Forced Family Fun, Part Three

The weather for Friday had been looking a little sketchy, so when I planned our day, I scheduled our boat tour for the afternoon when the likelihood of storms was less.  In the end we didn't end up getting any bad weather that day, but the later start meant that we didn't have to rush much in the morning.  We were able to enjoy our Holiday Inn Express breakfast--well, sort of.  Yes, I did get my cinnamon rolls, but almost everything else about the buffet was a bit of a mess.  We arrived around 9am and it was still a madhouse.  Hardly anything was stocked.  I had to wait about 20 minutes to get a mini egg omelette, since the second the attendant brought any out, they were gone.  The table behind us was taking multiples of everything, and when the attendant brought out a new case of yogurt, one guy took four!  I'm not sure what the issue was--whether more people were being greedy or they just needed more help to keep it stocked--but in the end I think we all ended up appropriately fed.

More exciting, however, was that we had time in the morning to visit the hotel pool!  It's not often we stay in a hotel with a pool, but even when we do, it's rare we use it because we're often coming back later at night and leaving first thing in the morning.  But this time, we were able to!  Craig worked out in the fitness center for a bit while I swam with the kids.  We raced a bunch, and Carter loved being in the shallow end where he could touch the bottom.  I think his exact quote was, "I feel so alive!"  Definitely a much better start to the day!

We headed out from the hotel around noon and went across the parking lot to Chipotle for lunch to ensure we had full bellies for the day's adventures!  Our plan was to drive to Alexandria Bay and take a boat tour that would eventually drop us off at Boldt Castle, where we could tour the island.  Carter was not thrilled about the thought of another tour, but I assured him this one would be better than the Olympic tour.  Of course, when we arrived in Alex Bay, it was very busy!  It was a quaint little town, for sure, but when we arrived at the boat dock, not only was the main parking full, but so was the first lot of overflow parking.  That left us meandering a couple miles down the road to another lot that was being serviced by a shuttle bus.  Thank goodness we got there a bit early, because between the extra drive, the wait for the shuttle, and the eternally long line back at the dock to board the boat, it could have been disastrous!  But in the end, it was fine.  Of course, it was a very hot, sunny day and while it would have been ideal to be inside the boat in the shade, both bottom decks seemed pretty full, so we ended up standing on the top deck.  The breeze helped a bit, but even with sunscreen I ended up a little too toasty!  Slushies saved the day, though, and the tour was really pretty awesome!  I'm sharing a mere fraction of the photos I took, but the views were beautiful and the history lesson was quite informative as well.

The view as we left the docks

We saw all varieties of islands within the Thousand Islands, from large roomy islands with multiple houses, to the tiniest of islands--they only have to be one square foot, above water year-round, and house at least one tree to count.  There are over 1,800 in total.  Some of the houses were stunning.

Of special note as you look at these is that Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River are both around all-time highs.  It happened two years ago, and this year's flooding surpassed it.  It's come down from its peak a few weeks ago, but only by a little.  It is still visibly high, as much as three feet in places, from what I read.  The docks we disembarked from at the end of our tour had plywood and 2x4 docks built on top of other docks, because the original docks were still a couple inches under water.  Some of the houses were still sitting pretty, up high on rocky coasts.  But others were clearly very close to having their ground floor overtaken.

I found a picture of this one online and there's normally a large dock about two feet high out of the water, and it's completely underwater right now.

Hope there isn't anything important on that first floor!

Guessing that stairway normally goes to more than a strip of grass.

Each house was more impressive than the next.  And even the ones that weren't grand still looked amazingly quaint and peaceful.  About 15 minutes into the tour, we approached the king of them all, Boldt Castle.  The original owner was building the castle for his wife, but when she died young, he stopped immediately and the property sat abandoned for decades, rotting in the elements.  Eventually it was purchased by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and they've spent the past 40+ years restoring it.  The yacht house, a bit off Heart Island, is currently closed due to flooding.

The main island houses the castle, a tower (the playhouse), and a power house, along with beautiful gardens.

This tower was supposed to be the playhouse, but they actually lived there for a time.

The power house, whose walkway was also under water

We passed by the island and continued further into the river.  We passed by one of the other Uncle Sam tour boats, and as it turned out, later on we got to ride on one like this.

At one point I noticed some columns near the shore, then saw what looked like a foundation with window holes, and finally saw this doorway.  At some point there had to be a house there.  Sad to see so little left.  I wonder if it just washed away, or burned down, or what.

