Leif and Nikko had been at Fort Drum, New York for a year and he was on order to go to Bosnia with the peacekeeping force. We wanted to see him before he went, so we drove to New York so see them. Although we could have stayed at their apartment, we discovered that Fort Drum had the LeRay Mansion, built in 1826-1827 on base, and it was divided into DVQ (Distinguished Visitor Quarters) suites. Peter is eligible to stay in DVQs on some bases, and we were lucky to be able to stay at the LeRay Mansion.
Leif, as an enlisted Private First Class, had never been to that area of the base and had no idea anything like that, with the Historic District around it, existed there. It was a beautiful park-like setting.
Leif was able to get some time off while we were there, so we were able to see some of the local sights. We took a boat trip on the St. Lawrence River to see the Thousand Islands area with its incredible mansions on these privately owned islands. We went out to eat, particularly at Leif's favorite place in Sackets Harbor, to the west a few miles on Lake Ontario. I think it was the Sackets Harbor Brewing Company, which would fit, as Leif loved beer.
We also went to Ottawa, Canada for a day. Leif had been there with us when he was in high school and we took a long trip through Ontario and Quebec, but Nikko hadn't been there, and we had a great day walking around seeing the sights, crossing the bridge into Hull, and enjoying beautiful weather.
This photo of them was taken on the bridge between Ottawa and Hull, and you can see the Parliament building in the background behind them.
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