All the Wiser

Day 9

“Rich in challenges” is how we're choosing to describe yesterday. We spend our morning on the hotel's phone reporting the dorm room scam to Priceline and speaking with our credit card company. We have an escape route planned that, with fingers and toes crossed, should get us out of Toronto. Forever.

Within 30 minutes we're in Port Hope. We take the name as a sign. It claims to be the most well-preserved Main Street in all of Ontario. It is actually really pretty and charming. We're driving along Rt. 2 this morning, which keeps us by the water. There are a lot of farms, and intermittent small towns; all delightful. We veer off onto Rt 33, which is called the Loyalist Parkway. I'd be loyal too if I lived along this route. It is Ontario's wine country. Vineyards combined with old maritime settlements is a damn fine esthetic. The sun is out, the heat is building very slowly, and it's a motorcycle dream ride. Thank you, Universe! Another day like yesterday and I think we would have taken the next plane to Asheville.

As we crest hills, we can see Lake Ontario, blue and glistening. Sometime there are white sailboats, usually is it just expansive blue; a sight for eyes sore from too much urban sprawl. We pass a lot of people on bicycle treks, going from winery to winery and staying at all the charming B&Bs along the way. I could spend a week in this area alone.

In Kingston, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, we stop for provisions. There is a grocery up here called “nofrills”. It's a big discount grocery with a lot of “brand-less” stuff. It's still more expensive than food in the states. Our other stop is the LCBO, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Here, we buy a big old bottle of Wiser's Deluxe whiskey. I can hardly wait.

Within 30 minutes we're in Gananoque, the town of the 1000 Islands. Out in the water there are what seem to be, truly, at least 1000 islands. Some are really big, some are tiny, but even the tiniest ones have cottages on them with boat docks. It's enchanting. We head upriver to a campground where we will lay our heads the next 2 nights. We need a break. We need to do laundry. We need to drink all that Wiser's.