1000 Islands

Thursday we left for a 4 day road trip (minus the RV) with Dan's family to the 1000 Islands region of New York.  This blog update is part 1 of our trip!   We meandered our way to where we were staying (Watertown) taking the scenic tour!  We paralleled Cayuga Lake (which is part of the Finger Lakes) for some time and then took the Great Lakes Seaway Trail.  We stopped for lunch in Oswego which is a small, quaint town on the shores of Lake Ontario.  We also walked around the waterfront taking in the views.

Dan L and Pauline, Tim and Ann, Dan (Colleen and Doug would join us later!)

Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse and Coast Guard vessel

Ahhh....It may not be the beaches that I am used to but it was water nonetheless! Dan's brother Tim had heard about a placed called "Brennan Beach" and wanted to stop along our way.  It was right on Lake Ontario and was an Encore RV park.

Dan and Tim

We wandered thru the park but didn't stay long.  There were over 1500 sites....all close together and just not our cup of tea!  This was my favorite part of the park....

This gal and her friends were in a field bordering the park. 

We hopped back in the car and drove a bit further.  Our next stop was Sackett's Harbor.  Sackett's Harbor is another quaint, small town.  It also played an important role in the War of 1812 as it was the hub of naval activity for Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River.  There are still remnants of the barracks, cannons, and history markers outlining points of interest.  We enjoyed walking along the waterfront and taking in the views.

Lots of ducks

including this family!

The flowers were blooming and absolutely gorgeous....

Pauline and Ann with the posies 

This one is for you, Cathy!

There surely is something soothing about being around water.

Nice waterfront views

 and I could just sit and relax for hours!

Ann snapped this picture of Dan and I

We finally made it to Watertown, had a light dinner, and hit the hay early.  Friday was going to be a long day of sight-seeing!

We left Watertown early Friday morning and arrived at Alexandria Bay around 9:00.  We were going to go on a boat tour of the 1000 Islands and visit Boldt Castle (more on the castle in part two!).  The 1000 islands are a group of islands that straddle the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. There are actually 1864 islands in all.  In order to be considered an island, it must have a tree on it and remain above water 365 days a year.  We were told that, with a combined effort, it took the US and Canada 3 years to count all of the islands.  Seems kind of crazy that it took that long!  We got out tickets for the boat tour and had a little bit of time to explore the town before our tour started.  At 10:00, our boat left the dock.  We were taking the 2 Nation Tour.  

Leaving the bay

The tour was going to be about 2 1/2 hours and 22 miles long and were were going to go thru both American and Canadian waters.  We passed by Millionaire's Row on the St Lawrence River and saw some beautiful summer homes....each one is on it's own island!

2nd favorite!

They were all very very nice but I believe that this was my favorite one....

The stonework around and on this home was so beautiful to me.  

I had been told that the 1000 Islands were a nice place to visit and I was not disappointed.  Dan had been when he was younger with his family but this was my first time.  I was surprised at the clarity of the water.  It was very clear and not murky at all.  The views were amazing.

Very nice coastline of one of the Canadian islands 

1000 Islands Bridge

Smallest island appropriately named TomThumb Island

Brennan Church (in Canada)

There is a statue of St Lawrence that is visible only from the river.  It is about 14 feet tall, weighs about 18,000 lbs and is made out of limestone.

St Lawrence

The statue's sculptor wanted to convey the saint's character and story through symbolism in the statue.  St Lawrence holds a gridiron (the device used to execute him) in one hand and a book in the other.  He stands on bags of coins representing his role as keeper of the church's money (which he gave to the poor). 


These were two very interesting islands.  The one on the left is in Canada; the one on the right is in the US.  Notice the foot bridge between the two.  Our guide told us that a couple summer there and when the husband needs space from his wife, he just leaves the country by walking to the other island!  Too funny 

This looked like a very nice place to park our RV....

but I think getting it there would be quite the challenge!

Dan's sister Colleen and BIL Doug enjoying the tour.

The tour guide pointed out this boat...

Can you say "speed"!!??

The wake/speeding fines on the St Lawrence are supposed to be quite high.  Our tour guide told us $1000 for each mph over the limit.  Seems like it would be quite difficult to keep this beauty at a low speed!

Our last island we saw was Heart Island...home of Boldt Castle.

And this will be part 2 of my blog about our 1000 Islands trip! Stay tuned....