Wednesday, July 7- Boldt Castle

After everyone woke up this morning, we drove less then an hour to Alexandria Bay and got there just in time to park, buy tickets, and board the 10:00 shuttle boat to Heart Island to visit Boldt Castle. The “castle” is the result of George Boldt’s efforts to build a dream house in the Thousand Islands for his wife Louise. George and Weesy were “Movin’ On Up,” it seemed, but she died before the house was finished. He immediately abandoned the construction work on the Castle, and left it to the elements. It sat abandoned and falling down until more recent years. Now the castle is partially restored, but much of it is still being worked on. An orientation movie gives you some background about the Boldts and the building and grounds. At first, it seemed a little disappointing that we weren’t getting a guided tour of the place, but when we got accustomed to the idea of exploring the building on our own, we started to really enjoy it. We were able to take pictures all over, and we had apparently beaten most of the crowds so there were many peaceful moments. It was a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. There were people posted around the castle to answer questions and keep an eye on things. One women asked Anna to cross the rope barriers for her and move a parasol that had blown across the floor. The rooms that were completed and furnished felt more like rooms at Casa Loma than anything we saw in Europe, but they were fun to see. Even though most of the castle is still a work in progress, we enjoyed exploring those areas too.

The island that Boldt Castle is on was named “Hart Island” originally, meaning deer, but Mr. Boldt changed the name to “Heart Island,” and added to it to try to emphasize its heart-shape. Both “harts” and “hearts” are used throughout the castle’s decorations, and Anna enjoyed looking for them like hidden Mickeys at Disneyworld. We explored the grounds and the other buildings on the island. We were intrigued by the “Children’s Playhouse”, an enormous structure built to look like a ruined castle, but it was closed today. It was hot again today, and shortly after noon, we figured that we had sufficiently explored the area, and took the boat back to the mainland.

The rest of the day was spent in the car, unfortunately, but we knew the drive to Quebec City was going to be a long one. We crossed into Ontario, Canada after the Thousand Island’s bridge. We crossed the Quebec provincial border twice, looking for the welcome centre. We thought we passed it once, so we circled back and found it was only a rest stop that was under construction. When we did find the information center further on, the girl there was very helpful, and gave us directions all the way to our hotel near the Quebec City airport. We saw traffic jams from congestion around Montreal that might have added almost an hour to our long day. Still, we are here, and will stay in this hotel for four nights now, so we can pack the next few days with sightseeing and adventures.