Crown Princess Travelogue #7 - Sydney Nova Scotia - Canada/New England Cruise October, 2012

Our Travelogue
Canada/New England Cruise on Crown Princess
Day 7 – Sydney, Nova Scotia

The Crown Princess arrived once again under gorgeous blue skies, today in Sydney, Nova Scotia. As we entered port, the sun was rising on the horizon and was an extraordinary color of brilliant pink. We each had breakfast delivered in our cabin by room service as we had to be ready to leave the ship and tender into port by 8:30 a.m.

On the pier in Sydney is an enormous fiddle and bow. The city wanted something to commemorate their Scottish heritage. We boarded our coach for our tour of Sydney as well as a coastal drive and the tour guide began to tell us of the history of Sydney and its coal and steel industry. We drove past the “company store, where he told us a story of the men working in the mines during the week. When they needed to purchase something from the company store, they would go here and sign a ticket. By the end of the work week they “owed their souls to the company store” – remember that song? Each section of town that we passed through was dedicated to a certain sector of workers in the mines. The first was for the company leaders, the second for the white collar workers and then one of the regular workers. You had to have one man in the house working in the mine in order to live in one of these houses. Each of these houses today is well kept. There are no fences in Nova Scotia. The homes sit on probably about ¾ of an acre surrounded by mowed lawns and colorful gardens. I saw several people out mowing their lawns with regular, gas powered mowers – no ride on tractor mowers here! Behind the homes was a forest of trees. And they were all turning colors of red, gold, yellow and everything in between. This was the most changing of the colors that we have seen on our cruise so far. What was truly unfortunate was that once again, the driver would not stop for us to take pictures. The pictures Nola and I have taken have been distorted by the reflections through the coach windows. But, we have the memories – blurred but beautiful.

Our first stop today was at a Jewish Synagogue which is a lovely museum now, The Whitney Pier Historical Museum. Nola got to ride upstairs in a chair lift. At the top, we were greeted by very friendly locals all very welcoming. The hall was full of all sorts of period collectibles including sewing machines, old stoves, dolls, and thousands of other items. The ladies were dressed in long dresses with white aprons and matching bonnets. They served us coffee, tea or lemonade along with an oat biscuit. And, I got the recipe!!

Joan’s Oatcakes Recipe
Provided by the Whitney Pier Historical Museum
1 cup shortening
1 cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 4 tablespoons hot water.
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups rolled oats
Directions:
Cream first four ingredients. Add soda mixture. Add dry ingredients and mix. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes. Roll out to desired shape and thickness. Bake at 350 degrees until light brown.


As I walked outside after enjoying a cup of hot tea and biscuit, I was greeted with the sound of music coming from across the street. As I walked up to the gingerbread house, a gentlemen came down the steps and greeted me. Casimer Siepierski (Cas for short) was all smiles. He told me he had lived in this house all his life. His mother built it from the basement up and worked in the steel plant. He is 78 years old and said he plays music for the synagogue. One of the songs that played while we talked was “Good Night Irene”. On the side of the narrow steps leading up to his porch was a flat wooden plaque with a horse and covered buggy. When I left, his hands were both waving in the air and he blew me a kiss!

We traveled from there out along the coastline to the Fort Petrie Historical Museum. This was dedicated to the men who fought in World War I and World War II. The building is right on the waters’ edge and very picturesque. From there we moved on to New Waterford and Colliery Park, a memorial to the coal mine explosion that closed the mine. Off in the distance at the tip of the island, we could see Low Point Lighthouse. We then passed by the Lingen windmill farm where there were several windmills turning around and around. Each one supplies electricity to about 6,000 homes. Marconi Point is where Alexander Graham Bell’s friend sent the very first telegraph signal to Great Britain. The road was windy and full of beautiful color in the trees.

Our 3 hour tour came to an end all too soon. Once back at the cruise pier, we tried to catch a taxi, but because today was the Canadian Thanksgiving and a good number of the businesses in town were closed. We did walk up into town and past a church where they were having a Craft Fair. We made a full circle around and eventually walked along the main street along the water back to the pier. The breeze really picked up and by the time we got back to the pier, it was really blowing. Once inside, we grabbed a light lunch and then Jim and I walked through some of the shops while Nola took advantage of the free wi fi in the terminal building and caught up on her emails.

We caught our tender back to the ship and then came upstairs to the buffet and enjoyed our window table overlooking Sydney. There is a heavy chop on the water below with white caps. The skies remained clear all day with just a few puffs of white here and there. What I find so charming about this area is that the islands do not have large mountains but are rather low rolling hills. As the hills gently reach the ocean, the houses follow the mountain up to the ridgeline. You can see the large lawns and each distinct farm. It is a charming area and one I hope I can return to someday.

