The Beauty Around Us

On Day 4 (Wednesday, June 22) of our 1000 Island Vacation we visited four New York State Parks: Keewaydin State Park, Kring Point State Park, Jacques Cartier State Park and Grasse Point State Park.  We also visited the Chippewa Bay area and, later in the evening, downtown Alexandria Bay.  In my first Day 4 blog post I wrote about our Keewaydin State Park visit.  My second Day 4 blog post was about our visit to Kring Point State Park.  In my third Day 4 blog post I wrote about our visit to Jacques Cartier State Park.  My fourth Day 4 blog post was about our Grass Point State Park visit.  Today’s blog post is about our visit to downtown Alexandria Bay on the last evening of our 1000 Islands vacation.

After spending the morning and afternoon visiting state parks north and south of Alexandria Bay, we decided to go to downtown Alexandria Bay in the evening for the last time, this visit. Rather than walk from our hotel, as we have done in past visits, we drove the car and parked downtown. After 6:00 pm it is free to park downtown. We stopped for ice cream and then walked down James Street to the docks. We passed by several Corvettes, parked on the street.

Corvettes parked on James Street
Note the license plate?  “Priceee”!

An Internet search revealed the reason for the Corvettes being in town. “Dinner at the Admirals Inn Alexandria Bay NY, with the Northern New York Corvette Club.  Arrive there at 6:30pm. Dinner at 7pm.”

From James Street docks we walked River Walk to Scenic View Park and Casino Island. It was a beautiful night for a walk.

Sten Baltic Chemical/Oil Products Tanker
The tanker sails under the flag of Norway.
The Sunken Rock Lighthouse is visible in this photograph as well.

This goose family was enjoying the lovely evening too.

The western sky was putting on a show on our way to Scenic View Park.

View on River Walk

Scenic View Park

Scenic View Park Covered Pavilion

While the western sky was putting on a show, the setting sun was beautifying the eastern sky.

Scenic View Park
(view from Casino Island)

River Hospital
(view from Casino Island)

Casino Island

I turned around from this view to look toward the western sky once again.

Boldt Castle on Heart Island
(view from Casino Island)

Casino Island Footbridge

Returning to our car we walked on the docks behind Dock of the Bay restaurant, where we had eaten at an earlier day.

Dock of the Bay restaurant
We weren’t aware of outdoor seating on the river, when we ate there.
Next time we visit Alexandria Bay, we will sit outside and enjoy the river view!

There are two houseboats docked here.
The houseboats are available for rental.

We returned to our hotel, Capt’s Inn & Suites, before 9:00 pm, in for the night.

As a way to save money, while on vacation, we ate a breakfast that we brought from home. Our breakfast consisted of hard-boiled eggs (two for Bob, one for me), toast and butter for Bob, cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese for me, and an orange for me that I shared with Bob when it interested him.  In addition, we ate only one meal out. For lunch or dinner we ate a picnic lunch. Our picnic lunches consisted of tuna or chicken salad spread on crackers, fruit cup and sugar-free chocolate wafer cookies.

The next morning we ate our brought-from-home breakfast, got showered and dressed, and packed. We checked out of our hotel and were homeward bound at 7:30 am.

We drove through Letchworth State Park in New York.  Our Empire Passport provided free admission to the park.  We ate a picnic lunch between the Upper and Middle Falls.

We returned home at 2:50 pm. I can honestly say that our 1000 Islands Vacation was one of the best vacations we have ever had! The scenery was outstanding. The people were friendly, locals as well as tourists. We had opportunity for downtime, which made the vacation a relaxing one. We would like to make a return visit to see the Canadian side of the 1000 Islands this year, if possible.

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.

Our 5-day vacation in the New York 1000 Islands region began on Sunday, June 19.  We departed our home in Warren, PA shortly after 7:00 am.

We made two stops en route Alexandria Bay, NY.  The first stop was a fuel stop at the Mobil / 7-11 in Phelps NY (Rt. 14) at 10:25 am.  The second stop was for lunch at the Grist Mill Restaurant, located off Interstate 81 in Parish, NY. I ordered a taco salad; Bob ordered a taco wrap. Both of our lunch choices were good. Service was friendly and quick too. Price was fair. We were on our way again by 12:30 pm.

We arrived at our hotel, Capt.’s Inn & Suites in Alexandria Bay, at approximately 2:00 pm. We checked in and unpacked.  Our room was located on the ground floor, room 108. This would be our home away from home for the next four nights.

Our hotel room appeared to have been renovated recently.

Our hotel room was furnished with two king beds, a night stand between the two beds, a desk and chair, an arm chair, a three-drawer dresser, a flat-screen TV, and a mini refrigerator.  The bathroom was generously sized and was located behind the closed door in the top photograph.

Our hotel room also included a large deck with a patio table and chairs.

Generously-sized deck with table and chairs

This was the view from our hotel room deck.

We went for a walk a couple hours after checking into our hotel.  Capt.’s Inn & Suites is located within easy walking distance to downtown Alexandria Bay.  Our walk took us across Route 12 and down Church Street toward the St. Lawrence River. We turned right onto James Street and followed it to the dock. We retraced our steps to River Walk, which we followed to Casino Island and Scenic View Park. The park and island provided scenic views of the river, as well as of Boldt Castle on Heart Island.

James Street

Boldt Castle on Heart Island

A cargo ship passed between us, as we looked upon Boldt Castle.
The Arklow Willow currently sails under the Canadian flag.

Boldt Castle on Heart Island,
as seen from the Scenic View Park

This is Casino Island.

I practiced taking bird-in-flight photographs, while on Casino Island.

Boy was it hot and humid the afternoon of June 19th! I saw a temperature reading of 88 degrees, during our walk.

We returned to our hotel room around 5:00 pm.  We ate a picnic dinner at the hotel, while sitting in the shade at a picnic table near our hotel room.