Montreal to Ottawa

The train was interesting. It appeared that most people in our car were commuters between Montreal and Ottawa. Apparently some had come from Quebec City, and most got off the train in Ottawa. There was quite a number of people who were waiting to get on for the next part of the trip towards Toronto.

Of course, there wasn't a shuttle from the train to the airport (I had another car reserved there), so we had to take a cab. The trip cost us $50, but the driver got us there, despite rush hour traffic. It appears that many folks in Ottawa get off work early on Friday afternoon, as the roads were quite busy. Our driver was from Iraq, and he gave us a commentary on the places we passed. Don't know if he took a longer route than he should have, but it was informative.

We drove by our hotel, just before we reached the airport to get the car. We didn't really need to get the car, but we wanted to see some things around Ottawa. On the train, I had found that Ottawa 67's were playing a game against Oshawa Generals in Ottawa tonight. We thought we would like to give it a try, and relied on GPS Jill to find the place.

In fact, it was a short drive (less than 9 km from the hotel), back the route we had taken in the taxi. We had driven by TD Place, which is also where the Ottawa Redblacks play football. It was quite a complex. We found where we had to go to park, got parked, had dinner, got tickets to the game, and went in.

It is a strangely shaped arena, with one side and the end zones having lots of seats (maybe 30 0r 40 rows), and going up quite high. The other side had only a few rows (perhaps 15) of seats, with a low ceiling. The had a large screen on the wall of the small number of rows, and two smaller screens on that same wall at the end zones. There was nothing for the folks sitting under the low ceiling to see the screens.

The game wasn't that exciting. It was a promotional night, and there were lots of kids. It seemed that many of them were interested in getting themselves on the big screens, not the hockey game. It also seemed that the adults there weren't overly interested in the game, either. Ottawa won 4-2, and there wan't even a great deal of cheering about that. However, we have seen an OHL game, before we've seen a WHL game this year.

Back to the hotel we went. The final couple innings of the baseball game were still being played. We watched with disappointment as the Blue Jays lost, and we watched in amazement as the Lions beat up the Tiger Cats in football.

Then off to sleep with lots of time tomorrow before we had to turn the car in and get ready for our flight at 7:10 pm (EDT).  Our car had to be back by 5:00, so we could sleep in. Very comfortable beds so we slept pretty well.

It's noon now (we have a late checkout time) and Dawn has just found a market she would like to go to. So, we have to get ourselves packed up and ready to check out so we can head off driving. Our flight is scheduled to arrive in Abbotsford at about 11:06 pm (PDT) tonight. That will be about 2:00 eastern time, so we will be tired.

You'll notice I didn't include any photos for the last 3 entries. I'm out of time to download them, so will likely come back later on to add them.

Trois Riveres to Montreal

We got off the ship at just after 8:50 am for another tour of Quebec and then a drive to the Quebec City airport. We weren't flying, but had reserved a car so we could drive to Montreal. It was a nice car, a Chrysler with some good features.

We drove back into Quebec City and found a market that was near where our ship was still docked, that Dawn wanted to go to. After that, we went to a restaurant that we had been told had good poutine, and had lunch.  Then, it was time to head off towards Montreal.

We took a secondary road along the south side of the St. Lawrence River. It was slower, going through many small communities, but very picturesque. It reminded us a lot of the Fraser Valley, and also what we remember of Southern Ontario when we took a trip there. Around 5:00, I was starting to get tired, so I suggested we head into Trois Riviere and find a hotel for the night. It was dark by the time we got there, but with the help of the GPS, we found one that still had a room.

The next morning, we went for breakfast at the hotel, and then headed off toward Montreal. We looked for a place near the P.E. Trudeau Airport because that was where we were to turn the car in. We found a Best Western just minutes away from the airport, and once checked in, we went for a drive to downtown Montreal to see if we could get a tour of the Bell Centre, where Montreal Canadiens play.

Well, we found it, but there was no way we were going to find a place to park. Talk about congestion. It is located right in the downtown area, and there is lots of construction going on in that area. Some roads were closed, and many were one-way (of course I tried to go down some of these, much to the chagrin of other drivers), but all was well.

Once we decided we had enough of the traffic, we headed back to the hotel. Who knew that rush hour in Montreal starts at 1:30 pm? What an adventure - wrong turns, doubling back, missed turns, etc. - but GPS Jill got us back to the hotel, after a long while. We decided to stay there for the evening, and went downstairs to their restaurant for supper.

The next day, we had to return the car by noon. Being so close to the airport, it didn't take us long to get there, but of course we were early. I had made reservations on the 1:14 train to Ottawa, and on the shuttle from the airport to the train station. The reservation indicated that we might have to wait up to half an hour for the shuttle.  Of course, one arrive right away and we got on for the drive to the train.

Now, this was about 11:00, and our train was scheduled for 1:14 pm. The shuttle took about 10 minutes to get to the train station, which was right across the street from the hotel we stayed at. Who knew? Well, we had quite a wait for our train, but it was quite interesting sitting in this nice waiting room, watching all the trains that went through here on the route from Montreal to Toronto.

Finally, it was our turn, and we got on to head off to Ottawa.

Driving From Quebec City to Trois Rivieres

We boarded our bus for another tour of Quebec City and then a drive to the airport.

A Day in Quebec City

When we got up at 6:00 am, it was still dark. We were already docked at our pier, and we were to gather for our tour at 8:40 in one of the lounges. So, we went up for a small bite of breakfast. Again, the Horizon was pretty full, and we had to go to the end of the Caribe Cafe (another room attached to the Horizon) to find a table.

After breakfast, we went back to our room to collect the things we needed so we could head down to the lounge and wait for our tour to start.

Today's bus was what appeared to be a city bus, but at least there was enough leg room for me to sit comfortably in the seat. Our driver was Jean Nicola, and our guide was Roger. Both spoke English fairly well, but were clearly French Canadians who are proud of their city. We drove around the old town parts of Lower Quebec while Roger pointed out various sites of interest.

Chateau Frontenac

Samuel de Champlain

Then we entered the walled part of Old Quebec. Again, the streets were narrow, but very impressive. They have done a lot of work to re-construct and restore this part of the city to keep its historical buildings looking good. According the Roger, tourism is the number one industry in Quebec City.  We drove by Karen's ship as it sat at their pier. Roger said it have been there for 3 days, and would be leaving today.

Karen did contact us through a text message. She was going shopping to the Christmas Store. We drove by it, but I didn't know how to get there.

We stopped at the Hotel Frontenac to take some photos. Wow! What a huge hotel. I was pretty impressive, and inside the walls of the city.

One of 4 Martello Towers
in Quebec City

After we left the walled part, we were in Upper Quebec, or New Quebec.  Lots of restored, historical churches, hotels, apartments, and so on. Again, very impressive.  We stopped at the Citadel, and saw the Plains of Abraham. Their central Park was the site of the first golf course in Canada, but it is no longer a golf course now.

Halloween is Coming

Then, it was back to the ship so he could take the next group out on their tour. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the ship. First we had a slice of pizza, and then went back to our room to pack our suitcases. We had to figure out how we were going to organize things so we could put our suitcases out in the hallway tonight by 10:30. That part won't be a problem. What is the problem is how we are going to make sure we have clean clothes to wear tomorrow, and enough room to pack all the other things into our backpacks for getting off the ship tomorrow morning.

Old Church in Old Town

We went to dinner in our dining room. Our table friends came, so we took some pictures of our wait staff (Eena and Roseburn) and our friends (Barb and Gail from Chicago). Then it was on to ordering or last dinner on the ship. The selections have always been good, and they were tonight, too. I tried a watermelon/goat cheese appetizer, beef bullion soup, and a turkey dinner. Dawn had a shrimp/lobster/avocado appie, a watermelon/goat cheese salad, and the turkey. It was very good. For desert, I had baked alaska and Dawn had apple pie and ice cream. We were stuffed.

Old town we walked in 1 and
2 blocks behind the first row

Off we went to the evening show, which was again packed, although lots of people left during the show. It was a dance/music group from Quebec, doing some songs, tunes, and dances from historical Quebec. It was a fun show, and seemed to be very much enjoyed by those who stayed for the whole thing. It went overtime, which may have been why some folks left early. There is another dinner sitting at 8:00.

Then, back to our room, finish our suitcases and get them out into the hall, and get ready for disembarkation tomorrow morning. When we got to our cabin, our room steward, Jules, was coming along, so I made sure to get a picture of him.

We are scheduled to meet at 8:15 to get off the ship and to our bus. We have another tour of Quebec City, and a drive to the airport where we will pick up a car for our drive to Montreal.

Day at Sea - Saguenay River Fjord Park

Well, we gained an hour overnight, moving from Atlantic time to Eastern time. So, we got an extra hour's sleep. It didn't feel like it, but we did. We took our time for breakfast, although we maybe shouldn't have. It seems that lots of people go for breakfast around 9:00. There was nowhere to sit, so we joined another couple at their table.

After we ate, we went to a show in the Princess Theatre where the Head Chef and the Maitre d'Hotel did a culinary show. The talk was fun as they made fun of each other, the Chef did most of the preparation of a 4 course Italian meal. The desert was created by one of the pastry chefs, and this is the one where the Head Chef had some fun. The pastry chef was creating a Black Forest Cake, and the Head Chef basically emptied a bottle of Kirsch throughout the building of the cake.

Town at the Beginning of the Saguenay River

Colours are Really Out

All in all, it was an enjoyable hour. We decided not to go on the tour of one of the galleys because we had done a tour on one of the other ships we had been on. So, it was back to our room to read and watch some football game replays. We were sitting there as we were watching and reading, and we heard a boat come near. It was the pilot for our tour up the Saguenay River Fjord National Park.

Snow on the Mountain

We pulled our chairs in front of our window, and sat to watch the scenery go by. The leaves had mostly changed colour, and there was lots of yellow on the hills. Every once in a while there was a red tree, but most of them were yellow. This is a fjord, so the sides were quite steep and rocky. The water was deep. There was some commentary on parts of the tour, but in our room, we couldn't hear it very well. I called customer service to ask about getting the sound into our cabins, and they directed me to the TV channel with the camera showing where we were going. That is the channel the commentary was on.

Statue on the Cliff

It was interesting, but the main point was as far as we went up the river. It was a 9 metre statue overlooking the river. The person giving the commentary called it "Our Lady of Lordes", but the information on the internet calls it "Notre Dame du Saguenay". Either way, it was pretty impressive. The story he told about it was that some fellow in the late 1800s fell through the ice and would have drowned, but he didn't. He said some prayers and was able to get out of the water and he survived. Later, he had an artist build the statue and it was erected overlooking the river. I don't know if the story is true, but it is a good one.

A Couple People at the Statue

Then it was time for dinner, so down we went. We were more hungry tonight, so it was easier to choose. Great food again. At the end, there was the Baked Alaska parade, which was their farewell parade. We had this experience on our last cruise too, and this one was also good. We didn't get any Baked Alaska, but we did have fun.

Then, off to the show so we could get seats. As usual, the place filled up by showtime. Tonight it was a Musical Showtime starring Tom Franek.  He is a piano player who had a very entertaining and lively show. We really enjoyed it.

Then, there was the comedian from last night playing in the lounge that was near the stern of the ship. We got there after it started and stood at the back of the room, but he was pretty funny. His name is Tom Briscoe from New York. He is a pretty funny guy.

Then back to our room to write and to get ready for bed. Tomorrow we arrive in Quebec, and we have to gather for our tour at 8:40.

