We started celebrating Randy’s birthday early with dinner on Saturday night with Bill and Gail and ended it up with a boat ride to Dark Island on Monday. It was a little windy so the ride back was a little bumpy and a storm was building so we didn’t stop for a late lunch, but it was still a good day. Hopefully Randy enjoyed his birthday!
I don’t think I would have ever picked Eva’s European Sweets in Syracuse as a restaurant that I would like, but I would have been wrong! We had to let Bill and Gail order for us as we are not familiar with Polish cuisine but it was delicious! We got several platters of different things to share including Pierogi (several different types of filled dumplings), Golabki (stuffed cabbage), Kielbasa (smoked meat sausage), potato pancakes, sauerkraut and Polish Beef Stew. While the dinner was great, the drinks and desserts stole the show!! Randy started with a Bloody Gary which was made with Frank’s Red Hot Mix instead of the traditional tomato juice or Bloody Mary mix. Bill and Gail also shared some of the Georgia wine that they can only find at this restaurant: Kindzmaralui, Red Semisweet Reserve wine. The star drink for the night was Matt’s Red Sangria. Matt told us that Gary is the manager and makes the Bloody Gary’s, but he makes the better sangria. It was loaded with fruit and looked beautiful with the flower garnish. It was so good I stole Randy’s. It was worth the chance to have the alcohol trigger a vertigo attack. We were all so full we almost skipped the dessert, but I am glad we didn’t. Gail’s blueberry pie was delicious and my Rasberry Mousse Chocolate Cake was one of the best desserts I have EVER had. It was worth the late night drive back to Alexandria Bay. We have been fortunate to find several restaurants not to far from Alexandria Bay that have had some of the best food.
We did not do a lot on Sunday, but on Monday we took a fun boat ride up to Dark Island. It took us about 2 hours to get there because Randy took his time crusing around the Sunken Rock Lighthouse, other large islands and small rock formations, while we looked at the sights and gorgeous waterfront homes. The Sunken Rock Lighthouse located about a half mile below Alexandria Bay on Bush Island was built in 1847 to mark the eastern entrance to the shipping channel between Wellesley Island and the mainland. In 1882, a new round iron tower was erected over the foundation of the first light with a new boathouse built the following year. In 1934 the lighthouse was electrified with increased candlepower and in 1988 the lighthouse was improved to use solar energy.
With Dark Island our destination, we cruised along Ironsides, Fire Rock, Black Rock, Hemlock, Snipe, Halfway, Scow and Cedar Islands before we located Dark Island near Chippewa Bay. We could see the red roof for Singer Castle and the boat house for quite a way off. There were piers on both sides of the island, but it looked like the one on the backside was not maintained. There were no tourboats at the island when we got there, but we did pass a tour boat heading towards the castle as we were leaving. We decided not to stop today because we know friends will want to go on the tour when they visit. I can’t wait to go back so we can learn more about Singer Castle, previously owned by the fifth President of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
The wind picked up once we turned back for home but we still investigated the Three Sister’s, Lone Brother, Arcadia, Summerland, Lotus and Deer Islands. The Three Sister’s is home to a beautiful lighthouse. The Sister’s Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1870 to mark a narrow channel between the string of tiny islands and Grenadier Island. Many improvements were added over the years including automation in 1929. Once the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959, the St. Lawrence Development Corporation took over all aids to navigation along the river and the lighthouse was replaced with a buoy. With the lighthouse no longer needed, the property was first offered to federal, state or local governments. When they did not show any interest in purchasing, the GSA put the property up for auction. In 1967, the 24′ X 48′ lighthouse and three-tenths of an acre island was sold for $6,594. Today the property is still privately owned by members of the same family.
Wtih severe thunderstorms predicted for later in the day, we decided not to go to Lake of the Isles for a late lunch and instead just planned an early dinner. I think Randy enjoyed the salad, crab cakes and corn on the cob I made him for his birthday dinner. The corn on the cob was especially good and I know he liked the strawberry ice cream cake!
Update on last photo: After reading a 1000 Island Facebook post asking for help in identifying stone formations, I realized I recognized the photo as it was similar to one I took earlier this week. While cruising on Monday we noticed on one of the islands what appeared to be older rock foundations/ruins. The chimney along the river was very visible, but when we looked through the trees, we could see lots of other rock structures. The photo I took is from Deer Island. According to “The Thousand Islands: 101 Points of Interest…and then some” by Fritz Hager & Judy Keeler, the ruins at Light 186 are from a grand summer home and boathouse. This guesthouse had 8 bedrooms, a sitting room, a library and a dining room. The house had a cantilievered porch that extended out over water 90′ deep and was nicknamed House with Its Toes in the Water. It was destroyed by fire in 1926. There are other remains of a clubhouse destroyed by fire in 1949. What is a little wierd/creepy is that Deer Island is owned by a trust for the Skull and Bones Society of Yale University, aka The Order or Brotherhood of Death, created in 1832. This exclusive society of seniors is the oldest at Yale.