Tomorrow we shall be on Prince Edward Island and we’ll be in Charlottetown – the home of Anne of Green Gables. Till then…

Crown Princess Travelogue #6 - Halifax, Nova Scotia - Canada/New England Cruise October, 2012

Our Travelogue
Canada/New England cruise on Crown Princess
Day 6 – Halifax, Nova Scotia

After arriving in Halifax at about 9:00 a.m. we disembarked the ship and boarded our motor coach for our trek out to Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, quaint fishing villages to the west of Halifax about 60-70 miles.

Unfortunately, our tour guide and bus driver had a specific agenda and time schedule. Because of this, our time in this beautiful area was quite brief and felt very rushed. Though we drove through Mahone Bay, the bus driver did not even slow down to take in the picturesque landscape along the babbling stream that had colorful trees lining its banks. He did not slow down to even allow us to take a picture of the Three Sisters churches across the bay. On our previous cruise a couple of years ago to Canada, our tour was longer and we were able to stop and enjoy these delightful little seaside communities. We passed by so quickly that we barely got a glimpse of the Victorian style homes and cottages along the seashore. This was truly disappointing to both Jim and me and to Nola as well because we had talked so much about our anticipation of returning to this area. Oh well…

Continuing on we came to Lunenburg about 10 minutes later. The bus driver drove to the top of the hill and dropped most people off near the Lunenburg Academy – once the home of an elementary school and now being turned into a museum. The walk down the hill is very interesting but quite steep – so Nola and I chose to stay on board and meet everyone at the bottom of the hill. As luck would have it, the bus driver took so long reaching the bottom of the hill because of having to make sharp maneuvers around the corners of the narrow streets that we literally met the walking group as they reached the bottom of the hill.

What we so enjoyed about our previous time here was that each of the wooden sided homes in Lunenburg and Mahone Bay are painted different and unique colors. There is a red one, next to a green one, next to a purple one, etc. In Lunenburg, each of the doorways is distinctly unique as well – and as such, they have created a postcard of the doorways of Lunenburg.

Lunenburg is on a small bay filled with numerous sail boats and water craft. The waters were sparkling in the sunshine on this warm day in October. Several of the boats were gliding gently across the waters with their sails billowing in the breeze.

Our time in Lunenburg was cut very short and we only had a total of about 45 minutes – which included the time that it took for the “walkers” to walk down the hill with the tour guide. Jim, Nola and I walked up a block or so and down the street so we could show her some of the ambience of this quaint seaside town.

After we returned from our 3 hour tour and were back in Halifax, we hailed a taxi who took us to the Blue Nose II restaurant where we enjoyed a bite to eat for lunch. Once we finished, we took off on foot and walked past several buildings marked as “historical” with oval plaques on the front of each of them indicating the original business that was in the building as well as the year it was built. We passed by Province House which is the oldest government building in Nova Scotia. Outside and to the right of the massive stone building was a monument and memorial to the Boer War in 1898. Winston Churchill fought in that war. To the left of the building was a statue of Joseph Howe. We don’t have any idea of who he was – but it must have been significant enough to honor him with this bronze statue.

We walked down to the waterfront and along a wooden planked walkway called Harbourwalk. On one side was the bay and on the other occasionally were small wooden shops with local vendors hoping you would go in and find the treasure you had been looking for! There was an ice cream shop and those that indulged were definitely enjoying their sweet treats in the warm sun. A pirate ship sailed by in the bay and scared us all when they blew their cannons. The Halifax lighthouse came into view about half way down the walk. We passed a large open area where about a dozen or so white Adirondack chairs were set on the lawn. Several people were enjoying the sun and sat in the chairs facing the bay or towards a large area full of red sand where children were playing on the swings and playground toys.

We walked about a mile down to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market where we went inside to get out of the sun for a bit. This was very reminiscent of the Saint John Market or Pikes Market in Seattle. Vendors were there with fresh fruit and vegetables as well as others selling homemade soap. There was a lavender vendor selling anything lavender that you could want – including lavender ice cream!

From there we walked down to the Cunard Cruise Terminal. Out in front was yet another bronze statue of Mr. Cunard. In the background through the black wrought iron fence stood the Halifax lighthouse across the shore on a tiny island.

Nola and Jim found the Genealogy Center in the cruise terminal where she actually got a copy of a wedding license from one of the Dunbar’s in her family tree.

