Hello everyone!
I hope you enjoyed reading about our Holland America Canada/New England cruise in May, 2009.
Our next trip will be a driving vacation to Washington's San Juan Islands in July. We will be staying in Friday Harbor and taking in all that San Juan Island has to offer. Of course, I will be sending my usual Travelogues to share our experiences with you.
After that, this September, we will be taking a one day cruise from Seattle to Vancouver on the Pacific Princess - staying two nights in Vancouver - and then cruising back down the coast in a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles on the Golden Princess.
Please visit my website at www.carpentertravel.net and let's plan your next vacation or cruise together!
Till next time...get out there and enjoy!
Barbara
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Travelogue #13 Final Travelogue from Quebec, Canada
TRAVELOGUE
Thursday, May 21, 2009 and Friday May 22, 2009
Québec City, Québec
Hello from Québec ~
We could not have asked for anything more than to have the last two days in Québec City. The weather has been 70 to 75 degrees, crystal blue skies spotted with puffy white clouds now and again and a slight breeze blowing. The weather has been gorgeous, and our time here has been just fascinating.
On Thursday, we had a leisurely morning and then had a walk and wine tasting tour in the afternoon just after lunch. There were only about 28 of us on this tour. We boarded our motor coach and headed east out of Québec City to Montmorency Falls, a beautiful river and huge water falls almost right alongside the highway. There are several smaller falls along the hillside before you reach the “big” ones where the gushing white winter snow melt is crashing over the falls and creating a huge mist as they reach the bottom of the falls and crash into the river below. We thought the view was just spectacular – but we were in for even more of a treat at our next destination – Canyon Ste. Anne. Both of these falls are taller than Niagara Falls – but, not as wide.
We disembarked our bus and walked down a path about a quarter of a mile to our “first” suspension bridge. The river was rushing in front of us and across the river was a very sturdy suspension bridge made of large steel cables and two inch thick planks to walk across. Below us the river fell down through the canyon, white water splashing and pounding over the rocks below into a deep canyon below where we could see two more suspension bridges, each at a lower level than the first one. We continued along the path to the second suspension bridge through the beautiful evergreen forest thick with moss ladened trees and thick undergrowth of ferns. There were several sets of wooden steps to climb down to reach the second suspension bridge. As we reached that point, we couldn’t help but notice the natural rainbow that was forming through the mist. With the white waters below and the beautiful green forest surrounding it, it was truly an incredible sight. We chose not to climb down the canyon as far as the third suspension bridge. We had been told that it was not as sturdy as the other two and felt we seeing it was good enough. We climbed up the hill from where our trek began up a wooden stairway where every so often there was a viewing platform and benches to rest on before you climbed further. The views kept getting more and more spectacular as we eventually reached the top. Needless to say, we really enjoyed our water once we got back to the concession stand!
From there, we went across the Ste. Lawrence River over to the Isle of Orleans. There we visited a small vineyard where the owner showed us the entire process of his winery and then to the best part – wine tasting! They really only make four wines – rouge – blanc and rose. But, they also make an aperitif wine that we both thought was quite nice, and so we purchased a bottle of that. We hope you will all come to enjoy it with us when we return home!
Last night we finished the last jigsaw puzzle and it appears they are not going to put out another one for us to start as the table is bare today. We thoroughly enjoyed working on those puzzles during this cruise in the evenings before dinner and have met many interesting people.
This morning we again had a leisurely morning and came back after breakfast and started our packing as we have to have our suitcases out in the hall tonight for disembarkation in Montreal tomorrow morning. One nice thing about Holland America is that they allow you to stay in your stateroom until your number and color are called.
After lunch today we set off for our last tour a walking historic tour of Québec City and tea at the Hotel Frontenac. We started our tour by going through the Museum de Québec where we saw the wooden hull of a sailing vessel that had been pulled out of the remains of a pier during an icy winter hundreds of years ago. It is so interesting to see these old artifacts. What is hard to imagine is how they sailed so many miles in those small ships with so many men on board.
From the museum we walked through lower Québec City which is the “old” town with the buildings still standing from hundreds of years ago. We heard many stories about the history as we walked through the cobblestone streets up to the vernicular where we rode the tram up to the upper city. I was lucky enough to be one of the last people to board, and so I was able to take several pictures out across the Ste. Lawrence River over towards the Isle of Orleans. Being that it was such a gorgeous day, I’m really hoping my pictures will show the true beauty of the day.
Our tour guide took us past Notre Dame, the Catholic Cathedral and the Anglican Church, all standing so majestically with their tall spirals against the blue skies and white clouds with the trees in full bloom with their bright green leaves of Spring. There were some beautiful trees with a purple/red color flower on them, something similar to the cherry blossoms we saw in Newport, but a much much richer color of red. It seemed that around every corner our tour guide took us, there was another bronze statue of someone else famous to the history of Québec City, some even mounted on marble.
We enjoyed tea around 3:00 p.m. at the Hotel Frontenac where we were served in a lovely café room. We had some homemade biscotti, a cream puff and a small opera cake with layers of chocolate and raspberry filling, along with two pieces of decadent chocolate.
The tour was over at that point, and Jim and I wanted to walk around the city a bit more and do a little more shopping before we headed back to the ship. We had such a nice afternoon and walked all the way down the hill from the Hotel Frontenac on this steep, winding cobblestone street that was just charming and so pleasant because it was no nice outside.
Dinner tonight is at 8:00 and is the “Master Chef’s Dinner”. Our dining stewards are going to sing and dance and juggle tableside as they serve a special meal created by the HAL Master Chef. It sounds like a lot of fun and one last photo opportunity!
Tomorrow we will disembark in Montreal and will have a tour of the city on our way to our hotel. We will be home Sunday around 5:00 p.m. It will certainly be fun going through all of the pictures once we get home and creating our newest album of memories.
This is our final Travelogue from this cruise. Thanks for coming along! We’ll see you soon!
Thursday, May 21, 2009 and Friday May 22, 2009
Québec City, Québec
Hello from Québec ~
We could not have asked for anything more than to have the last two days in Québec City. The weather has been 70 to 75 degrees, crystal blue skies spotted with puffy white clouds now and again and a slight breeze blowing. The weather has been gorgeous, and our time here has been just fascinating.
On Thursday, we had a leisurely morning and then had a walk and wine tasting tour in the afternoon just after lunch. There were only about 28 of us on this tour. We boarded our motor coach and headed east out of Québec City to Montmorency Falls, a beautiful river and huge water falls almost right alongside the highway. There are several smaller falls along the hillside before you reach the “big” ones where the gushing white winter snow melt is crashing over the falls and creating a huge mist as they reach the bottom of the falls and crash into the river below. We thought the view was just spectacular – but we were in for even more of a treat at our next destination – Canyon Ste. Anne. Both of these falls are taller than Niagara Falls – but, not as wide.
We disembarked our bus and walked down a path about a quarter of a mile to our “first” suspension bridge. The river was rushing in front of us and across the river was a very sturdy suspension bridge made of large steel cables and two inch thick planks to walk across. Below us the river fell down through the canyon, white water splashing and pounding over the rocks below into a deep canyon below where we could see two more suspension bridges, each at a lower level than the first one. We continued along the path to the second suspension bridge through the beautiful evergreen forest thick with moss ladened trees and thick undergrowth of ferns. There were several sets of wooden steps to climb down to reach the second suspension bridge. As we reached that point, we couldn’t help but notice the natural rainbow that was forming through the mist. With the white waters below and the beautiful green forest surrounding it, it was truly an incredible sight. We chose not to climb down the canyon as far as the third suspension bridge. We had been told that it was not as sturdy as the other two and felt we seeing it was good enough. We climbed up the hill from where our trek began up a wooden stairway where every so often there was a viewing platform and benches to rest on before you climbed further. The views kept getting more and more spectacular as we eventually reached the top. Needless to say, we really enjoyed our water once we got back to the concession stand!
From there, we went across the Ste. Lawrence River over to the Isle of Orleans. There we visited a small vineyard where the owner showed us the entire process of his winery and then to the best part – wine tasting! They really only make four wines – rouge – blanc and rose. But, they also make an aperitif wine that we both thought was quite nice, and so we purchased a bottle of that. We hope you will all come to enjoy it with us when we return home!
Last night we finished the last jigsaw puzzle and it appears they are not going to put out another one for us to start as the table is bare today. We thoroughly enjoyed working on those puzzles during this cruise in the evenings before dinner and have met many interesting people.
This morning we again had a leisurely morning and came back after breakfast and started our packing as we have to have our suitcases out in the hall tonight for disembarkation in Montreal tomorrow morning. One nice thing about Holland America is that they allow you to stay in your stateroom until your number and color are called.
After lunch today we set off for our last tour a walking historic tour of Québec City and tea at the Hotel Frontenac. We started our tour by going through the Museum de Québec where we saw the wooden hull of a sailing vessel that had been pulled out of the remains of a pier during an icy winter hundreds of years ago. It is so interesting to see these old artifacts. What is hard to imagine is how they sailed so many miles in those small ships with so many men on board.
From the museum we walked through lower Québec City which is the “old” town with the buildings still standing from hundreds of years ago. We heard many stories about the history as we walked through the cobblestone streets up to the vernicular where we rode the tram up to the upper city. I was lucky enough to be one of the last people to board, and so I was able to take several pictures out across the Ste. Lawrence River over towards the Isle of Orleans. Being that it was such a gorgeous day, I’m really hoping my pictures will show the true beauty of the day.
Our tour guide took us past Notre Dame, the Catholic Cathedral and the Anglican Church, all standing so majestically with their tall spirals against the blue skies and white clouds with the trees in full bloom with their bright green leaves of Spring. There were some beautiful trees with a purple/red color flower on them, something similar to the cherry blossoms we saw in Newport, but a much much richer color of red. It seemed that around every corner our tour guide took us, there was another bronze statue of someone else famous to the history of Québec City, some even mounted on marble.
We enjoyed tea around 3:00 p.m. at the Hotel Frontenac where we were served in a lovely café room. We had some homemade biscotti, a cream puff and a small opera cake with layers of chocolate and raspberry filling, along with two pieces of decadent chocolate.
The tour was over at that point, and Jim and I wanted to walk around the city a bit more and do a little more shopping before we headed back to the ship. We had such a nice afternoon and walked all the way down the hill from the Hotel Frontenac on this steep, winding cobblestone street that was just charming and so pleasant because it was no nice outside.
Dinner tonight is at 8:00 and is the “Master Chef’s Dinner”. Our dining stewards are going to sing and dance and juggle tableside as they serve a special meal created by the HAL Master Chef. It sounds like a lot of fun and one last photo opportunity!
Tomorrow we will disembark in Montreal and will have a tour of the city on our way to our hotel. We will be home Sunday around 5:00 p.m. It will certainly be fun going through all of the pictures once we get home and creating our newest album of memories.
This is our final Travelogue from this cruise. Thanks for coming along! We’ll see you soon!
Travelogue #12 from Saguenay, Quebec, Canada
TRAVELOGUE
Tuesday, May 20, 2009
Saguenay, Quebec
Good morning everyone ~
This morning we glided through the Saguenay Fjord along the Saguenay River for almost two hours viewing the splendid cliffs and scenery along the way. Every once in awhile there would be an opening and a small meadow with about five homes on it surrounded by these incredibly tall granite cliffs. As we approached the end of the fjord through the Bay of Ha! Ha! (literally – that’s what it is called) to La Baie (the bay). Although we were told we were going to the town of Saguenay, it is an amalgamation of three different towns.
La Baie is set at the far end of the fjord and surrounded by beautiful hills and granite cliffs. The people were again very welcoming and happy to see us as we disembarked the ship for our tours.
Our tour on a motor coach took us out of the city of La Baie touring the countryside with views of the spring leaves blooming on the trees here and beautiful fresh colors of green everywhere. There are a lot of maple trees in this part of the area.
Our actual first stop was for lunch at a restaurant high atop a hill overlooking the Saguenay River. Again, we had an excellent meal of lunch, salad, chicken breast and garlic mashed potatoes with banana cake for dessert. The views from the outside deck of the restaurant were stunning and so picturesque. Rolling meadows and farmlands lined with birch, maple and evergreen trees were everyway you looked. Then, the river, though appearing to be calm and clear as glass, was below and we knew the water was moving quickly.
After lunch we boarded our bus for a drive out to Ste-Rose du-Nord, a quaint little area also along the Saguenay River. It appeared to be an area for picnics and those wanting to hike as there were wooden steps leading up into the forest back behind the little shops. It was quite picturesque.
Then we trekked out to a museum that is now converted into a museum. The building itself was all made of granite and had a gushing river across from it. Inside of the museum was some quite unique – an entire house that one man had hand painted every inch inside and out during the course of two years. It was primitive art (like Grandma Moses), but quite beautiful in its own right. Because we were not allowed to take pictures, there were post cards that you could purchase.
Our next stop was to another museum and “aquarium” – which sounded nice – but the aquarium was actually 50 gallon salt water tank and there was at least one fish in it. The museum was actually supposed to be history on the fjord.
The best part of the whole day was across the street from the “aquarium” where we visited a hand made soap factory. We entered and went into a room with benches like a classroom set up. The own of the factory then began to speak and was by far, quite a comedian. He spoke and laughed for about 15 minutes. We wished we could have had more time there because he was really fascinating and learning how he made his special soaps and what each one for particularly for was hilarious. It was quite enjoyable and a wonderful way to end our day.
Our last formal night was last night and it was surf and turf night. We enjoyed a small filet mignon and lobster tail. The specialty dessert was from Chef Rudy who gave us a delectable tiny square of rich chocolate cake topped with a creamy dollop of chocolate mouse and on top of that was a molded white chocolate crest with his name written on it and cherries on the side (almost like a cherries jubilee. There was a small sugar form on top of the cherries in the shape of a swan swimming in a swirl of whipped cream.
