Today we had a very busy day with a two hour boat tour through the Thousand Islands and tours of Boldt Castle and Boat House. First, the Admiral let me sleep in a little because she had a long day arranged. We had planned to take either Lucky Us or the dingy on a tour through the islands, but she surprised me by arranging for a guided boat tour instead. This was wonderful for me since I was not busy navigating around the islands and had much more time to enjoy the views. Also, aside from the usual corny jokes by the guide, we got a running narrative of what we were seeing.
As we left the dock, one of the first sights was of the Boldt Castle, which we would tour at the end of the boat tour. Construction on the castle began in 1900 and was halted in 1904 when Mrs. Boldt suddenly passed away. Since it was a gift to her, Mr. Boldt deemed that it would never be finished and that none of his family would ever live there. After many years of neglect and vandalism, the state of New York purchased the castle and the island for $1.00 with the provision that it never be renovated beyond the point at which construction stopped. In this view, you can see some scaffolding due to ongoing renovations. On the water in the foreground is the children's playhouse.
On the boat tour we crossed over into Canadian waters, and saw many more mansions although most of them are relatively new. The Admiral thought that it was interesting that we passed only one town, and it was Rockport, Ontario. We have taken Lucky Us to Rockport, Texas several times to visit her parents. They are about 4,400 boats miles apart. Quite a long way to travel to see two Rockports???
We passed the shortest international bridge between the U.S and Canada (picture at left). The owners live on the island on the left, but they also own the island on the right, which is in the U.S. In all there are over 1,800 islands large enough to have at least one tree growing on it. No tree? Then it is just a hazard to navigation and not an island...
We passed many beautiful homes, such as the one on the right. Many of the landforms in this area were created by the glaciers, which left only a thin layer of glacial till. Till by definition is poorly sorted, which means that there is a wide range of grain sizes from fine powder to large boulders. Thus, many of the homes have elaborate fences, stairs, gardens, etc. made from the larger rocks.
Oh yes, there are even islands that appear to be completely uninhabited. We were treated to views of eagles, ospreys, geese, and ducks, and well as many "babies".
The water is remarkably clear, and we thought that we could see the bottom in about 30 feet of water. Part of the clarity is due to Zebra Mussels, which are an invasive species that possibly came in via water ballast in a ship from The Black or Caspian Seas. They are filter feeders so they filter out fine sediment and also some pollutants. The clear clean water is nice, but the zebra mussels have created many other problems (sort of good and bad news).
The boat tour ended at Boldt Castle, where the first thing on our agenda was lunch... After a grilled chicken sandwich, small bag of chips and a Diet Pepsi, I was ready to tour the island and the castle. We started at the east end of the island where there is a "small" stone castle complete with a clock in one of the turrets that housed the electric generators and water pumps.
Then, and I know that you have all been waiting for this, the Admiral and I had our picture taken in front of a nice garden with the castle in the background. It was a beautiful setting, and from some angles it reminded me of the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada.
The elaborate stone work everywhere is really amazing, and don't forget that while the exterior shell was being completed, they could only work 8 or so months a year at best due to the severe winters.
Then it was off to the west end of the island to see the children's playhouse. The Boldt's had two children so there were two bowling alleys (but only one indoor swimming pool). There were several play rooms and an array of beautiful staircases. The stone work on the playhouse was much more random, which gave it something of a spooky look to it (?). As with the main house, much of the interior restoration is a work in progress.
The guests arrived at the boat dock in the back (north) side of the castle and entered through the main entrance on the front (south) side. As you enter there is a beautiful staircase ahead, but the area is lit from above by this spectacular stained glass "skylight". I was standing on the bottom step of the stairs when I leaned back to take this photo. Thankfully, the Admiral was there to keep me from falling over backwards...
Most of the rooms on the main (living) floor have been restored, and some of the Boldt family bedrooms and parlors on the second floor have been completed. The ballroom is shown at the right, and no doubt an invitation to a party here was indeed an honor.
I also liked the large formal dining room, which in spite of the "rules" was partially furnished. In addition, there were parlors, billiard room, living room, reception area, etc. The is quite the place!
The next (and last) stop on our visit was to take a water taxi to the boathouse, which is located on a large island just to the north. The boathouse had huge doors to allow several large launches (40 plus feet, a speed boat (or three) and the large "barge" La Duchesse to enter. The high doors allowed the steam yachts to enter without lowering their smoke stacks, masts, etc. The four story tower area at the left is where the captain(s) and crew were housed. The windows on the top floor allowed a view of the castle so that they could be signaled whenever a boat was needed.
Once inside, the boats could be lifted out of the water by an elaborate system of vertical screws that were turned by hand to lift up a steel cradle that would hold the boat. There were shops for wood, engine, etc. work. The picture at left looks across two boat slips at a third slip where one of the yachts has been lifted out of the water like for winter storage. The high turret near the center of the boat house (above) contained a metal smoke stack that could be lowered over the smoke stack on the biggest yacht to allow the crew to fire up the boiler so that the huge boat could then back out under its own power. For 1900, they designed and built quite an amazing boathouse...
Our little 6 hour adventure was coming to close and it was time to take a ferry back to the resort and Lucky Us. Did I mention that the resort at our marina had both indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs... What a nice way to relax after such a "strenuous" day...
Tomorrow we will head back out of the St. Lawrence River and head to Sacket's Harbor, NY. Time for a history lesson about the War of 1812.
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