Cruising Around the 1000 Islands & Learning about a Tragic Love Story at Rockport, Kingston, Canada

QUEBEC TRIP - PART 2 We went to Montreal recently and enjoyed the trip so much that we decided to visit the province of Quebec again for the second time in the summer months. Desiring to explore Quebec a little more but did not want to drive the distance, we signed up for a bus tour and also invited a family member to join us.

  We picked up Th. from his home the evening before the trip to sleep over at our house so that we would be on time for the 7:00am bus tour departure time from Toronto. We arrived at the Pacific Mall for our tour bus and there were a few people already waiting there. There were many tour buses with a variety of tours going to various tourist destinations.

  Our bus was pretty full and the tour was well organized with seats already pre-assigned. The tour bus made its first stop in Rockport near Kingston for a cruise tour of the Thousand Islands. We passed by Kingston many times but had never stopped for more than an hour.

 

 

 

 

  This time, the tour company arranged for us an hour long cruise of the 1000 Islands.

There are over 1800 islands in the Thousand Islands region surrounding Kingston, Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River area which is famous for its eccentric homes - Some are large; some are tiny and a few turn-of-the-century Gilded Age mansions.

The tour guide also shared with us a few unique island folklore.

  There was one tragic love story which we remember well; and it was about the Boldt Castle (Heart Island). We saw the grandest mansion on one of the islands during our cruise. This is one of the most famous structures in the area built by George C. Boldt, proprietor of New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. He started building a 6-story, 120-room Rhineland-style castle as a romantic gift for his wife, Louise in 1900. He even had the island re-shaped into the shape of a heart.

However, tragedy struck in 1904 when Louise died unexpectedly and construction was halted. Saddened and deeply affected, Boldt no longer wish to continue building the mansion. In fact, he never set foot on the island again. Half-finished, the grand estate was abandoned for over seven decades before public restoration efforts began. It was eventually donated to the government which has turned it into a public park for all to enjoy.

  It was good seeing Th. who seemed to be enjoying this trip, taking pcitures, initiating conversations with fellow tourists and the bus driver.

  After the cruise, we had a buffet lunch at the restaurant by the St. Lawrence River, enjoying some good food and a beautiful view of the river!

 

Another couple of hours, we reached Montreal, had a ride on the FERRIS wheel where we had a good bird’s eyeview of the waterfront area of Montreal.

 H We had a Montreal smoke meat sandwich and a salad in the square. Then we called it a day and stayed at the DTH for the night. RT, Montreal, 082026