We sailed out of Saguenay at 8:00 p.m. last night on our way to Quebec City, Quebec. At 10:30 last night the culinary staff put on a chocolate dessert “extravaganza” complete with ice sculptures turning with colored lights shining on them, platter after platter of chocolate dipped strawberries, martini glasses full of rich chocolate mouse and topped with a fresh strawberry fanned out, cheesecakes and black forest cakes, pies and even some marzipan; and of course, white and dark chocolate fountains for dipping fresh fruit and homemade marshmallows. Everything was on tables surrounding three sides of the large pool on the Lido Deck atop the ship. There were several pieces of “art” made out of bread dough and solid chocolate figures of animals and an Eiffel Tower made out of white chocolate.
Sailing the Saint Lawrence has been smooth and quite pleasant. Tomorrow the temperature in Quebec City is supposed to be warmer – 75 degrees and the forecast is for clear skies. It should be a beautiful day. We will be there overnight tomorrow and will sail for Montreal on Friday where our cruise will finally come to an end.
Tuesday, May 20, 2009
Saguenay, Quebec
Good morning everyone ~
This morning we glided through the Saguenay Fjord along the Saguenay River for almost two hours viewing the splendid cliffs and scenery along the way. Every once in awhile there would be an opening and a small meadow with about five homes on it surrounded by these incredibly tall granite cliffs. As we approached the end of the fjord through the Bay of Ha! Ha! (literally – that’s what it is called) to La Baie (the bay). Although we were told we were going to the town of Saguenay, it is an amalgamation of three different towns.
La Baie is set at the far end of the fjord and surrounded by beautiful hills and granite cliffs. The people were again very welcoming and happy to see us as we disembarked the ship for our tours.
Our tour on a motor coach took us out of the city of La Baie touring the countryside with views of the spring leaves blooming on the trees here and beautiful fresh colors of green everywhere. There are a lot of maple trees in this part of the area.
Our actual first stop was for lunch at a restaurant high atop a hill overlooking the Saguenay River. Again, we had an excellent meal of lunch, salad, chicken breast and garlic mashed potatoes with banana cake for dessert. The views from the outside deck of the restaurant were stunning and so picturesque. Rolling meadows and farmlands lined with birch, maple and evergreen trees were everyway you looked. Then, the river, though appearing to be calm and clear as glass, was below and we knew the water was moving quickly.
After lunch we boarded our bus for a drive out to Ste-Rose du-Nord, a quaint little area also along the Saguenay River. It appeared to be an area for picnics and those wanting to hike as there were wooden steps leading up into the forest back behind the little shops. It was quite picturesque.
Then we trekked out to a museum that is now converted into a museum. The building itself was all made of granite and had a gushing river across from it. Inside of the museum was some quite unique – an entire house that one man had hand painted every inch inside and out during the course of two years. It was primitive art (like Grandma Moses), but quite beautiful in its own right. Because we were not allowed to take pictures, there were post cards that you could purchase.
Our next stop was to another museum and “aquarium” – which sounded nice – but the aquarium was actually 50 gallon salt water tank and there was at least one fish in it. The museum was actually supposed to be history on the fjord.
The best part of the whole day was across the street from the “aquarium” where we visited a hand made soap factory. We entered and went into a room with benches like a classroom set up. The own of the factory then began to speak and was by far, quite a comedian. He spoke and laughed for about 15 minutes. We wished we could have had more time there because he was really fascinating and learning how he made his special soaps and what each one for particularly for was hilarious. It was quite enjoyable and a wonderful way to end our day.
Our last formal night was last night and it was surf and turf night. We enjoyed a small filet mignon and lobster tail. The specialty dessert was from Chef Rudy who gave us a delectable tiny square of rich chocolate cake topped with a creamy dollop of chocolate mouse and on top of that was a molded white chocolate crest with his name written on it and cherries on the side (almost like a cherries jubilee. There was a small sugar form on top of the cherries in the shape of a swan swimming in a swirl of whipped cream.
We sailed out of Saguenay at 8:00 p.m. last night on our way to Quebec City, Quebec. At 10:30 last night the culinary staff put on a chocolate dessert “extravaganza” complete with ice sculptures turning with colored lights shining on them, platter after platter of chocolate dipped strawberries, martini glasses full of rich chocolate mouse and topped with a fresh strawberry fanned out, cheesecakes and black forest cakes, pies and even some marzipan; and of course, white and dark chocolate fountains for dipping fresh fruit and homemade marshmallows. Everything was on tables surrounding three sides of the large pool on the Lido Deck atop the ship. There were several pieces of “art” made out of bread dough and solid chocolate figures of animals and an Eiffel Tower made out of white chocolate.
Sailing the Saint Lawrence has been smooth and quite pleasant. Tomorrow the temperature in Quebec City is supposed to be warmer – 75 degrees and the forecast is for clear skies. It should be a beautiful day. We will be there overnight tomorrow and will sail for Montreal on Friday where our cruise will finally come to an end.
Travelogue #11 from Sept Illes, Quebec, Canada
TRAVELOGUE
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sept Illes, Quebec
What an exciting morning we had today! As we approached the small town of Sept Illes, Quebec, we were preceded by a tug boat spraying water high into the air and on either side of the ship there were small boats following along as we approached the harbor along with the huge Coast Guard tug as well. The MS Maasdam is the first international cruise ship to ever call on the small port of Sept Illes, Quebec, and I think the whole town showed up at the pier to greet and welcome us. There were news cameras everywhere, the mayor was there shaking everyone’s hands as we got off the tenders, and the entire dock was lined with people so happy to see us and shaking hands with everyone. When we got into the visitor’s tent, we were all given cloth bags from Sept Illes with some tourist information inside. Several of us were “interviewed” by TV stations. There were helicopters hovering above taking pictures of the ship in the harbor.
Our tour today was 7 ½ hours on a motor coach out through miles and miles and miles of highway flanked on either side by thick, dense forests of evergreens and birch trees that were still barren from the cold. The highway followed along the north shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Every now and then an opening would appear through the trees and the views would be of gushing white water rapids in a river headed towards the St. Lawrence or views of the St. Lawrence beaches and coastline. It was spectacular scenery along the coastline. The sandy beaches extend for long distances and then there will be rocks and cliffs jutting out, then back to sandy beaches.
We visited a lighthouse after being on the road for about two hours (100 miles). It is called Le phare de Pointe-des-Monts. It is on a point of land that juts out into the St. Lawrence Seaway and narrows the channel between the north and the south shores. It is built on massive granite rocks and there are three black canons mounted along the waters' edge for protection back in the day. It is a stunning location with the river and the rocks. The lighthouse has seven floors and the lighthouse keeper and his family used to live inside the lighthouse. The kitchen was on the first floor, then the bedrooms were on floors 2-6 and on the top was the lighthouse keepers “office”. Jim climbed up the narrow winding red steps to the top and said the view was spectacular. We were shown a 20 minute film about the lighthouse and were greeted by four employees all decked out in the nautical uniforms, again, so welcoming and friendly to all of us. In the house that was built to shelter the stranded, ship wreck passengers, they have turned it into a hotel with a lovely restaurant. The chef was there – white hat and all – serving us delicate crackers with a mouth watering shrimp dip and warm coffee all served on china and silver.
From the lighthouse we re-traced our route a bit back to a Ship Wreck Interpretation Center where we were greeted again very warmly. We saw a 20 minute film on the shipwrecks of the area and one in particular where a gentleman was pulling in his anchor one evening after being out fishing and it caught on something. There, 100 yards off of HIS own property was the shipwreck on a boat from 1690 that had never been found. There is now a nice building across the street from the Interpretation Center where many of the original artifacts are kept under glass. They recovered muskets, bottles, pewter serving dishes and numerous other items and have built this museum for that specifically.
After the Interpretation Center, we were driven to lunch at Resto-Pub Le Remous in a little community of Port-Cartier (pronounced Po – caw – ti) where we were again warmly welcomed and served a delicious lunch with a view alongside some beautiful waterfalls and white water river. We had vegetable soup; a choice of main course of either cannelloni, chicken kabob or a fish dish. All meals were served on large oval plates with more food than we could eat. And the triple chocolate cake with strawberries on top was our heavenly dessert. While we were there eating, the mayor of Port-Cartier came over and greeted us and told our tour guide she had something for each of us. So after lunch we stopped by the mayor’s office and they gave us all a canvas bag with all sorts of visitor information inside, a special pin and a pen. What was funny was that all of the information is in French. We can’t read a line of it! Pretty pictures though! And, quite thoughtful to do that for us at any rate.
Once we left Port Cartier we headed towards an actual shipwreck of the Lady Hera from 1977. The steel hull steam ship ran aground on the rocks right off the coast and the wreckage is still there for all to see. It was very interesting. Everything has been removed from the boat, except the boat which cannot be moved.
While driving back into town at the end of the day, we made another stop at another museum where a pulp mill once was and an old steam engine was out front on display representing the railroad taking the pulp back to the town when it was a functioning mill.
We passed several churches, but one thing became evidently clear to us – this is a poverished area. The homes are all small and appear to be track-type homes built very close together. Their largest store is Wal-Mart. Their main industry is the aluminum and iron plants over on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.
Our day was topped off with a wonderful dinner at The Pinnacle Grill Steak House last night on ship. We had reservations for 7:30 so we could watch the sunset. We had a window table and it was so enjoyable to sit and watch this gorgeous sunset that unfolded before our eyes with the sun dropping in the west and the skies brightening to a shocking pink.
It was an enjoyable day. Tomorrow we will sail up the Saguenay River through the fjords to Sageunay, Quebec where we will spend our day.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sept Illes, Quebec
What an exciting morning we had today! As we approached the small town of Sept Illes, Quebec, we were preceded by a tug boat spraying water high into the air and on either side of the ship there were small boats following along as we approached the harbor along with the huge Coast Guard tug as well. The MS Maasdam is the first international cruise ship to ever call on the small port of Sept Illes, Quebec, and I think the whole town showed up at the pier to greet and welcome us. There were news cameras everywhere, the mayor was there shaking everyone’s hands as we got off the tenders, and the entire dock was lined with people so happy to see us and shaking hands with everyone. When we got into the visitor’s tent, we were all given cloth bags from Sept Illes with some tourist information inside. Several of us were “interviewed” by TV stations. There were helicopters hovering above taking pictures of the ship in the harbor.
Our tour today was 7 ½ hours on a motor coach out through miles and miles and miles of highway flanked on either side by thick, dense forests of evergreens and birch trees that were still barren from the cold. The highway followed along the north shore of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Every now and then an opening would appear through the trees and the views would be of gushing white water rapids in a river headed towards the St. Lawrence or views of the St. Lawrence beaches and coastline. It was spectacular scenery along the coastline. The sandy beaches extend for long distances and then there will be rocks and cliffs jutting out, then back to sandy beaches.
We visited a lighthouse after being on the road for about two hours (100 miles). It is called Le phare de Pointe-des-Monts. It is on a point of land that juts out into the St. Lawrence Seaway and narrows the channel between the north and the south shores. It is built on massive granite rocks and there are three black canons mounted along the waters' edge for protection back in the day. It is a stunning location with the river and the rocks. The lighthouse has seven floors and the lighthouse keeper and his family used to live inside the lighthouse. The kitchen was on the first floor, then the bedrooms were on floors 2-6 and on the top was the lighthouse keepers “office”. Jim climbed up the narrow winding red steps to the top and said the view was spectacular. We were shown a 20 minute film about the lighthouse and were greeted by four employees all decked out in the nautical uniforms, again, so welcoming and friendly to all of us. In the house that was built to shelter the stranded, ship wreck passengers, they have turned it into a hotel with a lovely restaurant. The chef was there – white hat and all – serving us delicate crackers with a mouth watering shrimp dip and warm coffee all served on china and silver.
From the lighthouse we re-traced our route a bit back to a Ship Wreck Interpretation Center where we were greeted again very warmly. We saw a 20 minute film on the shipwrecks of the area and one in particular where a gentleman was pulling in his anchor one evening after being out fishing and it caught on something. There, 100 yards off of HIS own property was the shipwreck on a boat from 1690 that had never been found. There is now a nice building across the street from the Interpretation Center where many of the original artifacts are kept under glass. They recovered muskets, bottles, pewter serving dishes and numerous other items and have built this museum for that specifically.
After the Interpretation Center, we were driven to lunch at Resto-Pub Le Remous in a little community of Port-Cartier (pronounced Po – caw – ti) where we were again warmly welcomed and served a delicious lunch with a view alongside some beautiful waterfalls and white water river. We had vegetable soup; a choice of main course of either cannelloni, chicken kabob or a fish dish. All meals were served on large oval plates with more food than we could eat. And the triple chocolate cake with strawberries on top was our heavenly dessert. While we were there eating, the mayor of Port-Cartier came over and greeted us and told our tour guide she had something for each of us. So after lunch we stopped by the mayor’s office and they gave us all a canvas bag with all sorts of visitor information inside, a special pin and a pen. What was funny was that all of the information is in French. We can’t read a line of it! Pretty pictures though! And, quite thoughtful to do that for us at any rate.
Once we left Port Cartier we headed towards an actual shipwreck of the Lady Hera from 1977. The steel hull steam ship ran aground on the rocks right off the coast and the wreckage is still there for all to see. It was very interesting. Everything has been removed from the boat, except the boat which cannot be moved.
While driving back into town at the end of the day, we made another stop at another museum where a pulp mill once was and an old steam engine was out front on display representing the railroad taking the pulp back to the town when it was a functioning mill.
We passed several churches, but one thing became evidently clear to us – this is a poverished area. The homes are all small and appear to be track-type homes built very close together. Their largest store is Wal-Mart. Their main industry is the aluminum and iron plants over on the south shore of the St. Lawrence.
Our day was topped off with a wonderful dinner at The Pinnacle Grill Steak House last night on ship. We had reservations for 7:30 so we could watch the sunset. We had a window table and it was so enjoyable to sit and watch this gorgeous sunset that unfolded before our eyes with the sun dropping in the west and the skies brightening to a shocking pink.
It was an enjoyable day. Tomorrow we will sail up the Saguenay River through the fjords to Sageunay, Quebec where we will spend our day.
Travelogue #10 from Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
Monday, May 18, 2009
Gaspé, Quebec, Canada
This was not a good day. I can summarize it by quoting one of the ladies on our whale watching tour today “This ranks right up there with having a root canal”. And so it was… That really was a pretty good description of how bad it actually was.
After they were 45 minutes late clearing us for customs and immigration, we had to take a tender into shore. I should have gotten the clue then that we were in for a rotten day – but I had great hope! What a fool!! Once we got off the tender, we were directed to a school bus and they said it would be a 45 minute ride over to where we would catch the whale watching boat. That was another clue that I missed…
AND, we did not realize we were going to be in an open zodiac boat. We did dress warmly, but not for that type of excursion. Had I realized what it was, I don’t think I would have made the choice at this time of year in this place. And, I don’t think that the other people on the tour realized it either because of the way they were dressed. When we got on the bus the tour guides looked at us and said they hoped we had warmer clothes to put on –but we were going to all get yellow rain coats to help keep us dry. Another clue – whoops!
Not one person on the tour had brought a lunch; and we did not leave the ship until after 10:30 – so none of us got lunch. And, we didn’t get back to the dock to take the tender until 3:00 pm.
The whale watch was unsuccessful on several levels, the worst being the captain pushed the limits when he could not find any whales in the Gaspé harbor and went far out into the ocean where the seas kicked up and the winds became stronger and everyone on the open zodiac got soaked to the bones in the frigid waters. One of the older women on the boat (late 70’s) was shaking so bad that she couldn’t move and they had to pick her up and move her to the front of the boat where it was more protected. We were all really concerned about her and afraid of hypothermia. At that point, the captain who was nice and warm and protected up in his little cabin, finally was told by the tour guide to give up his jacket for this poor woman. She only had sandals with socks on too! So, I know she didn’t know about the open boat. Every person on board was soaked to the bone and freezing cold. It took us hours to warm up after we got back on the ship.
As hard as I tried to keep my camera from getting wet, unfortunately I did not succeed; and it is now not working. We went down to the photo studio onboard the ship and they told me to take out the battery and the memory card and open as much of it as I could and let it sit overnight – and pray! So, we have purchased a throw-away camera for tomorrow in case that does not work. I am just sick about it. At least I’ve been uploading my pictures every day, so I didn’t lose any pictures – but – this just sucks.
Yes, I’ve already had my pity party for one and had my breakdown and a good stiff drink. We are back to the room early tonight and our wet clothes are spread out all over everywhere trying to get them to dry – it will take a couple of days I think. Jim is already in bed snoring and I’ll be there after I finish this.
Tomorrow will be a better day – no more zodiacs for us!! We are in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence now and on our way to a small town called Sept’ Illes.
Gaspé, Quebec, Canada
This was not a good day. I can summarize it by quoting one of the ladies on our whale watching tour today “This ranks right up there with having a root canal”. And so it was… That really was a pretty good description of how bad it actually was.
After they were 45 minutes late clearing us for customs and immigration, we had to take a tender into shore. I should have gotten the clue then that we were in for a rotten day – but I had great hope! What a fool!! Once we got off the tender, we were directed to a school bus and they said it would be a 45 minute ride over to where we would catch the whale watching boat. That was another clue that I missed…
AND, we did not realize we were going to be in an open zodiac boat. We did dress warmly, but not for that type of excursion. Had I realized what it was, I don’t think I would have made the choice at this time of year in this place. And, I don’t think that the other people on the tour realized it either because of the way they were dressed. When we got on the bus the tour guides looked at us and said they hoped we had warmer clothes to put on –but we were going to all get yellow rain coats to help keep us dry. Another clue – whoops!
Not one person on the tour had brought a lunch; and we did not leave the ship until after 10:30 – so none of us got lunch. And, we didn’t get back to the dock to take the tender until 3:00 pm.
The whale watch was unsuccessful on several levels, the worst being the captain pushed the limits when he could not find any whales in the Gaspé harbor and went far out into the ocean where the seas kicked up and the winds became stronger and everyone on the open zodiac got soaked to the bones in the frigid waters. One of the older women on the boat (late 70’s) was shaking so bad that she couldn’t move and they had to pick her up and move her to the front of the boat where it was more protected. We were all really concerned about her and afraid of hypothermia. At that point, the captain who was nice and warm and protected up in his little cabin, finally was told by the tour guide to give up his jacket for this poor woman. She only had sandals with socks on too! So, I know she didn’t know about the open boat. Every person on board was soaked to the bone and freezing cold. It took us hours to warm up after we got back on the ship.
As hard as I tried to keep my camera from getting wet, unfortunately I did not succeed; and it is now not working. We went down to the photo studio onboard the ship and they told me to take out the battery and the memory card and open as much of it as I could and let it sit overnight – and pray! So, we have purchased a throw-away camera for tomorrow in case that does not work. I am just sick about it. At least I’ve been uploading my pictures every day, so I didn’t lose any pictures – but – this just sucks.
Yes, I’ve already had my pity party for one and had my breakdown and a good stiff drink. We are back to the room early tonight and our wet clothes are spread out all over everywhere trying to get them to dry – it will take a couple of days I think. Jim is already in bed snoring and I’ll be there after I finish this.
Tomorrow will be a better day – no more zodiacs for us!! We are in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence now and on our way to a small town called Sept’ Illes.
Travelogue #9 from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
TRAVELOGUE
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Greetings from Prince Edward Island in Canada~
This morning we glided into Charlottetown harbor past the northern tip of Cape Breton Island into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence with Prince Edward Island on one side and Cape Breton on the other. You could not help but notice the ragged, red clay cliffs that dropped to the ocean below, waves crashing against them and gorgeous homes on top of the bluffs. The homes here are not as colorful as we have seen in the past two cities we visited, but they are majestic with their sprawling green lawns and sitting amongst the middle all alone on several acres of land. It was a brisk 57 degrees with cloudy skies with winds blowing about 25 to 30 knots, Jim says.
As we came into the Charlottetown Harbor early this morning, we passed four lighthouses – one was even a “sister” set – and I immediately realized that they must get a tremendous amount of fog here to justify having that many lighthouses in such a short stretch of land. One was tall, two were shorter and appeared to be octagonal and one was more like the Old Point Loma Lighthouse looking more like a home. All of the beacons were lit as we went past them, though there did not appear to be any fog at that time. We were told later in the day that there are over 35 lighthouses around Prince Edward Island.
Our tour today was “The Islands Finest, Lobster and Green Gables”. As has been the case in all of our other tours on this trip, we boarded the motor coach and headed out of town. Today, it was hard to believe you were actually on an island. We drove over miles and miles and miles of rolling hills. Somewhere in the middle, about an hour away from port, we pulled into what used to be an old butter factory – dating back to the early 1900’s. The current owners refurbished it and re-opened it as The Prince Edward Island Preserve Company. It is now an island landmark known for its delicious lobster and mouth watering preserves – many of which are made with either champagne or Gran Marnier.
Our lobster lunch was simply delicious. The whole lobster was served with a scoop of potato salad and also a scoop of coleslaw after the warm curry lentil soup and fresh biscuit we were given as an appetizer. The meal was topped off with a delectable delight of raspberry cream cheese pie. I don’t know which part of the meal was better – it was all so good. To make it even better, we had a table along the window overlooking the river and the rolling hills beyond. The hills either are green with yellow dandelions blooming for acres and acres or tilled rich red dirt, ready and primed for planting next week. Each parcel of land is divided by rows of beautiful cedar and birch trees. This landscape is distinctive because of all of the colors and rolling hills. I cannot get over the feeling that this is a “simpler” lifestyle than the hustle and bustle of city life back home.
Our next stop after lunch was The House Anne of Green Gables. Of course, the story was fiction, but the author wrote of actual places here on Prince Edward Island – one of which was her Grandparents home in a small town called Cavendish. The setting is serene atop a hill overlooking the rolling hills of the island and in the distance, the north shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The home is completely refurbished as it was described in the book. There is a buggy out front that would have been used to travel in. Every room in the house was wallpapered with rather large floral prints and quite bright colors (greens and burgundy red) with a large patterned forest green and white carpeting on the floor in the living room. The rooms were all small (maybe 10 X 10) from the living room to the bedrooms which could only have a bed and a small dresser and maybe a wooden chair in the corner.
Once we finished there, the bus toured on around the island up to the north shore. Our tour guide, Ted, explained to us that in the winter, Charlottetown will have up to ten feet of snow on the ground; the temperature is well below zero; and the waters surrounding the island freeze over completely out 100 miles into the ocean. Ted explained that their main source of income is from the seafood (lobster, crab, shrimp, mussels, halibut, etc) and then tourism - there are countless cottages one can rent for a week or month in the summer that overlooks the ocean. Thousands of people come here in the summer because the high temperature is 80 degrees and the temperature of the ocean is 70 degrees – the next warmest water to Florida in the summer. Many of the beaches are sweeping sand swept sand dune type looking beaches; and then the other side of the island, there are red clay cliffs. There is quite a drastic difference from one side of the island to the other.
The trees and flowers are not quite blooming here yet, but they are budding – I can only imagine how spectacular everything will be here once it is in full bloom. I am looking out from our balcony on board the ship and it has just started to lightly rain. The hill in front of me rises only about 30 or 40 feet. There is one street that goes straight up the hill; it is damp with rain and grey and cloudy above. At the top of the hill, the trees look like something we might have all painted when we were young with an “umbrella” type shape on top and all rounded. Some of them are still barren from the winter, and others are different shades of green. The trees line the street going up the hill and then across the horizon, all I see are these umbrella tree tops with an occasional church steeple rising through the trees. In front of the trees, along the waterfront, are a few streets lined with two-story homes. What is unique about this is that it is the back of the homes I am seeing, not the front. There are small windows like a tall rectangle bedroom window and a single solid door on the rear of the house with a small overhang of a porch and a narrow set of steps going up to the back door. So, even though these homes have a view of the dock and the waterfront, they are not taking advantage of that – instead, they are facing the hill and the beautiful trees.
We will be leaving port soon and heading out into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence to a little town called Gaspé. Tonight it is another formal night with a Black & White Officers Ball.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Greetings from Prince Edward Island in Canada~
This morning we glided into Charlottetown harbor past the northern tip of Cape Breton Island into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence with Prince Edward Island on one side and Cape Breton on the other. You could not help but notice the ragged, red clay cliffs that dropped to the ocean below, waves crashing against them and gorgeous homes on top of the bluffs. The homes here are not as colorful as we have seen in the past two cities we visited, but they are majestic with their sprawling green lawns and sitting amongst the middle all alone on several acres of land. It was a brisk 57 degrees with cloudy skies with winds blowing about 25 to 30 knots, Jim says.
As we came into the Charlottetown Harbor early this morning, we passed four lighthouses – one was even a “sister” set – and I immediately realized that they must get a tremendous amount of fog here to justify having that many lighthouses in such a short stretch of land. One was tall, two were shorter and appeared to be octagonal and one was more like the Old Point Loma Lighthouse looking more like a home. All of the beacons were lit as we went past them, though there did not appear to be any fog at that time. We were told later in the day that there are over 35 lighthouses around Prince Edward Island.
Our tour today was “The Islands Finest, Lobster and Green Gables”. As has been the case in all of our other tours on this trip, we boarded the motor coach and headed out of town. Today, it was hard to believe you were actually on an island. We drove over miles and miles and miles of rolling hills. Somewhere in the middle, about an hour away from port, we pulled into what used to be an old butter factory – dating back to the early 1900’s. The current owners refurbished it and re-opened it as The Prince Edward Island Preserve Company. It is now an island landmark known for its delicious lobster and mouth watering preserves – many of which are made with either champagne or Gran Marnier.
Our lobster lunch was simply delicious. The whole lobster was served with a scoop of potato salad and also a scoop of coleslaw after the warm curry lentil soup and fresh biscuit we were given as an appetizer. The meal was topped off with a delectable delight of raspberry cream cheese pie. I don’t know which part of the meal was better – it was all so good. To make it even better, we had a table along the window overlooking the river and the rolling hills beyond. The hills either are green with yellow dandelions blooming for acres and acres or tilled rich red dirt, ready and primed for planting next week. Each parcel of land is divided by rows of beautiful cedar and birch trees. This landscape is distinctive because of all of the colors and rolling hills. I cannot get over the feeling that this is a “simpler” lifestyle than the hustle and bustle of city life back home.
Our next stop after lunch was The House Anne of Green Gables. Of course, the story was fiction, but the author wrote of actual places here on Prince Edward Island – one of which was her Grandparents home in a small town called Cavendish. The setting is serene atop a hill overlooking the rolling hills of the island and in the distance, the north shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The home is completely refurbished as it was described in the book. There is a buggy out front that would have been used to travel in. Every room in the house was wallpapered with rather large floral prints and quite bright colors (greens and burgundy red) with a large patterned forest green and white carpeting on the floor in the living room. The rooms were all small (maybe 10 X 10) from the living room to the bedrooms which could only have a bed and a small dresser and maybe a wooden chair in the corner.
