May 31-June 1, Brockville, ON

We awoke this morning to rain and a 52 degrees to start our day. The tour of the Castle began at 10 am and, probably because of the rain, we were the only tourists on the island so we got a private tour.

Linda is ready for our tour

Singer Castle

Spring is arriving

Singer Castle from the grounds

KOKOMO II from the castle

The Singer Castle tour was interesting. It is a beautifully crafted "hunting lodge" used usually only two weeks a year. There are many neat features but the most interesting were the many secret passages allowing the staff to do their work unobserved by the family and family guests. The property has been purchased for $1.5 million by a European investment group who have opened it to the public and are offering it for sale at a new price of over $22 million. No takers so far.

We left the Castle about 11 am just as the first tour boat was approaching. Good timing. The sky is clearing and we have clear skies for now with temperatures of 65 degrees. We motored about 10 miles in front of and then behind a large freighter. Interesting. We ended our day in Brockville, Ontario, and are at the Brockville City Marina.

New condominiums across from the marina at Brockville

Scuba divers prepare for a wreck dive in the St Lawrence Seaway. This is fertile ground for shipwreck diving. But cold.

Brockville marks the end of the region of the 1000 Islands. Brockville is one of the oldest Canadian settlements in this area, settled by loyalists after the American Revolutionary War. The town founders Buell and Jones both wanted the town named after themselves and a controversy raged. Soon outsiders gave it the nickname "Snarlingtown". This was finally resolved when a regional dignitary was asked to settle the dispute in 1812. And so Sir Isaac Brock named the town ...... Brockville.

Downtown Brockville has some attractive old buildings

Beautiful Church

Older homes speak of a wealthy past for the town

Downtown is nearby the marina about 10 blocks long with some beautiful public buildings, several good restaurants and two bookstores. At least a half dozen stores are empty and the town looks a little tired. We are enjoying our weekend here.

Sunday in Brockville we walked to the Fulford House and took a tour of this grand home built around the turn of the century and now owned and restored by an agency of the Canadian Government. Fulford was a local boy who made and distributed worldwide a "PINK PILL for pale people" that cured whatever ails you. Made a fortune. Beautiful home.

Fulford House

Another pretty home on the water

May 30, Dark Island

Many Cormorants and an Osprey (in the box on the pole) make their home on this pile of rock in the St Lawrence Seaway

Pretty cabin

Tourist boat at Alexandria Bay

Lighthouse on an Island

Today we cruised approximately 25 miles from Gananoque downstream (east) toward Montreal to Dark Island (known as Jorstadt Island on the charts) in the middle of the St Lawrence Seaway. We wanted to see the Singer Castle and, as they are closed during the week, we cannot take the tour until tomorrow. Linda suggested we just anchor out until tomorrow and on a whim we called the island and got Tom (the general manager) and asked if we could tie up for the night and take the tour in the morning. He said yes and here we are all by ourselves in this fantastic setting. We are docked at the foot of Singer Castle and are spending the night here and will tour Singer Castle when it opens at 10 am tomorrow. The Castle (which occupies the whole island) is only open on weekends (tomorrow is Saturday) until the season picks up around June 15th. The weather is beautiful today, clear with almost no wind and temperatures in the high sixty's.

Singer Castle on Dark Island as we approach

We are docked below the Castle

In 1902, Frederick Bourne, fourth president of Singer Sewing Machine Company (he was responsible for $1 down and $1 per week for a Singer Sewing Machine which revolutionized the business and made Singer an international success), purchased a six acre granite island and commissioned architect Ernest Flagg to design a "hunting lodge". Flagg's design (Flagg was the architect who designed the Chrysler building in Manhattan) was based on the description of a hunting lodge called "The Towers" at Woodstock Park in Sir Walter Scott's novel "WOODSTOCK". In the summer of 1905, the Bourne family moved into a 28 room structure with granite walls and turrets, a dungeon, a labyrinth of secret passages. An elaborate clock tower that rises five stories above the St Lawrence Seaway. There is a granite arched great room complete with suits of armor. The library has an extensive collection of books. Many rooms have floor to ceiling windows and great views of the River. In 2003, after nearly 100 years as a private residence, the current owners opened the Castle to the public. The tour features much of the original furnishings including Italian marble fireplaces, English China and oriental rugs. Many boatloads of topsoil were brought to the granite island so plants could be grown. Now there are acres of forest, lawns and gardens. From what we can see so far the grounds of the Castle are beautifully maintained and make it look like the Castle is located in a park.

