Alexandria Bay, NY

Danelle has always wanted to visit the thousand island region of the St. Lawerence river in upstate New York. We added it to the list for this year and it did not disappoint. There really are over a thousand islands with most of them privately owned and accessible only by boat. The area is popular with people in the northeast to have or rent a summer cottage on one of the islands or along the shore of the river. We stayed at a park right on the river and now appreciate the allure of the area. We went on a boat tour which highlighted the huge houses of the rich and famous. We also visited Boldt castle at the end of our tour. Boldt was the owner and manager of several hotels in the northeast including the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC. He bought an island to build a house for he and his wife to enjoy. Unfortunately his wife died before the construction was completed and he abandoned the property and it sat vacant for over 70 years. It is now being restored with the first two floors nearly complete. We also had the good fortune to meet up with friends from the Philly area who were here on vacation. They took us out on their boat to show us the sights. We loved the area and are already planning to return.