New York – Page 24 – Saves Lives Will Travel

The 4th of July always makes me think of our summer cottage in Alexandria Bay, in the 1,000 Islands. My mother had a little cottage there and me and most of my friends spent many summer weekends there.

Our little cottage.

The cottage was really quite perfect. Nothing fancy, but it had a large porch, three bedrooms and a pretty large yard.

Playing lawn darts in the front yard.

Having a beer, getting some sun.

Brother playing his guitar on the front porch.

The cottage was a very short walk to the main street, which was full of bars and souvenir shops. We would always head to Downtown, the “club” in town. We mostly liked it there because of the bartenders.

Big daddy. He can slam an entire beer before you even get your cup to your mouth!

And little daddy. So adorable.

And, of course, Rick “the sexy neighbor.”

My youngest brother even got engaged in Alex Bay on the 4th of July!

And no visit to Alex Bay is complete without an Uncle Sam’s boat ride to Boldt Castle.

Jenny Wall and I on our way to Boldt Castle. The Uncle Sam boats have the best strawberry daiquiris ever.

Boldt Castle is a gorgeous castle on Heart Island in the St Lawrence River in the 1,000 Islands. The castle was started in 1900 by George Boldt, as a summer home for him, his wife, and his children. Construction of the house came to a screeching halt when his wife died. Or maybe she ran away with a construction worker (some locals believe that to be the real story). Either way, Boldt Castle was left for decades until the Thousand Island’s Bridge Authority bought it and began to renovate it to its former glory. And it is truly gorgeous.