Once we were all back on board, we all went up to the Lido Deck for sail away. It was a warm evening; and we were treated to a spectacular sunset of brilliant pinks and oranges. We passed two more lighthouses before turning north out of the bay and sailing on to our next port tomorrow of Sydney. We all were pretty tired, so we turned in early. Till tomorrow…

Crown Princess Travelogue #5 - Saint John, New Brunswick - Canada/New England Cruise October, 2012

Our Travelogue
Canada/New England cruise on Crown Princess
Day 5 – Saint John, New Brunswick

We arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick at about 8:00 a.m. to glorious blue skies up above once again! We are so blessed with the weather on this trip!

New Brunswick is a small province in Canada that links Nova Scotia to the rest of Canada. Saint John is perhaps most well-known for have the highest tide range in the world because of the Bay of Fundy’s funnel shape.

Our American Revolution history lesson has continued here. After the American Revolution, there was an influx of colonists in 1783 when 14,000 Loyalists fled the United States. Samuel de Champlain discovered New Brunswick in 1604 and the French settled the area around 1625. In the 1930’s there were 34,000 farms – in 2011 there are only 2,600 farms.

We left the boat around 10:00 a.m. and grabbed a taxi up to town to the top of the Saint John City Market. Similar in concept to Pikes Market in Seattle, vendors set up their stands with fresh produce, baked goods and the like hoping to have a good day selling their things. In addition to the fruits, vegetables and other food items, there is also one stand that we have always visited in Saint John and that is Pat, the linen lady. Her tablecloths and napkins have decorated our holiday table since we first came here in 2005. She is a very friendly and warm woman. This year we purchased new placemats and a runner for our Thanksgiving table.

After we walked through the market we meandered across the street to Barbour’s General Store which is an authentic country store. Inside, it is much like a museum with the original wooden floors and cabinetry that we were told was stained with goat’s milk. The shelves are filled with authentic merchandise of the Victorian era including a delicately handmade Christening gown along with a top hat and several pairs of ladies shoes.

From there we walked back to the pier and caught our tour at 12:30 p.m. We enjoyed our riverboat ride down the Saint John River. The weather was outstanding. We found bench seats along the starboard (right) side of the boat up front near the bow. It was the perfect place for us to be as it was out of the sun. The day was warm and we did not need our jackets, though we had them with us just in case.

The Saint John River is where you will find the reversing rapids. Twice a day at high tide, the bay forces the river to churn through the gorge and the sight is quite remarkable. After we left the small dock, we headed up stream and soon passed our first lighthouse – Greenhead Lighthouse – which is the largest on the river. The guide did not know how many lighthouses were on the river, but during our adventure, we passed three – Greenhead, Kemnebecasis’s and the Bayside.

The river freezes in the winter and becomes an ice road in the dead of winter. The banks of the river are full of maple and pine trees. The natural color of the maple trees is orange, red or yellow. The leaves are overcome by photosynthesis and chlorophyll in the summer which turns the leaves green. The leaves return to their “natural” color in the fall. Again, we saw some bits of color along the shore, but not much.

Our ride down the river was so peaceful and pleasant under the blue skies and warm 72°. Homemade cookies were served on the boat; and you were asked to “leave a donation” for the lady who had baked them. You could purchase bottled water, coffee or soda if you wished. We were on the river for about 2 hours.

As we made our way back to shore near the end of our time on board, the Captain took us down to the bridge where we had begun and we could see the tide coming in and the effects of the reversing rapids. At that exact point the waters became very turbulent with waves crashing and spray flying high above. We only observed it from a distance as it is quite dangerous to negotiate through with the currents and rough waters. It was a great way to end our day on the river.

We were up on the deck 16 for sailaway around 5:00 today. The air was still warm and quite enjoyable. Dinner tonight for us was dinner in the Crown Grill. Nola treated us to a lovely evening. We enjoyed our table by the window in the corner of the restaurant which is located on the Promenade Deck 7. Every once in awhile we would see some people walking past the window, but for the most part the decks were empty.

After dinner we took in the show in the Princess Theater. Tonight we were entertained by Mark Preston, a member of the Lettermen. He has not lost his voice at all though he has been singing with the Lettermen for 45 years. He sang many familiar songs and we enjoyed him. He did a medley of Lettermen hits including Put Your Head on My Shoulders and Summerplace.

Crown Princess Travelogue #4 - Bar Harbor - Canada/New England Cruise October, 2012

Our Travelogue
Canada/New England cruise on Crown Princess
Day 4 – Bar Harbor, Maine (pronounded: Baaaaa Haaaa baaaaa)

We are continued to be blessed with glorious weather here in New England. We arrived in Bar Harbor early at 7:00 a.m. and enjoyed breakfast in International Café before we got off the ship. We took our time as we didn’t have an excursion until 12 noon. We disembarked about 9:30 so we could walk through some of the shops near the waterfront. Unlike many other cruise ship ports, the New England cities have been able to retain their quaintness and individuality without the plethora of jewelry stores. There are many souvenir stores, don’t get me wrong, but they carry local merchandise and are just trying to make a living like you and me.

