campground, several old vintage cars were parked on display at the central lawn area.A group of 97 classic car owners called Coasters 2010 are traveling in their vehicles coast to coast from Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia.

We had loads of fun meeting some these Canadian folks and seeing their classic autos and “Boler” air stream trailers being towed behind for camping. They are on the move traveling daily whereas we make more time to stop and visit wonderful places along the way in our travels.

Greetings from Brantford to Niagara Falls, Ontario

Botanical Gardens at Niagara Parkway

The Falls at Niagara (American and Canadian)

JR captures a butterfly

Well, we’ve passed the 5,000 mile reading on the odometer in Ontario. Woodside National Historic Site  at the tenth Prime Minister William Mackenzie King’s boyhood home in Kitchener provided a chance to have a wonderful private tour by the curator. Thank you Robert. It was an old Victorian style house with docents in period costumes. 

South to Brantford we stayed several days at Val and David Archer’s (our daughter-in-law Genifer’s aunt and uncle) home. 

Alexander Bell Boyhood Homestead in Brantford

Val and David have a lovely patio with bird feeders which attract a variety of birds we hadn’t seen yet. 

Woodside National Historic Site 

They took us to the Royal Church of the Mohawks the oldest chapel in North America and the Alexander Graham Bell Boyhood Homestead. Niagara Falls and Niagara-On-The-Lake was an easy day trip away from their place without the motor home. At Niagara Falls the Canadian Horseshoe Falls are much larger and breathtaking than the American Falls part. It was great fun stopping at the Butterfly Conservatory and Botanical Gardens along the Niagara Parkway. Trying to photograph butterflies on the wing was a real challenge. A horse carriage ride through the 100 acre gardens gave us an overview of assorted horticulture grounds. There is a valley of wine vineyards leading to a charming resort town called Niagara –On-The-Lake. It is a bit like Carmel by the Sea with all its quaint shops and restaurants.

Red Cardinal on Archer's patio

 We have bypassed Toronto in order to take in several recommendations for some grand sites along the St. Lawrence Waterway and Ottawa the capitol city ahead.

On the Road from Thunder Bay to Orillia,Ontario

The northern route along Lake Superior from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced ‘Soo’ meaning rapids in French) to Orillia has by far some of the most beautiful scenic views of boreal forest, rolling hills, and grand vistas of Lake Superior and Lake Huron. It is no wonder the early fur traders and voyageurs took to the waterways for their passages in canoes. 

Colorful wildflowers seem to be in full bloom by the roadsides everywhere. Thunder Bay had a memorial statue for Terry Fox, the courageous one-legged runner who attempted hopping Canada 3,339 miles for cancer research, before he died of the disease a year later in 1981.If that doesn’t inspire you than we don’t know what does.One can’t pass WaWa without seeing its famous WaWa goose.

An early start the next morning found us turning out at Kathy’s Cove enjoying our breakfast of blueberry pancakes and eggs at a picnic table blissfully overlooking Lake Superior. It was a given we’d all get our feet wet for some fun.


JR teaching Yukon how to swim in Lake Superior.

The ‘Soo’ canal locks on the Canadian side between Lake Superior and Lake Huron were closed for construction work. At the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site we were able to enjoy a private tour with Jacqueline our guide. Here the Canadian locks are for recreational vessels while the USA side of the locks are for commercial vessels. Lake Superior is the highest of the Great Lakes above sea level by 600+ feet which explains the need for the lock system between the lakes for ships to pass through different water levels. There are a total of eight canal sites along the St. Lawrence Waterway with a total of 47 locks from the Atlantic to Lake Superior. 
 Each canal has its own set of locks which allow for vessels to pass around water rapids. 
 After the tour we did a walk in the down pour of warm summer rain along the St. Mary River boardwalk.

JR inspects a photo of the Sault Ste. Marie Lock being built. 

Travels along the smooth road on Hwy 17 east passed beds of water lilies blooming at Georgian Bay on Lake Superior. Approaching the township of Sudbury we turned southbound on to Hwy 69 where JR spent most of the day challenged by strong side winds while driving before reaching Parry Sound for the night.

We caught an early sunrise drive in order to attend the Thirty-third Annual Orillia Scottish Festival. This gave us a wonderful chance to see a parade of pipes and drummers marching in full dressed kilts with their various legions and clans. The event was celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Canada’s Navy. 

 The Scottish festivities included individual bag pipes, pipe bands and drum competitions, Scottish country dancers, entertainers, and vendor booths. It made for a delightful Saturday afternoon at Couchiching Beach Park down near the marina in the cool breeze. It was quite fun and something to see with over two hundred massed pipes and drums all uniting on a grassy field to perform 
together. 

                                          Country Dancers making merry to the sound of bagpipes.

                          Twenty Scottish massed pipe and drum bands perform on the green at 
                          Orillia's Scottish Festival. It was a spectacle to behold.