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Aug. 19 – Singer Castle

By on August 20, 2018 in The Pearl
“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” – Anonymous
We left Brockville yesterday and spent the day relaxing in a quiet anchorage in Chippewa Bay. This morning we decided to stop at Singer Castle for a tour. We visited the larger Boldt Castle on Heart Island when we were in here in 2012. This castle (home…hunting lodge is much smaller). This home was actually lived in until the mid 1960’s.

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Aug. 16-17 – Brockville, ON

By on August 19, 2018 in The Pearl
Tall Ships Landing Marina

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill
Today we headed down the St. Lawerence River to Brockville, the city of the 1000 Islands. Brockville is the eastern end of 1000 Island and is a beautiful place to visit, full of historic buildings and a fantastic waterfront. We came to explore the area, but we also came to meet a blog friend that I’ve exchanged texts with for over a year. We had plans to meet last August in the Finger Lakes when Hurricane Harvey changes our plans.

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Aug. 15 – Grenadier Island, ON

By on August 18, 2018 in The Pearl
Center Grenadier Island Park – Anchorage 

“Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind and fills your life with stories to tell.” – Paula Bendfeldt

We’ve spent the last few days cruising through the small beautiful islands between Gananoque and Rockport, Ontario. So many wonderful places to anchor and swim…and such amazingly clear water. 

One of the most interesting places we’ve explored is the International Rift. It’s a narrow deep cut that separates the Canadian Hill Island from the US Wellesley Island. The Thousand Islands Bridge crosses at this point. The water is coke bottle green and so clear you can see the bottle even in the deepest spots.

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Aug. 13 – Gananoque, ON

By on August 17, 2018 in The Pearl
Beaurivage Island – Anchorage

“Home is where the heart is, and my heart is wherever I am at the moment.” — Lily Leung 

Our busy anchorage emptied out quickly this morning and it was a much better day for exploring. We dinghied over to Beaurivage Island and spent the morning hiking the trails and enjoying the views from its rocky ledges. I can see why so many people love these little islands…clear clean beautiful water to swim in and picnic areas with amazing views of the river and other small islands. 

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Aug. 12 – Beaurivage Island

By on August 16, 2018 in The Pearl
Beaurivage- Anchorage 

“The travel impulse is mental and physical curiosity. It’s a passion. And I can’t understand people who don’t want to travel.” – Paul Theroux
Another beautiful day. We got to sleep in a little and then walked into town for breakfast at Chissy Bean. Then we filled the water tanks, rinsed of all the gunk off the boat that we acquired while going through the locks and filled out the online information on the new ROAM app that makes checking back into the US easier. 

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Aug. 11 – Sackets Harbor, NY

By on August 12, 2018 in The Pearl

Navy Point Marine

“You don’t choose the day you enter the world and you don’t chose the day you leave. It’s what you do in between that makes all the difference.” – Anita Septimus

We got an early start this morning, and we made it through the next four locks on the Oswego Canal before nine. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to cross Lake Ontario to Sackets Harbor. We visited Sacker Harbor by car in 2012, but it was a lot better coming in by boat.
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Aug. 10 – The Oswego Canal

By on August 11, 2018 in The Pearl
Minneto Free Dock

“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” —James Dean

I’m not sure why we make plans…our relaxed take it easy trip has already been filled with two very long days. We found out diesel was .80 cheaper a gallon in Brewerton than the price on the lake, so we went to Baldwinsville last night. Long day, 70 miles…thinking we’d have a short day today. Go get diesel and then stop in Phoenix at lock one of the Oswego Canal. Nice plan, but there was no room at the inn…sort of speak. The lock had been down all morning and no one was moving. Luckily for us we only had to wait about 30 minutes on the blue line for the lock to begin operating. The only issue now was time. We wanted to get all the way to Oswego and miles wise it’s wasn’t far, but we had six more locks we needed to do. Unfortunately they stop operating the locks at 5:00. We didn’t make Oswego…we got stuck in Minetto. No eating out tonight as planned…hopefully things will go smoother tomorrow.

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1000 Islands Adventure

By on August 10, 2018 in The Pearl
“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” ―Danny Kaye

We’re on our way to the 1000 Islands (pronounced “Thousand Islands,” not “One Thousand Islands”). We spent a few days in the area in 2012, but didn’t feel like we really had enough time to explore all the little places we wanted to see. The Thousand Islands constitute an archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the US/Canadian border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. The islands stretch about 50 miles downstream from Kingston, ON to Brockville, ON. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario and the U.S. islands in the state of New York.

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Aug. 4 – Markets and Festivals

By on August 6, 2018 in The Pearl

Allan H. Treman State Marine Park

“Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life.” -Steve Job

There’s always a lot to do in this area on a weekend…farmers markets, festivals, music, sporting events, fishing tournaments, boating, hot air ballooning, you name it, there’s something for everyone. This Saturday we decided to drive over to the Windmill Market near Penn Yan and then to the 26th Annual Glorious Garlic Festival (they have festivals for everything around here).
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Aug. 1 – Black Diamond Bike Trail

By on August 1, 2018 in The Pearl
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.” —Doug Larson

We thought we’d get out and get a little exercise yesterday…and oh boy did we get some exercise. We rode our bikes up the Black Diamond Trail to Taughannock Falls. This Rail Trail follows the Lehigh Valley Railroad route who’s Black Diamond Express once ran from Jersey City to Buffalo and Niagara Falls between 1896 and 1959. The luxury passenger line was named for the most profitable commodity on the railroad: coal…black diamonds.

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