Daycation Plans

There was no elaborate vacation this summer, no planned overnight stays, no travel to even somewhat distant locations. An expensive car repair in July practically emptied my savings account, and so I stayed home the rest of the summer and went to work instead. Complicating any late summer/early September opportunities was an impending surgery (another future blog post).I  weighed some Bucket List items against my end of summer options and made some plans.

Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands has been a long awaited destination. I was there in my late teens with a youth group when the castle was in ruins but hadn't returned since the summer of 1982. When I learned there was a second Thousand Islands castle available to tour groups my plan began to fall into place. My son Dave had voiced an interest in going, but had pushed the experience off into autumn and I didn't want to wait that long. I had one open weekend left in August. 

After haphazardly tossing my plans out there, and knowing my friends had the obligation of either a large dog or an elderly parent, I decided to go on my own. Uncle Sam's Boat Tours, out of Alexandria Bay, offers a tour to Dark Island and Singer Castle with the option to stop at Boldt Castle on Heart Island on the return trip. I looked at my schedule, checked the weather, and bought a ticket online the Friday night before. I could have caught the early boat trip at 9:45 am, but I had a blood draw scheduled between 7 and 8 am, so I bought passage on the 1:30 pm voyage. 

It's a 2 hour and 45 minute drive to Alexandria Bay. I left with plenty of time to wander the tourist trap ahead of boarding the boat. Selective purchases were made; a couple bottles of water, some souvenir stickers and magnets, and a pair of sunglasses. I stepped into gift shops that looked new, and others that looked as if they possibly hadn't changed since my parent's honeymoon in 1953. By the time my tour of the shops ended, I was hungry. Lo, and behold! The Lil' River Fudge Company! Pina Colada ice cream for lunch.

(I could not upload photos the other day so this has taken way longer to post than previously imagined.)