ALEXANDRIA BAY, New York (WWNY) – Thursday was a breath of fresh air for Uncle Sam Boat Tour owner Ron Thomson – much different than earlier this week.
“We’re very fortunate here to have extremely clean air, so it was very noticeable yesterday. The phones have been ringing. We’re going to accommodate customers by rescheduling,” he said.
Clearer conditions hit just right as Thomson’s boats loaded up with soldiers and their families for Riverfest.
“This is our day to entertain the troops and their families from Fort Drum. We get them out on the river. We take them over to Boldt Castle,” he said.
The tourism season in the Thousand Islands is just getting started and Thomson is already seeing a strong showing, better than 2022 despite a few smoky days.
Meanwhile, the Clayton Chamber of Commerce says foot traffic has been steady during the hazy days.
“We saw several people wearing masks, so it was bringing that whole thing back with people wearing the masks. But as far as businesses there were still people shopping,” said Tricia Bannister, Clayton Chamber of Commerce executive director.
Bannister is getting ready for the Great New York State Food & Wine Festival this week inside at Cerow Recreation Park in Clayton – which she says has also had a strong start to the tourism season.
“So hopefully we’ll continue that and people will continue to come to Clayton and see all that we have to offer,” she said.
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