1000 Islands & Alexandria Bay

October 2015

As October arrived and the weather got (a little) milder, we headed to the 1000 Islands region of New York & Ontario for a long weekend trip. The area was quieting down since the summer high season was over and fall weather was settling in, but there was still plenty to do while avoiding the massive crowds of summer. Our hotel in Alexandria Bay was right on the St. Lawrence River with a great view of Boldt Castle and the shipping traffic of the St. Lawrence Seaway. We visited and toured the castle while taking a boat tour of some of the over 1800 islands in the area. Besides exploring the village of Alex Bay (as the locals call it), the trip also included an Oktoberfest at a winery (yup, another vacation with a German festival!) and some side trips to Upper Canada Village and Watertown, NY which you can see in separate albums.

1-001 Piggy's Restaurant Sign — A stop for lunch at Piggy’s Restaurant in Lake Harmony, PA. Pigs everywhere!

1-002 Piggy's Restaurant — A stop for lunch at Piggy’s Restaurant in Lake Harmony, PA. Pigs everywhere!

1-003 Piggy's Restaurant Bench — A stop for lunch at Piggy’s Restaurant in Lake Harmony, PA. Pigs everywhere!

1-004 I-81 — Starting to see a few Fall colors along I-81.

1-005 1000 Islands Region Sign — Approaching the 1000 Islands

1-006 Captain Thomson's Entrance — We stayed at Captain Thomson’s Resort in Alexandria Bay.

1-008 Sunken Rock Lighthouse — Sunken Rock Lighthouse

1-010 Alexandria Belle — The Alexandria Belle tour boat passes our room

1-011 Hub Island — The house on Hub Island has the St. Lawrence River for a yard

1-012 Sunset over St Lawrence River — An incredible sunset over the St. Lawrence River as seen from our balcony in Alexandria Bay

1-014 Sunset over St Lawrence River — An incredible sunset over the St. Lawrence River as seen from our balcony in Alexandria Bay

1-016 Sunset over St Lawrence River — An incredible sunset over the St. Lawrence River as seen from our balcony in Alexandria Bay

1-019 Cuyahoga — The first of many ships we saw passing our room was the Cuyahoga

1-020 Cuyahoga — The first of many ship we saw passing our room was the Cuyahoga

1-022 Clouds — Red clouds following sunset over the St. Lawrence River

1-023 Boldt Castle — Our view of Boldt Castle as dusk falls

1-026 James Street — Looking down James Street in Alexandria Bay you can tell it’s the off season

1-027 Boldt Castle — Our view of Boldt Castle after dark

2-001 Boldt Castle — Our view of Boldt Castle in the morning light

2-002 St Lawrence River — The view from our room makes you feel like you’re on a boat

2-003 Gananoque Boat Line Thousand Islander 4 — Gananoque Boat Line’s Thousand Islander 4 tour boat out among the whitecaps on the St. Lawrence River

2-004 House — There’s no shortage of beautiful mansions in the 1000 Islands

2-008 Rockport Boat Line Boat — Rockport Boat Line is another company with tour boats cruising the 1000 Islands

2-010 Alexandria Bay Sign — Our hotel was on the water in Alexandria Bay, aka Alex Bay.

2-013 Captain Thomson's Resort — We stayed at Captain Thomson’s Resort right on the St. Lawrence River in Alexandria Bay.

2-014 Captain Thomson's Resort — Our room at Captain Thomson’s Resort is the corner room on the first flloor.

2-015 Cornwall Brothers Store Museum — Cornwall Brothers Store Museum in Alex Bay

2-016 Casino Island — Casino Island is home to a small park

2-017 Islands — Many of the 1000 Islands boast a beautiful mansion or 2

2-018 Casa Blanca — Casa Blanca on Cherry Island

2-021 Lion Statue — When you have a giant island mansion you also need a scary lion to protect it

2-022 Gazebo — Besides beautiful mansions, the islands have beautiful stone work

2-024 House — Big mansions abound on the 1000 Islands

2-025 Devil's Oven — Devil’s Oven is an small island with a cave

2-027 Bear Weather Vane — Now there’s a unique weather vane

2-028 Thousand Islands Bridge — The Thousand Islands Bridge is actually a series of 5 spans linking the US and Canada

2-029 Border Patrol Boats — Border Patrol’s robust fleet keeps our border with Canada safe

2-030 Border Patrol Station — This is probably one of the best looking US Border Patrol stations in the country

2-031 Coast Guard Station Alexandria Bay — Coast Guard Station Alexandria Bay

2-036 Flags — Italians on the US-Canadian border

2-037 River and Islands — Cruising the St. Lawrence River among the 1000 Islands

2-038 Bridge — Some island owners make use of tiny neighboring islands

2-039 House — One of many huge mansions on the 1000 Islands

2-041 Island — Having a giant stone anchor must make giving directions to your island easier

2-043 Boldt Castle — Heart Island is home to Boldt Castle and its associated structures

2-044 Hub Island & Boldt Castle Yacht House — Hub Island and its tiny house with the Boldt Castle yacht house in the background

2-045 Mom — My mother bundled up aboard the Alexandria Belle

2-046 Michael — Riding the Alexandria Belle on the St. Lawrence River

2-047 Bonnie Castle — Bonnie Castle Resort and Marina

2-048 Floating Restaurant — This former floating restaurant is docked a few feet from our hotel room balcony.

