A Room with a View…Ships vs. Friction!

Where to stay in Alexandria Bay New York?!  Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose… From my viewpoint, the little 14-unit motel that I chose was a winner.  The price was right and the view was great.  The more important issue is that I wasn’t the only person on this trip and if my better half isn’t happy…well, everyone knows how that saying goes!  

This is a photo of the Channelsyde Motel and the owner’s home as seen from the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.  There are a total of 14 units at this family operated motel.  Our room was on the first floor, right under the stairs to the second level.

The views from the motel or its front lawn are very relaxing as well as being easy on the eyes.  The main channel of the St. Lawrence River flows right in front of the Channelsyde.

I will admit that our room was very small.  I will also admit that there was an ‘odor’ in the bathroom… I still maintain that it smelled like a strong cleaning product, but Laurie was convinced that the bathroom, to be polite, wasn’t clean…  You know that I didn’t come out on top in this disagreement!

Here’s a dock side view of the river… The St. Lawrence River is also an integral part of the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Ships can bring cargo though a series of locks, rivers and the Great Lakes, all the way from the Atlantic Ocean, to a number of key inland ports, including Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Duluth and Thunder Bay.

So, regarding the positive side of our motel…this was our view of the St. Lawrence Seaway at one of its most narrow points.  I like ships, (Plus trains, planes and automobiles), so this was a great place to be. 

The ship shown above passing in front of the Channelsyde Motel is the Tim S. Dool.  This 730’ Great Lakes freighter is owned by Algoma Central, a Canadian Company, and it’s managed by Seaway Marine Transport.  The Tim S. Dool was built in St. John New Brunswick in 1967.  In 2007, it was rebuilt and renamed in honor of a former Algoma Central President and Chief Executive Officer.  It has a carrying capacity of 31,250 tons of bulk product.

Laurie also liked the view…despite her dislike of the accommodations.  She took all of these photos, including this one of the Algoeast. (Yes, it’s another Algoma Central vessel) However, the Algoeast is a double hulled tanker.  She was built by a Japanese Company in 1977 for the Texaco Oil Company.  The Algoeast is 431’ feet long and she will hold 64,956 barrels of product.   

The Channelsyde Motel may or may not be open for business in 2012.  One of the owners told me that they had the house up for sale, (mid-$700K if anyone’s interested), and that when the house sold, they were going to close down the motel, tear it down and build themselves a new home on part of the property.

At this point, their website is still up and operational.  We noted that many of the guests/customers at the Channelsyde had stayed there several times over multiple years…probably a family vacation tradition.  This is a very family friendly motel.  To learn more about the Channelsyde Motel, just go to www.channelsyde.com, or call them at 315-482-2281.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave