Our family always loves a good cruise! We were very excited about this one as it left New York and would sail up the eastern seaboard into Canada and back. We loved that we were able to get two adjoining staterooms with balconies which gave us all just a little more space. We were looking forward to the cooler weather that we knew would come with this trip!
Everyone gathered on the deck when it was time to sail away.
We sailed right past the Statue of Liberty. It was kind of neat to think about how many people saw her as they sailed into New York Harbor for so many years.
By Manhatten!
On Monday we docked in Newport, Rhode Island. It was an absolutely beautiful day.
We didn't have any kind of an agenda or excursion planned, so we just tendered over to land from the boat and started walking around this cute little town. We came across the lovely St. Mary's Cathedral where John and Jackie Kennedy married. We then walked on until we came up on the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Ryan and I always enjoy watching tennis, so we thought this could be a fun place to explore.
Just inside the gate is their famous Horseshoe Court which was home to the US Open until 1914. You can actually still rent the court to play there today which would be really cool.
The famous Wingfield Patent which patented the game of tennis in England in 1874 is framed here.
There was really so many cool things to see here! There were tons of different trophies from different tournaments over the years, a little biography on each of the players who have been inducted, exhibits on the different clothes, rackets, balls, and tournaments. There was a VR Oculus that Mia tried out showing Arthur Ashe stadium; it was actually of the match that Mr. Ashe won. It was really pretty fascinating.
There was a neat hologram of Roger Federer talking and explaining some of his favorite parts of tennis.
After this we walked back down into town to explore it a little bit. We had a little treat from a cookie store and just enjoyed being outside on a beautiful day. It was a great day!
On Tuesday, we arrived in Portland, Maine. It was fun to sail in and see this little lighthouse guiding the way.
There were some incredibly gorgeous houses right on the coastline too!
This was another day where we did not have a specific excursion planned. However, we knew we wanted to visit the Two Fat Cats Bakery. We had originally seen this on a Samantha Brown travel show once; because of that show, I had ordered Ryan a blueberry pie from here for our anniversary a few years ago. It was so good! We knew we wanted to go test it out in person. We got there a little bit after lunch, so unfortunately, they had sold out of most of their individual pies for the day. They did though have one apple pie left for Mia and one blueberry for Ryan. I ended up getting a slice of a blueberry and cardamom pie. These were so delicious! It wasn't quite the experience we had envisioned, but it was fun and delicious nonetheless.
It was another gorgeous day, so we spent some time walking around the downtown and port areas of town.
We found this little train that takes a 45 minute ride around the city right by the water. It was a fun way to see some sights around town and learn more about the area.
So many sailboats were out on the water!
Our family in front of the Norwegian Breakaway before we got back on the ship.
On Wednesday we anchored near Bar Harbor, Maine. It was a very foggy day, but that wasn't going to deter us! We tendered over to shore and then got on the little tour bus bound for Acadia National Park. Even in the fog, it was beautiful. I'm so glad we were able to explore this park!
We made it to the top of Cadillac Mountain. You can usually see the water behind where we're standing, but it was too foggy. No matter, it was a beautiful day to be in God's creation!
We all enjoyed time down near Thunder Cove. The area around it had an almost eerie feel to it with the fog.
The hole itself is really cool. When the water comes rushing in, it makes this really neat thundering sound as it ricochets off the rocks. We all enjoyed watching and hearing this.
We enjoyed seeing Otter Cover, Great Meadow, and several other beautiful areas on our drive and exploration of the park. It was absolutely beautiful.
The flowers around this area were gorgeous. I couldn't resist snapping lots of pictures of them.
When the tour dropped us back off in the middle of town. We had found great reviews of a tavern called The Thirsty Whale. I really wanted to get a lobster roll while in Maine! This place did not disappoint at all. Great food and great service. I thoroughly enjoyed my lobster roll with a side of lobster bisque. It was so delicious.
After lunch, we had a great time walking around the town and doing a little bit of shopping. We picked up some popcorn as a snack; regular for the girls and blueberry for Ryan. We listened to some live music while we snacked. This is such a great town; I hope we have the opportunity to return at some point!
We've been hanging around the US on these first few days of the cruise, and it's been great; now it's time to head to Canada!
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