The Senior Scene

We left off last month in Saint John, New Brunswick, half way through our Princess cruise around New England and into Canada.  The second half of the trip was more spectacular than the first.  So let me continue on.

Heading further north we arrived at Halifax, the largest city in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces and capital of Nova Scotia.  We took off on another walking tour starting with the Neptune Theatre, the province’s largest professional theatre company with the façade of the former City Club of the 1890’s.

For some, the reason for the entire cruise was our stop in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for this is the home of “Anne of Green Gables”.  Green Gables, the 19th century farm located in Cavendish, was the setting and inspiration for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s much-loved novels.  The tour includes the barns and farmhouse as well as the flower gardens and views of the Lake of Shining Waters.

At last we had time to do nothing. We left Charlottetown at 5 p.m. on the 11th  and didn’t arrive in Quebec City until the morning of the 13th.  We looked at a lot of ships on this very busy stretch of water. Big freighters carrying a multitude of cargo continuously passed us on their way to deliver cargo at ports all over the world.  Towns and fields were on either side.

Our last port was Quebec City.  The architecture, the ambience, and the animated conversation on the street confirm the impression that a bit of France has been permanently imbedded in North America.  This is the only remaining walled city north of Mexico.

We chartered a bus for just our group and took off to explore the city.

We spent one last night on the ship with a gala farewell dinner and many stories to tell.  Our weary travelers had an early morning departure to the Quebec airport and a long flight home.  As with every trip we were a little weary but full of new memories of wonderful sights from historic buildings to forest ablaze with color; craggy cliffs and oceans crashing to the shore.  Just let us rest up a little bit and we will be ready to tackle the next adventure.

For further information or to get on the mailing lists call Linda Finch at 253 927 8207 or email to linda.finch@gmail.com.

At last you get to hear all about that great October cruise.  Final count for the group was 16 and we certainly attracted attention as we had a wheelchair parade through the airports.  It makes it “oh so easy” when we have some riders and some pushers.  The crowds part and we happily proceed through to our destination.

Our first stop was New York City, the “Big Apple” with all those fantastic places like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and now the 911 Memorial.  We did it all in our chartered bus so that we dictated just how long we wanted to stay any one place and just how much walking we wanted to endure.  The trip to the Statue of Liberty was by boat so even though we didn’t actually tread on the grounds of Ellis Island we were very close.  Some rode on horse drawn carriages through Central Park and others took in Broadway; others yet just walked the streets and did a little window-shopping on 5th Avenue.

The cruise terminal for Princess is in Brooklyn, which gave us another area to explore before boarding our home away from home for the next 10 days.  The Crown Princess is beautiful; complete with the spa, piazza, casino, and even “movies under the stars”  (they give you blankets for the cooler nights).  We settled into cabins and went out to explore this amazing ship, which holds over 3,000 passengers.

The first port of call was Newport, Rhode Island; where the robber barons of the Gilded Age erected the elaborate summerhouses they dubbed “cottages.”   This was the playground for the Vanderbilts, Astors and Morgans.  We were among the lucky that have been able to pass The Elms, Rosecliff and Marble House.  Some of us strolled along the Cliff Walk, the path between the rocky coastline and the “backyards” of many of the palatial cottages.  On one side the sea crashes onto the rocks and cliffs while on the other you envision what it would be like to live in one of these “cottages.

After a wonderful dinner and show on board Crown Princess it was early to bed to wake up to a full day in Boston.  Hailed as the “Cradle of American Independence,” Boston is filled with historic sites.  We followed the Freedom Trail along three of the most historic miles in the country.  We saw the site of the Boston Tea Party, traced the route of Paul Revere’s famous ride and stood on the bridge where Minutemen fired “the shot heard ‘round the world.”  The ship docked just 2 miles from the start of this walk near Faneuil Hall.  Boston is a city of extraordinary beauty with its historic buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, numerous parks and distinctive skyline.

Our next port of call was the Acadia National Park, established in 1919, the first national park east of the Mississippi.  The 27-mile Park Loop Road winds its way up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain (just a hill by our standards) where we could look out over the rugged coastline and nestle in amongst the blaze of red and gold in the forests.  Bar Harbor, 46 miles southeast of Bangor on the Atlantic Coast of Maine is another of those fashionable summer resort towns of the early 1900s but it is the 35,000 acres of Acadia, which are so spectacular.

Saint John, New Brunswick, home of the world’s highest tides.  The tides off the Bay of Fundy rise with such force that they actually cause the St. John River to reverse direction and its waters to flow upstream.  This is a small town with a population of 70,000.  We made it a leisurely day and as the ship docked right in the heart of town we explored on foot.  The Old City Market is part of Canada’s Family of National Historic Sites and the oldest working farmer’s market in Canada.  It’s always fun to wander through a market and that is just what we did.  Then it was back to enjoy some relaxed time on the ship before headlining off to another of those wonderful dinner and show evenings.

I have to stop here as my publish deadline is fast approaching.  You will have to catch up with us next month as we continue this beautiful journey into fall.

For information on other trips we have planned either call Linda Finch at 253 927 8207 or email to linda.finch@gmail.com and ask to be put on the info list.

A beautiful “Indian Summer” splashed brilliant reds and yellows across a background of craggy mountains for our usual fall excursion across Stevens Pass, into Leavenworth for lunch, and back across Blewett and Snoqualmie passes for the trip home for our Mystery Trip.

The Dinner Date took us for a tour of Seattle’s Magnolia area and the Mondello restaurant for a great Italian dinner.  We never seem to go hungry on our outings.

This month we are cruising out of New York City on the Crown Princess.  Next month I will tell you more about it.  Plan now for one of our other group cruises.  We will cruise the Caribbean April 1 and Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale clear to Seattle on April 25.  If you would like to get away this winter we have group space on a Dec. 10 cruise out of New Orleans to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Jamaica.

Plans for next year are developing with an overnight at Crystal Mountain so we can have dinner at the top of the lift; Ashland for a bit of culture; and our usual mystery and dinner dates trips.  There’s much more to come.

For further information and reservations contact Linda Finch at 253 927 8207.  For more up-to-date information join the email list at linda.finch@gmail.com.