Kingston, Ontario, Canada
My late start from New Jersey because of a morning
appointment got me to border on I-81 just north of Watertown around 7:00 in the
evening. I was somewhat hoping for a busy border crossing since they tend to
pay less attention to you than at crossings where they’re bored (my situation
six years ago). Even though the border at Thousand Islands near Kingston is at
the end of an American interstate and a most direct route to Ottawa, there were
only a handful of cars there. I had to go
inside to check in with immigration and also the formality of having my car
inspected, but everything was by the book. Although I was now just beyond the ten-year
exclusion period for my 2007 DUI, officially the completion of my sentence with
some alcohol abuse classes in early 2008, I still had some concern I might not
be allowed in. Of course, a country doesn’t have to let anyone in. Oh, and I
remembered to bring a bunch of financial statements to prove I was financially independent
and wouldn’t try to work or use social services in Canada.
Well, all went as well as could be hoped; no
surprises like at the Ogdensburg border crossing in June 2012 when I was denied
entry.
The Thousand Islands are located in the Saint Lawrence River
between the U.S. and Canada and may once have been a major resort area. At
least that’s the impression I had from my father since he talked about them a
lot when I was a kid as a place he went when he was young. We did stop there
and go on a boat cruise during our 1977 summer trip to Canada. It would be kind
of tempting to take one of the many cruises offered around the islands,
including a stop at Boldt Castle, but sitting on a boat for a cruise is a
little passive an activity for my taste.
We also passed through Kingston back in 1977. Being one of my first family road trips, I
guess going through the town made an impression with me, although to the best
of my recollection we didn’t stop there. I decided Kingston would be a good
place to head for my first night to celebrate being in good standing with
Canada again.
Kingston is known as “The Stone City” since most of its
public buildings are constructed with a light gray local stone that gives the
town a very solid look, very much like towns in Scotland in my opinion.
The city has a reasonably lively downtown, a
significant student population with Queens University and the Royal Canadian
Military College, and some grand public buildings like the City Hall, Saint
George’s Anglican Cathedral, and the Frontenac County Courthouse. Kingston
originally had military significance to the British being on the Lake Ontario
end of the Rideau Canal, for which they constructed Fort Henry along the lake.
I woke up early and decided to head to Fort Henry for the
view of Kingston from up on the hill and was pleasantly surprised to find the
fort open to enter rather than just circle, and of course at 6:30 A.M. not
charging admission. I can’t say I had it completely to myself since there were
groups of soldiers on training runs. I guess this is what photographers call “The
Golden Hour”, the hour or so after dawn and the one before dusk when the light
is at its most appealing. And the farther you get from the equator the longer
those golden hours last and even more so the twilights before sunrise and after
sunset.
Although only about 4* of latitude
north from where I’ve been based in New Jersey I can notice the subtle
differences in the light. I tend to think of Canada as being very far north,
but the reality is the northern border of New York State is 45* north, exactly
half way between the Equator and the North Pole, the same latitude as the
border between Wyoming and Montana farther west. Of course, that’s also the same latitude as
Bordeaux, France, so not very far north at all compared to most of Europe. But when
I was a child I used to think crossing into Canada was almost like going to the
Arctic.
My last stop in Kingston was Bellevue House, the residence
of John MacDonald. Who? I had heard the
name before but wouldn’t have been able to place him. MacDonald is sort of like
the George Washington of Canada as the country’s first prime minister who was
also instrumental in its confederation, essentially independence from the
United Kingdom in 1867. And the reason I
can remember that date is mostly because of Canada’s 150th birthday
celebrations last year.
2025-05-23