Boldt Castle, Thousand Islands, New York
July 21, 2013
Boldt Castle was built on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands region of Lake Ontario at the turn of the century in 1900 as a display of the owner's love for his wife who died before the castle was complete. It is said that the owner, George C. Boldt, who owned the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City, never returned to the island after his wife's death. The castle was left abandoned and only in 1977 did the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority turn Boldt Castle into a major tourist attraction.

There are no medieval castles in North America -- Europeans arrived and settled long after Columbus discovered it around the start of the Renaissance. But North Americans especially those in the east can delight in Boldt Castle -- as I did -- especially at the Power House structure located off the island joined by a stone-arch bridge.

 Click on a picture to enlarge.
Boldt Castle.
Power House. Meant to provide electricity to the island the Power House was designed to look like a castle.
We stayed at Rock Ledge Motel. It's an absolute darling of a motel owned by an absolutely darling couple. The motel is so nice and clean and so well-maintained we felt very well taken care of. So much so that we felt like leaving the windows open while we headed out. We didn't though, as after a moment's realization that we're still by the highway we shut the windows. But you get the idea -- the small motel's quaint attractiveness can really make you feel at home and put your guard down.
Our room. Vi is preparing to check out.
An absolutely, spotless, and modern bathroom. All for $79 a night. If you notice the room is very clean but the furnishings don't necessarily match, at least I'd imagine from a professional interior decorator's point of view. But with the bathrooms, they poured all their efforts in to make sure everything was just right, modern, and matching, as if their whole business depended on them, which in a sense is probably true.
I didn't take this photo -- I just took it from Trip Advisor. Check them out on Trip Advisor. You'll see glowing reviews of very many very satisfied customers. A brand new Price Chopper is also about 2 miles up the highway. A convenient place to get soda, snacks, and yes, we even got our dinner there because the motel was so nice we wanted to dine-in, because they have a small dining area selling hot pizza, hot and cold sandwiches, and salads.
James Street is Alexandria Bay's
It is lined with souvenir shops on both sides of the road.
Lunch at Admiral's Inn on James St.
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