Alexandria Bay, NY in the 1000 Islands

Mike and I are winding down our stay in Alexandria Bay, it has been a great stop. I had never been in this part of NY State and Mike hadn't been here since he was a kid. The area is along the St Lawrence Seaway and is dotted by, you guessed it, a 1000 Islands!!!!! Actually 1865 Islands, some inhabited and privately owned and some just sitting there. To qualify as an Island all it needs to have is two trees..:). We took a drive to Cape Vincent, where the Seaway meets Lake Ontario, They run a small ferry which crosses the Seaway to Wolfe Island, and then another ferry that takes you to Kingston, Canada. We were even able to take the pups, so now they are boasting to the cat that they are world travelers..LOL..We decided to roam the countryside and ended our drive in Brockville, a small town in Ontario that was delightful. We drove back to the States crossing the 1000 Island Bridge, which gave us an amazing view of the seaway and the Islands. Alexandria Bay or Abay as it is called, is a town of bars,restaurants and shops..6 miles in the other direction is Clayton..also a small town but abit more upscale for this area. Mike and I took a 3 hour tour ( we decided if the captains name was Gilligan we would run for our lives..lol) to see the Islands and learn about the history of the area.Many of the Islands are privately owned, with beautiful homes (one might even say mansions!!!) that are perhaps used at most 10 weeks out of any given year. The names of the owners and their families reads like a who's who and just boggles the mind. We also made a stop at Boldt Castle, an amazing place on Heart Island. George Boldt, who owned and ran with his wife, the Bellevue in Philly and the Waldorf in New York, bought the Island in the early 1890's and in the mid 1890's started to build the castle as a gift to his wife. In 1904 after having put almost 2.5 million dollars into the construction, Louisa Boldt died and all building came to a halt, George never returned to the Island. In the late 1970's the property was given to the 1000 Island Bridge Authority and rehabilitation was started. It is an incredible place and one that should not be missed...Obviously, we made it back to shore and Clayton without mishap!!!!! This part of NY State is beautiful and if anyone gets the opportunity it is a great stop along the road.
Next stop is Byron, NY and a visit to Niagra Falls, which I have never seen, and the top of the Finger Lakes..
From the road,
Jan and Mike