on the water

 

from China

and a ferry from Hong Kong

or, for something a little more away from it all, a boat in cottage country

or, even more bucolic, an early sunrise in a canoe

on the st lawrence river

 

gateway to 1000 islands

 

The American gateway to the 1000 Islands

canadian spans

 

The Thousand Islands International Bridge connects Ivy Lea, Ontario to Alexandria Bay, New York. It was opened in 1938 and is actually a system of five bridges and roads. The top postcard shows the different bridge styles: suspension, arch, and truss.

a broken heart

Construction began on Boldt Castle in 1900 at the bidding of millionaire hotel magnet George C. Boldt as a tribute to his beloved wife Louise. Boldt Castle was designed as their summer dream home on the St Lawrence River in the heart of the 1000 Islands. However it was not to be, Mrs Boldt passed away suddenly just months before the completion of the castle. Mr Boldt was inconsolable and immediately stopped all construction on Heart Island, leaving the property vacant for over seventy years.

both sides

The St Lawrence River, Ontario and New York

cottages

Some of the stately homes on the St Lawrence River

good things

in Alexandra Bay on the New York side of the 1000 Islands

gateway to thousand islands

 

one gateway at each entrance to town

Gananoque Inn

The old Gananoque Carriage Works on the shores of the St Lawrence River was transformed into the Gananoque Inn in 1896. A fire on April 5th 1907 destroyed a third of the building, but within a few weeks the hotel was ready to re-open for the summer season.

The Gananoque Inn & Spa 2010

international bridge

 Canada 1950 above, 1910 below
The World's Smallest International Bridge
Zavikon Island, 1000 Islands Canada

The 1000 Islands are an archipelago of some 1800 islands that straddle the border between Ontario and New York in the St lawrence River. It has been an enduring myth that this 32' bridge between the main Zavikon island and the one used as a backyard by the owner of the two has the bigger one in Canada and the smaller one in the U.S. It has been a great tourist ploy since around 1880 and is still touted as the shortest international  bridge on boat tours. Apparently, the official border is a couple hundred feet south of the smaller island making both of them in Canada.

for Sepia Saturday

ships on the seaway

unsent, 1970's
a John Hinde Original

1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada - New York, U.S.A. : in April 1959, traffic began using the St Lawrence Seaway. The seaway, in the broadest sense, is a huge waterway extending 2,300 miles from the Atlantic ocean to the head of the Great Lakes in the heart of North America. Here in the heart of a vacationers paradise is an aerial view of the 1000 islands section o0f the St Lawrence Seaway showing a 'Laker' and a 'Saltie' passing.

Thousand Islands

sent July 9, 1954 Gananoque to Toronto

Having a lovely trip. Taking life easy. See you soon, Dot & Fred