Charlottetown, PEI

We were up at 6:00 this morning. Our ship was scheduled to get in to Charlottetown at about 8:00, and we were scheduled to be ready for the tour at 8:40. It was still dark when we got up, but we could see lights of what we thought were the city, off in the distance ahead of the ship.

Weather Near the Ship

We went to the buffet for breakfast, and headed back to our room about 7:40. At about 8:00, the captain came on the blower and informed us that the weather conditions were supposed to deteriorate over the day as a cold front moved through, and it would be too dangerous for us to go into Charlottetown. That plan was to sail onward while they tried to decide on some sort of alternative, although there are no alternative ports around.

So, now what? We were already up, showered, and fed, so what were we going to do now. We decided on doing some laundry, but lots of other people thought of doing that, too. When we took our clothes to the laundry, there were no empty washing machines.

Meanwhile, the weather did get worse. The clouds got lower, the wind came up, and the water got rougher. There were lots of whitecaps, and it was cold. Throughout the day, the temperature seemed to get colder. The forecast was to only go up to 6 degrees, and it seemed like that part was true. There were lots of clouds, lots of rain squalls around us, although I can't say that there was any where our ship was. It was generally pretty miserable.

The cruise director and his crew were working on coming up with a revised schedule of activities, and they managed to come up with a pretty full day. We didn't attend any of the activities, although I had planned to go to a lecture about navigation. I was reading, and forgot about it until it was almost over, so I didn't bother going.

Tonight was formal night, so we decided not to go to that, either. We didn't have formal clothes, and didn't feel right about going to the dining room with all the folks all gussied up. So, we ate in the Horizon restaurant, at the buffet.

Then we went down to the theatre early for the show. We thought nobody would be there when we arrived at about 6:35, but there were already lots of folks there. The shows have been really good, and the theatre has been full most nights, so I guess people wanted to ensure they got seats. It is quite something.

This show was a musical with dancing. The cast is very good, and the show was very high energy. The singers are really good, and the dancers do a great job. We have very much enjoyed this group of artists in the 3 different shows we have seen so far.

Then it was back to our cabin to read and to watch the football games.

They have managed to find another activity for us to go to. Tomorrow, when we get into the St. Laurence Seaway, we are now supposed to go into the Saguenay River Fjord to have a look at some falls. We should pick up our pilot around noon, and then go into the fjord. It should be interesting to see.

Apart from that, tomorrow is supposed to be a day at sea, so we won't be at a port until the day after tomorrow, when we reach Quebec City. We move our clocks back an hour tonight, so then we will only be 3 hours ahead of Kamloops' time.

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sunrise into Sydney

Houses on our way in

Up as usual at 7:00 to shower and get ready. Looking out the cabin door, we were approaching Sydney. It was up a channel, which appeared to be fairly narrow, but we could only see one side so I'm not sure. The sky was partly cloudy, and at the first glance outside, the sun was shining high on the hills we could see. We went up to have some breakfast, and when we got back, the ship was turning around to back into the pier. It was a fine job of parallel parking.

We were finally cleared to go ashore about 9:00. We had to gather in the theatre for 9:40, so we went downstairs at about 9:15. It took us a while to get to the right spot, but we made it. Shortly afterward, we had to go down two levels to get off the ship.

Tour bus

Outside, we were directed to a pink, double-decker bus. We boarded and went to the upstairs seats (there weren't any left downstairs). The seats were narrow, and we hardly had room to keep both of us in the seat. We hung in there, and made the whole tour, although somewhat uncomfortable.

Changing colours

The tour was around Sydney, looking at historic sights and the town. It was quite interesting. The houses were mostly small and old with many war-time houses. Most had been updated, but they still were clearly war-time housing. Lots of the sugar maple trees were changing colour, so it was quite nice.

