Our Wedding Pictures ~~ September 29, 1973
http://picasaweb.google.com/GrannySusan061101/OurWeddingPicsSeptember291973?authkey=8y6EY5psKZs#
PHOTO ALBUMS OF OUR TRIP.....
I am beginning the process of making photo albums of our trip. These albums will be for our use in remembering all of God's blessings and the wonderful things we did and saw, but we are glad for anyone to look at them. I am making them one by one and will post the links here as I can.
Album #1: Leaving Home and Going to Nashville, TN to stay at the Opryland Hotel and our dinner with Ray and Ida while in their town:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.7dyex8hv&x=0&y=hw42lh&localeid=en_US
Album #2: Going to Chip's for the weekend and seeing Nonie and Tom in Waterloo during that time:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.7dyex8hv&x=0&y=hw42lh&localeid=en_US
Album #3: Our lovely over-night visit with Jerry and Peggy in Tennessee:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.1awl3dcz&x=0&y=r5ldvt&localeid=en_US
Album #4: Our visits in Gatlinburg, TN and then in Asheville, NC at the Biltmore House
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.4732dsrn&x=0&y=-ncfd8u&localeid=en_US
Album #5: Our drive from North Carolina to West Virginia yielded the first nice color change:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.4diadakj&x=0&y=6ly0fd&localeid=en_US
Album #6: Our trip into New York City for two days of Touring:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.1f6euidf&x=0&y=-t6tmzw&localeid=en_US
Album #7: On Sunday, September 27: Our drive from New Jersey to the Brooklyn Terminal, Boarding the Ship, and Setting Sail for our week-long cruise:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.5y1zmywj&x=0&y=-govpxu&localeid=en_US
Album #1: Leaving Home and Going to Nashville, TN to stay at the Opryland Hotel and our dinner with Ray and Ida while in their town:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.7dyex8hv&x=0&y=hw42lh&localeid=en_US
Album #2: Going to Chip's for the weekend and seeing Nonie and Tom in Waterloo during that time:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.7dyex8hv&x=0&y=hw42lh&localeid=en_US
Album #3: Our lovely over-night visit with Jerry and Peggy in Tennessee:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.1awl3dcz&x=0&y=r5ldvt&localeid=en_US
Album #4: Our visits in Gatlinburg, TN and then in Asheville, NC at the Biltmore House
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.4732dsrn&x=0&y=-ncfd8u&localeid=en_US
Album #5: Our drive from North Carolina to West Virginia yielded the first nice color change:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.4diadakj&x=0&y=6ly0fd&localeid=en_US
Album #6: Our trip into New York City for two days of Touring:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.1f6euidf&x=0&y=-t6tmzw&localeid=en_US
Album #7: On Sunday, September 27: Our drive from New Jersey to the Brooklyn Terminal, Boarding the Ship, and Setting Sail for our week-long cruise:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.5y1zmywj&x=0&y=-govpxu&localeid=en_US
September 30: My Personal Highlight of the Trip!!!
Luke 11:6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me,
This article will be copied over to the blog I made during our 35th wedding anniversary trip, but it first HAS to be posted here for it is far to important to be only posted on our trip blog.
It is so much fun to have pen pals and, in today's world, online friends. You learn so much about each other sharing anecdotes about life and prayer requests as they arise. You really grow close and truly do know each other even though you haven't met face to face. That is how it is with our Lord Jesus. We grow closer and closer to the Savior throughout our Christian lives and then have the blessed day of meeting Him face to face the moment we close our eyes in death on this earth.
Well, I didn't have to go so far as to close my eyes in death to meet this dear friend, but I did have to jump into the car with Richard, drive 1,206 miles, catch a cruise ship in Brooklyn, New York and wait until the 2nd day of our cruise when we were docked in Boston for the big moment!
Meeting my friend Chickie in Boston was all that I had dreamed about and so much more. To see that dear friend in person, to hug her, to talk in person, to laugh together, to ride in her car, to eat lunch (her treat!) at a wonderful restaurant, to go sight-seeing with her as our tour guide.... to feel her love and the complete connection of our hearts..... it was so very exciting and made for a wonderful day that I will always cherish.
Chickie and I are opposite in so many ways: she is Catholic and I am Baptist; she is a Democrat and I am a Republican; she speaks with a Bostonian accent and I have a Southern Drawl..... the list could go on. The thing that totally bound our hearts together was our love and respect for one another.
