Westcott Beach State Park, Sackets Harbor, New York
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight . . . ~ Proverbs 1:1-2
We drove to Alexandria Bay, the heart of the 1,000 Islands, stopping at a Visitor Center for the area, before heading into town by 9am.
There was a lot of commotion in town, and we wondered what was going on today – it’s Friday morning after all, and not a holiday that we know of. We discovered that every year, this town hosts a day honoring the military. Well, that explains it! 😊
The first thing we did was buy tickets for a boat cruise. It’s the Uncle Sam line that provides various lengths and types of cruises. We chose their 2-hour, two nation, no passport required, 22-mile cruise. We had some time before it left, so we walked around town peeking our heads in shops. I’ve been looking to replace my visor for quite some time. No luck. : (
we were looking around at all the shops and restaurants that had encroaching water.
Blaine looked up the reason for the high water – –
On June 1st, the water level of Lake Ontario hit a new high, breaking a record set just two years ago.
Two rules of thought –
#1 In 2017, they implemented Plan 2014 to try to regulate the water level because of fishing interests.
#2 an abundance of rain.
Whatever the reason, many people around the water are in a daily struggle.
People had dogs on the boat. Imagine. Dogs on a two-hour boat tour with no stops. What happens if they get scared? Or start barking? And what if, heaven forbid, they have to go to the bathroom? And what if someone on the boat was allergic to dogs? Or afraid of them? I worked with a guy who was highly allergic. One morning he came to work and sneezed all day because the night tech allowed a patient to say goodnight to their little dog inside the office, before the spouse took it home. I place the blame for all this dog pandering squarely on the shoulders of PetSmart. They’re the ones who started allowing people to bring their dogs into their store. It’s blown up from there. I’m not a dog-hater. I like dogs. I just happen to think they have their place and their place isn’t everywhere people go.
Of course, one of the dog owners chose to sit directly behind me, and the back of my arm was sniffed or nudged several times during the tour. Other than that, it was well-behaved.
I’ve sure been up on my soap box a lot lately. I’m gonna have to burn that thing. . . .
The tour was good, although cloudy. The personal guide was full of information and funny – if you like cheezy jokes or one’s you have to think about for a second. 😊
It used to house the equipment to generate electricity for the island.
The delivery and labor would be $2,500 (plus materials).
Instead, the owner put the house on the market and it sold for over $300,000 in three days!
It takes them four years to paint 5 bridges , and then it’s time to start over.
Because it connects those two islands which are both owned by the same person.
So what?
The left island is the United States. The right island is Canada!
The sun came out!
On the way back, the tour boat makes a stop at Boldt Castle on Heart Island. (If a castle is on an island, does the surrounding water count as the moat??)
We’d been here years ago, so it was wonderful to see the rehabilitation progress they’ve made since then! Unfortunately, due to the higher water levels, we were unable to visit the antique boat house or go inside the Power House, but here was still plenty to see! We’ll get to the tour later. First, some history straight from their brochure:
The grandest of all Gilded Age Mansions remains a testament to one man’s tragic love story.
A visit to the magnificent Boldt Castle offers a glimpse into one of the most compelling love stories in history. At the turn of the century, George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the world-famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, set out to build a full-sized Rhineland Castle in Alexandria Bay, on picturesque Heart Island. (FYI – it was originally Hart Island, named for the man who owned it at the time, until Boldt added a letter and began the process of having it reshaped it into a heart)
The grandiose structure was to be a display of his love for his wife, Louise.
Beginning in 1900, Boldt’s family shared four glorious summers on Wellesley Island while 300 workers, stonemasons, carpenters, and artists fashioned the six story, 120-room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, and a dovecote. (FYI – a dovecote is a shelter with nest holes for domesticated pigeons. Why?? And it was the first structure built on the island.)
Not a single detail or expense was spared.
In 1904, tragedy struck. Boldt telegrammed the island and commanded the workers to immediately “stop all construction.” Louise had died suddenly. (FYI – she became increasingly frail and died of heart failure at 41 years old. Daughter, Clover was 21 and son, George Jr. was 25.) A broken-hearted Boldt could not imagine his dream castle without his beloved. Three hundred workers laid down their tools. Boldt never returned to the island, leaving behind the structure as a monument of his love.
For 73 years, the castle remained eerily vacant, left to the mercy of the wind, rain, ice, snow, and vandals. The Thousand islands Bridge Authority assumed ownership in 1977, determined to preserve Boldt’s legacy for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Since then, millions of dollars have been invested into rehabilitation of the stunning Heart Island structures and the magnificent Boldt Yacht House on Wellesley Island.
The island consists of five acres, with six structures – Boldt Castle, the Power House, the Alster Tower, the Hennery, the Arch and a stone gazebo. Some of the boats in the yacht house are from the original Boldt fleet. At the time, the family’s three yachts and tremendous houseboat were accommodated in slips 128 feet long. The building rising 64 feet, housed a shop to build racing launches and quarters for crew and staff.
Boldt had a high regard for his hotel clientele and coined the phrase, “The customer is always right.”
George Boldt 
Louise Boldt
In spite of the crowds, we were able to locate a table in the shade to eat our lunch and watch at least some of the activity, before heading into the house.
plus Rich and Martha kept trying to fly away! : )
we had a bit of a time trying to find our way in. : )
Things were vastly improved from when we were here before. For one thing, they put up “before” pictures on easels near the doorway of each room. Wow! What a mess they inherited! And they also opened up the upper floors so we could walk around and see the “before” for ourselves, although they were pretty well cleaned up.
One of the most obvious places that showed “before” and on-going work was in the Alster Tower.
This is a two lane bowling alley.
Once we were back on the mainland, it was dinner time. We weren’t expecting to be gone that long! So the search for dinner began. We ended up at Cam’s, a pizza joint in Watertown. Even here there was some type of festival going on! Lots of people milling around. We considered the street food, but the only thing besides snack stuff was BBQ, and neither of us felt like that.
The pizza was pretty good, the ambiance – not so much. They were remodeling there too. 😊
Wonderful, long day!