Singer Castle, has been used as a private home since it was finished in 1905, and stands in contrast to Boldt Castle, which was never occupied. In addition to now having tours, has made available for private rental, the "Royal Suite" in Bourne's guest wing. We are very comfortable aboard KOKOMO II. The Castle even has Wi-fi which we are using to write this blog post.

May 29, Gananoque, ON

We left Alexandria Bay about 11:30 and motored 10 miles back to upstream (west) to Gananoque, (gan-an-ock-wee) Ontario, and are now on the Canadian side of the St Lawrence Seaway. The weather was cool but very clear and a beautiful day for a boat ride and another look at the scenery. We cleared customs by phone from the Gananoque Municipal Marina without any inspection or difficulty.

Owen enjoys the town artist who painted the fire hydrant.

The home of a Connecticuit native who was loyal to the King during the American Revolutionary War (he was a loser) and fled the US after the war. Now the City offices.

Downtown Gananoque.

Linda admires the old switch engine in the town sculpture park.

Gananoque is an indian name (not French) and the town is the Canadian gateway to the 1000 Islands. There is a nice main street, somewhat bigger than Clayton or Alexandria Bay, and there are several restaurants. Canadian dollar is now on par with the US dollar and the prices seem to be about the same as in the US.

May 26-28, Alexandria Bay

We left Clayton, NY, about 9 am and motored from the south side (American waters) of the St Lawrence Seaway over to the Canadian waters along the north shore and motored among the islands of the 1000 Island area of the St Lawrence Seaway. There were lots of homes built on these islands. Some of these homes are cabins and some are bigger homes with boat houses, pools and all the toys.

A nice cabin

Big house with all the toys

A house on one of the 1000 islands

Weather today is warmer (high sixty's) but overcast with a few showers around. Wind is SW at 10-20 and in the channel the waves are less than one foot.

We go east on the St Lawrence Seaway via the Canadian small boat channel and have a nice three hour cruise past the Canadian towns of Gananoque, Ivy Lea and Rockport. We did not go ashore in Canada as yet. We cruised around Wellsley Island and re-entered American waters and photographed a home on an island right on the border of the US and Canada. There is a small bridge that links the home on one island (in Canada) with the backyard (in USA). This is the shortest bridge linking the US and Canada and is a tourist attraction.

Our stop around noon is at Heart Island where we tour Boldt Castle and the Boldt Castle boathouse. The Boldt Castle is the major landmark structure in the 1000 Islands area and is directly in front of the town of Alexandria Bay, NY. The Castle (house) was built around 1900-1904 by the operator of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and his wife and never finished because his wife died unexpectedly just before completion. Now owned by the Bridge Authority and being restored, the main floor of the house is beautifully finished and the grounds are beautiful. The upper three floors remain unfinished. Built before income tax in a time of great fortunes, it is quite a sight.

Boldt Castle with KOKOMO II on right at the dock for private boats visiting the site in their own boat.

Boldt Castle

Boldt Castle building housing the power plant.

Detail of roof of Boldt Castle.

Boldt Castle boat house.

Large ship heads upstream past Boldt Castle carrying towers for wind turbines.

Our marina on the 26th is at the Thousand Islands Club on Wellsley Island. This is a really nice spot with a first class marina, private club with golf course and lots of facilities. Some boaters we met are spending the whole summer here.

Downtown Alexanderia Bay.

On the 27th, we head over to Alexandria Bay and tie up at the city dock. Weather is clear but cool again. The low last night was in the mid forty's. We have a minor adjustment done to the generator (air in the fuel line) and walk and shop the small town main street.

Linda is bundled up as we motor to Clayton.

Beautiful home near Alexandria Bay.

Around 11 am we head by boat to Clayton (10 miles) using the main ship channel on the American side and have a beautiful cruise with lunch along the way. We pick up Ted and Cookie's car in Clayton and Ted and Owen return in the boat while Linda and Cookie take the car and we all arrive back in Alexandria Bay about the same time.

St Lawrence Seaway Bridge linking USA and Canada.

Lighthouse.

New home with boathouse under.

Older classic home.

We have moved to a different marina tonight and are now docked at the Riveredge Resort, a large hotel/marina complex with indoor pool and hot tub located very near downtown Alexandria Bay with more restaurant choices. We look out on the St Lawrence River and can see the large ships go by in the main ship channel and can also see the floodlights of Boldt Castle just across the river.

Amish Buggy.

The two women inside are wearing black clothing and are pretty well covered up.

On the 28th we go to Ogdenburg and visit the Frederick Remington Museum where we see a nice collection of his paintings and bronzes. We spot an Amish coach in town and snap a picture.

