Sea Bee Cruising

Gananoque Ontario is marked with the white pin; Sackets Harbor NY with the blue pin: On Sept. 6 we arrived at Navy Point Marine in Sackets Harbor NY.  This historic village is the site of significant battles in the War of 1812 and the home of Madison Barracks, a U.S. army base from just after the War of 1812 until the end of WWII.  Madison Barracks was home at one time to Ulysses Grant and Gen. Mark Clark, as well as the childhood home to both Fiorello LaGuardia and June's father George Friedman. Sackets Harbor today is a charming village with restaurants, shops, and historic sites. Navy Point Marine seen from the Sackets Harbor Brewing Co. where we had an excellent burger and brew on a rainy, chilly night. Madison Barracks buildings across the harbor from Navy Point: Madison Barracks 1892 water tower, limestone covering steel tank: Old Stone Row officers quarters built in 1819, now condominium homes:  Duplex house across the street from Madison Barracks w

Entrance to the Gananoque Municipal Marina. Cruising east of Kingston Ontario into the St. Lawrence River, one reaches the town of Gananoque with its large, well-equipped municipal marina walking distance from the town's parks, restaurants, shops and museums.The weather, however, was windy, chilly, and rainy much of the time we were there.  We were fortunate to arrive before the winds really kicked up. The view from our dock.  Compare the flag in this photo and those in the next photo. Harbinger of Fall in front of St. John's Catholic Church in Gananoque. 1903 Gananoque clock tower, a gift to the town from the founder's great-grandson. Gananoque has lots of interesting restaurant choices.  We weren't able to try this one, but went high end instead and had an outstanding dinner at Riva Restaurant. After three nights in Gananoque, the wind subsided so we could move on up the St. Lawrence further into the Thousand Islands.  Heading east

Kingston Ontario is a wonderful cruising stop -- a lively and interesting city with everything one could want in walking distance.  Confederation Marina in Confederation Basin is adjacent to Confederation Park and City Hall (a museum as well as official offices)  and downtown Kingston streets filled with every imaginable kind of restaurant and shopping, and almost no recognizable chain stores.  (We did see one Starbucks, but no Tim Horton's although we are told there are 26 of them in Kingston.)  Kingston is home to several colleges including Queen's University, which we did not see but which is certainly the reason for the presence of many young people in evidence enjoying their city. City Hall and Confederation Park From our dock in one direction, we see City Hall and Confederation Park.  On a tour of City Hall, we learned a lot about Kingston today and Canadian history.  The plaza behind the building hosts a farmer's market three days a week and a free mo