New York ~ Days 1 and 2

After months of planning, Cahl and I were finally able to make a quick trip over to New York to visit Tristan for a weekend. We flew out Thursday night on a red eye, and arrived in Syracuse just before noon on Friday. We took our time driving up to Watertown, and stopped in Sackett's Harbor for lunch. It is a super cool little town, and the sight of a battlefield from the War of 1812. We had a great time visiting some of the historical houses and museums, some shops, and the park. 

After lunch, we headed up to Watertown and finally got to meet up with Tristan. We spent the evening having dinner, catching up and seeing his new truck, checking out the Black River, and seeing the sights of Watertown. 

Saturday morning we met Tristan for breakfast, and he took us on a tour of Fort Drum. We stopped and toured the fort museum, saw his barracks and office buildings, the airfield and the campground, then stopped at the PX before heading up to Alexandria Bay for the afternoon. That is a super cute town that is right on the St Lawrence River, in the 1000 Island region. From there we hopped on a ferry out to Heart Island, to visit Boldt Castle. I think this was the highlight of my trip, and I had been looking forward to it for months! The castle and accompanying buildings are absolutely amazing, and the history there is incredible! We loved touring Alster Tower, the Power House, and the Castle itself, and the beautiful grounds of the island. Construction began on Boldt Castle in 1900 by millionaire hotel magnate George C. Boldt as a tribute to his beloved wife Louise. Boldt Castle was designed as their summer dream home, a castle rivaling those of Europe. However it was not to be, Mrs. Boldt passed away suddenly just months before the completion of the castle. Mr. Boldt was inconsolable and immediately stopped all construction on Heart Island, leaving the property vacant for over seventy years. The parks service now has control of the estate, and they are working hard to restore and preserve it. I think I could have stayed there forever!

Yellowstone

Last we had some time, so we packed up and headed over to Yellowstone for the week. We rented a cabin in Island Park, and had a great time playing cards and badminton in the evenings. We spent 2 full days in the park, and another day in West Yellowstone. We had so much fun seeing all the sights, tons of bison, and checking out a Mountain Man Rendezvous, and the Grizzly Bear and Wolf Center. Brinley even got to go in and hide food for the bears!

Family Visit

Last weekend, Cahl's aunt Kathy, her daughter Kelcie, and grandkids Mia and Braxton, came to visit. We had so much fun visiting and catching up, spending a day at Eagle Island, surprising Kathy with her childhood friend Pam who lives in Boise now, and rafting the Payette River. 

Brinley and Mia are the same age, and they get along really well, so they were stuck together like Velcro all weekend. Braxton loves hanging out with the older boys, and he looks just like Jasen did when he was younger! 

It was a great weekend, and we're so happy that they were able to come spend some time in Idaho!