Cookie and Ted leave us this afternoon and head to Toronto to see some family, Linda Kay and Barry and grandchildren, before heading back to Stuart. KOKOMO II remains docked at the Riveredge Resort. Temperature overnight was in the low forties.

May 24-25, Clayton, NY

KOKOMO II enters the St Lawrence Seaway

We motored from Sackets Harbor north and then east into the St Lawrence Seaway. The winter weather has moderated and today is sunny and mild with highs in the mid sixty's. We stopped at the Cape Vincent town dock and spent an hour for a look around town and lunch on the water. We watched a small ferry come in from Canada (just across the water) and unload two pedestrians and then take on several cars and motorcycles for the return trip. We did see a US Customs office but did not think it was open, so not much security here.

This anchor is the centerpiece of the town square at Cape Vincent. Linda with Ted and Cookie Snyder

After lunch we continued on another 12 miles to Clayton, NY, stopping at the Pier 225 Marina. Ted and Cookie go with the mechanic, who is ending his work day, and he takes them to Sackets Harbor where they reclaim their car. We now have a car in Clayton and are enjoying the luxury of not walking to town and of a much greater choice of restaurants. We use the car to go to the Clipper Inn for dinner, an option we would not have had if we were walking as we usually do.

Sunday the weather is beautiful with sunshine and temperatures in the high sixty's. We had breakfast in town and then took a walk to see the sights. We visited most every shop in Clayton.

Cannon on the waterfront at Clayton. Ted, Linda and Cookie.

Antique Boat Museum in Clayton

Cookie and Ted admire some of the exhibits.

Later we go to the big attraction in Clayton, the Antique Boat Museum, which has lots of old wooden boats (a good collection of Chris Craft mahogany boats) and wooden canoes and some sailboats. Lots of old gasoline outboards. The highlight of the museum, other than the old wooden boats, is a 27 x 120 foot houseboat salvaged from the Boldt Castle after a sinking and purchased for $1. It was then beautifully restored and lived in for 20 years as a summer home in the 1000 Islands before being donated to the museum.

Linda thinks we may be close to seeing the Amish as this roadside sign warns drivers to be careful of slow moving horse and buggies in this area.

Later we are off in the car looking for the Amish and their buggies and beautiful farms. Ted and Cookie had bought bread at an Amish roadside stand on their way back from Sackets Harbor and Linda wanted to see some real Amish folks, so we went looking. We found the farm but they were closed on Sunday. We did see the buggy in the yard and other of the horse drawn farm equipment. There were no tractors in evidence. No Amish about today. Maybe they are all at their church meeting.

May 22-23, Sackets Harbor

Lighthouse as we leave the breakwater at Oswego, NY, and enter Lake Ontario

We start in the Oswego Marina and look at the weather as the wind is still blowing 10-15 and we are wondering if we should venture into Lake Ontario for the 35 mile crossing to Sackets Harbor. The weather is still rainy and quite cool. There are three other boats (two sail and one power) beside us all interested in crossing Lake Ontario today. Both sailboats leave ahead of us (the second to leave is next to us in the marina and their crew reports it is a "seven layer" (of clothing) day.

Owen and Ted decide to go stick the boat nose out in the lake to see how it is, and if it is ok, then to keep going. Cookie and Linda decide take the car to Sackets Harbor and do some more provisioning. We leave Oswego about 9 am and find the conditions on the lake better than expected.

Our Lake Ontario crossing is very uneventful and really a nice boat ride although a little bumpy. Seas in the lake are 2-3 feet and right on the port beam. Boat rides well and with the fresh water in the lake we do not worry about getting the "salt" off the boat at the end of the trip.

We arrive in Sackets Harbor about 12:30 and it rains most of the afternoon. We do some exploring by car and have a nice Italian dinner in Watertown.

Cookie Snyder and Linda lead us to one of the the museums at Sackets Harbor

Ted Snyder takes a careful look at the local trees.

Linda and Owen

Large gazebo/bandshell is in the center of this very pretty waterfront park in Sackets Harbor

Second day we tour Sackets Harbor and see the restored Army and Navy buildings, now privately owned with families in residence. The local museum commemorates the 1812 battles between the American and British forces in the Great Lakes that took place here and there is a preserved battlefield where reenactments of the battle are held most summers. Ted and Cookie remember seeing a reenactment here several years ago and said it was very interesting as both sides were represented by locals who wore uniforms and fired weapons.

The Army Commandants house overlooks the harbor and dates from the 1850's

Outdoor dining patio at the local restaurant "Tin Pan Galley". Too cold to eat ouside while we are here, so we have a cozy dinner inside. Very nice place.