So far most of our days here in Alexandria Bay are cool with showers. Had a line of strong thunderstorms roll through Thursday night with cool weather and a few light showers on Friday. At least the thunderstorms waited until after we helped Peter and Paulla move cars so they will have their car here once they arrive by boat. We are still eating pie that they brought as part of Peter’s family tradition of bringing pies on their first trip to the Thousand Island area for the summer. I really don’t think we will have any left by the time they get back next week.
We had invited friends from the 2019 Fantasy Alaskan Caravan that were visiting the area over for appetizers so was hoping Friday would be a nice day. Unfortunately, Friday was still cool, windy and overcast (so far seems like the typical weather here). For dinner we enjoyed the fish fry from the food truck with Paul and Lynn, but was really hoping we could have taken them to dinner somewhere in Alexandria Bay by boat. It was great seeing them again as we missed the rendezvous last February in Alabama due to my vertigo.
Fortunately Saturday was a rare nice, sunny day when Bill and Gail returned to A-Bay to pick up Dirt Yacht’s ladder for repair. We felt bad that they had to make a second trip when they had truck issues last week, but it is always great to see them again. I don’t know if they planned it but they joined us for the day! Our first stop was the Coyote Moon Vineyard’s Classic Cars Classic Wine Car Show and Cruise-In located in Clayton, NY. Randy and I have not been to a classic car show in quite a while so it was nice seeing the street rods and classic cars again. It was the perfect size show. Big enough to enjoy seeing a couple of nice cars, but small enough that it did not take all day. Before doing a tour of the Coyote Moon winery, we had a light snack and split a bottle of Coyote Moon’s Twister Sister wine. Randy and I finally found a wine that we both like. Gail got a good deal on a case of the wine!
After the winery tour, Bill and Gail gave us a guided tour of Clayton. We decided to save a return trip to the Antique Boat Museum for another day, but did explore some of the quaint shops. IMO Clayton is nicer than Alexandria Bay for shops and views. We stopped at the 1000 Island River Rat Cheese shop where we picked up some cheese curds and a few other items. At the 1000 Islands Cruet shop Randy selected some pineapple and coconut vinegars for me to try on shrimp. We did a wine tasting at the Coyote Moon’s Vineyard on the River in downtown Clayton and bought another bottle of Twister Sister that we enjoyed on their back patio overlooking the St. Lawrence River. I know I enjoyed the sunshine as this was one of the few days it has been warm! I know Randy enjoyed the older wooden boats that went by us several times. I am not sure if they were from the Antique Museum but that is what we thought.
After we finished the bottle of wine, we took a walk along the Clayton River Walk. Bill and Gail told us the River Walk was a new addition to Clayton, but previously the newly built walkway was underwater because of the height of the River. While walking we did find one section of the walkway that had collapsed. i found a news article that said this occurred in November 2019 due to a storm surge and wave action. Can’t believe a brand new structure already collapsed. We made it as far as the Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina before turning back. It looks like a very nice marina next to the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel.
We ended the day with dinner at the Island Bay Pier House. We tried to go to the Clipper Inn but could not get in since we did not have reservations. The food at the Pier House was excellent, except for their prime rib. It was their special of the day, but it was way overcooked which made it tough. We will be back for their chicken wings which were some of the best we have ever had. And I really enjoyed their French Onion Soup.
Paul and Lynn invited us to their 5th wheel for dinner on Sunday afternoon to finish out the weekend. They have a beautiful Redwood that is currently parked at 1000 Island Campground. Paul made sure Randy converted back to a Bloody Mary drinker! Before we left a neighbor visited and asked everyone questions about Fantasy RV Tours. Meeting new people is one of the parts I like best living and traveling in our RV. I wish Paul and Lynn were staying a few more days so we had more time to visit, but they are heading out in the morning. Hopefully we will see them in Florida sometime in the near future!
As a resident of New York State, I’ll apologize for the cool, damp weather. But I’ll also say “Not my fault!” Have fun kids!
This cool weather is still better than the excessively high temps the West is getting!