Once we finished there, the bus toured on around the island up to the north shore. Our tour guide, Ted, explained to us that in the winter, Charlottetown will have up to ten feet of snow on the ground; the temperature is well below zero; and the waters surrounding the island freeze over completely out 100 miles into the ocean. Ted explained that their main source of income is from the seafood (lobster, crab, shrimp, mussels, halibut, etc) and then tourism - there are countless cottages one can rent for a week or month in the summer that overlooks the ocean. Thousands of people come here in the summer because the high temperature is 80 degrees and the temperature of the ocean is 70 degrees – the next warmest water to Florida in the summer. Many of the beaches are sweeping sand swept sand dune type looking beaches; and then the other side of the island, there are red clay cliffs. There is quite a drastic difference from one side of the island to the other.
The trees and flowers are not quite blooming here yet, but they are budding – I can only imagine how spectacular everything will be here once it is in full bloom. I am looking out from our balcony on board the ship and it has just started to lightly rain. The hill in front of me rises only about 30 or 40 feet. There is one street that goes straight up the hill; it is damp with rain and grey and cloudy above. At the top of the hill, the trees look like something we might have all painted when we were young with an “umbrella” type shape on top and all rounded. Some of them are still barren from the winter, and others are different shades of green. The trees line the street going up the hill and then across the horizon, all I see are these umbrella tree tops with an occasional church steeple rising through the trees. In front of the trees, along the waterfront, are a few streets lined with two-story homes. What is unique about this is that it is the back of the homes I am seeing, not the front. There are small windows like a tall rectangle bedroom window and a single solid door on the rear of the house with a small overhang of a porch and a narrow set of steps going up to the back door. So, even though these homes have a view of the dock and the waterfront, they are not taking advantage of that – instead, they are facing the hill and the beautiful trees.
We will be leaving port soon and heading out into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence to a little town called Gaspé. Tonight it is another formal night with a Black & White Officers Ball.
Travelogue #8 from Sydney, Nova Scotia
TRAVELOGUE
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Hello from Sydney, Nova Scotia ~
Well, our weather could not have been more perfect today. It is about 60 degrees outside and completely clear skies with no winds. Can it get better than this?
We’ve had a wonderful day here – but as we are leaving port right now, we are being serenaded by what sounds like our sixth grade band with Brunhilda singing. It is actually a group of quite elderly men and one woman. Her voice is not only off key but it is piercing to the ear. Even with our cabin door closed, you can still hear her screeching tones and the drums pounding. It gave us all a good laugh if nothing else. She made an announcement that was was not going to sing her “a capella” song, and we were all thankful.
Today our tour was of a place called Baddeck – a small community about 1 ¼ hours outside of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia. As has been the case in most of our tours on this trip – the journey getting there has been as much fun and just as interesting as the destination. Baddeck is where Alexander Graham Bell worked on some of his ost famous inventions, including the hydrofoil (which the original one is actually in the museum). It was quite interesting and informative. We were at the museum for a little over an hour. Then, they took us into the town of Baddeck, which is one street about a city block long. Again, as in the other Canadian towns we have visited, the homes all face the water – so everyone has a view. There was a quaint lighthouse just off shore and in the far distance we could see the small “cottage” that Alexander Graham Bell built for his family – a rather small, modest 10,000 square foot home on a bluff overlooking the beautiful waters of Bras D’Or Lake (pronounced “bra – door”) and the Nova Scotia countryside dotted with farm houses and unbelievable landscapes. As we left the museum, the driver and tour guide took us past an area along the shore of the lake where there is a statue of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife sitting on a park bench, looking across the lake at their home on the bluff on the hill.
On the road out to the Bell Museum, we passed numerous fresh water lakes. What was interesting about Bras D’Or Lake was that it is part salt water and part fresh water. Because of all the rivers and streams feeding into it, it is actually at a higher level than the ocean it feeds in to; and therefore, the ocean tries to rise into the lake, but it does not succeed. The salinity in the lake is only 2% as opposed to the ocean that is 3%.
The spring colors ere just ad beautiful here in Sydney and Baddeck as everywhere along our journey this cruise. I think that here, however, the variety and colors of the tulips was much more outstanding. From the yellow/red combination to the ruffled pinks and everything in between, they are in full bloom and just stunning colors.
Many of the homes here proudly fly the Canadian flag by their front doors. Thry do not fly decorative flags as we do in the U.S.
Another thing that I’ve noticed in this part of the country is that their lighthouses are all extremely tall as opposed to the lighthouses on the California coast, many that look like little homes with a light on top. These must be at least 50 to 60 feet tall. It is definitely an indication to me that they get a tremendous amount of fog here. The lighthouses stand proudly at the entrance to most of the harbors and inlets we have sailed into; but in addition, there are many that dot the hills along the inside of the inlets – a real indication to me of the amount of fog they must get during the year.
Leaving Sydney was amazing because as we approached the Atlantic Ocean, the seas went from slightly rolling to an absolute mirror of glassy water as far as you could see. It was spectacular to look off in the distance and see small islands here and there and we just glided seamlessly through the calm waters.
Tomorrow we will be in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island – the land of Anne of Green Gables.
Until then…
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Hello from Sydney, Nova Scotia ~
Well, our weather could not have been more perfect today. It is about 60 degrees outside and completely clear skies with no winds. Can it get better than this?
We’ve had a wonderful day here – but as we are leaving port right now, we are being serenaded by what sounds like our sixth grade band with Brunhilda singing. It is actually a group of quite elderly men and one woman. Her voice is not only off key but it is piercing to the ear. Even with our cabin door closed, you can still hear her screeching tones and the drums pounding. It gave us all a good laugh if nothing else. She made an announcement that was was not going to sing her “a capella” song, and we were all thankful.
Today our tour was of a place called Baddeck – a small community about 1 ¼ hours outside of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia. As has been the case in most of our tours on this trip – the journey getting there has been as much fun and just as interesting as the destination. Baddeck is where Alexander Graham Bell worked on some of his ost famous inventions, including the hydrofoil (which the original one is actually in the museum). It was quite interesting and informative. We were at the museum for a little over an hour. Then, they took us into the town of Baddeck, which is one street about a city block long. Again, as in the other Canadian towns we have visited, the homes all face the water – so everyone has a view. There was a quaint lighthouse just off shore and in the far distance we could see the small “cottage” that Alexander Graham Bell built for his family – a rather small, modest 10,000 square foot home on a bluff overlooking the beautiful waters of Bras D’Or Lake (pronounced “bra – door”) and the Nova Scotia countryside dotted with farm houses and unbelievable landscapes. As we left the museum, the driver and tour guide took us past an area along the shore of the lake where there is a statue of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife sitting on a park bench, looking across the lake at their home on the bluff on the hill.
On the road out to the Bell Museum, we passed numerous fresh water lakes. What was interesting about Bras D’Or Lake was that it is part salt water and part fresh water. Because of all the rivers and streams feeding into it, it is actually at a higher level than the ocean it feeds in to; and therefore, the ocean tries to rise into the lake, but it does not succeed. The salinity in the lake is only 2% as opposed to the ocean that is 3%.
The spring colors ere just ad beautiful here in Sydney and Baddeck as everywhere along our journey this cruise. I think that here, however, the variety and colors of the tulips was much more outstanding. From the yellow/red combination to the ruffled pinks and everything in between, they are in full bloom and just stunning colors.
Many of the homes here proudly fly the Canadian flag by their front doors. Thry do not fly decorative flags as we do in the U.S.
Another thing that I’ve noticed in this part of the country is that their lighthouses are all extremely tall as opposed to the lighthouses on the California coast, many that look like little homes with a light on top. These must be at least 50 to 60 feet tall. It is definitely an indication to me that they get a tremendous amount of fog here. The lighthouses stand proudly at the entrance to most of the harbors and inlets we have sailed into; but in addition, there are many that dot the hills along the inside of the inlets – a real indication to me of the amount of fog they must get during the year.
Leaving Sydney was amazing because as we approached the Atlantic Ocean, the seas went from slightly rolling to an absolute mirror of glassy water as far as you could see. It was spectacular to look off in the distance and see small islands here and there and we just glided seamlessly through the calm waters.
Tomorrow we will be in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island – the land of Anne of Green Gables.
Until then…
Travelogue #7 from Halifax, Nova Scotia
TRAVELOGUE
Friday, May 15, 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Greetings from Nova Scotia!
This morning we woke to cloudy skies and drizzly weather in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As the Maasdam pulled into port and tied up at the pier, a group of four bagpipers all dressed in formal Scottish kilts were giving our ship the “traditional” welcome to Nova Scotia by playing the bagpipes for about half an hour right alongside the pier.
This was, so far, our most colorful port of call – but not what you think . Our bus tour began early this morning at 8:30 a.m. We boarded the motor coach along with twenty some other people with our tour guide Joe McSweeney. We chose this particular tour because we have visited Halifax twice before and really had seen the city of Halifax; so we wanted to see some of the countryside this time – and that is exactly what we did. As we left the city proper and headed out, we were almost immediately in a heavily wooded area on both sides of the highway, with pines and birch trees so thick you could not see further in than about 20 feet from the road. Every so often, there would be a small, fresh water lake or stream on one side of the bus or the other. We continued like this for about an hour and a quarter until we reached our first stop of Mahone Bay.
Mahone Bay is known for being a land of wooden boats and wooden churches. There are gorgeous old Victorian homes along the waterfront with fabulous views of the bay. What was so striking about the homes was that even though winter had just finished here (average temperature in the winter is about 32 degrees), they all looked like they had been freshly painted. Each of the homes is painted a different vibrant and strikingly bright color, generally with white trim and shutters. There were pink, purple, yellow, orange, bright green and bright blue homes. There are several theories as to why the homes are all painted different colors – one is that the homes each match the color of the fishermen’s fishing boats – another is that after coming back from being a sea fishing for several days, the fishermen wanted to be able to know exactly which home was theirs – thus the different bright colors. No one really knows the true answer. But colorful they are!!
From Mahone Bay, our bus continued along the curvy coastal route to Lunenburg. The homes in Lunenburg are just as colorful as the ones in Mahone Bay. The only difference is that Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the restored buildings. Lunenburg is on a hill and at the top of the hill is the Lunenberg Academy – a huge Victorian style building painted white with burgundy red trim and roof – now an elementary school. From there, Joe took us on a walk down the hill past many of the old historical homes and churches. Here, again as in Mahone Bay, we found the bright colorful homes that all looked like they had just been painted. The homes all have large yards and there are no fences anywhere. The lawns are all thick green grass that is meticulously manicured and they all have dandelions blooming throughout. The landscaping consists mostly of azaleas, which are in full bloom right now with vibrant colors of magenta and bright pink.
The one bush that was the most fascinating for us today was the “pink magnolia”. Never before have we ever seen a magnolia “bush” much less one with pink magnolia blossoms blanketing every branch. The flowers are about one-quarter the size of a magnolia blossom on a magnolia tree like we saw in Charleston. They are so beautiful, and put them next to the azaleas – oh my gosh what a burst of color! This place looks just like a constant Thomas Kinkade painting!
Once we finally got to the bottom of the hill with Joe, we were set loose to go explore on our own. Jim and I found The Dockside Restaurant and went in for a lunch. We each had a bowl of Lunenburg’s Famous Seafood Chowder – which was similar to a New England red chowder, but so full of seafood that the cup was about ¾ full with chopped seafood and ¼ liquid. Then, we split a lobster sandwich. Our tummies being full at that point, we took off to go explore some of the shops around the dock area.
We ended our walk in Lunenburg at the Fisheries Museum of Lunenburg and aquarium. Jim went through the museum while I looked through all of the maps and books that were on display. I wanted to figure out where exactly we were and where we were headed to next. It is difficult to understand where you are, when you are sitting on a bus watching the world go by one curve after another.
The bays are full of wooden boats, tall masted sailing ships and well-seasoned fishing vessels as well as old, rusted tug boats. The homes seem to be quite close to the water, and most all of them have a view of the water and have large front porches with Adirondack chairs on them for just sitting there on a summer day with a glass of homemade lemonade and watching the tourists admire them. You could almost smell the coffee brewing early in the morning and the bacon sizzling on the stove as another day begins. There are only about two thousand residents in each of these towns and not much industry – so it is mostly a retirement community now. In fact, we passed several fabulous looking retirement complexes during the day.
As we sailed out of Halifax this afternoon, a light, misty rain was falling, but the seas were relatively calm. We went up to the Crow’s Nest to take in the view from there as we headed out to sea. Along the coastline, you could not help but notice the rather large (probably 10,000 square feet at least) homes that dotted the coast line. The fog was coming in and the ships’ horn would blast every minute or so as a warning that the Maasdam was under way.
After dinner tonight we went back up to the Crow’s Nest to play Name that Tune. Our team came in 4th – but not the big winners. The “participation” events on this cruise are really well attended – i.e. trivia, etc. Another jigsaw puzzle was set out today while we were on our 7 ½ hour tour – Lighthouses. We’ve already gone down and placed a few pieces today and I’m sure will do so again tomorrow.
I am going to send a few pictures to you in a separate email so that you can see some of the beautiful colors we’ve been seeing. We just wish we could share all of this beauty with all of you – and this is the only way we can do that – so…
Friday, May 15, 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Greetings from Nova Scotia!
This morning we woke to cloudy skies and drizzly weather in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As the Maasdam pulled into port and tied up at the pier, a group of four bagpipers all dressed in formal Scottish kilts were giving our ship the “traditional” welcome to Nova Scotia by playing the bagpipes for about half an hour right alongside the pier.
