The Trent Severn Waterway was closed for a few days while rainwater receded. We decided to wait it out on the US side of the St. Lawrence Waterway. That kept us in Clayton for a few nice days. The downtown area is very compact and closely located to the marina. We were within walking distance of several restaurants, a busy park area, and lots of shops. The town is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year, and each building has a green sign in the window indicating the year the building was built. Most were mid- to late 1800s and early 1900s. We saw one handmade sign on a house that cheekily read “1977.”

On one of our first days in Clayton, we made reservations with Clayton Island Tours for a 5-hour tour of the 1000 Islands, the Boldt Castle, and the Rock Island Lighthouse. The dock was about 1.4 miles from the marina. We loved the tour so much! Our guide was humorous and informative, the castle was beautiful, and the lighthouse was…a lighthouse. We met another couple, and they were nice to talk to during the afternoon. We really cannot get over how clear the water in the St. Lawrence is!

The walkway from the marina along the river to the nearby park was always busy. There were always people strolling along, walking or running for exercise, or sitting in the many chairs and benches along the path. The park had an Air Dogs competition over the weekend, and we caught the first session’s contestants.

We spent one afternoon at the Antique Boat Museum. We had heard this is a must see, so we saw. It didn’t really do much for us, though it was a nice afternoon. We paid a little extra for a tour of La Duchesse, the barge commissioned by George Boldt, of Boldt Castle fame, but restored and used as a family cottage by Mr. McNally of atlas and publishing fame. Mr. McNally bought the boat and restored it to his liking in the 1950s, and his family continued to use it until the early 2000s. We were charmed to learn that McNally’s grandchildren have been known to stop by the museum to visit the boat now and then and reminisce about the wonderful family time spent there.

We also learned there is another section of the museum about 5 miles away, but it was too far to walk in the heat of that day. Perhaps that was where the must-see stuff was.

We ate at several restaurants while we were in Clayton. O’Brien’s was the closest restaurant to the boat. We had a late breakfast at the Koffee Kove. We had dinner at DiPrinzio’s, where the dining room was so beautiful with its large windows over the river. We had lunch at the Wood Boat Brewery. I sent a picture of the beer I drank to the kids, who pointed out that it wasn’t yet noon when we had lunch. I sent the picture because I rarely drink beer and I thought they would find it funny. Instead, they are probably researching treatment options. Don’t worry, children, Momma’s one beer was plenty for the day and served as a reminder that I just don’t like beer all that much! Our final meal in town was at the hotel next to the marina. I guess that one was actually closer to the boat than O’Brien’s.

We don’t usually go to a single restaurant more than once (except in Fort Myers Beach, where we practically lived at Salty Sam’s marina), but Scoops Ice Cream was an exception. I had the Old River Coffee Cake Sundae (twice!), which was so stinking good! Owen had a banana split and a brownie sundae (on separate days). Crazy good!

We really enjoyed our time in Clayton. The Thousand Islands are a place we’d like to explore more. Next time…