Escape to the Great White North - Day 6

Got up early so I could take some unimpeded video of the ship (which will be posted as an episode of “From the Pop Culture Bunker”).

Then we got dressed and went down for a smaller breakfast at the buffet, taking some pastries back with us and sat on the balcony. The ship doesn't dock at Halifax until mid morning. It is remarkably warm here--thanks climate change!  Early predictions had it in the high 40s at Halifax, and now it's saying more like 60.

It's absolutely gorgeous this morning--just some wispy clouds.

Around 10:30 or so, the cruisers were allowed to disembark, most of them scurrying to tours, but we just decided to walk around and have lunch.

Alongside us with a ship from the Silversea line, a fancy-schmancy vessel.

While Halifax is definitely an industrial town, the boardwalk area is just fantastic.  It stretches for a mile or two, going past shops, restaurants, museums, and other businesses. 

Since Nova Scotia translates to "New Scotland", there's a number of businesses that sell tartans and kilts.  In the middle was an area called the Salt Yard, where there were various shacks and buildings selling food. We read about it on the Facebook group page.  We always endeavor to get food that we can't get at home, so we had the following:

• Poutine, Canada's national food (apart from Tim Hortons donuts I guess).  French fries, cheese curds, gravy, and maybe meat if you'd like. Basically a lot of carbs and quite delicious.

• A "Beaver Tail", similar in concept to an elephant ear except it has whole wheat pastry, with various stuff added to it. We had the Avalanche, which involved a cream and bits of Skor candy on it.  Messy but very good.

• Finally, from a host of ice cream places we could have picked from, The Fog Company. They start with an ice cream cone, then dump all sorts of stuff on it both savory and sweet-- then add cotton candy in a ring at the top of the cone itself. The various add-ons end up getting snagged in that cotton candy ring. You almost need a shower after eating this, but wow!

During our time in Halifax, we kept seeing this bizarre cargo ship that we were convinced was run by Google. It turned out to be a n unrelated company that ship huge industrial equipment.

Note the logo.

After walking up and down the boardwalk, and checking out some of the stores, we made it back to the ship before our sugar crash kicked in.  Time for a nap before dinner!

This was our second of two specialty restaurants which were included in our cruise package. We went to La Cucina, a fancy Italian spot. We stuck to our rule of eating stuff we normally wouldn't--I had calamari with a red snapper entree, which included clams and mussels. Mindy had antipasto and ravioli with beef tenderloin. It was all wonderful.

A walk around the deck later, ,we got the "sustainable cocktail of the day--a Bananaruma, which sounds promising but (at least to me) fell into the "cough syrup" category.

Au revoir, Canada.

We sailed out into the foggy night. We're told the wind is really going to pick up and it appears to be doing so already. 

Louie, I think think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Tomorrow--a rough day at sea on our way back to the states...

#escapetothegreatwhitenorth

Escape to the Great White North - Day 5

We got up promptly after an early night. This was tempered by the fact that we are now in the Atlantic time zone, so we lost an hour.  Off to the buffet for breakfast.  It's an enormous loop that takes you around about 2/3 of a deck. Tried a couple British items in addition to more traditional things-- a "banger" and baked beans.

We then checked in at the thermal spa. Mindy was intrigued after my session there, and so we decided to get another day together. They informed us that, because of people coming back onto the ship from St. John's (more about that in a minute), we should plan to go early and/or late.  That was our plan anyway!

We gathered our stuff and returned to the spa. Mindy did very much enjoy the place as I had. Now I'm trying to figure out how to shoehorn a sauna into the Pop Culture Bunker...

Mindy (yes, that’s her) enjoying the snow room.

We had planned to go to one of the main dining rooms for lunch, but they were closed. So it was back to the buffet. I concentrated again on an anglophile meal-- Shepherd's pie, beef and ale, and a trifle (sans beef, sorry Joey).

A random amalgamation of ethnic foods.

Mindy loved those grilled tomatoes.

We had already decided we were not going to get off the ship at St. John's. We had already come here five years ago as part of our trip to Prince Edward Island, and it didn't seem like there was a lot to do. The main attraction is the Bay of Fundy, which has the largest differential between high and low tides in the world. However, it's not exciting to watch in real time, kind of like watching paint dry. Just check it out now and in several hours.  The rest of St. John's seems very industrial.

