The Thousand Islands (USA Version)

Leaving the dock in Oswego, we immediately had an issue - something to do with the steering gear for the port motor. Greg can provide details, but I am writing from my perspective :). As we moved from the harbour channel onto the lake, Greg kept saying he could not steer with the port engine. Of course, I was all for limping back to the dock and fixing the problem. However, my plea was overidden. Did I mention that their was a bit of wind pushing us around (our visit to the Oswego Maritime Museum the day before had clearly outlined the perils of landing on the rocky shores of the harbour mouth) so I was a little perturbed at this point. Greg kept going; once we were out on the lake, a good distance from the shore, Greg set a course on the GPS that I could follow to keep us fairly stable in the wind and resulting waves.

As I swallowed my panic and recited my own mantra - Be one with the boat; Feel the boat - Greg went below into the engine room to jury-rig the broken steering rod connection. Twist-ties are a wonderful invention!! He was successful with his task (as was I keeping the boat relatively movement-free) and eventually we were on our way. We did not see any other boats during this time - probably a sign in itself. Unfortunately, the rolling water was not kind to my digestive system - I had been on flat water with no need for sea-sickness medication for a month. Not a great start to the day, but it did improve!

Our first destination was Sackets Harbor. One of the first signs of a friendly town... this flag. It is not that we ever felt unwelcome, but the rehetoric was still being played in the news, so this was an uplifting sight.

We arrived mid-afternoon, docked at Navy Marina and settled in. We were met on the dock by Bill, the local Harbour Host who is a designated person who has travelled the Great Loop and can provide information about the locale and help out if required. The marina itself possessed many amenities - including an off-duty Uber driver who drove us to Watertown for new provisions. He was very accommodating as we hit West Marine, a grocery store, and Walmart, waiting for us as we completed our many transactions!

Some photos of Navy Marina; I include the boat name photo for all of our scotch fans!

Sackets Harbor is not technically part of the Thousand Islands, but it is a very pretty place to spend time. History informs us that it was a famous site of a battle fought during the War of 1812, and has many points of interest to mark this event.

Greg and I cycled through most of the village, enjoying the historical venues, the beautiful homes and the restaurant scene. Our biggest question from all that we saw - who won the War of 1812? This was not answered in Sackets Harbor!

We left Sackets Harbor on July 4 - as we weren't in Canada for July 1 we had missed the usual firework shows so I was really looking forward to a show at our next port of call, Clayton. Travelling to Clayton meant we left Lake Ontario and travelled on the St. Lawrence River. Again, the vistas were breathtaking! Both sides of the river offered scenic vistas, but seeing Canada across the river - the longing was strong to 'go home', but we still had lots to see before we crossed over.

We docked at the Clayton Municipal Marina - not our favorite spot in this journey. We experienced so much rocking and rolling due to the wake of all of the boats entering and exiting the marina - not very pleasant by times, as it revived memories of Martha's Vineyard! To add to this, I was very disappointed to find out that the town of Clayton had decided to hold their firework display on July 3, firing their arsenal from Heart Island. So, no fireworks for Cathy!! However, we got our bikes off the boat and went exploring. The town is larger than Sackets Harbor with much to offer for tourists.

Located here is one of the best museums we have visited to date, the Antique Boat Museum. Part of the attraction here was a tour of the houseboat La Duchesse, once owned by George Boldt, of Boldt Castle fame (https://www.abm.org/exhibits/la-duchesse/). Harking back to the Gilded Age, this houseboat was used to entertain friends and family during the Boldt family summer sojourns in the Thousand Islands. Such a beautiful old (reconditioned) wooden boat!

The rest of the museum highlighted the wooden boat building industry of the area. What an era it must have been - the beautiful runabouts we saw were truly works of art! It is a bit of a mecca for wooden boat enthusiasts, offering 'boat builder-in-residence' for model boat builders, wanting to hone their craft and emulate methods of wooden boat building from days gone by. We spoke with a gentleman from Germany spending his summercreating a model of the wooden boat, Comet, as noted below.

Given we had not done enough boating to date, we decided to enjoy a group boat tour of the Thousand Islands. We travelled on a large pontoon boat into the smaller waterways amongst the many islands we were not likely to go with our own boat. It was nice to let someone else worry about the ropes while leaving and approaching the dock - I know Greg enjoyed the journey as a passenger! Interestingly, we passed some tour boats originating from the Canadian side, out to see the Thousand Islands as well. Some photos of the sights along the river side - so much to see.

Clayton was an interesting stop, but we were very interested in visiting Boldt Castle, so we headed there on our way to Alexandria Bay, our next overnight stop. Many of our Looper aquaintances had praised this venue as a 'must-see' - they were not wrong! Boldt Castle was the dream home of hotelier George Boldt, built as a love letter for his wife Louise. Unfortunately, she died before it was completed; Mr. Boldt and his children never lived in it (https://www.boldtcastle.com/visitorinfo/). Now owned by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, it attracts American and Canadian tourists alike. Some photos as we travelled from Clayton to Heart Island.

One of the more interesting sights as we motored....

Trying to get there before us!

We were lucky enough to be able to dock on Heart Island itself at the public wharf - given it was a beautiful sunny Sunday, we were skeptical about finding a spot, but we did! Our tour of the castle was magnificent - what a structure! As it was not complete when Louise Boldt died - workers were ordered to lay down their tools and walk away the day after she died - many rooms have since been completed/refurbished according to the original blueprints and decorating plans. The architecture is stunning, something not seen in today's construction. Although still not completed, monies collected from sightseers has been plenty and work is ongoing. The few pictures I have included do not do this estate justice - the magical ceiling stained glass window over the central staircase, some of the opulent rooms, the kitchen, and some of the unfinished rooms on the upper floors that are open to the public.

From the house, we passed the pigeon coop en route to the power house, where electricity was generated for the whole of the estate needs.

We also visited the children's playhouse, with its bowling alley in the basement. The grounds surrounding all of these structures were heart themed in many ways. My pictures have not captured the beauty we saw, but they will give you some sense of the experience. George Boldt's vision has been interpreted as an ode to love, and we all come to enjoy the sentiment.

Mr. Boldt also built a boathouse - we should all live in such a place. It is located a short distance across the river, in sight of the castle.

A panoramic photo of the boathouse.

After our visit, we moved on to the Thousand Islands Club of Alexandria Bay, a historical marina from the Gilded Age as well. The original boathouse was built in the early 1900's (now used as a weight room for fitness enthusiasts). Across the street is Hart House, an inn and golf course. The building is the original cottage (!?!) owned by George Boldt on Heart Island. A very long story of business partners at odds with one another, so Mr. Hart moved his investment across the frozen river to this location when Mr. Boldt bought him out and made plans to demolish the cottage and build his castle in its place.

From the pool at the Thousand Island Club.

We uber'd into the town of Alexandria Bay - the club was across the river, so we had a fair distance to travel by road and bridge - not doable by bicycle. The town was small, but had a local museum outlining the history of the area - interesting. We learned some facts about Edward Noble, of Lifesaver candy fame, who purchased Boldt Castle when Mrs. Boldt died and subsequently left it to the elements, doing nothing to preserve the island structures. We also learned more about the War of 1812 - and answered our burning question. Nobody really won the war at the end of the fighting - the Treaty of Ghent was signed and peace was restored (after one final battle in New Orleans) between the United States and Great Britain. It is often called the Forgotten War, but along the St. Lawrence River, the memories of battles fought and life lost are still commemorated.

We left Alexandria Bay on July 8 to re-enter Canadian waters. Stay tuned!!