Island in the Stream, or rather River

The ferry ride to Block Island, lasting less than an hour, made me queasy. I have even been known to express “sea-sickness” while traveling though the lock system on the Eric Canal. So, in no way, was I excited to embark upon a 135-minute boat tour of the Thousand Islands, straddling the United States-Canada border. I mean, the name itself indicated a certain level of redundancy – certainly the first hundred islands would give me a good enough impression of the place that I could get off the boat and back on solid ground.

As stated in its title, the Thousand Islands is an archipelago of islands, numbering over 1,793. The archipelago stretches between New York and Ontario, along the Saint Lawrence River. The included islands vary greatly in size, maxing out around 40 square miles, and in their level of inhabitance.

Do to the shear number of land outcropping located in the Saint Lawrence River, certain guidelines have been set up to determine which landforms count as “islands.” As a general rule, to be considered an island, the piece of land has to be above water level for the entire year, have an area larger than one square foot, and play host to at least one living tree. This criterion offerssome basic similarities between the islands, but aside from this, they differ greatly.

For example, on Heart Island there is the Boldt Castle. This 120-rooom grandiose gift that was commissioned to be built by millionaire George C Boldt out of love for his wife, Louise. However, during construction, Louise died and George ceased all construction. It was not until 73 years later when the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property that restorations were made. And, as for a little tidbit of information, is was Boldt’s personal chef that invented what was later to be known as Thousand Island dressing.

The island closest to Boldt Castle is “Just Room Enough.”

This island, as the name would imply, is merely large enough to fit a single house. However, when water levels are low enough, the house is also embellished with a few outdoor lounge chairs.

Another point of interest along the tour is the Zavikon Island. This stop is actually a pairing of islands. As the amusing antidotal story goes, the bigger island in located in Canada and the smaller one in the United States. Supposedly, when the husband was “in the doghouse,” the wife would send her spouse to another country via the “shortest international bridge in the world.” Unfortunately, both islands are actually located in Canadian territory and belong to the Leeds and Grenville municipal unit. Yet the story remains amusing.

The Thousand Island boat tour I partook in was infused with so much information and humorous history that I forgot about the fact that I was on a boat. Plus, as it turns out, the Saint Lawrence River isn’t exactly turbid water, so sea-legs really aren’t a necessity. This should be a relief to anyone like me who didn’t inherit the nautical gene.

Heart Island, home of the Boldt Castle (top)

Photo from:http://www.andrewcusack.com/bolc1.jpg

One of the Thousand Islands with "Just Room Enough" for a single house (middle)

Photo from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Thousand_Islands_single_house.jpg

Contrary to legend, these islands do not span the international border (bottom)

Photo from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/ZavikonIslandBridge.jpg