Chickie, I love you so much and thank you for the wonderful 4 hours we spent together. It was a special treat to meet your dear friends Cindy and Lorrayne, too. Richard sat there amazed at how well we knew each other. What a hoot!!!
Take care, Dear Friend, and always know how much you are loved by this Southern Gal. I count it a joy to post the pictures of our meeting that you shared with me.
Love Always,
Susan
October 12 on Sunday Night: Home At Last!!!
Sunday, October 12, completed 4 weeks on the road. Richard and I had a wonderful trip and traveled almost 3500 miles in our 11-year-old car. We thank God that we never had a bobble with the car, didn't have even one near-miss regarding an accident, and that we had a great time!! The 3500 miles in our car doesn't count the miles we sailed on the ship from New York to Nova Scotia and then back again, so we did cover a lot of ground! We enjoyed good health and acute alertness when on the road so we thank anyone who might have prayed for us in those regards.
We arrived back to Chip's house on Saturday at noon and had planned to stay with him through Sunday night; but on our way to church on Sunday morning, we discovered that we both had the "itch" to come on home on Sunday evening. We had had a good visit with Chip and he was going to have several ministry-related activities to do on Sunday night after church so it wasn't like we were going to miss much visiting-time with him by leaving a few hours earlier than planned.
We enjoyed a wonderful morning of Sunday School and worship service at his church, dropped in at their World Hunger Day dinner (beans and cornbread) and then went to Red Robin for a hamburger lunch as we had planned. Richard and I shared a burger and Chip enjoyed a specialty burger of some sort. We came back to Chip's, loaded the car, and were on our way home at 2:45 p.m.
We didn't call Brian and Amy to let them know we were coming home a night early and surprised them. We called as we were approaching our neighborhood and was talking to Belle when we arrived home at 9:15. She was saying that she couldn't wait for us to come home on Monday so about that time, I knocked on their door and boy, were they all surprised to see us!! The boys had already g0ne to bed but they got up and we had a wonderful family reunion for about 30 minutes out in their front yard!!!
Brian and Amy have a personnel meeting to attend this evening so Grandpa and I are going to pick up the kids from school and take them to McDonald's for dinner. We have stayed away from McDonald's for months because of their pro-active support of the homosexual community, but we learned over the weekend that they had dropped that stance and we are going back in to let them know we appreciate their change and are thrilled to patronize them once again. The kids were excited that we are going there for supper. They had started back to Mickey D's a few days earlier and are playing the Monopoly game and are excited to be getting some more playing pieces there this evening.
We had a wonderful trip ~~enjoying every minute of it ~~ but it is so good to be back home. This is our place of ministry and every-day life, and it feels great to have arrived home.
As time permits, I will put each event of our trip into different Kodak Albums and will share them here one by one as I get them done.
We arrived back to Chip's house on Saturday at noon and had planned to stay with him through Sunday night; but on our way to church on Sunday morning, we discovered that we both had the "itch" to come on home on Sunday evening. We had had a good visit with Chip and he was going to have several ministry-related activities to do on Sunday night after church so it wasn't like we were going to miss much visiting-time with him by leaving a few hours earlier than planned.
We enjoyed a wonderful morning of Sunday School and worship service at his church, dropped in at their World Hunger Day dinner (beans and cornbread) and then went to Red Robin for a hamburger lunch as we had planned. Richard and I shared a burger and Chip enjoyed a specialty burger of some sort. We came back to Chip's, loaded the car, and were on our way home at 2:45 p.m.
We didn't call Brian and Amy to let them know we were coming home a night early and surprised them. We called as we were approaching our neighborhood and was talking to Belle when we arrived home at 9:15. She was saying that she couldn't wait for us to come home on Monday so about that time, I knocked on their door and boy, were they all surprised to see us!! The boys had already g0ne to bed but they got up and we had a wonderful family reunion for about 30 minutes out in their front yard!!!
Brian and Amy have a personnel meeting to attend this evening so Grandpa and I are going to pick up the kids from school and take them to McDonald's for dinner. We have stayed away from McDonald's for months because of their pro-active support of the homosexual community, but we learned over the weekend that they had dropped that stance and we are going back in to let them know we appreciate their change and are thrilled to patronize them once again. The kids were excited that we are going there for supper. They had started back to Mickey D's a few days earlier and are playing the Monopoly game and are excited to be getting some more playing pieces there this evening.
