Kathy and Art Changing Course: 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: