Antique Boats and Boldts

Wednesday 7/6/11     The weather forecast threatened rain and storms starting late in the morning so with that in my arsenal I was able to talk Pam into a 6 am departure! Again our ride was a bit rocky until we turned into the St. Lawrence River. In no time we were pulling into Clayton, NY. Ahead of the storm!

Our reason for visiting Clayton was the Antique Boat Museum located just a block from our marina.

Antique Boat Museum

Of course by the time we were ready to tour the museum it started to rain. Another bad hair day for me!
Not only do they display the old boats, they also rebuild them on location. The workmanship and upkeep on one of these boats is phenominal. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

What's This? Before Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss made a living penning ads for Esso like the one above.

The exhibits are all inside so the rain wasn't an issue. Both Pam & I enjoyed our visit. The only thing we didn't do was take a ride in one of the vintage boats. Maybe next time.
We rounded out the day by strolling through the riverfront section of town before returning to Tourist.

The view from downtown Clayton.

Thursday 7/7/11     Morning popped up with the sun shining brightly over the river. We moved over to the fuel dock to top off the tanks for the last time in the states. From there we headed downstream towards Alexandria Bay, NY. and Boldt Castle. The ride is spectacular though the American Narrows section of the river with depths over 200' and homes of all varieties lining the banks.

Home along the St. Lawrence.

Twelve miles after we left Clayton we were staring at Boldt Castle right next to the main channel of the river. The guide books said to get there early and we did. 15 minutes before it opened we tied up to the dock and waited for the gates to open. George Boldt started to build the castle on Heart Island in the late 1800's for his wife. Unfortunately she died in 1904 before it was complete. Boldt was heartbroken and walked away from the project never to return. Go to http://www.castle.com/ for the complete story. Today much of the castle has been restored with tourists coming daily from both the U.S. and Canada by tour boat.

Boldt Castle from the channel.

Power House at the Castle.

Boldt's Boathouse.

Heart shapes can be found all throughout the home and grounds.

Uncle Sam II. One of the older tour boats still in service.

Touring is exhausting. Time to refresh with a cone.

We spent the better part of the day at the Castle and then motored about 200 yards over near the baothouse to anchor for the night.