2-052 Entry Arch — Boldt Castle Entry Arch

2-053 Alster Tower — Boldt Castle’s Alster Tower was built as a sort of playhouse to entertain guests.

2-056 Boldt Castle — Approaching Boldt Castle by boat

2-057 Boldt Castle Power House — Boldt Castle’s power house is an architectural wonder in its own right

2-058 River and Islands — Cruising the St. Lawrence River among the 1000 Islands

2-060 House — Tiny house on a tiny island

2-065 Island — An island must have a tree in order to counted as an island. Here’s one of the smallest.

2-066 Birds on Shoal — Just some birds on a shoal

2-068 St Brendan's Church — St Brendan's Church in Rockport, Ontario

2-070 House — One of the more modern homes in the 1000 Islands

2-071 Saint Lawrence Statue — This Saint Lawrence statue watches over the river

2-072 1000 Islands Tower — The 1000 Islands Tower provides spectacular views of the region

2-076 House — This house and island are the definition of quaint

2-077 Thousand Islands Bridge — The Thousand Islands Bridge is actually a series of 5 spans linking the US and Canada

2-078 Thousand Islands Bridge — The Thousand Islands Bridge is actually a series of 5 spans linking the US and Canada

2-079 Thousand Islands Bridge — Passing under the Thousand Islands Bridge

2-081 River and Islands — Cruising on the St. Lawrence River among the 1000 Islands

2-083 Thousand Islands Bridge — The Thousand Islands Bridge is actually a series of 5 spans linking the US and Canada

2-087 House — You can’t miss this blue mansion

2-088 Zavikon Island — Zavikon Island claims to bridge the US-Canadian border, but it actually is entirely in Ontario, Canada

2-090 Boldt Castle Power House — Boldt Castle’s power house is an architectural wonder in its own right

2-092 Heart Flowers — Heart shaped plants on Heart Island

2-093 Mums — Fall has arrived on Heart Island and the mums are blooming

2-094 Wall and Trees — Fall colors are starting to show up around Boldt Castle on Heart Island

2-098 Fireplace — The burning fireplace in the front hall make vistiors feel welcome.

2-099 Grand Staircase — Boldt Castle’s grand staircase

The Boldt logo adorns the floor

Custom Boldt logo bookcase

2-103 Ballroom — Boldt Castle ballroom with organ

2-107 Kitchen — Boldt Castle’s kitchen is gorgeous by the standards of the time period

2-108 Kitchen — Boldt Castle’s kitchen is gorgeous by the standards of the time period

2-110 Stove — The kitchen sports a high tech stove

2-111 Dining Room — Dining room for George Boldt and 17 of his closest family and friends

2-112 George Boldt Portrait — George Boldt, hotel magnate and the man behind Boldt Castle

2-113 Reception Room — The reception room

2-115 Stained Glass Sky Light — The stained glass ceiling is now lit by artifical light

2-116 Unfinished Room — Not all rooms in Boldt Castle have been restored yet, but a lot of great work is still being done

2-118 Roof — A look at the roof and stone work of Boldt Castle

2-119 Captain Thomson's Resort — We stayed at Captain Thomson’s Resort right on the St. Lawrence River in Alexandria Bay

2-121 Heart in Stone — The Boldt heart logo even shows up in the stone work on the outside of the roof.

2-122 Grand Staircase — Boldt Castle’s grand staircase

2-123 Grand Staircase and Front Hall — Looking down Boldt Castle’s grand staircase to the front entry hall

2-125 Outdoor Fireplace — Sitting by this outdoor fireplace at night would be great

2-127 Tunnel — Tunnels lead into Boldt Castle for use by the servants

2-129 Dove-Cote — The Boldt Castle Dove-Cote

2-130 Boldt Castle Power House — Boldt Castle’s power house is an architectural wonder in its own right

2-131 Power House Equipment — Inside Boldt Castle’s very impressive power house

2-133 Clock Tower — Boldt Castle’s power house features a clock tower

2-135 Boldt Castle & Flowers — Looking up at Boldt Castle and its landscaping

2-136 Gazebo — Gazebo on the Heart Island grounds of Boldt Castle

2-137 Sea Gull — Don’t tell this gull that he’s not near the sea

2-139 Light Fixture — Even the outdoor light fixtures are works of art

2-140 Alster Tower — Alster Tower was built as a playhouse of sorts to entertain guests

2-141 Create Inspire Hedge — Create - Inspire, enough said

2-142 Alster Tower Interior — Alster Tower is still being restored

2-143 Entry Arch — Boldt Castle entry arch

Custom stained glass window with the Boldt logo

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