Playing tourist today!

There are a couple of things that we want to do, but the weather and special events in Clayton, NY will keep us from doing them by our boat. So, we decide to rent a car and head to Clayton! We are going to go on a tour boat to the 1000 Islands and the Boldt Castle.

The 1000 Islands is actually 1,864 islands on the St. Lawrence seaway between Canada and the United States. To be part of the 1000 islands you have to meet 2 criteria; the island must be above water for the entire year and it must have one living tree. The island in the picture above is currently the smallest of all of the islands having the name Tom Thumb Island. Apparently, every island resides in either America or Canada, that’s why the border zig zags and isn’t a straight line.

Most of the islands are privately owned and there is even a stretch given the label “Millionaire’s Row.”

As we approach the Thousand Island International Bridge and pass Holiday Island, the tour narrator mentions that Holiday Island has a 24 hour web cam. Well, I jump online and snap a picture of the tour boat going by. It’s really hard to see, but the tour boat is the white dot in the middle under the bridge.

We make one stop on our 1000 Island tour and that stop is at Boldt Castle. The castle is on Heart Island and there are hearts all over the property. The castle and grounds are spectacular and there’s a wonderful and sad love story behind it. George Boldt came to the United States in 1864 and started work in a kitchen. He caught the eye of William Kehrer, the steward of the exclusive Philadelphia Club, and at the age of 25, Kehrer hired Boldt to manage the dining room of Philadelphia Club. He met and married Louise Augusta Kehrer, the love of his life. He began to build the castle as a gift for his wife, but she died suddenly at the age of 42. Devastated by her death, construction of the castle stopped immediately and was never finished.

The two pictures are of the rooms occupied by George and Louise. Can you guess who belongs to what room?

It’s quite a sight with many smaller buildings, places to rest and things to see. So sad that it never got used in the way it was intended. It would be quite peaceful to walk around the grounds and relax in any number of places.

As we head back to the tour boat to continue our journey, we see this small boat on the water that looks like a race car. Yes, we MUST have one, ha ha ha.

On the way back to the boat we stop by the Antique Boat Museum. That was a real treat, full of all types of boats with all types of motors. One of my favorites was the Amphicar; a combo mode of transportation that is a car and a boat.

There are quite a few buildings that house all sorts of watercraft, but this one had all of the cool boats. Mostly made of wood, these beauties represent speed boats throughout time. They are beautiful and fast.

I think this one has to go home with us, ha ha ha.

What a difference in a relatively short period of time!

It was a hazy day today and there was an air alert. Not sure what all that was about, but it sure made for a pretty sun as it went down.

We get back to the marina, gather up CJ and head in to Cicero for dinner. Our waitress must be having a hard day because she doesn’t come around much, gets our order wrong and the check isn’t right either. But, the food was good and there is enough leftovers of my steak alfredo for lunch tomorrow.

I think we’re going to try and get back out on the water tomorrow. Bitter-sweet because this marina is top-notch and in a good location. But, we must move on; our next stop will be Oswego, NY.