No Man Is A Thousand Islands

Megan and I are back at the Thousand Islands region of New York.  (http://mikekraus.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-1000-reasons-to-love-thousand-islands.html)  This time in the winter.  And not brave enough to camp this time.

View from our room at the 1,000 Islands Harbor Hotel looking toward Pine/Bluff Islands

Tried some Saint Lawrence Spirits at their new tasting room at 510 Riverside Drive in Clayton, NY.   Megan and I sampled a couple flights of vodka, gin, and moonshine.

 As you can tell, these didn't last long...

 Moving on to the absinthe.  There's nothing like a show before having a drink.

If you don't know (because I didn't), this use to be set up during your meal.  While you ate, the ice in the bucket on top would slowly drip onto the tray below.  That would slowly make it's way to the sugar cubes before falling into the cup. 

 Thousand Islands Inn.  There's conflicting stories who and where Thousand Islands dressing was created.  But, this place claims to be the place it was "first served."  Was it "first eaten" here is another question for another sign to answer...

All good vacations include a hot tub at some point. 

 So romantic.  Didn't plan on it being Valentine's Day Weekend.  Nice perk since it came with this, chocolate, a cheese spread, crackers, chocolate covered strawberries, and champagne.  Wonder what would have done if we came up when we originally planned; Super Bowl Sunday?

Swans in love 

View from our room looking toward Grindstone Island. 

View from our room looking toward Calumet Island 

Megan and I returned to Wellesley Island State Park to do some winter hiking.  We were largely unsuccessful.  The snow largely melted before we arrived.  Then it all froze to the grass and rocks before getting a dusting of snow.  We fell a few times before we even got to the hilly and rocky section because it was too treacherous.  Very unfortunate.

Ice Fishing on Eels Bay

WELCOME TO ALEXANDRIA BAY!

And we owned that town.  If you've ever been here in the summer, you know how strange this sight looks.  Both times I've been here previously, this was three blocks of motorcycles parked on top of each other.   

 Uncle Sam's Alexandria Belle docked for the winter

Lion's Field ended up being one of the best things we did in Clayton.  Only reason we knew about it was because Megan saw it as she looked down the side streets of Highway 12.  It's an all purpose park that seems to host every type of sport on a small field.  Around the football field, they've turned it into an ice track. 

Megan getting ready to show off her speed skating skills. 

A kid sliding down the ice hill. 

Ice skaters need to yield to the speeding, crashing sledders. 

2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic 500 metre speed skating time trial... 

And she's off! 

What a fun and relaxing weekend in the Thousand Islands.  It's so amazing to have a place like this so close to home.

The Classy Kraus' of Rochester

This is Air Bud.  Who's Air Bud?  We didn't know either.  We just tried to play basketball at Cobbles Elementary and he'd steal the ball...



Genesee Waterways Center in Genesee Valley Park in Rochester.  Megan's work helped fund a regatta called the Diversity Invitational.



While we were waiting for the regatta to start, I saw this crazy tree in the park.  A bit tropical looking for this area.



Crew racing!






Here's my crew boat.















I believe this is the boat Megan's work bought.  I could be wrong though...


 









First of all, there's a "Professional Disc Golf Association."  Second, the "World Championship" was going on.  Third, this guy had a disc golf cart.  If I were in Buffalo I'd say "For Realz?"



We're still celebrating our first wedding anniversary.  This time, we had a free night stay at the Hyatt Rochester because that's where our reception was (if you remember).  We didn't get the Presidential Suite this time, but we still managed to have a good time...



It's amazingly difficult to take a picture of downtown Rochester without getting it full of empty parking spaces.  It's the difficult position many mid-sized cities have.  People won't come downtown unless there is more parking than in the suburbs.  But, people don't want to come downtown because it is boring since they bulldozed all the retail space to make parking lots.  



Thanks Lindsay!  If you ever get the opportunity to work with her, you are very lucky!



Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.  Oh la la!



Take note, to the Hyatt Corporation this is our official name.  



Goodbye Midtown Plaza.  This was a urban renewal project in the 60s that closed off a bunch of streets and made a huge, windowless superblock indoor mall.  For my Michigan folk, think the old malls in downtown Muskegon and Grand Rapids which met the same fate.  



Despite the whole Paetec situation, I think downtown is still heading in a much more stable and sustainable direction.  



Goodbye Robocop Architecture.



The old Sibley Department Store.  This reminds me of the Merchandise Mart building in Chicago.  Under the right management, this place could be the crown jewel of Rochester.



Dinner at Scene on Main in the Hyatt.  Since we got married, they renovated the first few floors of the Hyatt and it's pretty swanky (and "IT'S OUR WEDDING COLORS!" as Megan pointed out immediately).  I believe this was called "Scene Snax"


 
This is the flatbread 



The filet and fingerling fries.  I know it's in a hotel, but it is really super good food and you should go to it.  And, we happened to be there when the Tall Club had their convention, which meant that Megan and I were the shortest people there.


NOW FOR SOME BUSINESS:
BARKTOBER FEST 2011 is on September 24th in Egypt Park (next to Lollypop Farm) and I'm on The Dirty Dogs team.  So, please support me (and the homeless and abused animals of Lollypop Farm) by going to http://lollypop.kintera.org/ba​rktoberfest/mike to make a donation!


That's it for now.  Megan's trying to make a cake with Rachel...