Day 14 - Burlington, VT to Calcium, NY

Thursday, May 14, 2015
Calcium, New York, United States
Today was a pretty drive in Upstate New York, first north of the Adirondack Mountains, then along the St. Lawrence Seaway. Wow that is a big river!!! It's the longest freshwater seaway in the country for sure but maybe even the world. Can't remember what the guide said. But it's 2300 miles from Duluth, MN to the Atlantic Ocean and takes 8 1/2 days to sail it. One thing I noticed looking at the river on a map is that it doesn't curve and twist and turn like the Mississippi does. I don't see any oxbow lakes. I wonder why that is.

We stopped in Alexandria Bay, NY and took a 2-1/2 hour cruise in the 1000 Islands area of the river, just before the river joins Lake Ontario. 
 




 
Are there really 1000 islands? Well apparently National Geographic, the US Coast Guard and Canada's Coast Guard joined together to count them.... and came up with 3 different answers. But the official answer was 1864. In order to be counted as an island, it has to have one square foot above water 365 days a year and has to have at least one tree. Otherwise it's a shoal, not an island.
 



 
The rich people who didn't build Newport mansions came up here, bought islands and built mansions on them, again as summer "cottages". People from Chicago, NYC, Key West, Boston, Philly, Procter and Gamble, Macy's, Pullman, Singer Sewing Machine, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, to name a few. The area wasn't too well known until President Grant was invited as a guest on one of the islands and managed to fall in the river during a boat ride. This publicity caused the area to be "discovered". 
 
 



 
The river is very clean because therre is no industry along the river to polute it, because there are very strict rules about littering ($250 if you toss a cigarette butt in the water, up to thousands for more serious littering), and the river is filled with zebra mussels which filter the water. Sometimes you can see the bottom in 80 feet of water.
 
We saw osprey nests - like storks on top of things - and ospreys flying around.

There are many large islands with large houses, but also there are tiny islands barely big enough for a house and a tree.
 
 
 







 
We cruised to Canadian waters and back and saw two islands owned by one guy - one island is completely surrounded by Canadian water, the other by US water and there's a footbridge between - the guide called it the shortest international bridge on the river.

 
Finally we went to Heart Island where we were left to wander around and visit Boldt Castle. In 1900, George Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC decided to build a full sized Rhineland Castle to be a display of his love for his wife. They spent four summers on another island while 300 workers built the 6 story, 120 room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge and a "Childrens Playhouse", and a boathouse bigger than most people's houses.  
 
 
 
 
 






















 














 


He was going to present it to his wife on her birthday, Valentine's Day in 1904, but she died suddenly in January. He cabled the workmen to stop working, they put down their tools and walked away, and that was the end of the work. For 73 years the castle sat abandoned to the weather and vandals until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority bought it in 1977 and began to restore it. It's an ongoing project and they will only restore it to what it was when it was abandoned....the idea being that if the Boldts couldn't enjoy it finished then we shouldn't be able to either.
 
 







 
This was built during the gilded age like the Newport houses, but this one is a little less ostentacious - no gold leaf everywhere, more subdued, although a 120 room castle on a private island is still pretty outrageous. 

For Bella - this building is called the "Children's Playhouse". It's in pretty bad shape now but you can sort of see how it once was. How would you like a clubhouse like this!? Ask your dad.
 
 



Another castle - the Singer Castle on Dark Island, about 10 miles upriver was built by the owner of Singer Sewing Machines and can be toured too, but not until after Memorial Day.

1000 Island salad dressing came from this area. Supposedly Mr. Boldt had it at a restaurant in nearby Clayton, NY and took it back and served it in his Waldorf Astoria hotel. After Mr. Boldt died, the original Waldorf Astoria was torn down to make way for the Empire State Building.
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Comments

Becky Williams
2015-05-15

Love the summer homes! What a trip...thanks for sharing.

Romy
2015-05-15

Was Day 13 unlucky and a bad day? My view skips from Day 12-Day 14. You were in 'witch' country so I just wondered. Did you try the 1000 Island Dressing at any of the restaurants there? Do very different if made from scratch than the stuff they bottle and sell at the stores.

Dave
2015-05-16

Jeanie-
The reason St. Lawrence seaway is not "curvy" like the Ms. River is because it is man made whereas the Ms. River which is natural.

MMMPLF
2015-05-16

I love visiting places like this!

2025-02-13

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