This is the second "Bench of the Week" at Bodlt Castle in Alexandria Bay, NY. Alexandria Bay is in the Thousand Islands.
When I was a child my Grandparents had a camp near Alexandria Bay. We would spend a lot of vacations at "The River" as we called it. The first time I went to Bodlt Castle, the place was a mess. There was graffiti all over the inside of the building. They've made a great effort to restore the Castle, or finish it. (The Castle was never finished originally.)
There's a nice park in Alexandria Bay that overlooks the island, and is a great place to sit.
Today we traveled to the Thousand Islands to see some family friends. I haven't seen any of them for about 10 years. We had a lot of memories to share. The oldest friend is who I call Uncle Stanley. He's 97 years old, and is sharp as a tack. He recounted the story of how my Grandfather and he first met. Uncle Stanley was looking for a good camping spot at Kring Point State Park. The site that he normally had was occupied. The caretaker told him of another spot that was very good. It was currently occupied, but the people were leaving that day. Those people were my grandparents. Uncle Stanley asked my Grandfather if they were going to leave. My Grandfather's response was, "We'll leave when were damn good and ready to leave." With a statement like that, it's hard to imagine how a friendship would begin, and be with us over 50 years later. They are a great group of people, and I miss them, and miss our summers of years ago.
Lessons Learned:
- You can't go home again, but you can share a lot of great memories
- I was asked by my wife why I didn't photograph our friends today. I find that when I get involved with photography, I have to step back from the situation. I become lost in trying to make a great photo, and no longer participate with those around me. I didn't want to loose the moment with these great people, so I didn't photograph. I need to somehow learn to do both, or some way around this.
