Loop Life with Greg and Reenie

Thursday, September 11, 2014

THOUSAND ISLAND SALAD DRESSING

While in the Thousand Island region we have enjoyed THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING on our salads ... An option we don't typically find at home in California. We thought you might enjoy the history of 1,000 Island Dressing...and possibly inspire you to try the recipe :)

We are not sure what to believe....?

There are many variations to this recipe ... Low calorie with yogurt (no mayo), adding a little heat (Tabasco?), seasoning (salt/pepper?) and/or citrus (lemon?).

Yum...THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING is offered at all the restaurants in the Thousand Islands :)

It's old fashion delicious no matter who created it originally !

BOLDT CASTLE

We toured BOLDT CASTLE on Tuesday. The castle is located on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands of the Saint Lawrence River in New York State. The grounds and castle are magnificent...we truly enjoyed the day :)

A visit to the castle offers a glimpse into one of the most compelling love stories in history. George Bolt, a millionaire proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City and the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, and his family enjoyed spending summers in the Thousand Islands. In 1900 George Boldt, set out plans to build a full size castle on picturesst Heart Island. There were over 300 workers building the six story, 120 room castle complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, gardens, fountains, a drawbridge, playhouse, pools and a boat house. Not a single detail or expense was spared. This grandiose structure was to be a display of love to his wife Louise.

In 1904, tragedy struck when Louise died suddenly. George Boldt ordered all work on the castle to immediately stop! A broken hearted Boldt could not imagine his dream castle without his wife Louise. Boldt never returned to Heart Island, leaving behind the structure as a monument of his love.

The castle remained eerily vacant for 73 years at the mercy of the harsh elements. In 1977 the Thousand Island Bridge Authority assumed ownership. They are committed to preserve the BOLDT CASTLE Legacy for the enjoyment of future generations.

BOLDT CASTLE on Heart Island.

Thistle at dock on Heart Island for the day.

Beautiful gardens.

The playhouse and gazebo.

Dinning room, sitting room and bedroom.

Fountain, B Heart and gardens.

Stained glass roof, entry arch and swimming pool.

Boat house with antique boats.

Love on Heart Island.

A Special day XO.

ALEXANDRIA BAY to CLAYTON & CAPE VINCENT

After clearing US Customs on Monday afternoon, we docked in ALEXANDRIA BAY for the night. The town has a free dock in the bay, but we have been remote for over a week and wanted to fill our water tank and plug into hydro to fully charge both batteries. We secured Thistle to the town dock (for about an hour) and proceeded to look at our Marina options. There are quite a few choices in touristy ALEXANDRIA BAY. We selected the Riveredge Resort Hotel and Marina, with a view of Bodlt Castle, showers, laundry and use of all the hotel facilities including a pool. It was worth the $2.50 a foot charge :)

On Tuesday we worked our way one town closer to crossing Lake Ontario, and docked on the town wall in CLAYTON. The town is famous for its Antique Boat Museum and the Thousand Island Inn. It's a nice residential town with a few restaurants and pubs. Since we are back in the USA with favorable fuel prices, we filled Thistle with diesel for the second time time this summer. On Wednesday morning we had a loud surprise at 6 am ... the "official" start of a huge Bass Fishing Tournament ! The Star-Spangled Banner being sung full volume over the loud speaker and then all 48 boats being introduced to start the tournament...unique and interesting, but very early?

Since we were up early on Wednesday we checked the Marine Weather Forecast, and decided to depart on the long and unpredictable Lake Ontario crossing...We got a little past CAPE VINCENT and the wind and waves picked up considerably ... (Three foot swells and wind clocking 15 + knots). Safey is always first so, we turned around and docked on the town wall in CAPE VINCENT. Currently we are waiting and waiting and waiting for a safe opportunity to cross Lake Ontario to Oswego, New York. CAPE VINCENT is a very nice small town and we have taken full advantage of local events and side trips.

Oh...In the low 40's tonight - Burrrrrrrrr ... Summer is over! XO

Monday: ALEXANDRIA BAY

Tuesday: CLAYTON - Red Line

Wednesday: CAPE VINCENT - Blue Line

ALEXANDRIA BAY.

Thistle docked at the Riveredge Resort with a view off our stern of Boldt Castle.