Come to St. John’s, and see our parking lot!

Due to the huge changes in tide, the gangplank from the ship needs to go up and down throughout the day on this framework.

Hey Bill!

So we sat out on the deck and did some reading. Mindy went over to pick up the day's sustainable cocktail, which turned out to include coffee grounds-- yuck!

Dinner was at Savor/Taste. I had the Chinese Pork, while Mindy had the Beef Ragu.

Then back for a late session at the thermal spa.

We stopped for a nightcap--another grasshopper for me, and a white Russian for Mindy.

Off to bed! Tomorrow is our final stop--Halifax!

#escapetothegreatwhitenorth

Escape to the Great White North - Day 4

Mindy got up early and ventured out for coffee. She came back with croissants (small), and we sat out on the balcony before suiting up for the day.  Off to the buffet for something more substantial.

Morning in Maine.

Corned beef hash at the bottom—never tried it before. Mmm.

Then we headed down to the tender for the trip to Bar Harbor.  We came down earlier than last time, so we cooled our heels in the theater for a few minutes along with the others. We then were crammed into the clown car of boats.  It was foggy, but quickly burned off.

Seen in a shop. “The Larch”.

I came here as a kid, but only remember a) flimsy toy lobster traps and b) going out to the "beach" aka sharp rocks.  We wandered about the shops, then had lunch at the Side Street Diner--a haddock sammich and clam chowder.

I guess we were hungry.

More wandering, more purchasing--and then the official walking tour. There was a huge throng of people going on various tours, with guides running around holding up signs. You think they'd have this a little better organized. The guy took our paper ticket, then had to go find a manager to turn them in before we could go. If only everyone had a ship ID with a barcode on it, that could be easily read by a phone app...

Pandemonium!

Otherwise the guide was excellent, and had a wealth of information. In 1908, Mrs. Rockefeller, who was pregnant at the time, learned her doctor was summering in Maine. She and her family followed him there so he could deliver the child, who was Nelson Rockefeller. She cajoled the rest of the 400 to join her there.

Hey, get one of those “starving artists” cranking out stuff for the ship’s art auction out here!

The Bar Harbor Inn—a men’s only club until someone built another place down the road and got Louis Armstrong to play. It become a “motor lodge”, but is now high end at $700/night.

A Nazi U-Boat dropped off some agents here during WW2, but locals spotted them immediately, and they were thrown in the slammer.

A classic “village green” with the start of fall foliage.

A Gilded Age church.

Tiffany stained glass. The cherubs at the edges are the faces of the wealthy families’ kids.

After another line, back to the ship.  We ate at a pub for dinner (fish and chips, burger), while enjoying their "sail and sustain cocktails", which utilize leftover ingredients like fruit rinds, etc.  We also had dessert cocktails—a mudslide and a grasshopper. Essentially boozy milkshakes.

Back to the room for what was supposed to be a quick nap--we planned to go to a comedy show. Instead, we crashed for the night--hey, we're old!

Tomorrow--O, Canada!

#escapetothegreatwhitenorth

Escape to the Great White North - Day 3

We woke up early, mostly due to crashing early last night.  We went to Taste (as opposed to Savor) for breakfast.  I splurged on sunny side up eggs (normally go for scrambled) and a cinnamon roll, while Mindy got a fancy breakfast sammich.  We heard a nearby lady ordering a VERY specific meal involving the use of toast solely to soak up water from poached eggs--with “eating” toast on the side.  Oh, and "real" Half-and-Half.

At this point, we split off for a couple hours, with Mindy hanging out on the balcony and me off to the "Thermal Spa". The spa folks tried to sell us on a week-long pass, but I don't see myself doing it enough times to make that financially responsible. So I just did the day pass.

The thermal spa includes the following:

• A large warm pool with various jets--kind of like a big hot tub.  One area, semi-sectioned off from the rest, had jets powerful enough that you had to fight to not be plastered against the wall.

• A set of lounge chairs, overlooking the bow of the ship. Some of them were made of stone and were heated, apparently to satisfy your ancient lizard need to sun yourself on a rock.

