The Beauty Around Us

1000 Islands Vacation – Day 2

By Linda G. on July 22, 2016

Day 2 of our 5-day vacation in the New York 1000 Islands region was on Monday, June 20.  In the event you haven’t read the account of our first day of vacation, you may do so by clicking here.

We ate breakfast at our hotel, Capt.’s Inn & Suites, while sitting on our deck. Breakfast included hard boiled eggs, toast with butter / bagel with cream cheese, and an orange. We brought with us food from home for breakfast, as a way to save money. Capt.’s Inn & Suites does not provide a free breakfast, continental or otherwise. There is coffee and hot water for tea, though, available in the lobby throughout the day, beginning at 7:00 am.

We left for a walk in downtown Alexandria Bay around 7:00 am. My favorite walk is the River Walk.  The River Walk is a pedestrian walkway that connects Alexandria Bay’s downtown area, the waterfront and Scenic View Park.   Along the trail, interpretative kiosks and historical elements highlight the historical background of Alexandria Bay. The trail offers pedestrians a beautiful view of the St. Lawrence River and Boldt Castle.  We strolled along the River Walk several times during our 4-night stay in Alexandria Bay.

James Street entrance to River Walk

River Walk

View of Boldt Castle on Heart Island from River Walk

View of Casino Island from River Walk
Casino Island is accessible by a footbridge from Scenic View Park.

Scenic View Park
Looking down on Casino Island (see gazebo?)

Scenic View Park
Monument to PFC Jack D Sweet,
who was was killed in action
while serving with D Company, 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry
during Operation Iraqi Freedom on February 8, 2008

We should have eaten breakfast here, rather than at our hotel!

We saw some wildlife, too, while on the River Walk.

Mama (or Papa) Goose and Several Goslings

Female Mallard Duck and Ducklings

Black Squirrel with Nut

We saw a mink for the first time, while in Alexandria Bay!

Mink

Mink

We watched this mink for quite some time.
Our patience paid off.
The mink captured its breakfast!

Returning to downtown Alexandria Bay from our morning stroll on River Walk, we stopped at Chez Paris Diner for coffee and tea to go. We drank our hot beverages, while sitting on a park bench on James Street.

James Street
Looking toward the Lower James Street Dock

At 10:00 am we boarded the Alexandria Belle for Uncle Sam’s 2 Nation boat cruise on the St. Lawrence River.

the Alexandria Belle

According to its website, Uncle Sam’s most popular cruise is the 2 Nation Tour.  This is a description of the 2 ¼ hour boat tour, as provided by the Uncle Sam Boat Tours website.

“This international tour will take you on a 22 mile round-trip through American and Canadian waters – what is considered the ‘heart’ of the 1000 Islands. This trip will give you the best overall view of this truly unique geographical area shared by two nations.

Professional tour guides will provide a lively narrative as you cruise through the narrow channels, over historic sunken wrecks, by magnificent summer homes of the rich and famous and provide you with local historical facts and folk lore as well as information about the area’s geology, environment and native wildlife.

As you cruise on the emerald green waters of the mighty St. Lawrence River you will see international ships from all over the world either heading upriver to ports ringing the Great Lakes or heading downriver to the ocean and ports in distant lands. You will also see many pleasure boats from kayaks cruising along the shoreline to high performance powerboats criss-crossing the main shipping channel. Your tour guide will even point out the exact location of the international boundary line between the U.S. and Canada so be ready to look!

At the end of the cruise there is the option to disembark at Heart Island to enjoy a self-guided tour of Boldt Castle at an additional admission fee.”

We sat on the top deck for the entire cruise.  As mentioned, there was an option to disembark at Heart Island at the end of the 2 Nation boat cruise.  We did so, and I will share details and photographs of our visit to Heart Island in a separate blog post.