Crossing Lake Ontario to Clayton, NY

July 02, 2018

The much anticipated Lake Ontario crossing went as well as we could have hoped for minus the biting fly invasion!! We were swatting flies by the dozens and they kept coming. We were a significant distance from land and we just couldn't understand where they were coming from. A few of the casualties are shown in the picture below.

As you can see on the chart plotter above we were in VERY deep water, the deepest so far. Yes, it reads 523 feet deep.

We arrived in Clayton, NY which is in the Thousand Islands down the St. Lawrence River in late afternoon and were so pleased that we had decided (or were forced) to take a side trip.

July 1st is Canada Day just like July 4th in the US and we couldn't get slip reservations in Canada over that holiday weekend, so we had to come up with another plan. That's what took us to Clayton. It has turned out to be one of our most favorite stops. The water was clear and there were 1864 islands to meander through. (To legally be an island it has to have at least 2 trees year round).

Seems like we are always eating out! Brent likes meatloaf (and most anything else on any menu).

I had no idea this is where Thousand Island dressing originated. It was originally intended to be a condiment for fish.

Outdoor dining options are everywhere. The temperatures while we were here ranged from low 80's to high 50's at night. It's JULY!

Beautiful sunset the first night we were in Clayton.

The next day we went and visited the Antique Boat Museum. It has the largest collection of antique and classic boats in North America.

The museum had a section dedicated to the sport of ice fishing which, of course, is huge here in the frozen river.

Not sure if I would trust these parameters but they do.

"Pardon Me" was built in 1948 and is 48 feet long. It was sent out for a full restoration and returned to the museum in 2013. It is sometimes referred to as the "world's largest runabout".

The photos below are from the 1903 houseboat named La Duchesse that is 106 feet long. It was also on the museum property and has been open for tours since 2005. It was originally built for hotelier George Boldt, manager of NY City's famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel. It was continuously used as a summer residence. It changed hands over the years and the McNally family from Wellesley, NY ultimately donated it to the museum.

Brent looked for a pair of these pants in the Gift Shop but no luck - thank God.

One of the young men on our small tour sat down and played a beautiful piece of music when asked if anyone from the group wanted to play the piano onboard the boat.

Even La Duchesse needs constant maintenance.

Below are more photos from the museum.

Below are various water speed records over the years. Some of the record holding boats are in the museum.

Later that afternoon we took a 3.5 hour tour boat through the Thousand Islands and over to tour Boldt Castle. It is located on Heart Island. George Boldt started building this castle for his wife in 1900 and stopped construction in early 1904 when his wife passed away. Boldt never returned to Heart Island leaving the structure as a monument of his love. For 73 years the castle in it's unfinished state was left to the harsh elements of winter weather until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired it in 1977 and they have been refurbishing it since.

Yes, that qualifies as an island in the picture below (the smallest island in the Thousand Islands).

Before crossing into Canada we stocked up at the local grocery store since everything is very expensive there. Couldn't believe we came across Shiner here.