June 14 – 22, 2014
You might think I have lost my mind writing about salad
dressing but I haven’t. I will tell you what this is all about but before I do
SIT arrived in New York on the 14th.
We picked a spot to shoot from traveling from Gettysburg
that gave us a nice scenic drive but also took us farther north. We landed in
near Binghamton New York for a few days.
Our RV spot was across the highway from a golf course so I
bet you can guess what we did. We also found a nice course in town which gave
us the opportunity to walk and play.
Our View
Glad I missed the bunker
The River can be a distraction
We left bright and early Tuesday morning to spend a week in
Henderson Harbor which is near Watertown. You might think we are setting our path based on wherever we
find the word Henderson but it’s purely a coincidence. Although we did finally
find our town complete with our own zip code!
Waterfall in Henderson
The RV park is on the shore of Lake Ontario and our sunsets
were awesome. Izzy enjoyed the park too as she could chase her floppy as much
as we had the energy for her.
Sunset from our spot
Going Down on Lake Ontario
Thankful
Local Fishermen Henderson Harbor
On the Lake
We met a couple from Pennsylvania who have place at the RV
park for getaways. Brian and Kerri were there for a week and gave us ideas of
places to see in the area. Oh by the way they had a two year old lab named Reba
so we got points from Izzy for that as well.
We hit it off with them and were pleased when they wanted to
go take a boat ride on the Saint Lawrence River and go visit a castle,
especially since they had a boat! We were pretty excited to do this and the day
we picked was just perfect.
Brian our Guide
So hurry up and tell you about salad dressing you are
thinking, right? Well this area is known as 1000 Islands. According to what we
learned there are a total of 1,864 islands located in an approximately 50-mile
archipelago that makes up the Thousand Islands region. To become part of the
official count, an island must meet two criteria: it must be above water 365
days a year and it must support a living tree.
Cruising through the bay
Rock Island Lighthouse
Joins the countries
As we toured the Saint Lawrence River we found many of these
islands and were surprised that some contained a house with not much room left
over.
Beautiful Water
Small Islands Ahead
River Living
What about salad dressing? By now you should at least know the
name of the dressing I am talking about. There are two prevailing beliefs about
how the dressing came to be and both take place in the 1000 Islands. Alexandria
Bay claims it was developed by a boat owner George Boldt. Clayton residents
claim it was created by a local fisherman’s wife, Sophia LaLonde, and the
recipe given to actress May Irwin who took it back with her to New York City.
If you want to learn more about this they even have a web page dedicated to it
and of course recipes (www.visit1000islands.com/dressing).
George Boldt gained more fame in this area, not just from potentially
creating 1000 Island Dressing, by building a castle. Our river trip took us to
Heart Island where the four of us enjoyed touring the Boldt Castle, the
grounds, and Yacht House. The story of the castle is one of love and tragedy.
Would You Believe This Isn't the Castle
George built the castle as a testimony of his love for his
wife Louise. The construction began in 1894 on some of the other structures on
the island. Beginning in 1900, Boldt’s family shared four wonderful summers
here while the castle was under construction. In 1904, tragedy struck. Boldt sent
a telegram to the island and commanded the 300 workers to immediately “stop all
construction.” Louise had died suddenly and Boldt could not imagine his dream
castle without his wife. He never returned.
The castle remained vacant and unfinished for 73 years. It
suffered due to weather and vandals but in 1977 the Thousand Islands Bridge
Authority assumed ownership and has been working on finishing and restoring the
castle. Take a tour with us through these pictures.
One Side of the Castle
George Boldt
Louise Boldt
Looking Up
Color and Detail
Fine Dining
Pretty Bedroom
Fireplace Detail
Peaceful Sitting
Brian and Kerri
Enjoying Ourselves
Roof Top View
The Balcony View
The Alster Tower also known as the Play House
Awesome Stone Work
Indoor Bowling Alley in the Play House
Stood the Test of Time
The Arch Entry
The Gazebo
A Touch of Color
The Power House and Clock Tower
Besides gawking at the castle you can go check out the Yacht
House and a few antique boats. The boat museum offers a variety of boats to see
and learn about along with the caretaker’s quarters. Not a bad place to have to
live, although the winter would be a bit chilly.
The Four of Us
The Yacht House and Boat Garage!
A Beautiful Boat
Docked
Not A Castle But I'd Take it
Across from the Yacht House
When we weren’t checking out a castle, we toured the area
and took in the scenery at Tibbetts Point Lighthouse in Cape Vincent. This area
has quite the French heritage and it was Napoleon’s brother Joseph who
established residence in the community in the early 1800s.
Enjoying Himself
Tibbetts Light House
Another famous area close to our temporary location is
Sackets Harbor which was the site of one of the most crucial battles of the War
of 1812 and the location of the largest U.S. naval station on the Great Lakes
during that period. Sackets Harbor
became the center of American naval and military activity for the upper St.
Lawrence Valley and Lake Ontario. A large fleet was constructed at the harbor’s
extensive shipyard, barracks constructed for the thousands of soldiers,
sailors, and mechanics who soon arrived to provide the manpower for the
invasion and conquest of Canada. You can tour the grounds and learn about the
battle and ship building.
A British-Canadian force launched an attack on May 29, 1813
in an attempt to destroy the American shipyard. American forces drove off the
enemy, but their narrow victory was marred by a fire that destroyed their
military stores. Sackets harbor remained as an active station where naval ships
were constructed and supplied during the remainder of the war.
The War of 1812 touched this part of New York
Canadian Glengarry Lieutenant
Iroquois Warrior
The Barracks
Union Hotel 1817
If you take away the war from the area, this place is a nice
cozy harbor that offers a wonderful view.
Sailing in Sackets Harbor
Sackets Harbor
We couldn’t get away without playing a round of golf so we
headed down the road from our camp and played a nice 9-hole course. The scenery
was pretty, the course challenging and fun, and we found this turtle hanging
out by a tee box. He wasn’t too worried about us but did give me a look when I
took his picture.
Whatcha Looking At?
We only planned a week next to Lake Ontario but it is one
area where you could truly spend your summer. Next stop for SIT is in the
Adirondack Park.