Wartime house

Sydney had a lot of coal mines at one time. We went through an area where the top company people lived. They were large, mansion-like houses. Then we drove toward the mines. The next area was where the "middle management" people lived. The houses were smaller, but still fairly large. Finally, we got close to where the mine sites had been and the houses were small and all very similar. It was pretty clear who made the money in that area.

Old cook stove

We stopped at a small museum where all of the exhibits were donated by the citizens of the Sydney area. The museum was located in an old Jewish church. It was really interesting. There were many photos of men and ladies during the war, lots of photos of the mine workers, exhibits from the schools, projects from the students in the schools, many photo albums about things that had gone on in early Sydney.
There was a huge movie projector, which must have been used to show films in a theatre, wringer washers of various ages, sewing machines, old shoe-maker's equipment, a set of lenses from an optometrist, an old barber chair, and lots of old fire hall memorabilia. We really enjoyed our visit.

Underground fort

Then we were off to the only fort that was still there from WWII. This was an interesting fort because it was mostly built underground. However, the observation and signals post for the guns that were there was built to resemble a church. It was heavily fortified, but did look like a church steeple. The guns and munitions, along with the accommodations were under ground, and not easily seen from the water. We did drive by the fort where the Cape Breton Highlanders are stationed. It was these troops who spent some time in Kandahar.

Observation/Signal post

After that, we carried on and drove through a more rural area on our way back to Sydney and the pier. We finally arrived, and I woke up my butt cheek that had gone to sleep, and we got off the bus. Of course, there was another market at the pier, so we went on a tour. Some souvenirs were purchased, and we returned to the ship.

I decided to go back off and use the free WIFI that was inside the the market building. You can always tell there is free WIFI by the number of people (tourists and crew) who are using their phones, tablets, and computers. So I got online, and downloaded a few more books from our library in Kamloops.

Then it was back on the ship. We went and had a snack, and were going to sit outside on the deck to read. Unfortunately, it was quite cold in the shade, and too bright in the sunshine. So we went into the Horizon restaurant which was closed, and sat there for a while. I had a cup of coffee and read my book while Dawn worked on a crossword puzzle.

After that, back to our cabin, head to dinner for 5:30 (Italian night tonight), and take in the early show (another comedian). Then it was back to our cabin again to write some things about our day and get ready for bed.

Huge fiddle at the pier

Tomorrow, Charlottetown, PEI.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Ship Following us In

We got up at 7:00, showered and got ready for breakfast. Looking out on our deck, we were just approaching Halifax. The sky was pretty dark with clouds, but we could see the sun shining on the hills by the shore. When we went up for breakfast, and got ourselves seated to eat, we could see out the back of the ship. There was another cruise ship right behind us.

Ship Already Here

We got to the harbour about 8:30. As we neared our pier, there was another cruise ship already docked in another pier. We pulled past it, and into our spot. All this was taking place on our room side, so we could see all the action. It was quite interesting to watch how they brough this big ship into the dock.

We had to meet for our tour, on the dock, at 9:50, so about 9:30, we went down to get off the ship. It was a very nice arrangement, and the disembarkation was quite organized. We had to walk through the building, which was where a market was located, so we knew what we had to do when we returned from our tour around Halifax.

It wasn't quite so organized outside. There were people and buses all over the place. There was an order to things, but we took a bit to figure it out. Once we found our tour, we waited with the group for our bus to come up to where we were. We boarded the bus, along with 48 other passengers, and set off on our tour around Halifax.

We went by some interesting places. We saw the area where the great explosion took place in the harbour during WWI, and were amazed about the numbers and types of casualties from this accidental collision between two boats. We were told about the black families who were displaced by the building of the bridge to connect Halifax and Dartmouth.