This was, so far, our most colorful port of call – but not what you think . Our bus tour began early this morning at 8:30 a.m. We boarded the motor coach along with twenty some other people with our tour guide Joe McSweeney. We chose this particular tour because we have visited Halifax twice before and really had seen the city of Halifax; so we wanted to see some of the countryside this time – and that is exactly what we did. As we left the city proper and headed out, we were almost immediately in a heavily wooded area on both sides of the highway, with pines and birch trees so thick you could not see further in than about 20 feet from the road. Every so often, there would be a small, fresh water lake or stream on one side of the bus or the other. We continued like this for about an hour and a quarter until we reached our first stop of Mahone Bay.
Mahone Bay is known for being a land of wooden boats and wooden churches. There are gorgeous old Victorian homes along the waterfront with fabulous views of the bay. What was so striking about the homes was that even though winter had just finished here (average temperature in the winter is about 32 degrees), they all looked like they had been freshly painted. Each of the homes is painted a different vibrant and strikingly bright color, generally with white trim and shutters. There were pink, purple, yellow, orange, bright green and bright blue homes. There are several theories as to why the homes are all painted different colors – one is that the homes each match the color of the fishermen’s fishing boats – another is that after coming back from being a sea fishing for several days, the fishermen wanted to be able to know exactly which home was theirs – thus the different bright colors. No one really knows the true answer. But colorful they are!!
From Mahone Bay, our bus continued along the curvy coastal route to Lunenburg. The homes in Lunenburg are just as colorful as the ones in Mahone Bay. The only difference is that Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the restored buildings. Lunenburg is on a hill and at the top of the hill is the Lunenberg Academy – a huge Victorian style building painted white with burgundy red trim and roof – now an elementary school. From there, Joe took us on a walk down the hill past many of the old historical homes and churches. Here, again as in Mahone Bay, we found the bright colorful homes that all looked like they had just been painted. The homes all have large yards and there are no fences anywhere. The lawns are all thick green grass that is meticulously manicured and they all have dandelions blooming throughout. The landscaping consists mostly of azaleas, which are in full bloom right now with vibrant colors of magenta and bright pink.
The one bush that was the most fascinating for us today was the “pink magnolia”. Never before have we ever seen a magnolia “bush” much less one with pink magnolia blossoms blanketing every branch. The flowers are about one-quarter the size of a magnolia blossom on a magnolia tree like we saw in Charleston. They are so beautiful, and put them next to the azaleas – oh my gosh what a burst of color! This place looks just like a constant Thomas Kinkade painting!
Once we finally got to the bottom of the hill with Joe, we were set loose to go explore on our own. Jim and I found The Dockside Restaurant and went in for a lunch. We each had a bowl of Lunenburg’s Famous Seafood Chowder – which was similar to a New England red chowder, but so full of seafood that the cup was about ¾ full with chopped seafood and ¼ liquid. Then, we split a lobster sandwich. Our tummies being full at that point, we took off to go explore some of the shops around the dock area.
We ended our walk in Lunenburg at the Fisheries Museum of Lunenburg and aquarium. Jim went through the museum while I looked through all of the maps and books that were on display. I wanted to figure out where exactly we were and where we were headed to next. It is difficult to understand where you are, when you are sitting on a bus watching the world go by one curve after another.
The bays are full of wooden boats, tall masted sailing ships and well-seasoned fishing vessels as well as old, rusted tug boats. The homes seem to be quite close to the water, and most all of them have a view of the water and have large front porches with Adirondack chairs on them for just sitting there on a summer day with a glass of homemade lemonade and watching the tourists admire them. You could almost smell the coffee brewing early in the morning and the bacon sizzling on the stove as another day begins. There are only about two thousand residents in each of these towns and not much industry – so it is mostly a retirement community now. In fact, we passed several fabulous looking retirement complexes during the day.
As we sailed out of Halifax this afternoon, a light, misty rain was falling, but the seas were relatively calm. We went up to the Crow’s Nest to take in the view from there as we headed out to sea. Along the coastline, you could not help but notice the rather large (probably 10,000 square feet at least) homes that dotted the coast line. The fog was coming in and the ships’ horn would blast every minute or so as a warning that the Maasdam was under way.
After dinner tonight we went back up to the Crow’s Nest to play Name that Tune. Our team came in 4th – but not the big winners. The “participation” events on this cruise are really well attended – i.e. trivia, etc. Another jigsaw puzzle was set out today while we were on our 7 ½ hour tour – Lighthouses. We’ve already gone down and placed a few pieces today and I’m sure will do so again tomorrow.
I am going to send a few pictures to you in a separate email so that you can see some of the beautiful colors we’ve been seeing. We just wish we could share all of this beauty with all of you – and this is the only way we can do that – so…
Travelogue #6 from Bar Harbor, Maine
TRAVELOGUE
Thursday May 14, 2009
Bar Harbor, Maine
Hello again everyone ~
We sailed into Bar Harbor, Maine around 8:00 a.m. It was a hazy day in Bar Harbor, no fog or clouds, just hazy. As we glided along the channel into Bar Harbor we noticed “our” Ghost Ship – The Margaret Todd – the four masted sailing ship that I took a picture of through the fog at sunset two years ago. She was anchored out in the harbor and because it is so early in the season, that is exactly where she stayed.
After breakfast, we took the tender ashore and hopped on our tour bus. Today we were touring Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, a mansion at the College of the Atlantic and the Oceanarium (to learn all about lobsters).
As the tour bus departed downtown, our tour guide, Liz, was very informative about local history and information about the National Park. The bus curved around the island passing the beautiful Maine coastline and the bay below as we approached our first stop, Thunder Hole. This is something similar to a blow hole where the ocean water gushes in then “thunders” out with a terrific smashing sound and crashing water back out against the water pushing inside. Because the tide was so low, the effect was easy to see.
Along the way up through the National Park and up to the top of Cadillac Mountain (the highest point on the Atlantic coast), we passed scrub brush and bushes down low, but as we climbed the curves up to the top of the mountain, we passed flowering pear trees and cedar trees. The wind was blowing quite strongly at the top of the mountain, which made the temperature a bit “brisk” to say the least.
From the top of Cadillac Mountain we could the Maasdam down in the harbor below and the numerous islands that are off the coast of Maine. The view is spectacular any way you look. Whether you are looking out towards the Atlantic Ocean and seeing the actual coastline, or looking inland and viewing the spectacular spring colors and the hills dotted with too many fresh water lakes and rivers that we couldn’t keep track of all of them. We bought some local fresh blueberry jam and a popover mix that is supposed to be from a nearby famous place called Jordon Pond (supposedly the best popovers you will ever have).
After leaving Cadillac Mountain, the bus wound down the mountain to the College of the Atlantic where we saw a home built of two foot thick granite walls that was one of the only homes to withstand the famous fire in Bar Harbor of 1947. Although it was circa 1895 and quite impressive from the outside, the inside is now used as part of the college offices, and nothing to get excited about inside. BUT, the grounds around this “home” were spectacular with the expansive lawns lined with massive European Birch trees that didn’t look like Birch trees, but instead large oak trees with beautiful rust colored leaves. Also on the property were huge bushes called forsythia – a flowering yellow bush that was just a mass of yellow. Those, alongside the gorgeous magenta and shocking pink azaleas were a sight to see. One thing to note in this part of the country – they LOVE their dandelions in the grass – so all of the lawns are dotted with yellow flowering dandelions right now. It is actually quite pretty. That adds another whole dimension to all of the fabulous colors we have been treated to on this trip.
Our last stop was the Oceanairium, where we were supposed to learn all about lobsters fishing. Unfortunately, we only had about 20 minutes of our tour time left before we had to rush back to the pier to catch what was literally the last tender of the day. The waves in the harbor were pounding the tender as we crossed the bay to the ship and the seas were quite rough as we departed. There were many people that did not make it to dinner last night – but we did!
The Maasdam sailed out of Bar Harbor at 2:30 p .m. on her way to Halifax. As we left Bar Harbor, the weather changed dramatically and it began to rain. The temperature has dropped down to the mid 50’s with hardly any humidity as opposed to the balmy 90 degree weather we had in Fort Lauderdale and Charleston when we started the trip a week ago. The jackets and sweatshirts have come out and the shorts and flip flops have been packed away!
The jigsaw puzzle group finished the second puzzle in the evening last night. We have been going down every afternoon and evening adding our few pieces and getting to know the people participating in that. It’s a very nice group. We haven’t found any card players to teach Euchre to so far, but you never know what tomorrow will bring.
We shall be in touch tomorrow from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Thursday May 14, 2009
Bar Harbor, Maine
Hello again everyone ~
We sailed into Bar Harbor, Maine around 8:00 a.m. It was a hazy day in Bar Harbor, no fog or clouds, just hazy. As we glided along the channel into Bar Harbor we noticed “our” Ghost Ship – The Margaret Todd – the four masted sailing ship that I took a picture of through the fog at sunset two years ago. She was anchored out in the harbor and because it is so early in the season, that is exactly where she stayed.
After breakfast, we took the tender ashore and hopped on our tour bus. Today we were touring Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, Thunder Hole, a mansion at the College of the Atlantic and the Oceanarium (to learn all about lobsters).
As the tour bus departed downtown, our tour guide, Liz, was very informative about local history and information about the National Park. The bus curved around the island passing the beautiful Maine coastline and the bay below as we approached our first stop, Thunder Hole. This is something similar to a blow hole where the ocean water gushes in then “thunders” out with a terrific smashing sound and crashing water back out against the water pushing inside. Because the tide was so low, the effect was easy to see.
Along the way up through the National Park and up to the top of Cadillac Mountain (the highest point on the Atlantic coast), we passed scrub brush and bushes down low, but as we climbed the curves up to the top of the mountain, we passed flowering pear trees and cedar trees. The wind was blowing quite strongly at the top of the mountain, which made the temperature a bit “brisk” to say the least.
From the top of Cadillac Mountain we could the Maasdam down in the harbor below and the numerous islands that are off the coast of Maine. The view is spectacular any way you look. Whether you are looking out towards the Atlantic Ocean and seeing the actual coastline, or looking inland and viewing the spectacular spring colors and the hills dotted with too many fresh water lakes and rivers that we couldn’t keep track of all of them. We bought some local fresh blueberry jam and a popover mix that is supposed to be from a nearby famous place called Jordon Pond (supposedly the best popovers you will ever have).
After leaving Cadillac Mountain, the bus wound down the mountain to the College of the Atlantic where we saw a home built of two foot thick granite walls that was one of the only homes to withstand the famous fire in Bar Harbor of 1947. Although it was circa 1895 and quite impressive from the outside, the inside is now used as part of the college offices, and nothing to get excited about inside. BUT, the grounds around this “home” were spectacular with the expansive lawns lined with massive European Birch trees that didn’t look like Birch trees, but instead large oak trees with beautiful rust colored leaves. Also on the property were huge bushes called forsythia – a flowering yellow bush that was just a mass of yellow. Those, alongside the gorgeous magenta and shocking pink azaleas were a sight to see. One thing to note in this part of the country – they LOVE their dandelions in the grass – so all of the lawns are dotted with yellow flowering dandelions right now. It is actually quite pretty. That adds another whole dimension to all of the fabulous colors we have been treated to on this trip.
Our last stop was the Oceanairium, where we were supposed to learn all about lobsters fishing. Unfortunately, we only had about 20 minutes of our tour time left before we had to rush back to the pier to catch what was literally the last tender of the day. The waves in the harbor were pounding the tender as we crossed the bay to the ship and the seas were quite rough as we departed. There were many people that did not make it to dinner last night – but we did!
The Maasdam sailed out of Bar Harbor at 2:30 p .m. on her way to Halifax. As we left Bar Harbor, the weather changed dramatically and it began to rain. The temperature has dropped down to the mid 50’s with hardly any humidity as opposed to the balmy 90 degree weather we had in Fort Lauderdale and Charleston when we started the trip a week ago. The jackets and sweatshirts have come out and the shorts and flip flops have been packed away!
The jigsaw puzzle group finished the second puzzle in the evening last night. We have been going down every afternoon and evening adding our few pieces and getting to know the people participating in that. It’s a very nice group. We haven’t found any card players to teach Euchre to so far, but you never know what tomorrow will bring.
We shall be in touch tomorrow from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Travelogue #5 - Somewhere off of Cape Cod
TRAVELOGUE
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
At Sea (Somewhere East of Cape Cod)
Good morning everyone~
Tuesday evening – continued -
Before we left Newport, Rhode Island last night at 11:00 p.m. and before we were off to dinner, we were treated to a beautiful sunset in Newport Harbor and a sailboat regatta, with probably a dozen or more sailboats turning and displaying their bright and colorful spinnaker sails in the light winds as they made their turns and headed back to their marinas. Rose Island Light Lighthouse was on one side with the massive expansion bridge in the background, and as the tide lowered, the water around the lighthouse became like thin glass and just glistened as if it were a mirror with the pinks and oranges of the sunset.
Dinner was enjoyable, as usual, and then we went up onto the Lido Deck where the ship staff was having a “pool party” at 9:30 a.m. It was basically a dessert party with three types of dessert fountains – chocolate, white chocolate and caramel - with homemade marshmallows and fresh fruit to indulge in. There were several ice sculptures and numerous tables with carvings of white chocolate and massive silver trays filled with a variety of delectable desserts from canapés to miniature cupcakes to miniature tartlet’s filled with a cream and topped with fresh strawberries and kiwi fruit. There was a band playing in one corner and a few people were dancing. For whatever reason, they had part of the roof retracted which made it a bit “brisk” up there, and so we came back downstairs and settled in for the evening.
