NYC/Cruise Re-Cap, Part I

Here's the very basic rundown of what we did. Except for three days of dense fog, we had amazing weather!

New York City: My third trip to the city. Kathy L and Scott K had both recommended the Courtyard Marriott Times Square. It was perfect location and price. Rode the NYC subway for the first time. It was great! Visited Ground Zero and the World Trade Center Visitor Center. Saw Legally Blonde- OMG, OMG you guys (a song from the show...) - it was freaking fantastic!!

Cruise Day 1 (Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas sails out of Cape Liberty, NJ): Spent the afternoon hanging out around the ship. The Statue of Liberty was right out our window at dinner as we left. First night's show the Cruise Director (Dave from Australia- yummy) came out to a smattering of applause. The show began with the same crowd reaction. Lauren and I were thinking, what's up with these people? When the comedian was performing, he said, "New Englanders are a notoriously tight crowd. You guys need to lighten up! It's a cruise!" Seriously, until the last day, the audience was fairly quiet, many of them sitting with arms folded like "go ahead, impress me." One-on-one, people couldn't have been nicer. Must be a group thing!

July 4th in New London, CT: Such a nice little town. We met the Mayor downtown in the square. Had clam chowder at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. Visited Nathan Hale's schoolhouse, even upstairs where the wood and everything is original. Jeff, Lauren and I tied with two other teams to win July 4th Trivia on the ship that night. Woo!

Sea Day: Completely fogged in at sea. The ship's horn was blowing literally every two minutes. Very cold and could not see a thing off the ship. All sorts of activities on board.

Halifax, Nova Scotia: Went to the Maritime Museum to see the Titanic exhibit, and also visited the cemeteries where many Titanic victims are buried. On the way out of the port, drunk Canadians mooned us from their little boat. That was funny. Back into the fog...

St. John, New Brunswick: Saw the Reversing Falls Rapids. When the Bay of Fundy is at high tide, it washes into the river, reversing the flow several miles inland. VERY cool. Lots of harbor seals were in the river, chasing the fish that got washed in. Also took a tour of the city. They get the school children involved by having them plant marigolds all around the city, and also painting murals around town. There is virtually no graffiti or vandalism because of these programs. Back into the fog....

Bar Harbor, ME: Bar Harbor is so named because of the bar that appears at low tide. There's a road on it, and you'll be trapped on the other side if you don't get back before high tide. We just had lunch in Bar Harbor- lobster of course. It was really hot that day, but at least we were out of the fog.

Portland, ME: Took a Duck Tour here. Those are fun, if you have one in your city! It's an amphibious vehicle. Everywhere we went downtown, the kids were quacking at us. Very cute. 90% of the lobster in the US comes from Maine, and they are still catching the same amount as they were 100 years ago. Very strict guidelines as to which lobster can be caught and which must be thrown back. Saw a family of seahawks living on a big metal post in the bay.

Boston, MA: Lauren is into all things scary, so we did the Salem Witch Tour here. The Witch Museum is interesting, and we also saw the memorial in town. Salem is absolutely gorgeous. Went down the famous Chestnut Street, “one of the most beautiful streets in America.” So pretty.

Sea Day: Again, lots and lots of ship activities. Throughout the cruise, we were always attending Karaoke Superstar, which is like American Idol on board. This was Karaoke Superstar Finale day, and we were there with all the regulars, cheering on our favorites. (Our newlywed Dallas Aggie, Mike, didn't win. He did Eminem's "Lose Yourself." I think it was a song choice issue.) Took a thousand pictures of the Cruise Director while he ran the Belly Flop competition. Beautiful day!!

Last Day: Cape Liberty is horrible to get in and out of. Just saying. Allow a million hours. And there isn't much guidance outside of the cruise terminal. Just ask someone who looks official, and they are happy to give you info on where to go and what to do, to get where you need to be.