I should have added these maps of the area earlier, but better late than never.
Travel route-part 1
Travel route-part 2
This morning it was 35 degrees, and foggy when we awoke, but the fog soon dissipated. We left our dockage at 7:45 headed to Prescott, Ontario and arriving around 9:15.
Today’s menus.
Early morning fog greets us!
The fog presents an eerie scene.
Not sure what this structure was but it attracted me.
This posting gets updated daily.
The morning activity was a guided tour of Fort Wellington, a British fort that dated back to the early 1800s. It was built in 1813 during the war of 1812. It was subsequently rebuilt during the rebellions of 1837-38. It was used by the Canadian militia until 1923. Today it is a well furnished national historic site. Because of the chilling wind Yvonne decided to stay behind but I was game and joined other adventuresome travelers to take the short bus ride to the fort where we were met by a tour docent dressed in the military uniform of that era, who spent the next two hours telling us about the fort, its occupants and history. He even included a demonstration of shooting (blanks) with his period musket. It was a fascinating, informative tour. By the time we returned to the ship the temperature was 45 degrees, the wind had died down and the sun was shining brightly.
Arriving at Fort Wellington where we are met by a docent dressed in British military garb. The fog presents an eerie scene.
The outer protection wall of the fort. The poles are pointed to preserve its life (rain will not pool), not to project danger.
The fort is located behind this high earth wall. Here the pointed logs do pose a real danger to the invader.
The blockhouse in the middle of the fort. To the left is housing for the fort commander.
6 lb cannon on display.
It fires projectiles weighing 6 pounds.
Our guide explaining his uniform’s design.
The commander’s bedroom.
His dining area. It was obvious the commander was treated quite well.
The commander even has a private toilet.
The rest of the people (women included) must use this type of toilet.
Not a pretty picture !
View of the river from the top of the fort wall.
One of several big cannons at the fort.
A walkway under the sod wall leading to a forward shooting position.
Gun ports at the end of the stone walkway.
Display of the different types of artillery used.
One of the projectiles used back them.
This guy hurls big projectiles that weigh over 100 lbs.
We tried picking one of these up. Could not do it.
The living area for regular soldiers (and their families) in the blockhouse. They did not have lavish accommodations.
Some great displays of life at the fort in the 1850s.
A good display of what transpired at this location of the river.
The ship left while we had lunch, on its way to pass through the Iroquois lock on the river. After lunch the planned activity was a game of “passenger” bingo, complete with prizes. We had been given blank bingo cards the previous day and instructed to get passengers to fill a box on the card with their name. During the five games played people’s names were pulled from a bowl and we would check them off our sheet if we had it. It was a new novel twist to the game. Unfortunately neither of us won any of the games, where the prizes were souvenirs of the ship (mugs, water bottles, decks of cards, etc).
My luncheon napkin. My guess is it is meant to be a ship.
The hamburger lunch was popular.
Going through the Iroquois lock on River. There is only a one foot drop when going through the lock. Makes you wonder why did they bother?
The first big ship we encounter on our trip. This seaway is important for shipping to/from the Great Lakes.
Peassengers playing passenger bingo this afternoon.
My bingo card. I did not win any of the five games played.
Dinner was a marvelous serving of turkey with all the trimmings! And the entertainment after dinner was a local very talented musician who introduced us to a variety of old time era musical instruments and played them for us. It was a lot of fun!
Our port for the night, the almost empty Crysler Park Marina. The boating season for the locals is over.
A delicious turkey dinner!
Our evening entertainer, an excellent musician who played many different instruments from earlier time periods, like this banjo.
Here he is playing a harmonica AND bones (with his hands).He also played several different types of harmonicas.