CLAYTON's Antiuque Boat Museum.

203 gallons of Diesel @ 82 engine hours = 2.5 gallons per hour at 8 knots. Diesel @ $4.39 ... You can check the math !

Start of the Bass Tournament at 6am :)

CAPE VINCENT.

Severe Weather the next two days....this is the same storm that crippled Calgary a few days ago with a wild early snow storm! Thistle at the town dock, waiting for our next opportunity to cross Lake Ontario (Red Line).

We put on our helmets and got out our passports... took two ferries and rode 7 miles by bike back to our favorite lunch spot in Kingston (shared smoked salmon salad, mussels in a garlic wine sauce :) Then took the same route back to CAPE VINCENT before sunset.

The biggest local event in CAPE VINCENT this week was the 9/11 dinner at the local Church. It was all home made food and really good :)

We rode bikes about 3 miles against the 30 knot wind to the Tibbits Point Lighthouse...The waves on the point were almost surfable :)

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

LAKE FLEET ISLANDS to GRENADIER ISLAND & US CUSTOMS on HEART ISLAND

Sunday was a gorgeous day in the Thousand Islands. It was sunny and warm with perfect white puffy clouds against the blue sky. We departed the LAKE FLEET ISLANDS, and headied North to West GRENADIER dock. The scenery was beautiful and we passed under the Tnousand Islands bridge. We arrived to the dock about 2 pm and were lucky to find one space available our size :) Once Thistle was secure we went on a long hour and a half paddle against the wind and currents to Rockport.

Rockport is a small town considered the Heart of the Thousand Islands. They have a few restaurants, art gallery, boat works and lots of ferry tour boats!!! We enjoyed watching some Sunday afternoon Football and exploring the town before our paddle back to GRENADIER.

Back on GRENADIER we met our dock neighbors and enjoyed each other's company for dinner and a few drinks :) they are home wine makers and were we duly impressed with their product (Thanks for sharing).

On Monday morning we departed GRENADIER, and headed North a few miles to Singer Castle on Dark Island ... It's a beautiful castle. After seeing the castle we did a U Turn, and headed South for five miles to US Customs on Heart Island.

We cleared back into the USA with no problems ...Yeah :)

Sunday: LAKE FLEET ISLANDS to GRENADIER ISLAND - Red Line.

Monday: GRENADIER ISLAND to US CUSTOMS on HEART ISLAND - Blue Line.

Sunday was gorgeous.

Docked on GRENADIER ISLAND.

Paddling to Rockport.

Rockport... Very artsy!

In Rockport... All smiles :)

GRENADIER ISLAND... Another favorite stop.

Saying goodby to new friends XO.

Singer Castle on Dark Island.

Clearing US Customs.

Home in the USA ... Yeah :)

Saturday, September 6, 2014

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS to LAKE FLEET ISLANDS

We departed Thwartway Island on Thursday morning, and headed North to the LAKE FLEET ISLAND group. We were nervous about getting a mooring at either Camelot Island or Endymion Island, as they are both popular destinations. It took us about 45 minutes to arrive and see that there was plenty of availability :)... We are happy that Fall is here and the busy summer demand for moorings has decreased in the Thousand Island National Parks.

Since there was not an issue with moorings, we decided to take a trip back to Gananoque for some supplies. We have been remote (No stores, restaurants...etc) since leaving Kingston and almost everything was closed on Labor Day when were in Gan on Monday.

We returned to the LAKE FLEET ISLAND group by 2 pm and had our choice of mooring cans! Both Islands are beautiful, Camelot has four mooring cans and Endymion has six. We decided on Endymion with a little extra space and a nice breeze. We stayed here for three nights and loved every moment!

The 1,864 Thousand Islands range in size from 40 square miles to smaller Islands occupied by a single house, or rocks that are only home to waterfowl. To be counted as an Island it must 1) Be above water level year round. 2) Have an area greater than one square foot. 3) Support at least one living tree. About 20 of these Islands form The Thousand Island National Park, the oldest of Canada's National Parks East of the Rocky Mountains. Our Annual Canadian Seasonal Mooring Permit is good here :)

Looper Tip: With weather and time permitting, if you secure a mooring on a Thursday night in the Thousand Islands stay put for the weekend...it gets crowded!