She had 4 Children

Stone With Name

Our first stop was at the cemetary where a number of bodies from the Titanic were buried. We walked into the cemetary and looked at the headstones that were laid out in the shape of a ship's bow. Some had names (th

Stone With No Name

ese were ones they were able to identify), some just had the date (not identified), and a few had more information (the families had paid to have more detailed information carved into the headstones). One was the headstone of a baby that they had found and thought was the child of a mother with 4 children. Later, DNA evidence showed that it wasn't her baby, and they were finally able to identify this baby's body. It was a somber place, and I felt myself getting choked up at times.

From there, we went to a park that was an English garden. Many flowers were still blooming, although they were starting to take out beds of flowers. It was a nice park, and we were supposed to be there for a short time. However, a couple didn't listen to the instructions when getting off the bus. We met the bus at a different location that we were let off. They went back to where we were let off. Our guide went looking for them, but of course, he didn't know what they looked like. When he came back, a friend of their's went looking. He found them, and they had to walk to where we were waiting. Altogether, we stayed half an hour longer than we were supposed to.

We were supposed to be back to the ship at 12:00, but the Citadel was one of the stops we were scheduled to stop, so we drove up to it. When we got to the top, we weren't allowed drive on by because there was a noon cannon shot, and it was happening very soon. We had to wait, and at noon, they told us to plug our ears. The cannon was set off, and the bus shook, there was lots of noise and smoke, and it was very interesting. It is simlar to the Stanley Park cannon, except much bigger and louder.

Citadel

Then we had to hustle back to the ship because there was another tour that was going out soon. We noticed that the ship that had followed us into the harbour was docked in front of ours.

Once back on the ship, Dawn noticed another ship docked on the other side of the first one that was there, so in total, there were four ships in port. We were told that it was their busiest day this year.

We went up for a light lunch. Even though it was supposed to be a light lunch, it didn't turn out to be one. When we were finished, Dawn went to watch a movie that was playing in the Princess Theatre. I walked around a bit, then went back to our cabin and read. I took a bit of time to phone home, but had to make sure it was a reasonable time. I called about 3:40 pm, which was 11:40 am in Kamloops. Everything was good there.

After dawn got back, we read some more, and then had to go down to dinner. We went earlier than last night because we wanted to eat early so we could finish in time to get a seat in the theatre for the early show - a comedian.

We were there in plenty of time, and there were lots of seats. Last night we rolled in about 7:10, and were lucky to find some seats. Tonight, we rolled in at 6:50, but by 7:10, the theatre was almost full again, so that is the plan - go early.

After the show, there was a performer playing Neil Diamond in one of the lounges. We tried to go there, but it was full. So, back to our cabin, to write this entry and to watch TV. The ball game is supposed to be on, but it is almost 9:00, and it's not on yet. We hope it comes on at 9 or 9:30, but who knows.

Tomorrow we arrive in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Saint John, New Brunswick

When we started the cruise, we were informed that the ship would get in late to Saint John, due to the tide. This would affect our tour a bit (by about 15 minutes), but that was no big deal.

We docked at the pier just before 9:00 am, and left as soon after that as was possible, so we were on our bus and away for our tour, just after 9:00.  Our tour was of Saint John and the big attraction was "Reversing Rapids" on the St. John River. This is a place across from the Irving Pulp and Paper mill.

We drove around some of Saint John, looking at some of the historic buildings. Then we arrived at the "Reversing Falls" at just about low tide. The river is squeezed into a fairly narrow channel, between some big rocky islands. At that time, the rapids were running toward the harbour, and the water was moving very quickly. Our guide said that there are two high tides each day, and within a 6 hour period, the water would rise 28 feet.

Carleton Maretello Tower

After we had been there for a while to take some photos, we carried on to look at some more history of Saint John. We visited an old fort where there was the Carlton Martello Tower. This is one of very few remaining in the world, and it was built by the British because it was so good at withstanding their cannonballs when shelling in Spain in the 1700s. So they decide to build one here during the War of 1812. Its an interesting shape, and we watched a short video that explained its history and why it wasn't used after being built.