We had a wonderful trip ~~enjoying every minute of it ~~ but it is so good to be back home. This is our place of ministry and every-day life, and it feels great to have arrived home.
As time permits, I will put each event of our trip into different Kodak Albums and will share them here one by one as I get them done.
Oct. 6 through October 11 ~~ Catching Up the Blog!
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6: We arrived in Gatlinburg at 3:00 p.m. It was 73 degrees with bright sunshine and simply gorgeous. On the way down, we had stopped and picked up brochures about cabin rentals in the mountains and we want to rent a cabin for our family for Christmas. I made several calls and we made plans to stop at several "offices" to check on things in person. We had 5 good possibilities with this our first brochure/telephone session.
We rent right to the first place and had a wonderful visit with the girls in that office. They had some nice places, we found out the prices, and left expecting to return there to book a place from them. We had a physical address for some of the places to went to look. They were real nice but very close together and with high steps (like 30) to get up to the front door. I wasn't so sure about with Jaden (and probably was more concerned about myself. HA!)
We went to the 2nd rental office and that girl showed us several possibilities from looking at pictures on her computer. She game us the names of 4 different places that met our criteria: to sleep 9 people (Richard, Susan, Chip, Brian, Amy, Jarrett, Isabella, Josh, and Jaden.) We left there with a physical address for one of the houses but for some reason, it didn't really hit my fancy that much when looking at it on her computer screen.
We rode out to Sevierville to look at the place called "Adele's View" and it was so pretty from the outside. It is at the end of a road and has a large yard and is so much more private that the previous places we had looked at.
We went to dinner at TGIFriday to sort out our finds while we filled our tummies. From there, we returned to our room at the River Bend Lodge in Pigeon Forge. Later that night, we determined that "Adele's View" was the place for our family for Christmas, so after sending the website to both Chip and to Brian/Amy so they could look at it and give us their thoughts, they all called saying it looked fabulous and would be a great place to stay. So, we got online, booked it, and felt very happy about finding it as late as it is getting and those places are filling up fast for Christmastime. Here is the website showing where we will spend the entire week of Christmas: http://www.blackbearlodging.com/adels-view.html
We went to bed with visions of sugarplums ~~~~~~ well, I did. Richard isn't as emotional about these matters as I am!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7: We lazed in this morning and got dressed and went to the Apple Barn for a late breakfast. We actually shared their big breakfast and it was a gracious plenty for us both. (We have TRIED to be be good on this trip!) We rode out again to look at "Adele" and again the week's renters were there so we didn't bother them by stopping or anything. We went to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things and then looked around in an Amish store.
We returned to our room to read, watch Fox News, etc. and catch up on what all had transpired the week we were on the ship. At 4:45, we went to Golden Corral to catch their dinner at lunch prices (go right before 5:00 for this deal) and enjoyed our meal. Their Brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes are my faves.
We returned to our room, watched the debate between Obama and McCain and went to bed.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10: We woke up to a rainy morning in Pigeon Forge so were extra thankful for the two pretty days we enjoyed there. We packed up and were out of our room at 10:40. We ate at the Cracker Barrel and then headed to Cleveland, TN. We went there to attend church and to visit someone dear to us. It was a very special evening with a nice dinner, great conversation, and a Wednesday night prayer meeting that blessed our hearts. We left Cleveland to drive to Chattanooga to spend the night with our dear friend, Peggy Pirkle. Jerry was out of town on one of his "Amazing Grace" fair ministry trips but Peggy had insisted from our previous visit that we please stay with her on our return trip home. Her friendship, love, and gracious southern hospitality were so much appreciated. She and I stayed up talking until nearly 11:00 before deciding that we both really needed some sleep. Ha!!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9: We were all three up and dressed and ready to go to breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Ootlewah. After treating Peggy to breakfast and thanking her again for her sweet hospitality, and also making a plan to go to Asheville to the Biltmore together on the December 27/28, we set off to make our drive to Chip's house in Huntsville. He wasn't even going to be there but was in Indiana visiting a church member from his youth pastorate days there who had had serious surgery last week. He told us we were welcome to stay at his place so we took him up on that. We arrived there at 12:30 ~~ just in time to listen to the launching of a radio talk show that Bro. Zach and Chip will be hosting every Thursday. It was a fascinating hour and a great start for their weekly radio show. If anyone would like to listen to them every Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time), here is the URL: http://www.protalk1490.com/ They will be on every Thursday so check them out. :)
We went out for a bite that evening and coming back to Chip's house, we encountered the homecoming parade for the high school that is just across the street from Chip's house. We saw it from start to finish and enjoyed it. It certainly brought back memories I had of being in the band and marching in parades. That was a nice surprise and added blessing.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10: We had decided to drive up to Blue Ridge, GA to attend a football game. We left Chip's house at 2:00 p.m. and had forgotten that we would lose an hour. Not knowing much about the route (following our Garmin), we were delighted to find ourselves driving through a portion of the Cherokee National Park of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was simply gorgeous as there was a lot of color change in the foliage and the mountains, lakes, Ococee River~~ it was all simply beautiful. We decided that we wouldn't drive back home after the game (some 4 hours of a drive) but would spend the night locally so we could drive back in the daylight hours.
