FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2016:

Today I drove 151 miles from Ithaca, New York to Alexandria Bay, New York.


Watch the dash cam video below for details about today's journey.

21 minute Road Report about today's journey.

Click on the images below for the original full-size image.

Upon arrival in Alexandria Bay I took a Thousand Islands boat cruise.


During our cruise we sailed under the Canadian section of the Thousand Islands Bridge.


There are 1843 islands in all, in both the United States and Canada.
Many multi-million dollar homes are scattered through out the islands.


The highlight of the cruise was our stop at Boldt Castle.


Boldt Castle is located on Heart Island in the Saint Lawrence River.


The Alster Tower, seen below, is often referred to as the Playhouse.
The basement housed a bowling alley and plans for the upper floors
contained a billiard room, library, bedrooms, cafe, grill and kitchen.


The power house is connected to Heart Island by its one of a kind arched stone bridge.
While its design is beautiful, it was designed as much for function as fashion.
It housed two generators that would supply electricity to the entire island.


After I finished exploring Boldt Castle I check into my hotel on the other side of the river.
I spent two nights at the Riveredge Resort in Alexandria Bay.


I watched a spectacular sunset from my room balcony at the hotel.


Watch the video below for complete details of my visit to the Thousand Islands.
Including a hotel report on tonight's accommodations at the end of the video.

One hour video of my visit to the Thousand Islands.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

Hello People, I left my hotel in Ithaca this morning around 8:30. I drove directly to Alexandria Bay, New York with a quick stop at McDonalds for breakfast. It was a 160 mile drive. I got here at 11:30. I went directly to the boat dock and took a Two Nation boat tour of the 1000 Islands. The picture below is from the boat on the St. Lawrence River. There are 1843 islands in all in the 1000 Islands. We passed a lot of multi-million dollar homes during our cruise around these islands which are in both the U.S. and Canada. It was very hot again today, although less humid. The sun was really beating down on the upper deck of the boat, and surprisingly there was not much of a breeze most of the time. We sailed under the 1000 Islands bridge. What you see in the picture below is the Canadian side of the bridge. There is another identical section on the other side of Hill Island in the United States. The church you see in the picture below is the oldest church in Ontario. It was a beautiful cruise. I enjoyed it very much. At the end of the cruise we docked at Heart Island to Tour Boldt Castle. George Boldt, general manager of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was building this home for his wife. When she died he abandoned the project vowing to never set foot on the island. The project was 95% complete and was left abandoned until the 1970s when it was restored and opened as a tourist attraction. Heart Island is on the United States side. I slowly walked around the beautiful island. Likely one of Boldt Castle's most photographed structures is the Power House and Clock Tower. Located on the eastern end of Heart Island, it was designed in the fashion of a Medieval Tower. Today it stands as George Boldt had originally intended, rising out of the St. Lawrence River from an underwater shoal. I also walked through the interior of the castle. The castle was restored at its 95% complete status. It will never be totally completed. Below is what was to be the wife's bedroom. After I finished with Boldt Castle I took a ferry back to Alexandria Bay. My hotel, the Riveredge Resort is only a block from the boat. My room has a balcony with a fantastic view overlooking the river and Boldt Castle. Mother nature put on a spectacular show at sunset tonight. The pictures below were taken from my balcony. That is the shadow of Boldt Castle on the right in the photo below. I love sunsets. I'll only include two from tonight, but I have dozens more if you need to see them. I changed my plans for today. I had planned to arrive late in the day and take the boat cruise tomorrow. But the weather forecast for Saturday includes rain. So I rushed up here early to do the boat cruise today. I will write more tomorrow, Tim

Click on email photos for the large full-size photograph.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2016:

Today I spent the entire day in the Thousand Islands.


In the morning I crossed the border into Canada and visited the Observation Tower.


The tower is located on Hill Island in Ontario, Canada.
From the top of the 400-foot high tower there is a
panoramic view of the 1000 Islands and St Lawrence River.


The Canadian section of the Thousand Islands Bridge.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2016

Hello Everyone, First thing this morning while it was still nice outside I went over the the 1000 Islands Skydeck. The observation tower is on Hill Island, essentially on the U.S.-Canada border, but actually located within Ontario. It provides panoramic views over the Thousand Islands of both nations, from a height of 400 feet above the St. Lawrence River. Below is a picture of the tower from my cruise yesterday. Below is a picture of the Canadian side of the 1000 Island Bridge. I sailed under it yesterday on the boat. The weather was pretty nice this morning. But the rains did roll in this afternoon as expected. Below you can see a few of the 1000 islands. After my brief visit to Canada I returned to the U.S. The custom agent gave me the third degree about why I was in Jordan last December. That was the only good part of the day. I spent the rest of the day dealing with my broken computer. Back in March I bought a new top of the line, powerful laptop. At home I use it as a desktop. I just plug in an external monitor, keyboard and sound system. Then when I travel I just unplug the monitor & speakers and away I go. No separate laptop to update and it's powerful enough to do my video editing on the road. I love the new machine except for one little problem, it keeps breaking down. I had to have a new motherboard put in it back in July. And now it looks like it's going to need another new motherboard less than two months later. And every time they fix it they reformat the hard drive so I have to set up a new computer when they send it back. I spent hours on the phone with Dell this afternoon. They are going to send me a shipping box to the hotel I am staying at in a few days. I'll send the computer in from there and it should be fixed and back at my house before I get home. That took care of the repair but now I have no laptop for my trip. I thought about continuing my journey without a laptop. But it soon became evident that I was not going to be able to tolerate that. So I decide that I would buy the cheapest laptop I could find to get me through the trip. But since I am currently in the middle of nowhere I have to drive back to Watertown which is where the nearest Best Buy is. So I spend $329 on another laptop. I need another computer as much as Donald Trump needs a larger ego. I spent the rest of the day setting up the computer and downloading software that I need. If you know anyone that wants to buy a used computer, I have several I would like to sell. I was wondering how I was going to spend my day today since I arrived here early yesterday and did what I was going to do today. I guess that problem was solved. No pretty sunset tonight. It's all cloudy and rainy out there. Assuming this new laptop keeps running, I'll write more tomorrow. Tim

Click on email photos for the large full-size photograph.

Click on the arrow above for tomorrow's adventures.

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