There are only 5,000 year-round residents in Bar Harbor. The coastline of Maine is rugged and dramatic; and, as you know, Maine is known for its lobster fishing. As we entered the small harbor, hundreds of buoys dotted the waters marking each individual spot where someone had put down their pots. Bar Harbor itself is nestled back in a small cove and is a tender port because the ships cannot negotiate the tiny islands and narrow passages. We anchored out and the tenders were lowered to begin carrying all of the passengers into town.

Once we got off our tender, we took our time walking through several of the shops. Nola and I each purchased a couple of beautiful Pashmina scarves in one boutique. We stopped by a local deli to grab a bite to eat before our tour began.

Today, we were being taken to the Cranberry Islands and to Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain. Arthur (pronounced Aaaathaa) was our guide for the day and he was delightful. He told us about some of the history of the area including how Samuel de Champlain discovered Mount Desert Island in 1604. Champlain originally named the island “Barren Mountain” because of the barren peaks worn smooth by the erosion of centuries. We heard stories of how Maine became a state in 1820, even though the northern border was still disputed by the British and Americans. Toward the end of the 1870’s, Bar Harbor attracted some of the wealthiest families in America because of its stunning beauty. John D Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulizer and the like all had mansions here. Most were destroyed in the fire of 1947. Rockefeller promoted the preservation of the island as well as establishing Acadia as a National Park in 1919.

Arthur guided our motor coach driver through the area out to a small cover where we boarded a small tour boat that took us out to Little Cranberry Island. The scenery was incredible in that only a few puffy white clouds dotted the skies above. The waters were calm as we glided across the water passing Sutton Island out to a small island where the sea lions were found basking in the sun. A few bald eagles were seen flying high in the pine trees. Our guide on the tour boat was a National Park Ranger named Betty. She was about 5’4” tall and very slender. She wore the standard olive green park ranger uniform along with her hard, wide-brimmed ranger hat. She wore no make-up. You could see her brown short hair just under the brim of her hat. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and gave us a lot of history about the glaciers and how they formed the fjords around us. Interestingly, we learned about the difference between a fjord and a fjard. The fjard has a narrow opening that was shallow and that is what we were in. The cliffs are dramatically straight up layers of granite dotted here and there with plants and trees. The impressive thing about what we saw were all of the huge homes. Each sits on acres of property – some with manicured lawns that I hoped they had a ride-on lawnmower to keep it groomed.

We stopped at Little Cranberry Island and were given the opportunity to walk about the tiny town of about 75 residents. It was up quite a hill so we got off and admired it from a distance. There were several apple trees along the path. There were also the remnants of an old wooden footbridge just sitting alongside the road that had seen better days. Residents on Little Cranberry are for-the-most part summer residents and quite well set monetarily. These are mostly second and third homes for them. There are two EMT’s on the island; but if you have a real medical emergency, you must be air lifted off by helicopter to the mainland.

After our cruise tour of Cranberry Islands, we once again boarded our coach and set out on a quest to Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Eastern seaboard. The view from the top was (as Nola says) “brilliant”. We could see forever it seemed. The coastline is jagged and rugged and the horizon was dotted with small islands. It was late afternoon by now, and rather brisk on top of the mountain, so we enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate when we left. Every so often you could see some color in some of the trees. We’ve been told that full cover will be in about 10-15 days from now due to their lack of rain this year. Throughout the vegetation were low mountain ash trees full of red berries. Several of the sugar maples were beginning to turn to yellow and bronze that added to the beauty and gave the opportunity to see some beginnings of the fall colors across the valleys.

The Crown Princess pulled away from Bar Harbor at sunset. The skies were brilliant shades of pink and orange and the three of us enjoyed it from our balcony while we toasted another beautiful day.

We continue to be blessed by the incredible weather we have had. Tomorrow is to be another such glorious day that we’ll spend in Saint John, New Brunswick. Till then…

Crown Princess Travelogue #3 - Canada/New England Cruise October, 2012

Our Travelogue
Canada/New England cruise on Crown Princess
Day 3 – Boston, Massachusetts

We cruised into Boston harbor later than the originally scheduled time of 10:00 a.m. After a VERY rough night at sea where we were shakin’, rockin’ and rollin’ we were happy to get inside protected waters where we had smooth sailing for about an hour.

