We have just spent four delightful days playing in the Thousand Islands area, returning to Swan Bay each night. We met up with daughter Claire, son-in-law Brad, and grandkids Nash, Ben and Finnley, and their dog Byron, for much needed family time and to make memories – us in Bushranger, them in their RV.

We played at Boldt Castle: a grandiose Gilded Age Rhineland castle in Alexandria Bay. It was to be a display of George Boldt’s love for his wife. Before it was completed in 1904 his wife died and all construction stopped, never to be visited by Boldt again. For 73 years, the castle remained vacant and left to the mercy of the wind, rain, ice, snow and vandals. It has now been acquired by the TI Bridge Authority and millions spent on it. The rehabilitation is impressive.

We played on the water. Swan Bay is very shallow with underwater forests of seaweed. The waters are crystal clear, just made for exploring with the dinghy.

We played at fishing. Mark showed, once again, that where he is, no fish abound! Despite that, Brad caught a number of fish off the jetty. Through sheer determination, Nash caught a fish on the last morning, producing one very happy chappy!

Yes, we played together on the park equipment, in the pools, on the shuttlecock court. We took Byron on walks. We sailed back to Clayton, but couldn’t play very much there, as most shops / whiskey tasting / gelato shops were closed – it was Tuesday!

Such is Life!