• A traditional sauna (lots of heat, little humidity)

• Another version of a sauna with less heat and more humidity

• A traditional steam room, which I could only stay in for 2 minutes

• A snow room-- basically a very cold room with a snow making machine attached. Moving directly from the sauna to the snow room was quite invigorating.  I couldn't stop myself from singing "Holly jolly Christmas" under my breath.

• A salt bath--a room with heated salt that does some sort of health related thing. It's one of those "if you believe it works, it works" deal. On the ceiling was a set of jutting red crystals, assumedly made of salt.

"Krypton is about to explode, get the baby Kal-El on the rocket!!"

After that, back to the room to get ready to check out Portland, ME. We didn't pay for any excursions here, instead we just walked about. Found a nice place off the beaten path of cruisers where I got my traditional Lobstah Roll.

That’s a $35 sammich (market rate).

A very pretty salad.

Mindy found an online self-walking tour of the area. We found out that one of the founders of United Artists was born there. In the early days of cinema, you could go from being the local movie distributor to running a studio.  We also ran into a guy who gave us some colorful information about the area--he's not a fan of change.

Portland’s Jewish roots.

Back to the relative safety of the ship, and another spa session.  Then it's time for dinner.  We went to the third "complimentary" restaurant, the Manhattan Room.  Mindy had the steak with peppercorn sauce, while I tried the Boom-Boom Chicken.  Both were very good.  It's fascinating to watch the army of wait staff move about like a Swiss watch.

She loves them peppercorns.

A quick walk around the deck to wake us up, followed by watching the crew release the lines as we rode off.  We hoped to see a cruiser running toward the gangplank as it was pulled in, but no luck.

A bit later, we ventured out to a bar where the FB group had invited people celebrating events (we just passed our 30th anniversary).  Five minutes into the get together, a singer kicked off his act 5 feet away. Not conducive for conversation.

That's enough for one day--tomorrow, Bah Hahbah.

#escapetothegrwatwhitenorth

Escape to the Great White North - Day 2

Port of Call - Newport, RI

We were awakened around 6:30 a.m. with what we thought was the anchor being dropped, but later realized it was the "tenders" being lowered. This means the ship doesn't dock-- you get on a much smaller boat and ride in. 

We ordered room service for 8:00 a.m., as we were hoping to get into Newport as early as possible. We almost gave up on room service around 8:30 and were getting ready to find food, which is of course when they showed up. We ate it on the balcony--a little scanty but good.

View from our balcony.

The tender process went smoothly--they really pack you in them.  It's the nautical equivalent of a clown car.

A meandering ride later, we landed in Newport, RI.  It's basically split into historic (pretty and vibrant) and touristy (loud and crowded).

A gorgeous city hall.

A very fancy dentist’s office.

Touristy Newport.

The former included a well maintained historic museum--they manage a number of local buildings.

Off to the bus for a tour of historic mansions--The Breakers and Marble House, both built during the "Gilded Age" by the Vanderbilts.  Obscene excess?  You got it.

The Breakers - An unassuming “cottage” for the Vanderbilts.

Note the four taps on the tub—two for hot and cold, and two for salt water, hot and cold.

Yes, that’s the kitchen.

Off to Marble House—another Vanderbilt joint. The floors, walls, ceilings—all marble. I’m sure this is freezing in the winter, but this was a “summer home”.

I’m glad they labeled this.

The Gilded Age families would go to Europe, buy an entire lot of related stuff, have ti shipped over, then have their designers build a room around it. This all came from European churches.

The Mistress of the home’s basic bedroom.

In case you want some tea in the backyard.

We had a very entertaining guide on the bus named "Huw"-- a proper British gentleman. His only problem was that he didn't enforce the "we're leaving without you if you are late" bit. So we had to wait quite a while in line to get back on the tender.  They did hand out hot towels and hot chocolate though. An enterprising guy rolled up with a lobstah roll truck.

We managed to make it to the ship before it headed out. A quick shower later, we went to one of the "specialty" (aka not complimentary) restaurants. Our cruise package included two of them, one of which was Moderna--a Brazilian steakhouse.  You start with a high-end salad bar (caperberries, lobster bisque, etc).  Then it's time for meat, in multiple varieties, brought on long sticks to your table, until you tell them to stop.  One of the options: roasted pineapple, something I would normally avoid.  I had two helpings.

From the fancy salad bar.

View from our table.

