Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Lighthouses, Leaves and Lobster

And... we're back! Sorry for being MIA on the blog, but we've had a great excuse. Husband and I just got back from celebrating our five year anniversary (5 months late). We went on a 7 night Canada and New England cruise that left out of Boston, so we were able to spend a couple days there as well. Yes, we realized going into this that we would be the youngest ones on the boat, but that was confirmed upon check-in when we saw all of the wind pants, white sneakers, turtlenecks and "festive fall vests". I would say the average age of the general population was about 65- though there were a few other outliers like us. We didn't care. It was actually one of the best cruises we've been on, because nothing ever felt crowded and there was much more peace and quiet. I realize that it sounds like we aged 40 years ourselves, but it really was such a relaxing trip. Our last day in Boston was spiced up a bit by hurricane Sandy, but we made the best of it and were still able to fly out on the same day we planned (granted it was the absolute last flight out of Boston- but we made it). Our first day there, we explored the Boston Back Bay area (where our hotel was) and headed over to Harvard for the evening. Now for the pictures...

Widener Library at Harvard


Harvard Yard


"Enter to grow in wisdom"

The next day, we were the complete tourist package and took a duck tour around the city. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it, though. The city is so full of history, this was the best way to condense it into an hour and a half. Husband also got to drive the duck out on the river. Our tour guide gave him a sticker.


The Boston University sailing team

Trinity Church

The cruise terminal was only a couple miles from our hotel and the T was just down the street. Here is what we looked like walking down the street, 
We got checked in and to our stateroom around 1pm

Exploring the deck

Notice the Harvard shirt that husband is wearing. It's because of this that everyone's impression of us on the trip was the "smart, young couple". Can't argue with them there...



As we were pulling away from Boston



Halifax, Nova Scotia

Such a cute seaside city full of history

O Canada...

Lobster rolls and seafood chowder... pretty much our lunch staples for the week when we were in port.

Halifax Public Garden

We took a horse-drawn trolley tour around the city

Saw this little guy while looking off our balcony before dinner

We ordered room service for breakfast one morning to eat out on our balcony. This is husband's "I'm sitting outside in 45 degree weather eating breakfast to make my wife happy" face.

Mr. Napkin Head... The Holiday anyone?? Love him.


Saint John, New Brunswick

So apparently one of the top places to visit in Saint John is the "reversing falls rapids". We decided to walk the 4 miles round trip on the heritage passage to see them for ourselves...

And the verdict is...  notice all of the white capped rapids in the background...

This is husband's "we walked four miles to see some mighty still water" face.

On the bright side, the Queen Mary 2 was docked next to us and I got this picture to compare just how big it really is.

 Trinity Anglican Church- beautiful



Our dinner table #430

Bar Harbor, Maine

This was seriously my favorite stop. Historically, it was the summer playground of the rich and famous (namely the Rockefeller's) and it looked every bit of it. We planned on renting bikes and exploring Acadia National Park.

 
Pre-ride snack of the famed blueberry muffins from Jordan's

This is before the 12 mile ride.. notice the happy smile and lack of sweat




Seriously. Beautiful.




This small town has some of the cutest B&B's I've ever seen. 



This caught our eye as we were sailing away.That would be a house all by itself on a very small island.

Portland, Maine

A piece of the Berlin Wall

We took a trolley tour around Portland, because I was determined to see a lighthouse up close.

When we got back to Boston, it was cloudy and raining with 40 mph winds from the hurricane. We decided to walk the freedom trail anyway. I didn't take any other pictures, because I didn't want to get my camera out in the rain.

Dustin and Ben Franklin... or as husband likes to refer to him "one of our finest presidents"... kidding... sort of

Our last night in Boston, we ate and splashed our way through the North End- determined to not let Sandy ruin our fun.