One of the interesting things about being out in the river is that it's a major shipping channel.  We saw a number of large vessels, including this one.

At one point in the tour, the guide announced that kids could become honorary captains and steer the boat.  We happened to be standing right outside the spot to do it, so Carter was the second one in!  I'm sort of surprised he didn't steer the wheel all the way around or something!  But he did a great job!

As much as he doesn't like tours, he actually really seemed to enjoy standing along the rail and watching the world go by.  

Even though so many houses were beautiful, this one was the one I most wanted to see the inside of.  Those large windows must look amazing!

This is apparently a statue of St. Lawrence.  Upon Googling, I found out it is holding a gridiron, which the real saint was burned alive on.  Eeeesh.

This house had this stunning waterfall coming down from the house.  I think the tour guide said something about it going under their living room.

For some reason it's always fun to go under bridges...maybe because it's a view you don't get much!

I remember seeing this observation tower (pardon my crooked picture) when we went to Montreal years ago.

See that little island on the right?  Apparently it's the smallest island in the Thousand Islands.  It was tiny...but sure enough, one tree!

When we passed back under the bridge, we saw these folks walking on it.  I'm not sure what they were doing, but maybe painting it?  Or inspecting it?  I do want to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb someday, but doing whatever that is as a job?  No thanks!

This is what the top deck of our boat looked like.  There were chairs on either side.  Carter and I mostly stood on the left by the captain, but Jacob and Craig hung out under there in the shade for quite a while.

And another ship...

At the end of the tour, the boat made a stop at Boldt Castle.  We disembarked at that point and spent some time making our way around the island.

Our boat

 The grounds were beautiful, right from our first view!

We found the pool on the ground floor.  It was still under construction, but the windows were pretty.

Apparently this arch was where the Boldts would welcome their guests.  It's supposed to be a mini Arc de Triomphe.

The so-called playhouse was quite the site to behold.  It was a large stone castle itself, and while not much of it was accessible to us, it still had a lot to see.

Flooding hit this area as well.  Look at the bottom of the steps!

Inside, you could see glimpses of what once was.  Look at that green tile...

There were also two bowling lanes...see the pins way down the left lane?

The details here were impressive, but time, weather, and vandals had taken their toll.

Despite everything, this porch was still stunning.

The adjacent restored game room was beautiful, with its wood walls and curved doors.

So much beauty everywhere...

Back in the main house, this skylight above the main staircase was breathtaking.

Another amazing porch wound around the house.  Look at the wood ceiling!

The details in the ballroom ceiling were beautiful.  Many rooms had before pictures of what they looked like prior to the renovation, and you'd have never known that entire sections of that detail were missing.

I'll spare you photo after photo of the rooms, but most of the finished rooms were similar to this--tasteful, simple yet elegant.

Upstairs was still very unfinished.  One floor included historical photographs and write-ups.  One room showed some building materials still in their shipping crates all these years later.  One of the more interesting things was the set of windows that let you see the support framework for the stained glass dome.

There was also a gorgeous balcony overlooking the water.

From the upper floors, the detail of the dome was even more apparent.  Notice the hearts in the design for Heart Island.

Outside was a tower that served as a dovecote (essentially a giant birdhouse).

Next to it was a lovely Italian garden.

Check out the club, heart, and "B" in the garden.

Alas, it was finally time to head back.  We ended up on one of the paddleboats for our shuttle back.  Fortunately, this time we got an inside seat!

We once again got a great view of all of the island's treasures from the water side.

Oh, and I tried to capture the moment with my little co-passenger, but notice me holding down his arms so he didn't block the camera!

#boathairdon'tcare

Our return to the dock was actually delayed a bit as we had to wait for this guy to pass before crossing the river.

All in all, I'll consider the boat and castle a success.  I'm not sure it's what the kids would have done if they had their choice, but both seemed to enjoy it in the end.  If I judge it by the number of complaints, there were infinitely less than the previous day!  

Of course, when we got back to the dock, we were faced with the challenge of yet another meal.  I would have loved to stay in Alex Bay and check out the little shops, but our best efforts to find a gluten-free place basically failed, so before the "hangriness" set in, we grabbed the shuttle back to the van and headed out.  Time for hotel #3...which you'll hear about in the exciting conclusion to our tale...very soon :)