Tuesday, September 18, 2018

GANANOQUE TO MALLORYTOWN: WE TRAVELED FARTHER ON WATER TODAY THAN WE DID LAND

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WE EVEN MANAGED A SUNSET ON THE ST LAWRENCE RIVER TONIGHT

Besides ourselves we ended up with 4 other RV’s in the well lit Casino parking lot.  No other vehicles and each RV’er showed respect by not crowding his neighbor.  It was a quiet night except for traffic noise.  A short distance away on our North side we had the 401 noise going by while right beside us on the South side we had vehicles going in and out of the Casino plus another lot nearby with truck parking.  Other than the noise we liked the spot.

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PHEEBS AND I HAD US A WEE WALK AROUND GANANOQUE’S WATERFRONT FIRST THING THIS MORNING

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LOOKING ACROSS THE ST LAWRENCE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES

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THIS IS OUR BOAT FOR THE CRUISE THIS MORNING

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HEADING FOR THE BOAT WHICH  YOU CAN PARTIALLY SEE TO THE RIGHT

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<<< WE HAD JUST TOLD PHEEBS WE COULDN’T TAKE HER WITH US ON THE BOAT CRUISE

We pulled out early and headed back through Gananoque to secure us a good parking spot in the bus parking area across the road from the cruise boat.  Had a couple hours to spare so got in some walking with the Pheebs.

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KELLY HEADS UP THE GANGPLANK

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NICE TO BE GREETED BY THE CAPTAIN’S HAPPY SMILING FACE

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WE QUICKLY FIND A SEAT  ON THE TOP OPEN AIR DECK

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I GLANCED BACK TO SEE IF PHEEBS WAS UP ON THE DASH YET….. NOPE, NOT YET

We boarded our cruise boat the ‘Thousand Islander 3’ about 9:35 a.m. and it pulled out right on time at 10.  Luckily it was not a full house and the number of people was manageable even for me.  Morning air was already heavy with humidity but fortunately we had a thick cloud cover early on blocking out the Sun.  Had that Sun come out it would have been a very uncomfortable cooker.

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WE PASS ANOTHER CRUISE BOAT COMING IN

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WE LEAVE GANANOQUE IN OUR WAKE

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CAN YOU FIND MISS MOLLY POPS

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YEP, THERE SHE IS

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IT’S STRAIGHT UP THAT-AWAY TO THE GULF OF ST LAWRENCE AND ATLANTIC OCEAN

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THE CAPTAIN GIVES ME A WAVE

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It was an enjoyable cruise along the St. Lawrence River up around Boldt Castle and back again.  Two and a half hours well spent looking at all the small Islands many with houses on them and some without.  Nice to see Cormorants and Loons.  Didn’t see any visible shipwrecks but they were announced as we passed over them far below us.

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I TOOK MOST OF THE CRUISE’S PHOTOS FROM RIGHT UP FRONT  AT THE BOW THERE

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METHINKS THAT IS A CORMORANT

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OUR CLOUD COVER BEGINS TO BREAK UP

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So how do I include about 260 photos in one blog.  Well that’s easy, I don’t.  So much great scenery to share yet impossible to share it all.  Difficult editing job for me tonight trying to decide which photos to choose.  Hard for me to decide on the best ones which results in me posting way too many photos most days. 

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HOLY SMOKES WE MUST HAVE BEEN DOING ABOUT 150 MPH HERE

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Okay, what I’m going to have to do here folks is cut the cruise photos off for tonight and return to the rest of the cruise photos over the next few days.  I’m just too tired tonight and I still want to get the remainder of our day’s photos in so I don’t get myself too far behind.  We were back to dockside by 12:30 and back to the rig minutes later.  Feeling hungry we threaded our way back through the Gananoque downtown construction for the fourth and last time and popped into McDonalds on our way out of town.  Two Angus burgers and coffee to go.  Minutes later we rolled out of town and climbed aboard the Thousand Island Parkway.  I was right away reminded of the Natchez Trace in the States.  What a beautiful piece of road this is as it follows the shore line of the St Lawrence river north.  Very little traffic and no trucks whatsoever.  Nice scenic pull-out areas along the way.

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THREADING OUR WAY THROUGH GANANOQUE

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CLIMBING ABOARD THE THOUSAND ISLAND PARKWAY

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BEAUTIFUL DRIVE ALONG THE WESTERN SHORELINE OF THE ST LAWRENCE RIVER

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PULLED OVER FOR A LEG STRETCH

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AT THIS POINT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN OVERNIGHT SPOT

Monday’s plan was to head to Brockville Tuesday.  Tuesday’s plan was to not head to Brockville Tuesday.  We were both tired so kept our eye out for a pull over spot for the night along the Parkway.  At Mallorytown Landing we spotted a sign saying, Thousand Islands National Park so in we went.  It’s a small Park but really nice.  They said we could dry camp overnight for $19.00 near the boat ramp launch so that’s what we did.  We simply were too tired to go any further looking for a free overnighter spot somewhere.  It’s quiet here where we are and dark as the ace of spades.  And we’re the only ones here:))))

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THIS IS OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT NEAR THE BOAT LAUNCH RAMP BELOW

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AND YES THE DOC WE WERE ON WAS  A LITTLE TIPPY

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PARK HEADQUARTERS

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WE RELAXED BY THE RIVER FOR A BIT

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All and all another good day for The Bayfield Bunch .  Where we’re headed tomorrow we have no idea.  We’ll figure it out when we get there:))

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GROANER’S CORNER:(( Some friars needed to raise more money for books for the school, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good brothers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him.So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that "Only Hugh can prevent florist friars."

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All of Broomtown was a buzz because boy-broom and girl-broom were going to get married. Everyone felt certain that the bride-broom and the groom-broom would make a lovely couple.The night before the wedding, however, bride-broom told groom-broom that she was going to have a little wisk-broom."But, how can that be?" wailed groom-broom, "We haven't even swept together yet!"

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12 comments:

  1. Good times. Beautiful scenery. Really like having the photos of Al and Kelly. And oftentimes Pheebes.
    Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

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  2. What a wonderful blog,.!And what fun you’re having too. Pheebs didn’t look too happy though.

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  3. Superb photos. Already... the two of you look enlivened and revived at so many beautiful new places to explore. A change of scene does that! And we get to come along, too. Perfect. Looking forward to the weeks of blogging about this new journey. Home is nice, but despite the occasional unknowns (where will we stay this evening?), this is far more exciting.

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  4. Any day with a wonderful boat tour in it is A grand day indeed. Great pic of you 2 in the bow. Happy motoring.

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  5. Agree ! Great pic of you and Kelly on the bow. You look just like Jimmy Buffett in that ball cap - sailing away ! Changes in Latitude, Changes in attitude. And, my favorite is looking thru the gazebo at the red chairs. One of your most scenic and beautiful overnight spots. Priceless. ! 🌷🐦😳

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  6. Sounds like a perfect day to me. Loved that overnight spot even at 19.00.

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  7. What wonderful photos and how great that the Bayfield Bunch had such an enjoyable day.

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  8. I really love all the photos, especially the one of the flying cormorant. That photo is the best! Now that's my kind of scenery - cool, green, water, and just a lovely place.

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  9. More wonderful travel! Great shot of you and Kelly in the bow of the ship. And nice drive along that parkway. Looking forward to the seaway.g

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  10. I am so glad it was only a two and a half hour tour. You know what happens if you take a "three hour tour"??? (grin grin)

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  11. I'd say it was a grand day. Plus that last night parking was worth every penny.

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