Now to this morning - Wednesday -
Even though I should have been sleeping soundly at 5:00 a.m., I woke up early and got up to look outside to see what the new day was bringing weather wise and I was treated to one of the most magnificent shows that Mother Nature was giving me alone (or at least it appeared that way)! As I looked off of our balcony, to my right was a partial moon hanging in the sky, still glistening light on the still waters of the Atlantic. To my left, a soft glow of pink began to lighten the morning as the sun rose. The seas were literally like glass with not a ripple in the water. Every once in awhile there would be a group of a dozen or so small birds flying low across the water. Everything was calm and quiet and the stillness of the morning was just unimaginable.
Then, all of a sudden, for me and what appeared to be me alone (because I didn’t see anyone else hanging out on their verandah at 5:00 a.m. in the brisk air) my show began! I was given a show from a pod of Atlantic Great Right Whales and dolphins. The reason they are called “Right” whales is because back in the days of hunting and harpooning the whales, they were the “right” ones to harpoon. I was out on the verandah for over three hours, took a multitude of pictures (only getting a few good ones) because these magnificent mammals very methodically kept their distance from the ship as we glided slowly through the calm waters. Because these are a protected species of whale, the ship is only allowed to navigate through these waters at much reduced speed. We were somewhere off the coast between Cape Cod and Nantucket which is the habitat for The Great Right Whale.
As the morning progressed, I eventually woke Jim so he could enjoy part of my “free” whale watching adventure. At one point, he went up and got us coffee and tea and also took in the view from the Crows Nest (the observation area towards the bow of the ship on Deck 12). At 7:45 a.m. the sun is high in the sky shining down on the mirror of glistening water below. The pod of whales and dolphins disappeared as time went on and there I was standing outside on my verandah – nightgown, black socks, black coat with hood, gloves and a plaid wool blanket and, of course, camera in hand! I guess I could have been the comedy show for the whales and dolphins!!
This morning I had my second culinary class with Chef John while Jim had another in his series of lectures on George and Martha Washington. There were only 7 participants in the cooking class today. The menu was fabulous and I cannot wait to come home and make it! We started with a Shrimp, Jicama and Mango Salad with a Dijon vinaigrette. Our main course was a Chile-rubbed Red Snapper with Cucumber Salad and dessert was fresh berries with lemon mint syrup served over fresh vanilla ice cream! The flavors of the herbs he combined to make the rub for the fish was extraordinary. I’ve never had such delicious red snapper in my life. We partially cooked it in the sauté pan then finished it in the oven. It was so moist and firm and the flavors of the rub just made it fabulous! This time, Chef John let us have our wine during class rather than waiting until we were all finished – so that was fun too.
Jim’s Trivia Team won today, and he enjoyed showing of his bonus “Dam Dollars”. When you participate in certain events, you earn Dam Dollars just for showing up – and if you win – you get more. Then, at the end of the cruise, you can turn them in for souvenirs and things that you just cannot live without!
After I finished my cooking, I went in and worked on the newest jigsaw puzzle for awhile, then meandered over to the casino, where I sat down at the push and shove quarter machine (the machine that you drop your quarters into and it pops up inside and drops, then as the quarters accumulate, they are pushed and shoved to the front where eventually they will fall off and that is your payout. Well, today, I won the big roll of dollar bills ($50!!). I sat there for about an hour and as time went on, more and more of a crowd was gathered around me until there were about a dozen or so of us just waiting to see that roll of money drop when the right quarter was put into the machine…and it finally happened and everyone cheered and raised their hands and clapped. It was a lot of fun – my only regret was that Jim was not there to share that with me. But, as I was walking down the hall going back to the room, he happened to be about 100 feet ahead of me when I turned the corner, so we went back up to the Crows Nest and had a celebration cocktail for such a nice day.
It is about 7:15 p.m. here now. I am sitting at the vanity desk and looking out our verandah, there is a slight wind and waves of maybe one foot high out there – not much at all. There is not a cloud in the sky tonight. It is very peaceful. Tomorrow we will anchor at Bar Harbor around 7:00 a.m. and will tender into town. We are looking forward to being there again. There is a comedian performing tonight, so we are probably going to go listen to him for awhile after dinner. Surf and turf tonight!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
At Sea (Somewhere East of Cape Cod)
Good morning everyone~
Tuesday evening – continued -
Before we left Newport, Rhode Island last night at 11:00 p.m. and before we were off to dinner, we were treated to a beautiful sunset in Newport Harbor and a sailboat regatta, with probably a dozen or more sailboats turning and displaying their bright and colorful spinnaker sails in the light winds as they made their turns and headed back to their marinas. Rose Island Light Lighthouse was on one side with the massive expansion bridge in the background, and as the tide lowered, the water around the lighthouse became like thin glass and just glistened as if it were a mirror with the pinks and oranges of the sunset.
Dinner was enjoyable, as usual, and then we went up onto the Lido Deck where the ship staff was having a “pool party” at 9:30 a.m. It was basically a dessert party with three types of dessert fountains – chocolate, white chocolate and caramel - with homemade marshmallows and fresh fruit to indulge in. There were several ice sculptures and numerous tables with carvings of white chocolate and massive silver trays filled with a variety of delectable desserts from canapés to miniature cupcakes to miniature tartlet’s filled with a cream and topped with fresh strawberries and kiwi fruit. There was a band playing in one corner and a few people were dancing. For whatever reason, they had part of the roof retracted which made it a bit “brisk” up there, and so we came back downstairs and settled in for the evening.
Now to this morning - Wednesday -
Even though I should have been sleeping soundly at 5:00 a.m., I woke up early and got up to look outside to see what the new day was bringing weather wise and I was treated to one of the most magnificent shows that Mother Nature was giving me alone (or at least it appeared that way)! As I looked off of our balcony, to my right was a partial moon hanging in the sky, still glistening light on the still waters of the Atlantic. To my left, a soft glow of pink began to lighten the morning as the sun rose. The seas were literally like glass with not a ripple in the water. Every once in awhile there would be a group of a dozen or so small birds flying low across the water. Everything was calm and quiet and the stillness of the morning was just unimaginable.
Then, all of a sudden, for me and what appeared to be me alone (because I didn’t see anyone else hanging out on their verandah at 5:00 a.m. in the brisk air) my show began! I was given a show from a pod of Atlantic Great Right Whales and dolphins. The reason they are called “Right” whales is because back in the days of hunting and harpooning the whales, they were the “right” ones to harpoon. I was out on the verandah for over three hours, took a multitude of pictures (only getting a few good ones) because these magnificent mammals very methodically kept their distance from the ship as we glided slowly through the calm waters. Because these are a protected species of whale, the ship is only allowed to navigate through these waters at much reduced speed. We were somewhere off the coast between Cape Cod and Nantucket which is the habitat for The Great Right Whale.
As the morning progressed, I eventually woke Jim so he could enjoy part of my “free” whale watching adventure. At one point, he went up and got us coffee and tea and also took in the view from the Crows Nest (the observation area towards the bow of the ship on Deck 12). At 7:45 a.m. the sun is high in the sky shining down on the mirror of glistening water below. The pod of whales and dolphins disappeared as time went on and there I was standing outside on my verandah – nightgown, black socks, black coat with hood, gloves and a plaid wool blanket and, of course, camera in hand! I guess I could have been the comedy show for the whales and dolphins!!
This morning I had my second culinary class with Chef John while Jim had another in his series of lectures on George and Martha Washington. There were only 7 participants in the cooking class today. The menu was fabulous and I cannot wait to come home and make it! We started with a Shrimp, Jicama and Mango Salad with a Dijon vinaigrette. Our main course was a Chile-rubbed Red Snapper with Cucumber Salad and dessert was fresh berries with lemon mint syrup served over fresh vanilla ice cream! The flavors of the herbs he combined to make the rub for the fish was extraordinary. I’ve never had such delicious red snapper in my life. We partially cooked it in the sauté pan then finished it in the oven. It was so moist and firm and the flavors of the rub just made it fabulous! This time, Chef John let us have our wine during class rather than waiting until we were all finished – so that was fun too.
Jim’s Trivia Team won today, and he enjoyed showing of his bonus “Dam Dollars”. When you participate in certain events, you earn Dam Dollars just for showing up – and if you win – you get more. Then, at the end of the cruise, you can turn them in for souvenirs and things that you just cannot live without!
After I finished my cooking, I went in and worked on the newest jigsaw puzzle for awhile, then meandered over to the casino, where I sat down at the push and shove quarter machine (the machine that you drop your quarters into and it pops up inside and drops, then as the quarters accumulate, they are pushed and shoved to the front where eventually they will fall off and that is your payout. Well, today, I won the big roll of dollar bills ($50!!). I sat there for about an hour and as time went on, more and more of a crowd was gathered around me until there were about a dozen or so of us just waiting to see that roll of money drop when the right quarter was put into the machine…and it finally happened and everyone cheered and raised their hands and clapped. It was a lot of fun – my only regret was that Jim was not there to share that with me. But, as I was walking down the hall going back to the room, he happened to be about 100 feet ahead of me when I turned the corner, so we went back up to the Crows Nest and had a celebration cocktail for such a nice day.
It is about 7:15 p.m. here now. I am sitting at the vanity desk and looking out our verandah, there is a slight wind and waves of maybe one foot high out there – not much at all. There is not a cloud in the sky tonight. It is very peaceful. Tomorrow we will anchor at Bar Harbor around 7:00 a.m. and will tender into town. We are looking forward to being there again. There is a comedian performing tonight, so we are probably going to go listen to him for awhile after dinner. Surf and turf tonight!
Travelogue #4 from Newport, Rhode Island
TRAVELOGUE
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Newport, Rhode Island
Hello everyone~
Today we greet you from Newport, Rhode Island. I woke early to find a beautiful soft pink and blue sunrise off of our verandah this morning. We had been told that it was going to be partly cloudy with a chance of showers. The morning brought beautifully clear blue skies above only dotted here and there with a fluffy cloud; it was hard to believe we were in for any inclement weather. It was a bit hazy, but that was about all. As the day progressed, the dark clouds did pass overhead, but apparently so did the weather as we only felt a few drops of rain and then it was gone. It couldn’t have been a more gorgeous day for taking a historic walk in Newport!
We caught the tender to shore right around 12:00 noon and as the group of 21 of us gathered near the pier, we could not help but notice that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom throughout the city with vibrant pink blossoms covering every branch of the trees with solid tufts of pink flowers. The harbor is lined with cherry trees in full bloom and there are dozens interspersed throughout the city streets along with gorgeous azaleas, tulips and pansies also dotting the landscape. The red maple trees were also a vibrant red and just magnificent to see interspersed amongst all of the other trees in the city.
Our tour began by walking from the pier down to the city square to view the State House (for whatever reason, even though it is the smallest state, Rhode Island has five State House buildings) which is under reconstruction and then on to the Old Colony House and the Quaker Meeting House. Across the street from the Quaker Meeting house is the White Horse Tavern, the oldest operating tavern in the United States (its license dates from 1673!). In the evenings now it is a 5 Star Dining Restaurant and quite elegant. Jim said that the Sunday brunches he had there in years past were among the best he has ever had.
The 200 or so buildings/homes in the historic district is the largest group of original homes in one location that were built in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s in the National Register of Historic Places in America. Although it was fascinating to walk past these old structures, we wished we could have gone inside some of them; but they were “closed” to the public as many of them are actually private homes today. Others are owned and rented out; and we were told there is a two year waiting list to find out “if” you qualify and then there is another two year wait to actually be approved and move into one. You are not allowed to do anything to the outside of the home, and if you are renting, you are not allowed to do anything to the inside of the home as it is all strictly regulated by the Newport Preservation Society. They even tell you where you can hang a picture on your wall. You must have “period correct” furniture – so, in other words – they want you to have antiques and no modern appliances inside either – meaning no modern kitchens with granite tile or Wolff ranges or ovens.
After seeing the Quaker Meeting House, we walked past the oldest house in Newport (built in about 1670) the oldest Synagogue in the United States and on to the Artillery Company which is the oldest Militia building in the U.S. built in the 1700’s. There are actually four cannons built by Paul Revere inside, and every May 4th, one is brought out and actually fired with gun powder and the whole bang! Why May 4th? Because, that’s when Rhode Island declared her independence from Britain. We walked along the old brick sidewalks where many of these “vernacular” (that is, pre-Colonial) homes are today. Some are still located in original spots and others have been moved to their current locations over time.
Doris Duke, the famous tobacco heiress, bought about 60 of the historical homes when they fell into dilapidated condition when the Navy pulled out and refurbished them with her own money – and then donated them to the Newport Historical Society. The Duke family was one of the “Gilded Age” families who had a summer “cottage” in Newport, so she knew the city well and so she personally invested in one of the largest private restoration projects in U.S. history. There was also a group of elderly women (the “Colonial Dames”) back early in the 1900’s who would buy one house at a time and fix it up and then sell it. They purchased several dozen homes this way and became quite wealthy in their own right by doing that – but have all since passed away now. The rest of the 200 homes are either privately owned and occupied or owned but closed for renovation at some time in the future.
We journeyed on towards a house where George Washington slept during the Revolution when he met our new French allies, and then went across the street to the Trinity Church and graveyard. It was built in 1726 and said to be the most beautiful Anglican Church erected in America during the Colonial period.
After the two hour tour, everyone dispersed and went on their own way. We found our way to the Christmas store (we’ve been there before) and “adopted” a new Santa – how odd! He is about 20 inches tall and is wearing a long cloak made of elegantly rich, dark green tapestry.
