Tag: cruising

In Search Of Lobster

In addition to enjoying the comfort of travelling by ship, Peter and I visited many interesting ports on our recent cruise. Peter wanted to see the ports. My main goal was to eat a lobster roll.

Our first stop was Saguenay, Quebec, where we were met on the dock by a welcoming committee of French-Quebec characters. They offered us self-sawed wood plaques, blueberry tea, maple syrup on ice, and Quebecois music. What? No lobster?

The port building displayed the town’s dedication to clean ocean water, with a variety of sculptures made from sea garbage. The little town boasted about its antique car museum and its ancient church, an icon we would see in almost every port we visited.

Peter sawing his own plaque

After a day at sea, we stopped at Charlottetown, a city we had both visited before, but a long time ago. It has a slightly larger church. And it has the famous building where the Fathers of Confederation developed 72 resolutions which became the foundation for the British North American Act. This constitutional act was signed into law by Queen Victoria in 1867, thereby creating the Dominion of Canada.

Confederation House, undergoing renovations

After we finished wandering Charlottetown’s city streets, I was craving my lobster roll and convinced Peter to visit a “Shellfish Festival” just outside of town. On our way we met a couple who told us the festival was not worth a visit. Then we discovered that there was a $10 admission charge. Peter said he didn’t really want to go and I, wearing a pouty face, finally gave in. A couple of days later, we heard on the news that over 550 people got seriously ill from the food at that festival. Sometimes, you know, Peter is right.

A couple of ports merit only a brief mention. Sydney Nova Scotia is known for its Fort Louisburg and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, both of which we had previously visited. The next stop, Portland Maine, was our first American port and we spent most of our time waiting in line to pass through immigration. There’s not much else to say about those 2 stops.

In between, however, we strolled along the modern boardwalk in Halifax and visited Pier 21 where Peter and his mom first landed in Canada in 1958. We also climbed up to the Citadel, the high point of the city, and we do mean high. We rested in the beautiful city gardens which feature a bountiful variety of flowers and fountains.

Pier 21 where evidence of Peter’s arrival in Canada can be seen

Next up was Bar Harbour Maine, where we spent a lot of time browsing the stores, walking past the church, and picking up some souvenirs. But that lobster roll was nowhere in sight. Then we stopped at a slightly larger port city, Freeport, Rhode Island, famous for its mansions by the sea. The largest is The Breakers, owned by the Vanderbilt family and situated quite close to one of the best places for surfing on the entire eastern coast.

The Breakers

Our favourite stop was Boston. We were at a loss as to what to see first in our short stay of only a few hours. So we hopped on a trolley and hopped off at several stops. We were impressed by the variety of architectural styles on display, including the state building with its 23-karat gold roof, the 60-storey John Hancock building whose exterior reflects the other buildings around it, the antique merry-go-round, and the magnificent old church. As we headed back to the ship, there it was: a seafood restaurant! I finally got my lobster roll, and it was served without germs.

State House and restaurant in Boston

Our cruise ended in New York City where we were met by our son, Daniel. We spent the weekend with Dan, Jenny, Ben and Tobie. What better way to finish a holiday than a few days with family?

Sue

Poster from contemporary art show in New York City

PS Have a lovely Thanksgiving! If you don’t want to cook a turkey, you could always boil up some lobsters.

Shipping News

Peter and I spent the last 2 weeks on a vacation which included a cruise. We didn’t stop to think that a 10-day cruise in the fall would be limited to one particular group: old retired people like us.

We haven’t been on a trip of any kind in a couple of years so preparing for this trip was a little stressful. The weather in the Maritimes and New England is supposed to be mild and sunny but there can be occasional hurricanes along the coast. So we had to pack a lot of layers to accommodate all possibilities. Our pill consumption has increased, so (I have to admit) I bought one of those pill box organizers. Then the airline tickets we had booked to go to our departure city were threatened by a potential airline strike! But finally we were ready.

Pill box organizer saved the day..

Peter wanted to take public transit to the airport but we had packed a lot of stuff. Two suitcases plus 3 carry-ons seemed daunting for a subway and 2 bus rides plus walking, so we agreed on taking an Uber. But Ubers arrive quickly and, in our haste to leave, an important item was left behind and we had to coax the Uber guy to turn around.

The flight was short and the attendants served wine so by the time we got to Quebec City we were calmed down and ready to have fun. We had booked a hotel for one night before our cruise left. But when we arrived at our lovely boutique hotel, we found out it had no elevators and no bell hops. We had to lug our suitcases and carry-ons to the second floor.

Boutique hotel with no elevators

We were almost ready to give up and go home, but our hotel was just across from the Chateau Frontenac and a lovely boardwalk, so we soldiered on.

After a walk and a delicious French dinner, we slept well and were all set to hike to the ship the next morning. The hotel had advertised a 10-minute walk to the port but we were still trudging after half an hour. We could see the ship but it was located behind acres of shipyards. Eventually a disability shuttle took pity and picked us up. We tried to ignore the wheelchair sign in the windows as we took our seats.

Peter walking the port

We boarded the ship and looked around. We have never before seen so many canes, walkers and wheelchairs gathered together on a floating vessel. There were a lot of wrinkled faces, grey hair and bald heads too. But there were also a few heads with blue streaks and even a moustache dyed green. And those wrinkled faces were smiling. Would this be a nursing home experience or not?

The Norwegian Sky

The ship made accommodations for our collective age. The mealtimes were adjusted to include lunch starting at 11:30 and dinner beginning at 5:00. We chose “sharing tables’ in the dining room and met a lot of interesting older people. They were from all over the world; not just Quebec but also Georgia, Arizona, California, the UK, India, Germany, and Australia. We learned a lot about healthcare, housing, education, weather and grandchildren in other countries. And we all acknowledged that we might forget each other’s names if we met again the next day.

There were shows after dinner. A violinist wore sparkly dresses she had designed herself as she played a variety of music types that we recognized. A group of performers presented an evening of show tunes from the 60’s and up. A comedian, who was also in his 70’s like most of us, told our kind of jokes. The shows ended at 10 pm and the guests, including us, walked directly to our staterooms and put on our pajamas; the casino sat empty.

Next Tuesday I’ll give you an overview of the many interesting ports we visited. But all in all, Peter and I decided that cruising is a definite travel possibility for older people.

Sue

Chateau Frontenac hotel in Quebec City