Welcome to Canada

     Leaving the 1000 Islands, we crossed the border into Canada as we passed between Wolfe Island on the West and a whole bunch of small islands on the East, with exciting names like Gull Rock (colored white from all the droppings), Whiskey Island and Arabella Island.  Our first Canadian landmark was the Wolfe Island Lighthouse, and here she is:

     We cruised West on the North Channel (of Lake Ontario) heading to Kingston, our first stop.  First glimpse we got of Kingston was this tower (Murney Tower), one of four built to complement the fortifications of nearby Fort Henry.  Fort Henry was built during the War of 1812 by the British (who then controlled Ontario) because they feared the United States would attack Kingston.  The fort was never (ever) attacked.

 

     We even had one of the towers in our marina as you can see in the two photos below, but we weren't too worried about being attacked:

 The view of the tower from our boat.

     In addition to the security of having an ancient military fortification in the marina, we had morning entertainment.  Every day at 8 am, this bagpiper strolled the docks playing for us.  I'll have to admit that bagpipe music is not one of my favorites, but it was pretty unique. Love the outfit, and no, I have no idea if he was wearing any.

 

     Now that we were in Canada, we had to check in with Canadian customs, which they conveniently allowed us to do over the phone.  That was the end of the convenience.  Art got the customs inspector from hell who was pretty cranky, but even worse, he grilled Art endlessly about our liquor cabinet (and threatened to send an inspector down to check it out).  We obviously had a few bottles on board, but this guy was relentless in his demand that we identify every single drop.  It all ended with a bill for $128.00 to pay duty on our booze, which Art ponied up over the phone with his credit card.  After that, we definitely needed a drink!

     The rest of our stay in Kingston was quite nice, with great restaurants, nearby shopping and a really cool downtown.  But we needed to move on and so we headed off early in the morning to Trenton, the next topic.

Bolt Castle

     Bolt Castle, located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands, was built by George Bolt to show his love and devotion to his wife, Louise.  It was intended to be a full size replica of a European castle. (Jeez, the best token of love I ever got was jewelry--next time I'm holding out for a beach house.)

     George Bolt was a self-made millionaire who emigrated from Prussia as a young man and eventually made his fortune as proprietor of the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and owner of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia.  The Bolts often vacationed in the area, and fell in love with with an elegant cottage on Hart Island, directly across from their hotel.  When the current owner died, George Bolt quietly purchased the cottage and the island it sat on, and then changed the name from Hart Island (the previous owners last name) to Heart Island, again to express his love for Louise.  And then he began construction of his castle, which is currently one of the major tourists attractions in the area.

 The castle.

 

     With no expense spared on design, materials, or decor, construction went on for 3 years when suddenly Louise became ill and died.  George Bold halted construction immediately and never started it up again.  The castle sat in half ruin for 70-plus years before it was taken over and restored.  While still unfinished, it is open to tourists and would have been an incredible place had it been finished.  Here are some highlights:

This was to be the formal entry to the island and was modeled after the Roman gates.

Here I am marching up the grand stairway off the front entry.  The castle had 127 rooms, but only the downstairs and a few rooms on the second floor were partially completed.  It was still rather grand, as you can see from the photos below.

That same staircase without me and a bit more background.

The reception area.

 

The ballroom.

Self explanatory.

Sitting area in George's bedroom.

The view from one of the upstairs bedroom balconies.

This is the Alster Tower, also called the Playhouse.  It was built to look like a sand castle and was to be used to entertain guests as well as a place for the children to play.  It contained a bowling alley in the basement and plans for the upper rooms included a billiard room, library, cafe, grill and kitchen.

     And last, here is the boathouse he built on an adjacent island:

     Inside the yacht house are slips 128 feet long (almost 3 of our boat placed end to end would fit in one slip), a shop to build racing yachts and housing for crew and workers.  The boat house is bigger than most of the other McMansions we have seen on our trip so far.  And that is the end of this brief tour of Bolt Castle.  It was kind of cool that when we arrived at the island and paid our admission, we were turned loose to roam the castle and grounds at will.  There were other structures and places to visit (a powerhouse and fabulous gardens), but you will have to go yourself to get the whole enchilada.

    It's time to move on, and so we are off to Kingston, our first stop in Canada--that's next.

Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the 1000 Islands

     At the end of the Oswego Canal, we reached the city of Oswego, NY, right on the shore of Lake Ontario.  We don't have any photos from our brief stop in Oswego because it was rainy and overcast and just a plain ugly day, and we really weren't there long enough to see anything.  Our plan was to leave right away and head across Lake Ontario to the city of Kingston, our first stop in Canada.  That was not to be--when we called for a slip in the marina at Kingston, we learned there was a sailboat regatta going on and we would have to wait 4 or 5 days to get in.
     And so it was on to Plan B:  We headed east on Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence River and the 1000 Islands, and that was a great decision--what a beautiful area!  Crossing Lake Ontario started out as a nightmare--we were tossed and slammed in some pretty rough seas and almost turned around several times, but eventually the water settled down, and by the time we got to the St. Lawrence, it was downright beautiful:

The village of Cape Vincent as we entered the St. Lawrence River.

