I was wide awake by 0415 (Juneau had kept coming to check on me throughout the night) and couldn't go back to sleep. Since Eileen wasn't up yet, I read and relaxed in bed until almost 0545. At that point, I got out of bed and let both dogs outside. The temps were in the low single digits (!) but the sky was clear. To pass the time, I did some more reading and (after another 45 minutes) fed the dogs, who were my best friends forever (they usually eat at 0600). I also looked for things I might do while Eileen was running trails with her friend, Mary. After Eileen got up and made us some breakfast, we made plans for going across the St. Lawrence to Canada after she was home again (we planned for 0930ish departure). Eileen left at 0745 and I was close behind her; I drove to Colton and went to Mass at St. Patrick's. The Priest (Father Joe) was about 15 minutes late and the homily included sad news about reductions in Mass schedules. Still, the church was nice (I later learned that Eileen goes there sometimes). At 0910, I departed back to the north on NY-56 and arrived at Eileen's about 15 minutes later. She wasn't home yet so I had enough time to change, pack up my car and play with the dogs. When Eileen got back, it took her a little longer to get ready. She suggested that we eat lunch (leftovers) before we left and I agreed. We were on the road by about 1030. From Potsdam, we used US-11 (to Canton) and then NY-68 to travel towards Ogdensburg. After taking a few old farm roads to bypass the town, we used the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge (it had a small toll) to cross the Saint Lawrence River. In the middle of span, I got a little bit of a scare as we made our way (carefully) across the metal grating on the bridge (the river was very windy and had lots of whitecaps. We entered Canada at Johnstown, ON - using our passports only (no "ArriveCAN" required so things were very easy). We then drove a short distance to ON-401 (McDonald-Cartier Freeway) and headed west. Eileen started falling asleep (I must be great company...). Hoping to improve alertness, we stopped at Starbucks (coffee for her and hot chocolate for me) in Brockville, ON (1145). After that, we continued west (after missing entrance to the highway). Observations: they had nice roads and good signage. We spent a lot of time talking (always nice) and never saw the Saint Lawrence River during the drive. We eventually got off the highway near Kingston, ON and used ON-9 to reach the town of Sydenham. Then we used ON-5 and ON-19 to reach Frontenac Provincial Park. We both started getting interested in Frontenac Outfitters on the way but later learned they were closed for the Winter. We arrived at the main area of the park by 1315 and made our way to the Visitor's Center. I got a parking pass (1325) and Eileen picked up some brochures for the course she will be teaching during the coming semester. We then drove back to the trailhead and started our walk on the Doe Lake Trail and (later) the Arab Lake Gorge Trail. From Eileen's brochures, I learned that the trails we were hiking were located inside the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve. Temps were in the high teens and low 20s, the sun was shining and the snow wasn’t too deep - these were actually great conditions. We needed poles but not spikes or snowshoes. After we were finished (1530), we headed south on ON-19 again. I got a bit turned around in Sydenham and we had to use some back roads to reach ON-9 again. From there, we intersected with Princess Street, which took us into the middle of Kingston. Along the way, we continued our nearly all-day conversation (we never ran out of topics!). In the city center, we then drove around on streets that followed the waterfront. At one point, we crossed the Great Cataraqui River and found ourselves close to the Fort Henry National Historic Site. Both of us were hungry, so we backtracked into Kingston again and found a place to park near the Delta Hotel, which I'd spotted earlier. It was a short walk to the hotel and we learned that their restaurant (Aqua Terra) was not open for dinner yet. Unfazed, we sat at the bar (the Vu Lounge) and each ordered a cocktail. Eileen got a "Partridge in a Pear Tree" (vodka and pear juice) and I got a "Frostbite" (rum and cream with peppermint). The drinks were very good and we were able to find a place to sit by the water while we waited for the restaurant to open. When it did (1700), we moved to another waterside table and started our dinner with some glasses of Hayes Valley (CA) Cabernet-Sauvignon. The atmosphere was very nice and the waiter was excellent. Outside the window, the sun set but there were lights visible on the water (Wolfe Island?). We were given a tasty amuse-bouche to start and then got some House Baked Red Fife Sourdough bread, curried cauliflower soup and a large Caesar salad. The entre was a 12 ounce Enright Cattle Company Ribeye with Yukon gold potatoes and green beans (we shared it). We talked some more and really enjoyed our time in the restaurant. In the end, there were no leftovers except for two slices of the bread - Eileen told me it was the best dinner she'd ever had. Since her daughter (Heidi) was watching the dogs, we departed Kingston as soon as we were finished (1815) and started back towards Potsdam. At first, we crossed the Great Cataraqui again (ON-2) and drove along the (dark) waterfront. After that, we got back on ON-401 and continued to the northeast. From that point, the route we drove coming back was almost exactly the same as the morning. Of course, there was lots more talking... Meanwhile, there was very little traffic on the back roads (we didn't even see any other cars on the bridge across the Saint Lawrence). I used my Global Entry card at the border and it worked just fine. As we crossed the high bridge again, my tires still showed low pressure on the dashboard but a larger issue was how low my gas tank level was. So, I stopped at the Mountain Mart in Canton for some fuel (2015). Since we both wanted to get out of the car by this point, I decided to wait to get air for the tires and, instead, headed directly to Eileen's. We arrived by 2035 and I got to meet Heidi and several dogs she was watching for family friends (one didn't like me). After they had all left and it was just me and Eileen - we then settled ourselves down with another movie ("Enola Holmes 2"). Although we started watching much later than I'd normally watch anything, the film was entertaining. Best part of all: Eileen even stayed awake for the whole thing! We finally went to bed by 1045 - what a day!
