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| Patriotic Gananoque |
Sunday.
Split activities today; the girls go off on a five hour cruise of the 1000 Islands and visit Boult Castle in the USA whilst the boys sample the breakfast delights of Gananoque. Obviously I can't report on the ladies' cultural activities but I can record how the breakfast went, and other exciting events. I'll bet that you're on the edge of your seats, now!
I drove the girls into Gananoque to pick up the boat and, on the way, encountered a man of later years driving an open topped MG Roadster. It was quite an old MG but looked resplendent in the morning sunshine, as the did the man driving, at least when he'd brushed his hair. He had a sort of a Neil Diamond seventies comb-over which was, as you'd expect, blowing about a bit as he drove. We followed him up to the red stop lights and he did no more than reach down and get a hair brush, with which he re-arranged his comb-over. As soon as he started off again, said comb-over blew about again and yes, you've guessed it, at the next red light out came the hair brush and the Neil Diamond tribute was restored. Mrs T was in fits and I was horrified that the fellow had let down his sex so badly. I saw him a little later and he'd reverted to a baseball cap to keep his "do" under control - it's either that my trendy friend or get a proper haircut!
Anyway, girls aboard the steamer, the boys made their way back to Tilly's Restaurant in town. Whereas the place had been deserted the day before, this fine Sunday morning it was packed and the harassed Tilly suggested that we might be a bit better off going elsewhere; politely of course. It was still only 10 am and the Scottish Cafe was still an hour from opening so we took a punt on the "Bravo" restaurant on the strip mall, not least because it was advertising that it offered the best breakfast in town. The Bravo was pretty full, too, but we did get seated and whilst having to wait a while for our meals, it all turned out reasonably well. The Bravo makes it's money on the drinks, as I found out when I received the bill. Ouch!
Whilst in there, I listened in to the conversations of a French speaking family and as they were addressing their children a lot in a fairly slow and simple manner, I was pleased to be able to catch most of it, linguist that I am. Also, a group of six young people went to pay for their meals (all French speakers, but that's irrelevant to this tale) and each had a separate bill. I know that bill-splitting happens a lot here, even in the line for Tim Horton'scoffee, and it's one of the cultural differences between Canada and the UK that always stands out for me. Whenever I've dined in a group, we've all just pitched in an equal amount to settle the bill and not been too concerned about minor differences in individual bills. C'est la vie and vive la difference I suppose (in honour of my Francophone friends).
Back at base, we boys busied ourselves with a modicum of tidying up, plenty of reading and eventually some activity when the big Tadpole mooched over to see his new friend on the site opposite. Time then passed quickly and we were soon driving back into town to pick up the ladies after their cruise. A quick note regarding fuel prices here, because I have turned into my dad, I stopped in Gananoque and paid $1.21 a litre. This compares to the $1.46 a litre I paid in Quebec a couple of days ago, which is staggering; I'm pleased that we don't live in Quebec.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent snoozing (Toads) and gallivanting (Tadpoles). We had a minor panic when we realised that it was 6 pm and we hadn't been out to get our meal for the evening. We'd promised ourselves chips from one of the Chip Trucks nearby but they all close early here, especially on a Sunday. We did find one open on the parking lot of Canadian Tire, but only just made that. Still, we did find it open and we sat in the car and eat unhealthily in the late sunshine.
In the evening we lost tadpoles again so sat down and re-watched To Sir With Love on the DVD and followed it up with Swing Kids. It was proper late by the time we finally went to bed.
Tomorrow we're travelling on our final leg, continuing down the St Lawrence and through Toronto. I'm hoping that the weather holds as it's been pretty good since we crossed back into Ontario. Hold tight for tomorrow's extravaganza!
