Travel south from Ottawa for about 100 miles and you reach Gananoque. A cute little town near one end of Lake Ontario and a 20 minute drive from the 1000 Islands International Bridge that crosses the water, onto the islands and the United States.

We went on the three hour boat tour of the 1000 Islands. If there’s a rock, there’s a house on it. Literally. Half of the area of the islands is owned by Canada, the remainder by the United States, although Canada owns most of the islands. The tour crosses the international border twice on its tour around many of the islands, circling the much larger Hill Island and Wellesley Island.

Included on the tour is the smallest bridge that joins two countries across a waterway:

There’s plenty to see and hear. Besides houses, of course. Boldt Castle, built by one-time proprietor of the Waldorf Historia in New York, and landmarks reflecting the people who helped build this part of the world.