Kingston ON July 13, 2015

Jim and resolved to have coffee together at 7:30 this morning as we missed yesterday. I showered and found him washing his boat when I returned. He stopped washing but left his soap and brush out. I had the starboard of Annie washed before he could say you are late for coffee. Kerry and I decided we would just wash whichever side of the boat was near the dock.

Believe it or not, in the last two days two people have come up and said they think Annie is the cleanest boat they have seen in some time. They asked who gets the credit and it goes straight to Kerry. She cannot stand a bug on the boat. Kip knows this. He once said it was Excalibur's secret.

Jola took off to do laundry while Jim and I were making captain talk over our coffee. At 9:00 we took off for Canadian Tire and West Marine. Kerry was up by then and I helped carry our laundry to the marina office. Two hours later we had clean everything! Magic? I think not!

Jim and I biked to Canadian Tire. They did not have the hose he wanted to replace his leaking ones in the bilge. We found the West Marine store. It was still open, but closing in September. We had heard that all Canadian West Marines were closing and it is true. No hose for Jim there either.We also bumped into a Popeye's Chicken, my favorite, but it was just too early for a chicken lunch. Tomorrow? Too bad it is so far away.

I have one daily job which is to empty my red solo cup. My drain valve on the water heater leaks into the bilge through a hose. A red solo cup is the perfect thing to use to catch the water. This keeps my bilge completely dry, as long as I remember to empty it daily. I thought about repairing it but usually when I start a simple plumbing job, it never is. And if it goes awry it will shut the water system down for some time. So, it's on the project list for when I return home.

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We took a trolley car ride of the city which was very nice. It is one of those where you can jump on and off, for 24 hours.

We took a side tour of the penitentiary museum which was interesting. They had a water torture machine way back when. A naked prisoner would be put in the stocks and a barrel contraption closed around his head. The guard could then let the water flow in as fast as he wanted, and it drained out slowly. Oh my!

The Canadians were afraid of being attacked by the USA for about 50 years after the war of 1812.

Kingston has many towers like this that were built to defend the city and waterways.

As Kerry said, just like typical Americans we exited from the site seeing trolley in downtown Kingston so we could visit two dollar stores. We stocked up on cookies, ice tea, and other essentials for being anchored. I did get some little paint brushes and a scraper to do some touch up on Annie's exterior. Jim and I both bought the "Bars of Kingston" t-shirts. It has been an expensive stop in this city.

The princess and duchess decided we would go out for dinner, so at 7:00 we set out for the Lone Star Texas Grill. Jim had walked by it last night and loved the patio. It was a great place. Huge margaritas. I had a Rita Coronita, which was a frozen margarita with a little Corona bottle stuck upside down in it. Pretty tasty. Chips and salsa, drinks and dinner were all excellent. Service was slow however, and before we could finish we were attacked by mosquitoes. Kerry and Jola fled to the docks where the breeze saved them. Jim and I got out of dodge as quickly as we could. Note to self - go to eat earlier. We took a nice walk around the harbor before we turned in. 

Waiting for a seat at the Lone Start Texas Grill

Anne called during our walk and we got caught up on all the family news. It is really warm tonight, so I think for the first time on this trip, we are running the air conditioners. 

Tomorrow we do final provisioning for anchoring, inflate the dingy and pick out some possible anchorages. We will need to be flexible because it is likely that many of the anchorages will be full when we get to them.