On the way, I called my baby sister, Nonie, to wish her a Happy Birthday. We had a good conversation which I enjoyed tremendously.
We arrived at the game a few minutes after kick-off but enjoyed it so much and were blessed to enjoy some good company afterwards. God is good. We stayed in an "okay" motel for the night and slept well.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11: WE got up at 6:40 and were on our way back to Chip's. It was a fabulous ride back through the Cherokee National Park and we stopped along the way so that I could make pictures. On our way into Huntsville at noon, we stopped at Village Inn and picked up the pizza that Chip had ordered for our lunch. It was a sweet reunion to arrive at his house and see him. Chip is a gracious and loving son~~ we are very blessed. We enjoyed our pizza lunch and watching Texas beat Oklahoma ~~ which puts Alabama at #1 on the polls!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I had two happy men on my hands.
Chip doesn't have internet at home but needed to come to the church to study and do some things and invited me to come along and make sure of the church's internet. That rang my bell and I have enjoyed catching up the blog.
We will attend both services at Chip's church tomorrow and then take off for home bright and early on Monday morning. I have a dear son-in-law, precious daughter, and cherished grandchildren that I haven't seen in a month!!!! Oh what a sweet reunion that will be!!! So, I will probably finish this up on Monday night or Tuesday and that will complete our 35th Anniversary Trip Blog. I have enjoyed every week, day, hour, and minute spent with my husband for a month and thank God for the love and closeness that we share. I pray He gives us many more years together.
We rent right to the first place and had a wonderful visit with the girls in that office. They had some nice places, we found out the prices, and left expecting to return there to book a place from them. We had a physical address for some of the places to went to look. They were real nice but very close together and with high steps (like 30) to get up to the front door. I wasn't so sure about with Jaden (and probably was more concerned about myself. HA!)
We went to the 2nd rental office and that girl showed us several possibilities from looking at pictures on her computer. She game us the names of 4 different places that met our criteria: to sleep 9 people (Richard, Susan, Chip, Brian, Amy, Jarrett, Isabella, Josh, and Jaden.) We left there with a physical address for one of the houses but for some reason, it didn't really hit my fancy that much when looking at it on her computer screen.
We rode out to Sevierville to look at the place called "Adele's View" and it was so pretty from the outside. It is at the end of a road and has a large yard and is so much more private that the previous places we had looked at.
We went to dinner at TGIFriday to sort out our finds while we filled our tummies. From there, we returned to our room at the River Bend Lodge in Pigeon Forge. Later that night, we determined that "Adele's View" was the place for our family for Christmas, so after sending the website to both Chip and to Brian/Amy so they could look at it and give us their thoughts, they all called saying it looked fabulous and would be a great place to stay. So, we got online, booked it, and felt very happy about finding it as late as it is getting and those places are filling up fast for Christmastime. Here is the website showing where we will spend the entire week of Christmas: http://www.blackbearlodging.com/adels-view.html
We went to bed with visions of sugarplums ~~~~~~ well, I did. Richard isn't as emotional about these matters as I am!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7: We lazed in this morning and got dressed and went to the Apple Barn for a late breakfast. We actually shared their big breakfast and it was a gracious plenty for us both. (We have TRIED to be be good on this trip!) We rode out again to look at "Adele" and again the week's renters were there so we didn't bother them by stopping or anything. We went to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of things and then looked around in an Amish store.