Water Rushing Downstream

Still Water 2 Hours Later

We then drove around some more, and went to Old City Market, which is right in the middle of of town. It is similar to Pike's Market in Seattle, only much smaller. There is a small selection of farmer's market things, crafts, groceries, fish, deli's, etc. We spent about 20 minutes there, and of course, mom found some pottery to purchase.

After that, it was back to the "Reversing Rapids" where the water was moving slowly upstream because that tide was coming in. We were just after "slack tide" where the water is still - the height of the ocean is the same as the height of the river so no water flow. A few hours later, the water will be running upstream with the rapids quite rough and wild. At that point, the ocean is higher than the river elevation there, and the water has no place to go.

Then we went back to the ship. Dawn noticed a Pier Market tent, just where we got off the bus. So, of course, we had to make a trip there to purchase a few more things. Then, through security and on to the boat.

We had a small lunch, and then decided to sit outside in the sunshine. We sat on a couple lounges, but in the sun it was too bright, and out of the sun it was too cold. After about half an hour, we decided to go back to our room. Unfortunately, the lounge I was on had been wet, and my pants were soaked. It looked like I had lost control of my bladder, and my depends had failed (if I wore them). It was embarrassing, so luckily I had my sweat jacket to tie around my waist to cover the offending area.

Dawn found a replay of the Blue Jays win from last night, so she watched it, and I slept (apparently). We were waiting for the action in the 7th inning, so were a little lated getting down for our dinner. No problem, though.

We had to hustle to the theatre for the 7:15 show. I think we got the last 2 seats together, in the front row, extreme right side. It was a good show, full of energy and great singing. It was called the Piano Man, and the songs were from Billy Joel and Elton John. The dancers and singers were amazing, and did a great job. I felt a little lecherous, watching those young bodies from so close.

After that, it was back to our room for the night. It's only 9:00 as I write this, but I'm tired. I'll try to get some photos on, and then post it, but I doubt we are long out of bed.

Halifax tomorrow.

Pilot Boat When Leaving

Portland, Maine

We got into Portland about 8:30. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, it was a great looking day. Our tour was a driving tour around Portland, and a visit to Portland Head Light. The leaves here are staring to turn, and there are some very bright reds and yellows. Pretty to look at.

We drove around Portland, a city of 66 thousand people. We started out in the middle, went to the East End to view the houses and scenery. Then, moved over to the West End for more of the same. Our guide was really good, and gave us some interesting history and stories of the places we saw.

Portland Head L|ight

Then we went to South Portland, and the military fort that was closed in 1964. It is where Portland Head Light is located, which is a still working lighthouse. It is located on a point of land that is pretty rugged, and there was a place where an old ship had run aground in the 1800s. The view from there was pretty nice, and we took a number of photos and purchased some souvenirs from the gift shop.

Portland Head Light

Then it was back to the ship. Our guide pointed out some places to eat, near where we were docked, so that if we decided to get some clam chowder, we could. We decided to get back on board, so that ended our tour of Portland. We were back in our room by 12:30, so had quite a bit of time to get some rest and relaxation, before the ship was to leave.

Trees are Changing Colour

We were supposed to leave by 4:30, but didn't start to pull away until almost 5:30. There was movement, just as we went down the the dining room for dinner. We had another excellent meal. We met our table partners last night, and they were there again tonight. They are Barb and Gail from a small town just outside of Chicago. They are very nice ladies, and easy to talk with.

Harbour When we were Leaving

After that, it was a quick walk to the Princess Theatre to catch the first show. It was a comedian, Tony Daro, who we had seen before on another cruise and at the first night's show. He was still funny. Some of his jokes we had already heard, but the telling of his stories was still fun to hear.

Back to our room to relax, write some notes, and get ready for bed. Tonight, the time changes (an hour ahead), and we arrive in St. John, New Brunswick for the morning. Another tour tomorrow, but at least we can spend Canadian dollars while we are there.

Lighthouse off the Shore

Caribbean Princess