MINK AND A PIKE

We generally see wild milk scurrying around the grounds as we eat.  They are cute and very pretty.  I guess they are common.
A fellow who placed down came home with a fine Northern Pike and was figuring a way to cook it for supper.

Pike is such a fine fish!  There are quite a few varieties I was unaware existed.
They hang in restaurants, stuffed and mounted.  There are quite a few here.  Less are mounted these days because they do a good bit of catch and release.

THURSDAY

We took the 2 and a half boat ride up and down the river.  It was very pleasant.  We saw the outside of the castle.  Quite a work in stone.
Houses were very plush, some with boathouses out over the water.
Along the way houses on islands might have a stone arch going to a smaller area nearby.

We passed under the Canadian and then under the American Thousand Island bridge.

I should have thought of it, but Thousand Island dressing was invented here.

In the Gilded Age the rich came here for the comfort of the coolness.
Smuggler's hid on the many islands and tried to avoid the police.  They might be smuggling white lightning.  If the cops approached, they would dump the bottles in sacks overboard and return to dive for the loot.  There is still a lot of smuggled goods in the river.

The river was perfect for moving freight and still beats the roadways of trains.  Wheat and soybeans go toward New York City.
Fish are still abundant, however the zebra muscle has invaded and cleared the water so that the food chain was interrupted.

It took decades for the American eagle to return.  Finally it did, nesting in osprey platforms.  Now there are quite a few.

We met people from all over.  Some nearby spoke Spanish. Two women spoke the language of the Congo although they had been in Ottawa for twenty years.  An Indian family from near Niagara Falls took dozens of photos while waiting in line for the boarding to begin.

We sat on top in the open air, and later moved to the second level, escaping the sun but having great view of the shorelines on both sides.
We had an afternoon nap and a good swim in the indoor, heated pool.

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We looked at some other spots for supper, but finally went back to this restaurant in the resort.  I had perch fish again, getting an extra piece.  It came with a baked potato and fine tasting green beans.
Just now I am having a glass of no-alcohol wine.  Abriel that I brought from home.

TUESDAY

We left home before nine and arrived early afternoon.  Out room was not ready, so we sat out by the water and just enjoyed the view.  They had lounge chairs that let me put my leg up.  Great.
The room was up on a hill and it had a terrace and a good view of the river.  So fine to have this fresh river air wafting in the room night and day.
We ate at the restaurant here and I had a nice pickerel, which is what the Canadians call a Northern.  It was a good supper.  We ate right next to a window overlooking the river.

Not much television and the internet is too slow to load photos.  I'll have to do that at home.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast was quite good here.  At first, I thought it was limited to buffet foods that I could not eat, but the scrambled eggs have no salt.  Even better, they made a special order of eggs over easy, unsalted fried and crisp potatoes like I make at home, and added to the mixed fruit, I had plenty.  The fruit was very sweet, some of the best mixed buffet fruit I've encountered.  It was ripe and not that hard, underripe stuff offered on most buffets.
The coffee was very good. Elizabeth and I both liked it.  That is rare.
http://www.mother-parkers.com/

We watched wild mink scooting here and there around the shoreline.  They are very cute.

We went to Gananoque to see the ship museum, which was more of a wooden boat museum.
It was delightful to see these old, wooden boats all polished up and sharp looking.
Much of the museum was outside with boats tied to a long pier.  The rest was inside.  There were old motors as well from my generation and before.  Scattered about were small rooms of antiques showing life in those times.

Afterwards, we visited the Shorelines casino where both of us won a bit of money on a video poker game.  I played Double Double and hit a quad.  Elizabeth played some weird game with multipliers and hit big on one set of quad 3.  She ended one hundred dollars American ahead.

Next we went to eat at a foo foo place that had very little low salt dishes, but I found one that was delicious, a kale salad.  I wanted to add a piece of tuna, but they were out of tuna.  That was annoying.  However, I got plenty to eat for lunch.
Water was served without ice.  I had to ask.
We parked in a place that was actually reserved for a tenant of a nearby building.  We came out to find the car blocked in by another car that belonged there.  However, within a couple minutes the owner came out and in a very friendly way freed our escape.

After a good long nap and some play with photos on cell phones and my camera, we had supper at the place here, eating in the bar area.  Fish and chips were good, but the chips are not crispy here.  Still tasty.  The fish was yellow perch deep fried with a hard, crispy shell.  I got an extra order because it was so good.

Laverne's Eatery