Virginia to Rhode Island 2018

Our second night, we stopped in Columbia, New Jersey to visit friends.  Our next stop for two nights was in Hope Valley, Rhode Island.  

The campground was full of families and there were a lot of activities happening.  We met several couples who have seasonal sites in the park.  It was a tight

fit and a tricky hook-up on a hill but it worked!

We visited Grey Sail Brewing Company in Westerly, Rhode Island.

On Sunday, we headed to Acadia where we met the rest of our group for a week.  

Haymarket, Virginia

We left home on August 15, 2018 on our way to the Northeast Rovers Rally in Acadia National Park in Maine.  Our first overnight stop was in Haymarket, Virginia at a nice family campground.  

We found a new brewery called 2 Silos Brewing Co and they have only been open 9 months.

They are building more sites like this on the grounds for groups.

The beer was great! Notice the serving tray.

Pine Bush, New York

When we left the 1000 Lakes Area  after a great week with friends, we headed south for a few days to visit our oldest grandson in Pine Bush, New York.  While we were there, we visited Franklin Delano Roosevelt's home and presidential library.

This is the front of the FDR library.  The library is done very well and is very informative.  He is the only person to be elected President four times.  It was decided that due to the war, it wouldn't be wise to change leadership.  After FDR's death during his fourth term, it was decided by congress to limit the presidency to two terms and the 22nd amendment was adopted.

  

The gardens.

A couple of the rooms in the house.

The bedrooms were on the second floor so FDR had a hand operated elevator installed. 

This is the modest grave site of FDR and Eleanor.  The grave with the flag is FDR's, Eleanor is in front of him.

On the grounds, there is a small courtyard.  It contains these two busts and these two concrete pieces of the Berlin Wall.

The next day, we took a tour of West Point.

This is the chapel at West Point.

German stone masons were brought in to build the chapel. They were told that they would be granted United States citizenship when it was finished.  They completed it inside and out in less than 18 months.

The flags are replicas of US flags and battle flags.  The originals were deteriorating so they were removed and preserved. 

This is the view of the Hudson River from the overlook at West Point.  George Washington chose this location for defensive reasons.  British trying to attack New York City from the north would have to pass through this narrow passage in the river where they would meet cannon fire from above.

We had a great time on our trip but it was time to head home until the next adventure.

Eating and hiking

On Monday, while George spent the day fishing, we took Rosetta to Clayton and had lunch at The St. Lawrence Spirits and Chateau, a distillery and restaurant.

The grounds and buildings are beautiful.

This old beauty, sitting out front, is completely restored.

We ate on the patio overlooking the St. Lawrence River

This was our lunch view. 

After lunch, we went to the bar for a tasting.  Of course, we left with a couple of bottles. 

On the last day of the rally, a group of us went to Wellesley Island State Park for a nature hike. This park is known as the queen of the New York state parks.  It's a huge park with several RV campgrounds.

We paid a visit to the butterfly house where Vickie made a friend.

Then we took a hike through the woods along the river.  It got pretty rocky and steep in the middle of the hike but we all made it, even the ones with tricky knees.  Geezers on a hike.

That night, we had our last campfire before we all had to head out the next morning.

We headed home with a stop to visit our grandson for a couple of days.

St. Lawrence River and Boldt Castle

We headed over to Alexandria Bay for our boat tour of the St. Lawrence River with a stop at Boldt Castle.  We got there early and had breakfast at Rileys and toured the town.  

There were some interesting old neon signs that brought back memories.

We found this small museum on a side street staffed by volunteers who gave us a history of the town.  

Here is a view of the main street looking toward the docks.

Here is a view of Boldt Castle from the tour dock.

Here is a "laker" passing by.  Lakers never leave the Great Lakes, Salties come from overseas.  

Here is one of the 1864 islands.   To be designated an island, it must be above water 365 days a year and have at least one tree on it.  If the tree dies, it becomes a shoal and is no longer considered. an island.

Some islands big and not so big.

This was the arched .entrance to Boldt Castle.  

When George Boldt bought Hart Island with plans to build a castle on it and give it to his wife Louise he changed the name to Heart Island.  The heart shaped theme is everywhere on the island and is part of the family crest. 

The first building he had built was the childrens play castle complete with a two-lane bowling alley.

George planned to present the castle to Louise on February 14th, Valentines Day which was also her birthday and their wedding anniversary but she passed away a couple of months before that.  He was so heartbroken, he had all construction work stopped immediately and never set foot on Heart Island again.  The castle was 95% complete when it was abandoned.  For 60 years it lay victim to the elements and vandals. Since it's acquisition by the Thousand Island Bridge Authority in 1977, the castle has been slowly restored room by room.      

This is the main staircase and the skylight five stories above it.

The following pictures are just a sampling of the rooms that have been restored.

The Boldt crest

We had quite a busy day was looking forward to getting back and putting our feet up.