Day 19, July 15, 2007

Day 19, July 15, 2007.
We left Bob and Mary-Ann’s at about 8:45 am. Then we spent the next hour looking for a Tim Horton’s. About 9:30 by the time we were on the highway heading for Kingston. The drive in was good but the traffic coming to and through Toronto was heavier than I would have thought for a Sunday. If you counted our lanes and the road next to us including the oncoming lanes there were 12 lanes. We were on the Express Way and there seemed to be another highway that paralleled ours on both sides of the Express Way. The traffic moved well and we had no problems. I stayed in the right hand lane and it ran from one end of Toronto to the other. We were maybe an hour driving through the City and suburbs. We came to this rise and you could see maybe 1 or 2 kilometers, the highway dipped then came up the other side so you had a good view. All you could see was freeway and lanes running every direction. I am not sure of the exact count but I estimated there had to be close to 16 or more lanes of highway plus over passes, underpasses. I must say it was a little intimidating, but I stayed in my right hand lane and drove straight through. We arrived in Kingston about 2-3:00 in the afternoon. One of the things I was sure impressed with was the Service Centers they have along the 401 Freeway. On both sides of the Freeway will be a gas station, MacDonalds, Tim Hortons, Subway, or a selection of other fast food places. Plus all kinds of parking for the big highway trucks or RV’s. The one we pulled into had a MacDonald’s and was it ever busy. There were at least four lines with about 8-10 people in each line. One I noticed as I drove by had a truck wash also. I almost think you could stay there for the night if you so wished and I don’t think there is any charge for it. Now for a little complaint. The Tourist Information Centers they show on the highway, you know the “?” with the arrow. Well! We followed one in one city and it was a good 5 miles to find it. All they will have is this “?” and an arrow pointing in a direction you should go and if you miss it on a turn then good luck. Well in Kingston I was smart, at a grocery store I asked a couple if they knew where there was a Tourist Information Center. She gave me the directions and she was right to the block, However she either failed to mention it, or forgot there was a big celebration going on in downtown Kingston. The traffic and the people were unbelievable. With the bikes on the back I am 34 feet long and 8 feet wide and I have to thread the motorhome through this throng of people. Some streets are closed and people and cars all over the place. Thread is the right word because in some cases it was like threading a needle. But we made it and with some searching we found the road we needed to get out of town. Oh, by the way, the Tourist Information Center was there but you couldn’t park a car let alone our motorhome. We are on our way to start the Rideau Canal Tour which starts in Kingston, but passing through we saw the ad for Fort Henry and decided to do that tomorrow.
We stopped at the Kingston Mills locks before hitting a campsite. They are absolutely unbelievable. To imagine they were constructed 175 years ago and no power required to run them. They use gravity as the basis to raise the boats, by bringing the water down from the higher lake to flood the lower locks, thereby raising the boats to the next level. The one we looked at today has 3 locks. The whole Rideau Canal System has been taken over by Parks Canada and this year has been claimed, I think, as a World Heritage Site. Everything is operated the same as it was 175 years ago. A parks person floods the lock, opens and closes the gates all by hand. Pretty impressive. We are going to be seeing more in the next few days as we follow the Rideau Canal by road. Lots of towns to do walking tours through and the old buildings. The old buildings are something else.
So now a campsite. We found one in Kingston Mills, Rideau Acres Camping Resort a huge RV park with some where in the neighbourhood of 300-400 campsites. But a very nice quiet place to stay and very friendly people on either side of us. I met the next door neighbour, Shawn Murphy, he was from the Ottawa area, and asked him if he new any mechanics he could recommend. He has a chap he uses close to his home, Glen Carrol, so I will give Glen a call as we get closer to Ottawa. Nothing serious just want to get my timing adjusted as it is pinging a little under a heavy load and I think after all the shaking, part of my exhaust has come loose but that I may get done at a chain store, so if there are problems later on there should be some warranty to fall back on. We also met another couple from the Ottawa area, they just spent 3 weeks in New Brunswick, his home area. I guess the weather wasn’t very good in fact quite cool. He gave us a few hints about the Cabot Trail. When you come to it go right instead of left the views are better. Someone else didn’t recommend we take the motorhome, but I figure if we can survive Toronto’s freeways and Kingston’s street celebrations then the Cabot trail should be a cinch. At the campsite we did a walk around, Willa and Tegan are keeping track of the different license plates, I forget how many, Willa is in bed now but I will try and remember to ask her in the morning, how many they have collected and let you know tomorrow.