Les Flâneurs: Present fun and future plans

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Present fun and future plans

Another leisurely morning, this time in Watertown, New York. After breakfast and a second round of coffee Susie, Christina and I headed off to Clayton, New York and the Clayton Island Tours.

It was lovely 20-minute drive to the St. Lawrence where we were scheduled to board one of the Clayton Island Tours boats at 11am. We arrived at the dock in plenty of time to pick up our sack lunches and get ready to board.

The river cruise took about 50 minutes to Boldt Castle, the destination for this particular tour. (In fact. they only ran one tour that day and it was just to the castle.) During the cruise the guide pointed out some of the more notable properties along the way: for example, homes of the MacNally family (as in the map people) and the man who once owned the Life Savers company. We also cruised by Wellesley Island, quite the collection of homes and the one island to which you can arrive by car via a bridge.

The Boldt Castle was the dream home of George Boldt, hotelier extraordinare but when his wife Louise died suddenly in 1904 all work on the property was abandoned, left to ruins and vandals. In 1977 it was acquired by the 1000 Islands Bridge Authority and work was begun on reconstructing the home using the original plans. The home is perhaps the most impressive example of conspicuous consumption of the so-called gilded age in the region.

After a stroll around the grounds the three of us enjoyed our lunches near the old power house.

After lunch we turned our attention to the interior which included two floors of renovated spaces while the last two floors were still awaiting attention. (Note the graffiti in many of the rooms not yet updated.)

The return trip took us back along a slightly different route and we were back at the dock around 2:20pm. It was a quick drive back to Flower Street and the MacD home.

That evening we all went out for tapas at Spokes restaurant in downtown Watertown. A big thumbs up for the food and service but try to miss the Wednesday evening live music.

The MacDonalds leave this July for Germany and we hope to catch up with them later this autumn, perhaps in September. Everything hinges on when European travel restrictions might ease. If we don't go then, we will plan to see them in spring of 2022.