As we walked back towards the pier we stopped inside one of the small taverns along Thames Street and had a delicious bowl of New England clam chowder. Our table was right next to the window facing Thames Street, and we saw several of the people from the ship passing by. After lunch we walked a little further going in and out of the local souvenir stores and finally found our way back to the pier and took our tender back out to the ship.
For whatever reason, the Maasdam will be here in Newport until 11:00 tonight – but we do not plan on going back into town at this point. Jim is sound asleep taking a nap, and as I am typing this, I am looking out our window over towards the large estate where Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was raised – Hammersmith Farm. We had visited St. Mary’s Church where Jackie and John Kennedy were married in 1953 on our cruise in 2005 with Clayton and Natha. We could see the steeple through the cherry blossoms today, but did not go over there.
We passed many lighthouses on our way into Newport harbor this morning - the Rose Island Lighthouse, the Castle Rock Lighthouse, the Ida Lewis Rock Light and entering the harbor was the Beavertail Lighthouse. They are all uniquely different and I tried to get pictures of all of them this morning as it will be dark when we leave tonight at 11:00 p.m. and pictures won’t be an option.
Newport is another place where Jim spent several years growing up when his Dad was in the Navy. His parents lived in two different homes here and he went to three years of high school here. He always enjoys sharing his stories and it is nice for him to be able to reminisce like that when we are in these places. Jim’s history trivia lesson for today is that Rhode Island is the state with the longest official name (official name = The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) and the state with the shortest official motto (motto = “Hope”). It’s nickname is the Ocean State.
We will have a leisurely evening and enjoyable dinner again tonight. Last night Jim had an Indonesian noodle dish with spicy beef kabobs (having steak every night gets a bit boring) and I enjoyed a penne pasta with a very light marinara sauce and Italian sausage. After dinner we played a game of Scrabble in the library.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Newport, Rhode Island
Hello everyone~
Today we greet you from Newport, Rhode Island. I woke early to find a beautiful soft pink and blue sunrise off of our verandah this morning. We had been told that it was going to be partly cloudy with a chance of showers. The morning brought beautifully clear blue skies above only dotted here and there with a fluffy cloud; it was hard to believe we were in for any inclement weather. It was a bit hazy, but that was about all. As the day progressed, the dark clouds did pass overhead, but apparently so did the weather as we only felt a few drops of rain and then it was gone. It couldn’t have been a more gorgeous day for taking a historic walk in Newport!
We caught the tender to shore right around 12:00 noon and as the group of 21 of us gathered near the pier, we could not help but notice that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom throughout the city with vibrant pink blossoms covering every branch of the trees with solid tufts of pink flowers. The harbor is lined with cherry trees in full bloom and there are dozens interspersed throughout the city streets along with gorgeous azaleas, tulips and pansies also dotting the landscape. The red maple trees were also a vibrant red and just magnificent to see interspersed amongst all of the other trees in the city.
Our tour began by walking from the pier down to the city square to view the State House (for whatever reason, even though it is the smallest state, Rhode Island has five State House buildings) which is under reconstruction and then on to the Old Colony House and the Quaker Meeting House. Across the street from the Quaker Meeting house is the White Horse Tavern, the oldest operating tavern in the United States (its license dates from 1673!). In the evenings now it is a 5 Star Dining Restaurant and quite elegant. Jim said that the Sunday brunches he had there in years past were among the best he has ever had.
The 200 or so buildings/homes in the historic district is the largest group of original homes in one location that were built in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s in the National Register of Historic Places in America. Although it was fascinating to walk past these old structures, we wished we could have gone inside some of them; but they were “closed” to the public as many of them are actually private homes today. Others are owned and rented out; and we were told there is a two year waiting list to find out “if” you qualify and then there is another two year wait to actually be approved and move into one. You are not allowed to do anything to the outside of the home, and if you are renting, you are not allowed to do anything to the inside of the home as it is all strictly regulated by the Newport Preservation Society. They even tell you where you can hang a picture on your wall. You must have “period correct” furniture – so, in other words – they want you to have antiques and no modern appliances inside either – meaning no modern kitchens with granite tile or Wolff ranges or ovens.
After seeing the Quaker Meeting House, we walked past the oldest house in Newport (built in about 1670) the oldest Synagogue in the United States and on to the Artillery Company which is the oldest Militia building in the U.S. built in the 1700’s. There are actually four cannons built by Paul Revere inside, and every May 4th, one is brought out and actually fired with gun powder and the whole bang! Why May 4th? Because, that’s when Rhode Island declared her independence from Britain. We walked along the old brick sidewalks where many of these “vernacular” (that is, pre-Colonial) homes are today. Some are still located in original spots and others have been moved to their current locations over time.
Doris Duke, the famous tobacco heiress, bought about 60 of the historical homes when they fell into dilapidated condition when the Navy pulled out and refurbished them with her own money – and then donated them to the Newport Historical Society. The Duke family was one of the “Gilded Age” families who had a summer “cottage” in Newport, so she knew the city well and so she personally invested in one of the largest private restoration projects in U.S. history. There was also a group of elderly women (the “Colonial Dames”) back early in the 1900’s who would buy one house at a time and fix it up and then sell it. They purchased several dozen homes this way and became quite wealthy in their own right by doing that – but have all since passed away now. The rest of the 200 homes are either privately owned and occupied or owned but closed for renovation at some time in the future.
We journeyed on towards a house where George Washington slept during the Revolution when he met our new French allies, and then went across the street to the Trinity Church and graveyard. It was built in 1726 and said to be the most beautiful Anglican Church erected in America during the Colonial period.
After the two hour tour, everyone dispersed and went on their own way. We found our way to the Christmas store (we’ve been there before) and “adopted” a new Santa – how odd! He is about 20 inches tall and is wearing a long cloak made of elegantly rich, dark green tapestry.
As we walked back towards the pier we stopped inside one of the small taverns along Thames Street and had a delicious bowl of New England clam chowder. Our table was right next to the window facing Thames Street, and we saw several of the people from the ship passing by. After lunch we walked a little further going in and out of the local souvenir stores and finally found our way back to the pier and took our tender back out to the ship.
For whatever reason, the Maasdam will be here in Newport until 11:00 tonight – but we do not plan on going back into town at this point. Jim is sound asleep taking a nap, and as I am typing this, I am looking out our window over towards the large estate where Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was raised – Hammersmith Farm. We had visited St. Mary’s Church where Jackie and John Kennedy were married in 1953 on our cruise in 2005 with Clayton and Natha. We could see the steeple through the cherry blossoms today, but did not go over there.
We passed many lighthouses on our way into Newport harbor this morning - the Rose Island Lighthouse, the Castle Rock Lighthouse, the Ida Lewis Rock Light and entering the harbor was the Beavertail Lighthouse. They are all uniquely different and I tried to get pictures of all of them this morning as it will be dark when we leave tonight at 11:00 p.m. and pictures won’t be an option.
Newport is another place where Jim spent several years growing up when his Dad was in the Navy. His parents lived in two different homes here and he went to three years of high school here. He always enjoys sharing his stories and it is nice for him to be able to reminisce like that when we are in these places. Jim’s history trivia lesson for today is that Rhode Island is the state with the longest official name (official name = The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) and the state with the shortest official motto (motto = “Hope”). It’s nickname is the Ocean State.
We will have a leisurely evening and enjoyable dinner again tonight. Last night Jim had an Indonesian noodle dish with spicy beef kabobs (having steak every night gets a bit boring) and I enjoyed a penne pasta with a very light marinara sauce and Italian sausage. After dinner we played a game of Scrabble in the library.
Travelogue #3 Cruise Day at Sea
TRAVELOGUE
Monday, May 11, 2009
At Sea
Hello everyone ~
Well, today was definitely a “leisurely” day at sea. We slept in (I think jet lag finally caught up with us) and went up to the Lido Restaurant for breakfast, shortly after which it was time for my hot stone massage in the “Spa”. That was my Mother’s Day present from Jim!
The weather has changed dramatically from the balmy heat of Charleston to light rain all day today and quite cool. No more short sleeves – the sweat shirts and jackets were out today! The Lido deck pool has a retractable cover which makes it quite pleasant during the day as it is now all enclosed and completely accessible even though it is raining outside. There is hardly any wind and thought we are moving at 18 knots (according to the Captain), we just seem to be gliding across the calm seas of the Atlantic. It is grey outside, but a perfect day to spend on board the ship and enjoy it. I cannot get over how smooth and almost glassy the ocean is in spite of the rainy weather. Because our balcony is covered, it is even nice to just go out there and smell the fresh air and enjoy.
Jim went to another lector from the same author he listened to the other day with the topic of George Washington’s presidency. The lectures are very well attended and last about an hour. There is a time for questions and answers as well.
One thing worth mentioning on this cruise ship that is quite different from any other cruise ship we have ever been on – there are actually a large number (over 2 dozen) people every day in the library! There are large reading tables with excellent lighting for sitting down with your favorite book. There are tables that are set up with Scrabble games mounted on them and there are tables that have crossword puzzles inlaid on the tops. The majority of the chairs are over stuffed and just perfect to sit back in and get lost in a good book with large picture windows so you can still see as the world passes by.
We caught back up with each other around noon and had a quick bite to eat then I was off to my cooking class with Chef John from the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant in the Culinary Arts Center. There were 12 ladies who took part in this class. It was quite interesting and one of them even taught the chef something! - how to peel an avocado without using a paring knife! The Chef is from Dubai in the Persian Gulf – quite a good looking young man – and quite funny. All of us participated doing something at one point or another during the two hour class. First we made a Frangelico Chocolate Volcano Cake with fresh raspberries – which smelled like rich brownies cooking in the oven while we were preparing the other menu items); then scallops with avocado salad (which actually was more like avocado salad with scallops) and the main course was Asian Chicken and rice-noodle salad with peanuts. We were all given copies of all of the recipes and after all the food was prepared, we each got to serve ourselves a plate and enjoy everything with new friends and a nice glass of wine. They also gave each of us a Holland America Culinary Arts Center apron which we get to keep.
This afternoon Jim and I played BINGO, but we were not among any of the winners. What a shocker! We actually met a woman who lived in El Cajon today who was at BINGO, and her friend won one of the games.
There is only one other couple at our dinner table. Jo and George are from Kansas. She is a retired school teacher and we’ll find out tonight what George did. They are very nice and quite interesting. The food has been very good and the selections are very nice. We both enjoyed a New York steak last night with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I had Key Lime Pie for dessert and Jim had a Pear Belle Helen (a sundae with pears).
We will arrive in Newport, Rhode Island around 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and will be there until 11:00 p.m. We have a historic walking tour scheduled for around 1:00 p.m. and then we will be on our own. The weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies and 59 degrees. Because we have to drop anchor out of the harbor, we will be taking tenders into port.
Monday, May 11, 2009
At Sea
Hello everyone ~
Well, today was definitely a “leisurely” day at sea. We slept in (I think jet lag finally caught up with us) and went up to the Lido Restaurant for breakfast, shortly after which it was time for my hot stone massage in the “Spa”. That was my Mother’s Day present from Jim!
The weather has changed dramatically from the balmy heat of Charleston to light rain all day today and quite cool. No more short sleeves – the sweat shirts and jackets were out today! The Lido deck pool has a retractable cover which makes it quite pleasant during the day as it is now all enclosed and completely accessible even though it is raining outside. There is hardly any wind and thought we are moving at 18 knots (according to the Captain), we just seem to be gliding across the calm seas of the Atlantic. It is grey outside, but a perfect day to spend on board the ship and enjoy it. I cannot get over how smooth and almost glassy the ocean is in spite of the rainy weather. Because our balcony is covered, it is even nice to just go out there and smell the fresh air and enjoy.
Jim went to another lector from the same author he listened to the other day with the topic of George Washington’s presidency. The lectures are very well attended and last about an hour. There is a time for questions and answers as well.
One thing worth mentioning on this cruise ship that is quite different from any other cruise ship we have ever been on – there are actually a large number (over 2 dozen) people every day in the library! There are large reading tables with excellent lighting for sitting down with your favorite book. There are tables that are set up with Scrabble games mounted on them and there are tables that have crossword puzzles inlaid on the tops. The majority of the chairs are over stuffed and just perfect to sit back in and get lost in a good book with large picture windows so you can still see as the world passes by.
We caught back up with each other around noon and had a quick bite to eat then I was off to my cooking class with Chef John from the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant in the Culinary Arts Center. There were 12 ladies who took part in this class. It was quite interesting and one of them even taught the chef something! - how to peel an avocado without using a paring knife! The Chef is from Dubai in the Persian Gulf – quite a good looking young man – and quite funny. All of us participated doing something at one point or another during the two hour class. First we made a Frangelico Chocolate Volcano Cake with fresh raspberries – which smelled like rich brownies cooking in the oven while we were preparing the other menu items); then scallops with avocado salad (which actually was more like avocado salad with scallops) and the main course was Asian Chicken and rice-noodle salad with peanuts. We were all given copies of all of the recipes and after all the food was prepared, we each got to serve ourselves a plate and enjoy everything with new friends and a nice glass of wine. They also gave each of us a Holland America Culinary Arts Center apron which we get to keep.
This afternoon Jim and I played BINGO, but we were not among any of the winners. What a shocker! We actually met a woman who lived in El Cajon today who was at BINGO, and her friend won one of the games.
There is only one other couple at our dinner table. Jo and George are from Kansas. She is a retired school teacher and we’ll find out tonight what George did. They are very nice and quite interesting. The food has been very good and the selections are very nice. We both enjoyed a New York steak last night with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I had Key Lime Pie for dessert and Jim had a Pear Belle Helen (a sundae with pears).
