Day 8 - Sandbanks to St-Michel de Bellechasse - Tues, June 25

Left the park before 8:00. Wish we could have stayed a lot longer. We will definitely be back one day! We love Prince Edward County! 

Took the short Glenora ferry crossing on our way to Kingston, following the Loyalist Parkway route.

On the Glenora Ferry

 Prince Edward County from the ferry

 On the Loyalist Parkway...

Trivia alert: The Loyalists - Following the American Revolution of 1776, individuals who had supported Britain or had wished to remain neutral on religious and ethical grounds were persecuted, deprived of property and often their lives. Survivors fled to areas of British protection around the globe. Those who had fought with the British joined the exodus. The first legal British settlement in Canada other than military establishments took place in western Quebec and what is now eastern Ontario. The settlers were made up of soldiers from volunteer regiments , European mercenaries and civilians. Many were from lower New York State and the Mohawk Valley and included many Mohawk Indians. They suffered terribly from cold, starvation and disease but persevered to become major participants in the formation of Ontario and ultimately Canada. The Loyalist Parkway is a commemoration of their loyalty and determination.

Kingston is the birthplace of Sir John A MacDonald, father of confederation and our first  Prime-minister. (He was a lawyer and his first job was in Picton, very close to Sandbanks in Prince Edward County...)

Kingston is a very old historic town with beautiful stone buildings on the waterfront. The maximum security prison is here as well as a naval and armed forces base.

We stopped for coffee at the socialist Coffeehouse in the township of Gananoque to get some Internet time. 

Loyalist Cafe

Cool cafe with a bar made of old books and an adjoining room with walls papered with book pages. The bathroom counter was a slab of wood. Loved all the decor!

After Kingston, we followed the Thousand Island Parkway, which reminded us a bit of Lake of the Woods, except that the vegetation surrounding the pre-Cambrian shield rock was more varied. 

Entrance to the 1000 Islands Parkway

We could see many of the islands as we were cruising along, many of them with very elaborate cottages! More trivia... To qualify as an island, the land be above water 365 days a year and contain at least 2 trees...

We then had to get back onto the big busy four lane Highway 401! 

As we got off to gas up a bit later, Robert discovered that we could continue on another smaller scenic highway, much like the 1000 Island Highway that we had just been on! Perfect! Slower, but much more interesting! So, we stayed on the Heritage highway up to Cornwall, then got back on the big 401 highway bound for Montreal. Once on the 401, the scenery was flatter and more boring. It is lined with industries and the towns you pass are not very visible. We much prefer the smaller out of way routes, but had no choice. We took the Montreal bypass route and headed for St-Michel de Bellechasse, just past Quebec City. 

St-Michel is where Marie Perron's (Gil Desaulniers's wife) parents have a cottage on Fleuve St. Laurent. We arrived just after sunset, just as a strong winds and heavy rains were starting. We parked our trailer in their yard, introductions, then a quick visit, then everyone to bed.