Our tour today was an all-day tour out to Lexington and Concord, then back to Quincy Market for lunch, then on to the Old North Church and finally out to Cambridge and Harvard University.

Ernie was our driver and Steve was our tour guide for the day. As we drove out of Boston, Steve began to give us the history of Boston and its’ ties with the American Revolutionary War.

Boston was founded by a group of Puritan colonists from England. It was the location of several major events during the American Revolution including the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston Tea Party and you can walk along the historic path on the Freedom Trail in Boston proper. You can also take the tour that we took out to Lexington and Concord to hear again the story of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

The drive out to Lexington takes about an hour. The rolling hills were full of trees beginning to change color; but we were told we were about a week early for the peak of the “changing of the colors” in New England. It was still beautiful. The roadways are green with manicured grasses that back up to acres and acres of multi-colored trees. The trunks of many of the trees were white which gave way to a dramatic color change once you looked up to the tops of the trees which looked like puffy pillows, each a different color of green, yellow, gold and a few had turned to rust. There are numerous varieties of trees including hemlock, spruce, sugar maple etc.

When we arrived in Lexington, Steve continued with our history lesson and took us to the Lexington Visitor’s Bureau where there was an incredible miniature diorama protected by glass inside that depicted the events of the Revolution. It also serves as a souvenir shop. Outside was a memorial to the 78 Minute Men who battled the British. Across the street was a beautiful white steeple peeking out through the trees which belonged to the Congregational Church. The church steeples are quite prevalent in the landscape as you gaze across the valleys and hillsides. There are memorials in many places indicating where soldiers lost their lives (British and American).

From Lexington we continued on to Concord and through the quaint New England town out to the Old North Bridge where the first shot of the Revolution was fired – “the shot heard round the world”. We got off the coach and walked down a path lined with rock fences indicating where the farmers had portioned off their property. It was these very same rock walls and barriers that the colonists used to hide behind when the British were coming.

The path had a slight incline and at the crest of the hill, we could see down into this beautiful valley with a small river running through it. Across the river stood a beautiful arched wooden bridge with handrails. The original bridge was washed out by rains and floods many years ago; but this new one was built and is a replica of what once was there during the Revolution. The trees along the river had more reddish color to them than did the trees in the surrounding acres. Nestled off to the left of the bridge was an old wooden boat house. The wood was old and grey, but it had so much charm to me; and I knew that it had many stories to tell if the walls could only talk.

There is a memorial to the commemoration of the “event” and the fact there had been bloodshed there so many years ago. It was an obelisk and stood about 20 feet tall. It marked the death of two American militia men and two British soldiers. As we walked across the bridge, the river waters were moving but very calm, and the reflection of the trees was beautiful in the blue water. Across the bridge was another memorial, this one was to the Minute Men.

After this, we traveled back into Boston, to Quincy Market where we had lunch and were able to walk around a little. From there we went over to The Old North Church which became famous back on April 18, 1775 when the colonists (including William Daws and Paul Revere) came up with a signal to alert John Hancock and Sam Adams who were out in Lexington and Concord, that the British were coming! Two lanterns were hung up in the steeple of the Old North Church for only one minute on that night – and that is all that was needed to let the Minute Men know the British were crossing the river by boat because it was shorter.

The Old North Church is on the Freedom Trail in Boston and well worth seeing. Behind the church in the courtyard is a bronze statue of Paul Revere on his faithful steed. Our tour guide recited the entire poem by Longfellow as we stood around the statue. From there we walked up towards the church where we passed a memorial to the men and women who have lost their lives in Afghanistan. Trellis type frames were built behind a lovely garden of flowers. On each rung of the trellis hung hundreds of blank military dog tags. When the wind blows, the tags make an incredible wind chime.

Inside the church we sat and listened to a docent tell us once again the story of that faithful night. It was quite interesting as she told the history of that story and several others after that.

From there we walked down the street past an old cemetery and also could see Old Ironsides in the harbor. Then we were back on the coach and on our way out to Cambridge and Harvard. Harvard University was where several of our President’s went to school including John F. Kennedy. It is also the school where some rather famous people dropped out only to make millions on their own – including Bill Gates, Matt Damon and the founder of Facebook.

Harvard Yard is an area inside the campus that is surrounded by many old, brick and granite buildings and now where the students gather to study under the trees on the lawn. The granite library with its tall columns and massive steps were the inspiration for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC. We saw the dormitory where JFK once lived. Several of the buildings originally were the home of military officers.

It was a long day, and once we were back on ship we enjoyed a slice of pizza for dinner onboard and then it was off to sleep for all of us. The weather was beautiful and about 65 degrees. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Tomorrow we are off to Bar Harbor. Till then…