River Castle

Panda has had a not-so-secret wish to see a real castle. Her wish was fulfilled a couple of weeks ago when we toured Boldt Castle. The castle is located on an island in Alexandria Bay, NY. It was built by George Boldt, a hotelier, for his wife from 1900-1904. Construction on the castle was halted, however, when Boldt's wife died from tuberculosis in 1904. The castle fell into disrepair until preservationists bought it and began restoring and finishing the construction. Only some of the rooms are finished.

To get there, we took a ferry ride around the Thousand Islands area. Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day, so we couldn't see very much through the foggy windows of the ferry. There are a lot of beautiful mansions and castles on many islands in the river, and we look forward to visiting again on a more sunny day! (There are actually more than 1700 islands in the Thousand Islands region.)

Across the bay from the castle is the yacht house, where George Boldt housed his fleet of boats.

The kids didn't complain too much around the rain and cold. Panda and Cinnamon went in a Bounce House near the Bay docks, and Panda went down a Bounce House slide, getting completely soaked. She loved it so much she went a couple more times. So wet!

We also got to have a picnic lunch on Heart Island (where Boldt Castle is located), provided by people from Papa Bear's work. Hamburgers, hot dogs, soda, potato/macaroni salads, and yummy baked beans. Our only complaint was there were no desserts! Busy Bears like sweet stuff!

On the car ride home, everybody but Mama Bear (who was driving) took a nap. Mama Bear got her nap when we got home. A very tiring but fun day!