1000 Islands and Canada, Eh.

We left Oswego on July 5th headed across Lake Ontario toward the St. Lawrence seaway. We stopped for one night at a free dock in Cape Vincent before going on to Clayton NY. Out in Lake Ontario we saw the deepest water we've crossed so far. Even the Gulf of Mexico was only about 100 feet on the route we took.

In Cape Vincent you look across the river at Canada. We wouldn't be checking in for a few more days but they have a very welcoming view as you look over...

We ended up spending a couple of more days in Clayton than we planned since the A/C pump took longer to get there. It was time well spent in a very nice, new marina. It was nice to see the brothers from the Clayton Fire come out to welcome us to town.

 We did some more tourist things, one of which was a river cruise through the 1000 Islands to visit Boldt Castle. Every island that is big enough has a pretty impressive home or 2 on it. Back in the late 1800's and early 1900's this was the place NYC millionaires spent the season. Below is just one example, all with matching boat houses.

  The castle and island were more than impressive with a pretty interesting history (see the link above). Apparently, the "official" history ain't exactly how things happened....

The castle construction was halted before completion when George Boldt's wife died unexpectedly. The picture below shows how the rooms looked before "renovations" were started in the 70's. (is it really renovations if it was never finished??)

Walking around the island you see several "out" buildings and very nice views of the river and Alexandria Bay. One building that was completed was the boat house across the water on another island. This housed the large yachts were used to get to Heart Island.

Another tourist day in Clayton was a tour of the Antique Boat Museum which houses a very impressive collection of boats from the past. One area was set up like an old boat show exhibit floor.

The day we went they were also hosting the local Concours-d'Elegance so we got to see old cars as well as the old boats....bonus!!

Thankfully, after all the touring we found...wait for it....

Right across the street....what are the chances!!??!!

Well, the A/C pump finally arrived and we had it installed in about an hour. Of course it was out during the hottest days of the summer so far. Picture below is from the Clayton marina, nice boat.

With nothing left to wait for we left Clayton last Sunday morning and zig-zaged through the islands to the Canadian town of Gananoque to check into customs...they were closed. I called the customs number on the side of their office and a very nice young lady informed me that the office there was closed...duh. Next she asked me some basic information, boat information, anything to declare? Here's you're clearance number, post it on your boat, have a nice day!! Wow, that was easy!

The next couple of nights were spent at docks on small islands that are part of Parks Canada and included in the season pass we bought for docking in Canada. One thing that has amazed us is how clear the water is in the 1000 Islands, you can see the bottom at 20 feet. Which is good since there is a bunch of granite down there.

After the Islands we stopped at Kingston, Ontario for one night...could have spent a week there! It's a very nice town with tons to do within a few blocks of the marina. Next was Belleville where we met our friends Ed & Kyle for dinner (see Key West post). They have a place in Canada for the summer and a boat down south in the winter.

We are now in Trenton at the beginning of the Trent-Severn waterway that will take us 240 miles into Georgian bay. We will be starting Sunday so tune in for the excitement on the tracker!!

One other thing I wanted to mention. Most of you know that we are now official Florida residents. Well, just before we left Clayton for Canada we had our mail forwarded and Jill got the nicest letter from the folks down in Clay County...they are sooooo sweet!!!

Till next time....we'll be laying low, somewhere in Canada!!