Friday 25th June - River tour of the Thousand Islands

Up sharp for breakfast - getting all these folks up, washed and fed was no mean feat. We set off in two cars for the trip boat in Gananoque and spent two and a half hours going around some of the Thousand Islands. The whole area is stunningly beautiful with lots of small islands, some with just one small house but ranging right up to grand mansions. The US border runs along and in the river here so you are never very far from the US. They speak a lot about the 1812 war when the Canadians defeated the US, but least said on that here the better. However, we are allowed to quote our host, who said, 'We whooped 'em!'

Lunch was a buffet at a local Golf course. In the afternoon we went to visit Fort Henry in Kingston. This is an nineteenth century fort built on a commanding hilltop almost at the place where the St Lawrence river emerges from Lake Ontario. Bearing in mind the events of 1812, the fort was built to defend Canada against... guess who? We were taken round by students dressed in period costume and watched a parade and the firing of a canon.

In the evening there was a banquet for all Rotarian hosts and guests, with entertainment.

Here we had to say goodbye to Stewart, Eileen, David and Daphne, who were returning home on the following day. For us, we were staying with the Higgs for a further three nights and you might ask why? Well, I made a mess of our return flight booking and when I explained to Bruce that we had to get back to a hotel in Montreal he insisted that we stay on with them. Isn't Rotary fantastic?