Kingston, Ontario Canada – July 7, 2008

This morning Darrell worked on the engine. He replaced a solenoid and ignition switch.

Beth and Margaret walked to the grocery store to pick up some supplies. This grocery store charged for plastic bags if you didn’t bring your own. Luckily we had heard about it, so came prepared. Maybe stores in the US should think about doing that.

In the afternoon, we took a trolley tour of Kingston. Some of the things we learned:

Kingston was established in 1673 and is the oldest city in Ontario. It was originally a French Trading Post. The population is about 117,000.

10 of the 19 total Canadian jails are located in Kingston.

Kingston was the first capital of Canada, from 1841-1844.

Queens University is located in Kingston. It was established in 1841 and is the oldest university in Canada.

The Royal Military College of Canada is also located in Kingston. You get a free 4 year education, graduate, then serve in the military 5 years.

After the war of 1812 an agreement was made between Britain and the U.S. to limit the number of warships in the Great Lakes to 3 each. Each country scuttled more than 200 warships in the St. Lawrence Seaway and eastern Lake Ontario. As a result of that, this area of the St. Lawrence River is considered the fresh-water diving capital of the world. Most of the wrecks are accessible to recreational divers.

The four of us went out to dinner tonight.