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Québec Adventure

By on September 15, 2018 in The Pearl
“Fascism is cured by reading and racism is cured by traveling” -Miguel de Unamuno
We’re off on a new adventure…this time by car. We’re heading to Québec City. It’s been on our list of places to visit for a long time. It felt a little daunting to go by boat, so we decided to drive over this week to celebrate the captain’s birthday.

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Thousand Islands Lighthouses

By on September 4, 2018 in The Pearl

I’ve enjoyed taking pictures of lighthouses since we left Texas in 2011. I have a lighthouse map and an online photo album with 267 lighthouses that I like adding new lighthouses to. The past year or so I haven’t seen too many new lighthouses, but our trip to the 1000 Islands gave me a chance to collect a few more.
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Thousand Islands Boathouses

By on August 31, 2018 in The Pearl
Heaven is a little closer in a home by the water.


The Webster Dictionary’s definition for boathouse is simple: a shed at the edge of a river or lake used for housing boats. In the Thousand Islands they take their boat houses a little more serious than that and some are over a century old built as lavish retreats on their own, with bedrooms, dining rooms, fireplaces and even ballrooms. Grand boathouses dotted the St. Lawrence River during its Golden Age when wealthy business barons owned fleets of vessels. Other boathouses are practical ports of call. Like every island, every boathouse has a story to tell. 
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Aug. 25 – Thoroughbred Horse Racing

By on August 30, 2018 in The Pearl
Baldwinsville Free Dock

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ―Mother Teresa

Early Saturday morning our friends from Oneonta called…they raise horses at their Waterhill Farm. One of their babies was running in a race at the Finger Lakes Racetrack and they wanted to know if we’d like to join them. Of course we wanted to! They picked us up in Baldwinsville and off we went for a day of fun at the racetrack. Finger Lakes Racetrack isn’t as fancy as Saratoga Race Track, that we visited last summer, but it sure was fun watching a horse run that our friends had raised.

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Aug. 23-24 – Baldwinsville, NY

By on August 29, 2018 in The Pearl
Baldwinsville Free Dock

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

We woke up Thursday (8/23) and checked the weather reports for Lake Ontario…windy, but it looked doable and better than any day in the near future. We decided we’d take our chances…we really didn’t want to wait in Cape Vincent for a week. Most of the way across the lake to Oswego was bouncy but not too uncomfortable. That all changed about four miles out…the wind and the waves picked up and it was one of the roughest rides we’ve ever had. We didn’t bury the bow, but we came very close. We could see the inlet, but the only bearable way we could make any head way was to tack back and worth…it was a long, very comfortable ride and it felt amazing once we passed the lighthouse coming into the harbor. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the wall at Lock 7 and picking up the mess in the cabin.

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Aug. 22 – Cape Vincent, NY

By on August 28, 2018 in The Pearl
Cape Vincent Bulkhead

“There’s no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.” – Anonymous

After our long day yesterday, working on the boat, we were hoping for a good nights sleep and a little downtime today. The docks and marinas in Clayton are exposed to the wakes from the river and winds from the north and west…so the approaching cold front woke us up very early. The wind was so strong that the rocking motion almost threw us out of bed. We were up, dressed and on our way to the coffee shop just as the sun was clearing the horizon. Everyone was out checking lines and adding more fenders. We were glad we had were using our large orange balls when we docked.

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Aug. 20-21 Clayton, NY

By on August 27, 2018 in The Pearl
Clayton Municipal Dock

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck
We spent two nights in Clayton, it’s a great little town on the river. It has a lot of cute shops and restaurants. Our plan was to stay and relax a day or so before heading back across Lake Ontario. Plans never seem to work out as we hope, but in this case we were lucky our mishap occurred at a perfect spot. 

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Aug. 20 – Thousand Islands Park, NY

By on August 24, 2018 in The Pearl
“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.” –Mohammed
Today we visited Wellesley Island…mainly the little community known as Thousand Island Park. This little village was founded in 1875 as a Methodist Campground. Caught up in the religious revival movement of the time, Rev. Dayan dreamed of a Methodist summer camp where families could enjoy both spiritual and physical renewal. The Camp was non-denominational, but its activities embraced religious thought and an inflexible observance of the rules of the Sabbath. Since idle minds were “the devil’s workshop,” revival meetings, sermons and public services were in abundance.

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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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