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.
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| 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 movie once a week (weather
permitting, and it permitted during our stay). The park hosts free
concerts several times a week at noon and evening: we enjoyed Irish
Roots, a traditional trio.
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| Irish Roots in performance; Confederation Basin and Marina to the right. |
Looking out across the water from our dock, one sees historic Ft. Henry and the Military College, as well as Wolfe Island with its extensive wind farm -- the vintage and the modern side by side.
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| Military College in the distance. Here you can see two of Kingston's four early 19th century "Martello Towers," small forts that guarded this strategic location. |
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| Wolfe Island wind farm from our bow. |
A stroll along the waterfront to visit the Pump House Museum took us to the Kingston Yacht Club and another pretty park with views of Wolfe Island.
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| Kingston Yacht Club |
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| Wolfe Island wind farm, sailboats, and geese. |
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| Memorial to Irish immigrants to Kingston |
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| View from the Kingston Yacht Club of Irish immigrant memorial and two Martello towers |
