THOUSAND ISLANDS 2017

The day after we surprised my aunt for an early 50th birthday celebration in Rochester, the family headed up to the Thousand Islands!


Due to the mix of everyone's suitcases, bikes, coolers, and kayaks, etc. I ended up riding with one of my aunts. We chatted the whole way and followed the Apple Maps van for nearly 50 miles and got such a kick out of it.


This is the cute house we stayed in this year! It was right across from my aunt's cottage and we all had so much fun running between the two houses every day.



The inside of the house was incredible! There were so many odd trinkets, books, and other memorabilia dating -- many of them dating back to the mid-1800s.



On the afternoon we arrived, I convinced Dan to go on a leisurely 6 mile jog with me. He'd never run more than 3.5 miles straight before, but we kept the pace comfortable and chatted the whole way. Before we knew it the 6 miles was over.


After running, we went swimming down at the pavilion and Dan modeled... I seriously have pictures dating back to 2009 of him doing similar poses on the docks haha!




Here's a little glimpse into our crazy family dinners. All of us finding our places on the screened in porch. I can't imagine a time where these crazy dinners aren't in my life anymore. We toasted to everything under the sun including the fact that Dan had run 6 miles for the first time ever.





After dinner we went for a walk and got ice cream. The Guzzle, which burned down 2.5 years ago, had been rebuilt and it was absolutely splendid. Of course nothing can replace the memories I have of the original, but they did such a beautiful job with the new building.


The water in the Islands was really high this year. We heard that it might be the 65 year high. Many docks were either underwater or right at the level of the water.



On our second day in the Islands, we went kayaking.

We were out on the water for over two hours and checked out all of the flooding as we paddled around. It was truly a sight to see so many docks underwater. I was even able to paddle over a strip of land that is usually a foot or two above the water!




After kayaking, I convinced my mom and Dan to go trailrunning with me. We maybe had to bushwhack and take off our shoes to get through huge streams, but it was such a fun afternoon adventure.





That night we had lots of family fun.


Here's a shot from the Euchre game we played. My mom and I versus Dan and my Uncle Tim. My mom and I won more rounds, technically, but our rounds were worth less points so we lost. It was still a crazy, fun, competitive game.




The next morning was my last morning before heading back to Chicago and I went for a long run. I'd never run over the Thousand Islands Bridge before so I figured now was the right time to do so. It was nearly 5 miles out, over, and back and rained buckets during the last 1.5 miles.

After the run (and drying off), it was time to pack up and head to the airport. It was a short time for me in the Thousand Islands this year, but I was so glad I was able to make the trip this year.

Some previous Thousand Islands posts here in case you're interested...