We returned to our room to read, watch Fox News, etc. and catch up on what all had transpired the week we were on the ship. At 4:45, we went to Golden Corral to catch their dinner at lunch prices (go right before 5:00 for this deal) and enjoyed our meal. Their Brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes are my faves.
We returned to our room, watched the debate between Obama and McCain and went to bed.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10: We woke up to a rainy morning in Pigeon Forge so were extra thankful for the two pretty days we enjoyed there. We packed up and were out of our room at 10:40. We ate at the Cracker Barrel and then headed to Cleveland, TN. We went there to attend church and to visit someone dear to us. It was a very special evening with a nice dinner, great conversation, and a Wednesday night prayer meeting that blessed our hearts. We left Cleveland to drive to Chattanooga to spend the night with our dear friend, Peggy Pirkle. Jerry was out of town on one of his "Amazing Grace" fair ministry trips but Peggy had insisted from our previous visit that we please stay with her on our return trip home. Her friendship, love, and gracious southern hospitality were so much appreciated. She and I stayed up talking until nearly 11:00 before deciding that we both really needed some sleep. Ha!!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9: We were all three up and dressed and ready to go to breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Ootlewah. After treating Peggy to breakfast and thanking her again for her sweet hospitality, and also making a plan to go to Asheville to the Biltmore together on the December 27/28, we set off to make our drive to Chip's house in Huntsville. He wasn't even going to be there but was in Indiana visiting a church member from his youth pastorate days there who had had serious surgery last week. He told us we were welcome to stay at his place so we took him up on that. We arrived there at 12:30 ~~ just in time to listen to the launching of a radio talk show that Bro. Zach and Chip will be hosting every Thursday. It was a fascinating hour and a great start for their weekly radio show. If anyone would like to listen to them every Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time), here is the URL: http://www.protalk1490.com/ They will be on every Thursday so check them out. :)
We went out for a bite that evening and coming back to Chip's house, we encountered the homecoming parade for the high school that is just across the street from Chip's house. We saw it from start to finish and enjoyed it. It certainly brought back memories I had of being in the band and marching in parades. That was a nice surprise and added blessing.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10: We had decided to drive up to Blue Ridge, GA to attend a football game. We left Chip's house at 2:00 p.m. and had forgotten that we would lose an hour. Not knowing much about the route (following our Garmin), we were delighted to find ourselves driving through a portion of the Cherokee National Park of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was simply gorgeous as there was a lot of color change in the foliage and the mountains, lakes, Ococee River~~ it was all simply beautiful. We decided that we wouldn't drive back home after the game (some 4 hours of a drive) but would spend the night locally so we could drive back in the daylight hours.
On the way, I called my baby sister, Nonie, to wish her a Happy Birthday. We had a good conversation which I enjoyed tremendously.
We arrived at the game a few minutes after kick-off but enjoyed it so much and were blessed to enjoy some good company afterwards. God is good. We stayed in an "okay" motel for the night and slept well.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11: WE got up at 6:40 and were on our way back to Chip's. It was a fabulous ride back through the Cherokee National Park and we stopped along the way so that I could make pictures. On our way into Huntsville at noon, we stopped at Village Inn and picked up the pizza that Chip had ordered for our lunch. It was a sweet reunion to arrive at his house and see him. Chip is a gracious and loving son~~ we are very blessed. We enjoyed our pizza lunch and watching Texas beat Oklahoma ~~ which puts Alabama at #1 on the polls!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I had two happy men on my hands.
Chip doesn't have internet at home but needed to come to the church to study and do some things and invited me to come along and make sure of the church's internet. That rang my bell and I have enjoyed catching up the blog.
We will attend both services at Chip's church tomorrow and then take off for home bright and early on Monday morning. I have a dear son-in-law, precious daughter, and cherished grandchildren that I haven't seen in a month!!!! Oh what a sweet reunion that will be!!! So, I will probably finish this up on Monday night or Tuesday and that will complete our 35th Anniversary Trip Blog. I have enjoyed every week, day, hour, and minute spent with my husband for a month and thank God for the love and closeness that we share. I pray He gives us many more years together.
