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Some 30km east of Kingston, workaday GANANOQUE offers several types of Thousand Island boat cruise . The lead operator is Gananoque Boat Lines (tel 613/382-2144, www.ganboatline.com ), who provide one-hour (May to mid-Oct 3-8 daily; $11) and three-hour excursions (May to mid-Oct 3-8 daily; $17). Highlights of the cruise include a good look at Just Room Enough Island, with its single tiny home, and, at the other extreme, Millionaire's Row on Wellesley Island. The islands have long been a popular retreat for the well-heeled - Irving Berlin and Jack Dempsey, to name but two, were regular visitors - but it was George Boldt, the owner of New York's Waldorf Astoria , who distinguished himself by excess. In 1899, he bought one of the islands and reshaped it into a heart as a tribute to his wife - hence the name Heart Island. He then spent $2 million building the huge, turreted Boldt Castle (mid-May to mid-Oct daily 10am-5pm; $3.75) with material from around the world, but promptly abandoned it when his wife died, and he took his new salad-dressing recipe back to New York. The castle is open to the public and you can visit it on Gananoque Boat Lines' three-hour cruises, but note that the castle is in American waters, so take your passport if you're not a US citizen. In the unlikely event you decide to stay in Gananoque, the tourist office , at 2 King St E (July & Aug daily 9am-7pm; Sept-June Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel 613/382-3250), has a long list of local accommodation . Amongst many motels and inns , two handy places are the Blinkbonnie Motor Lodge , 50 Main St (tel 613/382-7272 or 1-800/265-7474, fax 613/382-4096; $60-80), one block from the dock, and the rather more comfortable Victoria Rose , on Hwy 2 at 279 King St W (tel 613/382-3368, fax 382-8803; $80-100).
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