Memorial Day - PFC Jack T. Sweet - Alexandria Bay

On Memorial Day (May 31) we remember our fallen warriors who protected our nation and freedoms. Above is a memorial located in Alexandria Bay, NY overlooking the St. Lawrence River and Boldt Castle on Heart Island. (Photos taken today on 5/29/10; click on the above photos to see them larger.) The memorial is a testament to PFC Jack T. Sweet, a soldier who gave his life on Feb. 8, 2008 in Iraq at the age of 19 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jack Sweet was from Alexandria Bay and his home base was Fort Drum in Watertown, NY (10th Mountain Division). It is a beautiful albeit very solemn memorial and setting. I recommend visiting it to pay your respects to him and to all of the fallen, as well as to their families whom we continue to pray for.

"Patty Mondore wins national award" - Thousand Islands Sun

Our own Patty Mondore won a very prestigious national writing award for an article published in the Thousand Islands Sun, as reported in the T.I. Sun on May 12, 2010. "Patty's work was up against 600 other entries entered in the Amy Foundation journalism competition." The T.I. Sun goes on to report that "Patty won an Outstanding Merit award and $1000 which she immediately donated to Hearts for Youth in Alexandria Bay and The Father's Heart Ministries in Syracuse."

Be sure to click on the above image to see it larger. Or you can read the full newspaper article here in PDF format.

Singer Castle & Boldt Castle open dates for 2010.

Here is a convenient listing for the new 2010 season open dates for the St. Lawrence River's famous castles in the Thousand Islands.

Singer Castle will open for the 2010 season on Saturday, May 15th and will be open Saturdays and Sundays thru June 19th. Weekday tours will be available by appointment. June 19th thru Labor Day the castle will be open daily. Labor Day thru October 11th the castle will be open Saturdays and Sundays.

Boldt Castle is open daily, starting May 8th to October 3rd, from the hours of 10:00 am to 6:30 pm. During July and August extended hours are from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, for the days of October 4th to the 11th from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm, and for 16th and 17th from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm.

Note: Both castles are accessible only by boat (tour boat or personal boat). So be sure to check with tour boat lines in the area.

For your convenience, dates and times are gathered from the Castles' own websites. Be sure to check with the primary sources before making any plans. This blog is independent and is not affiliated with either castle nor with any tour boat line. Photo is courtesy of Ad Meskens, Wikipedia (click on photo to see it larger).

Thousand Islands Life / Singer Castle Revisited © book

Clearly the most impressive magazine related to the Thousand Islands is appropriately named: Thousand Islands life, and even more amazing is that you can view it for free....online! If you have not discovered it yet, it is released monthy on the web and it is filled with Thousand Islands topics and beautiful pictures.

The most recent issue has a picture packed, fascinating synopsis of our brand new Singer Castle Revisited © book, soon to be released (May 31, 2010). This information-rich article is by our own award-winning author, Patty Mondore. This is a must see article for 1000 Islands (St. Lawrence River) aficionados.

Singer Castle Revisited © is all new and contains not a single repeat picture from our first Singer Castle book (both books are from the renown Arcadia Publishing company). You can also find out more about the book and our other productions at our Gold-Mountain.com website. See my previous blog for the Thousand Islands Sun (Alexandria Bay, NY) newspaper account.