This is the only commercial vessel we saw while in the 1000 islands even though the St. Lawrence is a major commercial thoroughfare for ships going between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.

     We motored up to the town of Clayton, where we docked at French Creek Marina.  Sounds like a romantic place, doesn't it?  Let me tell you it wasn't!  The docks were rickety and old; most of the other boats there were tubs and we nearly grounded ourselves waiting for our slip assignment.  But that dubious beginning was the only downside to this place.

Me standing by the Clayton Monument to honor all local war veterans.  It was built as a lighthouse so those returning from war could find their way home.

A view of the town from the water.

     Art's favorite tourist site in Clayton was their Antique Boat Museum--I'm not big on boat museums, so I'll share what I know of his visit:  there were lots and lots of boats and engines to see.  Here are a few of his favorites:

Kinda takes your breath away, doesn't it?

     A bit about the 1000 Islands before I go on.  There are actually almost 1,800 of them, but who's counting?  The area claims to be the birthplace of the famed salad dressing, and all kinds of homemade varieties were sold in every single shop.  We decided to take their word for it and didn't buy any--mostly because neither one of us likes it that much.  The largest number of islands are on the Canadian side of the river, but the US has the biggest ones on our side.  The largest is over 40 square miles and the smallest looks like a rock sticking out of the water.  Many were just the right size to accommodate one house:

     This is "cottage country," but a lot of the homes we saw along the banks, as well as on islands, certainly did not fit my definition of "cottage."  Check these out:

    I think you get the picture.  Pretty nice, huh?

     And here are a few more houses that have their own island.  How do they get their mail?  They have to go into town.  What about electricity?  Underwater cables.  Trash?  Haul it out.  And the only way to get to your own private island is on your own private boat (or with someone you know).

     Just about anywhere you looked, there was something beautiful to see.  We took a ride up the river to Bolt Castle (that will be my next post) and I will end this part with a few more photos from our day on the river:

This is called the Rock Island Lighthouse, one of 6 built along the St. Lawrence River to guide the traffic on the water.  Check out that boat full of tourists heading up the river ahead of us.

     And last, here are a couple more bungalows we passed along the way:

This guy has quite a boat house set up.

The black and white striped poles he has around his boat look like Venice.  Wonder if this owner is Italian?

     Next stop is Bolt Castle.

The Erie Canal

     We departed from our comfy dock on the Hudson in New Baltimore and headed toward the Erie Canal, a few miles up the river from Albany.  Here's a couple of shots of what we were leaving:

 We are the boat closest to the shore on the left.

 Modest, but fun, amenities.

      Passing through Albany, a pretty city from the water.

     When we turned from the Hudson River onto the Erie Canal, we were immediately looking at the first of some 45 locks we were to go through over the next couple of days.

   Here we are entering the first lock on the Erie Canal.  That is our flag (on the front of our boat) moving up behind the boats already in the lock.  The water leaking through the lock door at the other end was a little intimidating, but we learned to get used to it, as most of them are that way (and some worse than others, which you will see later on).

     And the rest of the journey was more of the same--lots of locks, and a few other sights. Here's a photo tour of our journey on the Erie Canal:

 Many of the locks were beside dams, as this one is (lock on the left).

 These are bridge ruins from the first generation on the canal.  Is there anyone out there old enough to remember Tennessee Ernie Ford singing, "I had a mule, her name was Sal...15 miles on the Erie Canal"?  I found myself singing that constantly as we traveled this route.

Here we are waiting to enter a lock, with Art holding on so we don't drift away.  Every lock has an area where you can tie up while waiting for the lock to open (or just tie up and take a hike, eat lunch, whatever).

Periodically along the canal, we would come across a flood gate.

Lock 17--Are we there yet?

Just a friendly reminder of where we are and what's next.

Talk about feeling like you're in a hole!  This was one of the higher locks (around 60 ft) on this part of the waterway and my comfort level was being challenged, especially knowing there was nothing but water behind those gates!

Here's Art in the same lock hanging on to the rope to keep us from banging into another boat.

And here is another one of those leaky locks that gives old people ulcers (and Art and I fit in that category!)

     Finally, this is the place where we leave the Erie Canal and turn onto the Oswego Canal, which will take us to Lake Ontario.  As you can see, they are not too choosey about where they put their signs, or who makes them for that matter. The Oswego Canal was just like the Erie (locks and all), so I will pick up the story when we get to Lake Ontario.