Thursday, 9/29/11 Bar Harbor, Maine

 

Bar Harbor is the commercial and tourist center for Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.  Surrounded by mountains, forest, lakes and ocean, this resort town was once the summer playground for wealthy and famous Americans.  While most of Bar Harbor’s grand mansions and cottages were destroyed in a fire that devastated the island in 1947, many of the surviving estates have been converted to quaint hotels, bed and breakfast inns, and restaurants. 

No tours planned for today since we have been to this port before.  We were thinking about a whale watching cruise, but the timing didn’t work with our schedule.  Weather OK – but not clear and sunny.   Decided not to go to Acadia National Park this time because there was a cloud of fog at the top of the mountain.  Last year we did go to the top of Cadillac Mountain on a perfectly clear day, so we didn’t see any sense going back in the fog.   Temperatures were mid 60’s with threat of rain.   Walked around the shops and up and down a lot of the side streets.    Found a great bakery/coffee shop, the Morning Glory Bakery ---with WiFi so we enjoyed coffee and a scone while we uploaded our blog and checked email and facebook.   In the photo below, you can see the cloud which is settled into the mountain.

       

Returned to the ship before the rain came. 

The food has been exceptional on the ship and the shows so far have been phenomenal.  Looking forward to Halifax, Nova Scotia tomorrow.

Below is a picture of our cabin and the staircase in the ships lobby area.  

Halifax, Nova Scotia –9/30/11

 

Weather beautiful today.   70 degrees and sunny.    Since we were in Halifax this time last year and saw all of the highlights, we decided not to take an organized tour.   We walked off the ship and up the boardwalk along the wharf.  It wasn’t very far to the Maritime Museum which we didn’t see last year, so we decided that we would go in.   We viewed a 20 minute 3-D film about the Titanic which had footage from scientists who went down in small submarines and documented the ship’s decay after almost 100 years.   Titanic sunk on it’s maiden voyage on the evening of April 14, 1912.  It was sailing from England to New York and hit an iceberg and sank off the coast of Halifax.   

 

The above 2 photo’s were taken in the Maritime Museum in front of pictures from the Titanic.    

The picture above was also taken in the museum.  

That evening, we were invited to the Bridge during the sail away from Halifax at 7:00 PM.   We have toured the bridge in the past,  but never had the opportunity to actually be on the bridge while the Captain was sailing out of the harbor.    It was an exciting experience for us.  The gentleman in the photo below is Graham, our Captain’s Club Host, who has bent over backwards to make our cruise experience memorable.

Behind us, you can see the officers and the Captain maneuvering the ship out of the harbor.  

Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to a day at sea.     After 4 ports in a row, we could use the down time.    This itinerary is so much different than a Caribbean cruise, since we don’t generally do tours anymore on the islands.   I’m happy to say that my new knees are certainly serving me well.    I am able to walk for miles and miles, hours and hours without knee pain.     Life is good.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 – Portland, Maine

 

Today we arrived in Portland.   Another beautiful day.  70 degrees and sunny.   Since we were in Portland once before, we scheduled a culinary walking tour.   Portland is known for it’s restaurants.   The largest city in Maine, Portland is home to 64,000 residents.  The city sits on a small peninsula that juts out into Casco Bay along the coast of Maine.   Portland also sits in protected harbor with easy access to the waters of the Atlantic.  

 

We met our guide and began our tour along the cobblestone streets.   Went to various shops, restaurants and markets sampling gourmet cheeses, chocolates, wines, fish, lobster and finally a tour of a brewery with samples of the different craft beers.   Along the way our guide pointed out historical places of interest.   

The above statue is a memorial to the lobsterman who have lost their lives.  Lobster fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs, according to our guide.  Below is a fish and lobster market where we learned about the local fishing and lobster industry.  We also walked through the farmer’s market, went to a cheese shop, and tried some award winning cheeses. 

 

Above is my favorite pool area.   There’s a spa cafe, lots of plush lounge chairs, and the pool is heated salt water with various jacuzzi stations.    Tomorrow – Bar Harbor