We will arrive in Newport, Rhode Island around 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and will be there until 11:00 p.m. We have a historic walking tour scheduled for around 1:00 p.m. and then we will be on our own. The weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies and 59 degrees. Because we have to drop anchor out of the harbor, we will be taking tenders into port.
Travelogue #2 - Charleston, South Carolina
TRAVELOGUE
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Charleston, South Carolina
Hello everyone!
This morning we were up bright and early at 5:30 a.m. so that we could be up on deck as we sailed into Charleston, South Carolina. And, we did just that! It was actually raining when we got up to The Crow’s Nest (Deck 12 with the expansive picture windows with a 180 degree view of the bow of the ship and beyond). We grabbed a light breakfast before we headed up there and with coffee in hand, off we trotted! There were not many people up there at that time of the morning, maybe only half a dozen or so – but as the morning went on a few more people slowly sauntered in.
With the brilliant orange and pink sun rising to our East, and rain gently dropping on the deck, we began our approach into Charleston. We first past Fort Sumter (the sight where the first shots of the Civil War were fired) to the starboard (left) side of the ship along with Castle Pinckney (a fortification)and also past a beautiful lighthouse on our left as we turned into the harbor.
There was a new suspension bridge (largest in the world) that was recently finished in the past couple of years off in the distance with its’ massively strung cables.
After the Maasdam pulled into port, we got off and hailed “Big Al” a taxi driver who has lived in Charleston for the past 35 years or so. Before we left downtown, Big Al took us by Saint Michael’s Church which is the scene of our newest Thomas Kinkade painting “Evening on the Avenue”. Then Jim asked him to take us out to Byrnes Downs, across the Ashley River Bridge to see if we could find the homes he lived in back in the 1950’s when he went to elementary school here. We first found 33 Lyttleton Drive, where he lived in 1953; then we went to 7 Daniels Street, where he lived around 1950; and then off to Avondale where we went to 11 Straford Road where he lived from 1954 to 1956. From there Big Al took us back into town and past the Second Presbyterian Church where Jim went to Sunday school. We were dropped off at The Old Charleston Market and wandered around there for a bit and then headed back to the ship for lunch and waited for our city tour this afternoon.
At 1:30 p.m. we boarded our motor coach with “Pat” as our tour guide. He was retired Army and quite the Southern gentlemen in his linen suit, bow tie and straw hat. It turns out that Pat is a member of the governing board of the Second Presbyterian Church (which is where Jim went – see above) and one of our first stops was to actually go inside of the Second Presbyterian Church and learn something of its’ history. I took MANY pictures along the way to share with Jim’s Mom and Dad. Jim asked Pat about four families that he remembered from the 1950’s and Pat knew all four of them.
The Second Presbyterian Church was built in 1807 and is completely white on the outside stucco. The steeple is actually incomplete to this day because of the earthquakes and is square with no bell tower or spire. Inside the church were the original wooden pews and marble inlays in the original wooden floor. That is where two of the three first pastors of the church are buried.
From there we wandered next door to the Manigault (pronounced Manigo) House. It was built around 1837, completely out of brick with many original Charleston crafted artifacts inside. The red stone capped stairway going up to the home was about 8 feet wide and quite steep, but not anything compared to the grand spiral staircase in the entry of the home. The hand-crafted crown molding in each room was absolutely stunning along with the furniture and several crystal chandeliers and ornate fireplaces. I think what was most impressive were the gardens that you could look out upon from the upper balcony of the second floor of the home. We were not allowed on the third floor of the home as it has not been restored. That was the “slaves” quarters.
After the Manigault house, we journeyed past Hampton Park and then to the Citadel where we went inside of the Chapel and saw the stunning stained and painted glass. There were flags from every state of the country. Pat told much history about the Citadel while we were there.
As we drove away from the Citadel, you could not help but notice the Spanish moss hanging from the magnificent old oak trees and the lush gardens around all of the homes. The massive and majestic magnolia trees were all in bloom. We went down towards the Battery where the homes had the tall white pillars and were very plantation looking and we saw where Jim used to climb on the old cannons to play overlooking the Cooper River. The park was filled with old oak trees that formed a huge canopy over the top, so when we were walking under them, we could hardly feel the light rain falling. Rainbow Row was next on the agenda, which was an area where the street is lined with multi-colored row houses – but much more ornate than San Francisco.
Charleston’s charm with the original cobblestone streets, moss ladened majestic trees and gorgeous magnolia blossoms were very special to see for me for the first time. But putting all of that aside, the highlight of the day for me was seeing Jim’s face light up when he realized we were actually going to be able to go inside the Second Presbyterian Church and share those childhood memories with him once again.
There is a light rain falling as we are sailing out of port and heading north up the Atlantic coast. We will have another day at sea tomorrow and then will be in Newport, Rhode Island. Tomorrow, I am scheduled to participate in one of the “hands-on” cooking demonstrations with our menu being Scallops with Avocado Salad, Asian Chicken & Rice Noodle Salad with Peanuts and a Chocolate, Coffee & Vanilla Créme Brulee.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Charleston, South Carolina
Hello everyone!
This morning we were up bright and early at 5:30 a.m. so that we could be up on deck as we sailed into Charleston, South Carolina. And, we did just that! It was actually raining when we got up to The Crow’s Nest (Deck 12 with the expansive picture windows with a 180 degree view of the bow of the ship and beyond). We grabbed a light breakfast before we headed up there and with coffee in hand, off we trotted! There were not many people up there at that time of the morning, maybe only half a dozen or so – but as the morning went on a few more people slowly sauntered in.
With the brilliant orange and pink sun rising to our East, and rain gently dropping on the deck, we began our approach into Charleston. We first past Fort Sumter (the sight where the first shots of the Civil War were fired) to the starboard (left) side of the ship along with Castle Pinckney (a fortification)and also past a beautiful lighthouse on our left as we turned into the harbor.
There was a new suspension bridge (largest in the world) that was recently finished in the past couple of years off in the distance with its’ massively strung cables.
After the Maasdam pulled into port, we got off and hailed “Big Al” a taxi driver who has lived in Charleston for the past 35 years or so. Before we left downtown, Big Al took us by Saint Michael’s Church which is the scene of our newest Thomas Kinkade painting “Evening on the Avenue”. Then Jim asked him to take us out to Byrnes Downs, across the Ashley River Bridge to see if we could find the homes he lived in back in the 1950’s when he went to elementary school here. We first found 33 Lyttleton Drive, where he lived in 1953; then we went to 7 Daniels Street, where he lived around 1950; and then off to Avondale where we went to 11 Straford Road where he lived from 1954 to 1956. From there Big Al took us back into town and past the Second Presbyterian Church where Jim went to Sunday school. We were dropped off at The Old Charleston Market and wandered around there for a bit and then headed back to the ship for lunch and waited for our city tour this afternoon.
At 1:30 p.m. we boarded our motor coach with “Pat” as our tour guide. He was retired Army and quite the Southern gentlemen in his linen suit, bow tie and straw hat. It turns out that Pat is a member of the governing board of the Second Presbyterian Church (which is where Jim went – see above) and one of our first stops was to actually go inside of the Second Presbyterian Church and learn something of its’ history. I took MANY pictures along the way to share with Jim’s Mom and Dad. Jim asked Pat about four families that he remembered from the 1950’s and Pat knew all four of them.
The Second Presbyterian Church was built in 1807 and is completely white on the outside stucco. The steeple is actually incomplete to this day because of the earthquakes and is square with no bell tower or spire. Inside the church were the original wooden pews and marble inlays in the original wooden floor. That is where two of the three first pastors of the church are buried.
From there we wandered next door to the Manigault (pronounced Manigo) House. It was built around 1837, completely out of brick with many original Charleston crafted artifacts inside. The red stone capped stairway going up to the home was about 8 feet wide and quite steep, but not anything compared to the grand spiral staircase in the entry of the home. The hand-crafted crown molding in each room was absolutely stunning along with the furniture and several crystal chandeliers and ornate fireplaces. I think what was most impressive were the gardens that you could look out upon from the upper balcony of the second floor of the home. We were not allowed on the third floor of the home as it has not been restored. That was the “slaves” quarters.
After the Manigault house, we journeyed past Hampton Park and then to the Citadel where we went inside of the Chapel and saw the stunning stained and painted glass. There were flags from every state of the country. Pat told much history about the Citadel while we were there.
As we drove away from the Citadel, you could not help but notice the Spanish moss hanging from the magnificent old oak trees and the lush gardens around all of the homes. The massive and majestic magnolia trees were all in bloom. We went down towards the Battery where the homes had the tall white pillars and were very plantation looking and we saw where Jim used to climb on the old cannons to play overlooking the Cooper River. The park was filled with old oak trees that formed a huge canopy over the top, so when we were walking under them, we could hardly feel the light rain falling. Rainbow Row was next on the agenda, which was an area where the street is lined with multi-colored row houses – but much more ornate than San Francisco.
Charleston’s charm with the original cobblestone streets, moss ladened majestic trees and gorgeous magnolia blossoms were very special to see for me for the first time. But putting all of that aside, the highlight of the day for me was seeing Jim’s face light up when he realized we were actually going to be able to go inside the Second Presbyterian Church and share those childhood memories with him once again.
There is a light rain falling as we are sailing out of port and heading north up the Atlantic coast. We will have another day at sea tomorrow and then will be in Newport, Rhode Island. Tomorrow, I am scheduled to participate in one of the “hands-on” cooking demonstrations with our menu being Scallops with Avocado Salad, Asian Chicken & Rice Noodle Salad with Peanuts and a Chocolate, Coffee & Vanilla Créme Brulee.
Travelogue #1 Canada/New England Cruise
HOLLAND AMERICA
MS MAASDAM
CANADA/NEW ENGLAND CRUISE TRAVELOGUE
TRAVELOGUE #1
Embarkation and First Day at Sea
May 8, 2009 and May 9, 2009
Hello everyone!
We arrived to the MS Maasdam around 2:30 p.m. and boarded the ship. Classic, old-world charm would best describe the Maasdam. There are several walkways with lined with display cases of ship replicas, antique china from Holland and a variety of other memorabilia. There are stunning floral arrangements throughout the ship and in the buffet, there is a different live orchid on each table.
The “festivities” are quite subdued on board the Maasdam as compared to other ships we’ve been on. Things are definitely more “refined”. The ladies coming around asking if you would like a cocktail are dressed in very conservation mid-calf length straight burgundy colored skirts and coordinating tops. There was a nice sailing away appetizer table set up with chips and several types of salsa and guacamole that you could help yourselves to down around the pool in the aft of the ship. There was a band playing Caribbean calypso type music – but quite low-key and very much in the background. There were not many people out on deck for the sail away at all.
Because we had had lunch so late in the day, we opted for dinner in the Lido Buffet which actually turns into a very nice buffet-type restaurant at night with white linens and all. Everything that was offered in the main dining room was offered up there as well, and after you placed your order with the maitre’d, your food was brought to your table. No “buffet” in the true sense of the world. I started my dinner with a delicious shrimp and scallop ceviche and had prime rib and risotto for dinner with green beans. Everything was delicious. I cannot begin to tell you how tender this prime rib was. Suffice it to say, that I could literally cut it with my fork! FABULOUS! We sat at a table next to a window with a view of Fort Lauderdale in the distance.
Because the ship is much smaller, there are not a whole lot of areas to go and “explore” We did like the looks of the “Crow’s Nest” lounge up on the 12th deck. It is in the front of the ship overlooking the bow with huge picture windows and quite comfortable seats for sitting and viewing or relaxing and reading a good book. At night, it turns into a dance floor with a DJ. We took in the first Maasdam Show after dinner introducing the singers and dancers and the cruise director. The showroom is quite intimate with velvet curtains and velveteen covered seats and brass railings facing the triple oval stage. The show was nothing spectacular, but it was nice to see the venue and all. After that, we stopped by the casino to make a little “deposit” and then came back to our stateroom.
Our stateroom is a mini-suite. We have a large bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and shower. There are two closets, one for Jim and one for me, each with a hanging side and another side of floor to ceiling shelves. There are two drawers for each of us on either side of the bed; and in addition to that, there are nine drawers at the vanity! There is a natural colored wicker chair and chaise lounge on our little verandah with a small table. It is quite nice out there!
This morning, Saturday, we started our day with a light breakfast up in the Lido Buffet. We are impressed with the food thus far on the ship. I went to a digital camera presentation while Jim went to the Shore Excursion talk. We met up together for a Culinary Arts presentation by the Chef of the Pinnacle Grill – the specialty restaurant onboard the ship. He showed us how to make Tequila Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche. And, then they gave out samples and recipes! Yummo! There are several more culinary events planned while we are on board. I’ve even signed up for two hands-on cooking demonstrations and lessons, so I’m looking forward to that.
Jim attended a lecture by author Bruce Chadwick whose specialty is George Washington and the American Revolutionary era. He has written a number of books, and I know that Jim will really enjoy that.
While Jim was doing that, I was at the “spa” in the “capsule”. It is a capsule type device that relaxes you for 25 minutes and is supposed to be equal to having 2 hours of good sleep. Now it’s time for a nap!
We have met numerous people on board the ship from California – several from San Diego area from Oceanside to Santee. It’s a very small world!
As I sit here in our cabin, it is about 3:45 p.m. EST on Saturday, I have the door open to our verandah (which is totally covered by the deck above) , and I am just enjoying watching the calm waters of the Atlantic Ocean pass by. We are not sailing fast – only about 10-11 knots which is quite slow. It is quite pleasant outside – about 70-75° with no winds whatsoever. I can hear the gentle lapping of the water against the ships hull as we sail along. I think that chaise lounge out there is calling my name!
Tomorrow we will be in Charleston, South Carolina.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)