Other options: filet mignon, flank steak, top sirloin, parmesan crusted chicken drumettes, lamb top sirloin, pork loin, Brazilian pork sausage, pork belly, and one we did not try, bacon-wrapped chicken breast.

And then dessert, which is putting a hat on a hat.

We also had the signature cocktail, which was the caipirinha, plus a glass of wine.  It was two more drinks than I would normally have.

We had planned to do more activities that night, but between the drinks and the meat coma, we were bushed. Not even a walk on the outside deck could stop the yawning.  Off to our room to crash!

Tomorrow--Portland (the Maine version).

#escapetothegrwatwhitenorth

Escape to the Great White North - Day 1

An early start--our "check in" at the port starts at 9:30.  The trip into NYC was faster than expected, considering that the last trip (in 2013) featured an hour wait at the Lincoln Tunnel.  Then a bit of a maze for parking (the port has a dedicated lot, and we paid in advance).

This was followed by a series of queues (which also went faster, to the point that we rarely actually stopped) and security checks.

Once checked in, the waiting game began.  Keep in mind everybody needs to disembark from the last cruise before the new passengers can walk the gangplank.  After that, you wait for the Unobtanium / Upsidaisium / Lustrium / Ambassador / Fleet Admiral Levels to board, and then finally us.

Once on the ship, we went to "muster drill"--required for safety purposes.  This used to involve getting your lifevest from your room, going out to a specific location out on the deck, and being walked through procedures.  Now, they just scan your card, and you watch a video in your room.

Then, another line to reserve slots at the restaurants.  While there are three main restaurants (Savor, Taste, and Manhattan) and a huge buffet included in your tour, there are also 9 specialty places where you need to reserve.  While in line, a woman helped us get to wifi (we both worked in IT, and we were baffled), so we did it on the app instead.  Onto Savor (or was it Taste?) for lunch.

We then wandered around the "Waterfront"--a outside loop dotted with restaurants, and sat for a bit. 

We continued exploring, finding ourselves in a sales pitch for the spa.  Fortunately, it was announced the rooms were ready.  We'll do a tour later, but suffice it to say it's a lot bigger than what we could afford way back when.

If you go on a cruise today, you can find social media for any of them--we stopped in at a bon voyage party set up by a Facebook group. Met some nice people and exchanged local candies.

…and our first drinks for the cruise. The line threw in a beverage package with our tickets.

Around 5:30, the ship pulled out of the dock, past the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and under the Verrazanos bridge--all as dusk fell.  An excellent view!

We went to the buffet to get a bite--along with everyone else. 

So we ate and skedaddled (grabbing an ice cream on the way out) to our room. All our luggage arrived--yay! We turned off the room lights and sat out on our balcony for a bit, then got ready for bed.

Tomorrow--Newport!

#escapetothegrwatwhitenorth

Escape to the Great White North - Day 0

Reporting from Allentown, PA

Back in the 'aughts, we were "cruise people". Two tours of the Caribbean in 2000 and 2003, with another run to Alaska in 2006.  Then we dropped off for some reason. Maybe the fact that cruise ships seemed to become petri dishes for awhile, or life got in the way. (Postscript—I did get the ol’ COVID after we returned from this cruise).

In any case, we're back at it to celebrate our 30th anniversary, setting off on the Norwegian Escape from NYC to New England and Canada--hence the hashtag below. We pushed the trip back a few weeks to hopefully coincide with peak foliage time.

(BTW--this is being dropped "post facto", as wifi on a ship hearkens back to the CompuServe days--you pay for a set number of minutes, and even that is limited.  Figure out what you want beforehand, log in, get what you need, and log off.)

But first, we had to get to The Big Apple. We're still avoiding planes if possible (the "joy of flying" is mostly an oxymoron), so it was a day of driving, with the majority of it on the PA turnpike.  It was a drizzly day which turned foggy, especially in a valley where they have special signs about it.  Just a lot of driving up and down hills and valleys.

We made it to the hotel, then found the Starlight Diner--more of a regular restaurant with a salad bar and full menu.  Had to try the open face turkey sammich, while Mindy had the gyro.  Since we're going to NY, we split cheesecake for dessert.

Back to the hotel to crash--big day tomorrow.

#escapetothegreatwhitenorth