October 6: Monday Night from Pigeon Forge, TN
Please see my prayer request for a friend in this email............
Pigeon Forge again~~ in 2 weeks time. This anniversary trip has been quite the gig. :) We have stopped here for a couple of days as we are on a quest to find a place to bring our entire family for Christmas week. The kids and grandkids think it will be so very different and a lot of fun, and we are game as well. We think we found the ideal place today but have one more to look at tomorrow before committing. Christmas in the Smokey's. I am already excited and planning how to decorate the place. HA!!
We drove down from Staunton, VA today and put another 354 miles on the car. We are so thankful for God's blessing and provision as we have such a non-eventful trip on the road. That glory and praise certainly goes to him.
Please pray for my friend, Dorothy Zila, back home. She had a total knee replacement today, and I know she would appreciate your prayers for a quick healing from the surgery and for a successful rehab. She is a dear, dear friend and I do covet your prayers for her.
Everyone take care. We love and miss you!!
Susan
Pigeon Forge again~~ in 2 weeks time. This anniversary trip has been quite the gig. :) We have stopped here for a couple of days as we are on a quest to find a place to bring our entire family for Christmas week. The kids and grandkids think it will be so very different and a lot of fun, and we are game as well. We think we found the ideal place today but have one more to look at tomorrow before committing. Christmas in the Smokey's. I am already excited and planning how to decorate the place. HA!!
We drove down from Staunton, VA today and put another 354 miles on the car. We are so thankful for God's blessing and provision as we have such a non-eventful trip on the road. That glory and praise certainly goes to him.
Please pray for my friend, Dorothy Zila, back home. She had a total knee replacement today, and I know she would appreciate your prayers for a quick healing from the surgery and for a successful rehab. She is a dear, dear friend and I do covet your prayers for her.
Everyone take care. We love and miss you!!
Susan
October 5: We were Stranded at Sea this Morning!!
We got up at 5:30 to shower and dress to be ready for our 7:30 call to disembark the ship. The timing was perfect as we were going to attend church in New Jersey at the Chris High's church and where Marty Hubbard is a member. As we were getting dressed, our stateroom lights blinked but came right back on. Once ready to run down and grab a bite of breakfast before our disembarkment, as we got to the other end of the hall on our deck, we found that the lights were off and only the emergency lights were on. What in the world? We were glad to find that the elevator worked and took us up the 3 flights to go to breakfast but when we walked into the restaurant, we found that their lights were off with only the emergency lights working ~~ candlelight breakfast before dawn. SWEET!!! Once in there and seated, we discovered that the ship was moving an inch and in fact, we were sitting there under the Verrozano Bridge which is located between Staten Island and Broolyn. What it the world? As we were eating breakfast, the ship's Captain got on the horn and announced to us all that the ship's propulsion system was not working and that the anchors had been dropped. OOPS!!! Not a good sign. We completed our breakfast and then made our way back to our cabin to get our luggage and report to the dining room where all of the walk-off passengers (those of us who would not "check" our luggage with Princess but who would get themselves and their luggage off the ship.) We reported to the already full dining room but found seats and sat with the other 500 people there for the same reason. All of us and all of our luggage. The room was stuffed!!! Everyone kept a good attitude, but I felt really bad for those who had close flight connections from NYC! It was 3 hours later when somehow our ship made it into Brooklyn (they had partially restored the propulsion system per the captain's 2nd announcement) and we had cleared Customs and were in our car in the Brooklyn Terminal at 10:45. The High's church service (miles away in Clifton, New Jersey) started at 11:00 so, of course, we didn't even try to get over there. We were very disappointed about that!!! We made a good day's drive of 400 miles to Staunton, West Virginia where we are lodged for the night. I am thrilled to have FREE WiFi and have been catching up on the 455 new emails that had accumulated in my inbox. We are going to go back to Gatlinburg tomorrow to check out some possibilities for a place to spend Christmas this year. Brian, Amy, and Chip all want to do it so we are going to see what we can find. Otherwise, we will slowly make our way back home and arrive home on Saturday. That is our current plan. We had a fantastic cruise and look forward to this week as it unfolds. We love and miss all our family and friends and look forward to seeing you soon. Blessings, Susan
In the room for 3 hours waiting to be disembarked from the ship.
This is the bridge that the ship sat under for nearly about 2 hours. I wonder what the people were thinking as they saw it there for so long.
A beautiful sunset as we were driving through Virginia on Sunday evening.
In the room for 3 hours waiting to be disembarked from the ship.
This is the bridge that the ship sat under for nearly about 2 hours. I wonder what the people were thinking as they saw it there for so long.
A beautiful sunset as we were driving through Virginia on Sunday evening.
October 4: Our Saturday at Sea
We got up, showered and dressed for our day, and had a nice breakfast. It is a gorgeous day on the Atlantic as we make our voyage back to NY from Nova Scotia ~~ some 650 miles on the water! I thought I would try to post some pics of the various places we have visited this week since I didn't take (pay) the time to do it all week, so here is my attempt at that: OOPS.... internet too slow and the time waiting on pics is eating up my time so I will try again on Sunday evening when we check into a motel with FREE Wi-Fi!!! We are doing great, have had a blast, and hope that is well with our friends and loved ones back home. Can't wait to catch up with you all. Love, Susan/Mom/Grandma
Richard finding a place to get me set up to get on the internet.
There was always a musician playing classical music in the atrium... a pianist, violinist, string quartet, etc.
Checking out the weather on the deck. It was beautiful but cold. And the wind was freezing!
People braved the cold to get some sun.
This is the dear couple we met from Huntsville, Al. They don't go to Chip's church but to another Baptist church in the area. We will try to see them from time to time when we are in town to visit Chip. Paul and Judy are their names.
Richard finding a place to get me set up to get on the internet.
There was always a musician playing classical music in the atrium... a pianist, violinist, string quartet, etc.
Checking out the weather on the deck. It was beautiful but cold. And the wind was freezing!
People braved the cold to get some sun.
This is the dear couple we met from Huntsville, Al. They don't go to Chip's church but to another Baptist church in the area. We will try to see them from time to time when we are in town to visit Chip. Paul and Judy are their names.
October 3: A Beautiful Friday in Halifax, Nova Scotia
For our trip from Saint John to Halifax, the Caribbean Princess Ship cleared the Fundy Traffic Scheme, a South Easterly heading was set to round Cape Sable, the Southern tip of Nova Scotia. We cruised over the German Bank and altered course to the North East steaming along the East coast of Nova Scotia. This led us into the Halifax approach Traffic Scheme. The South West approach lane took Caribbean Princess 9 nautical miles North of the shallow Sambro Ledges, where we connected with the South Easterly approach lane and set a North North-Westerly heading to the Pilot Boarding area, located 1.5 miles East of Chebucto Head. The Pilot helped to guide the vessel past Sandwich Point and McNab Island, into Halifax Harbor. Caribbean Princess cleared the berth and swung to line up on our departure track.
All of that sailing mostly occurred as we slept the night away. We woke up 7:00 a.m. which is 6:00 back in the Eastern Time Zone in the States as we changed time zones when we entered Canada on night before last. It was also 5:00 a.m. for our central-time-trailed bodies. After our blustery and raining day in Saint John (which you can read about in the article below), we have a gorgeous blue-sky-and-lots-of-sunshine day here in Halifax. We dropped by the laundry room on our way to breakfast and started a load of wash. It is now drying and will be done at 9:30 so right after that we will hit the streets of Halifax. We have a hop-on-hop-off trolley tour this morning and then a ride out to Peggy’s Cove this afternoon.
The Capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax is the largest city in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. Once a military and naval base used to defend the British colonies, the historic properties in downtown Halifax boast beautifully restored buildings that recall the flourishing maritime history of centuries past. At Privateer’s Wharf, we may find Nova Scotia’s floating ambassador, the schooner Bluenose II, tied up just as old sailing ships were more than 200 years ago. Halifax is also the gateway to some of Nova Scotia’s best sight-seeing, including Peggy’s Cove where the rugged beauty of the surf-pounded granite cliffs and the solitary lighthouse is unsurpassed.
8:30 P.M. ~~ A SUMMARY OF OUR DAY’S DOINGS: We had a fabulous day. The Gray Line tour of Halifax was very good. We rode the entire route and then returned to the ship for lunch. Here are some of the places we saw: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax Citadel Fortress, Halifax Public Gardens, Halifax National Park, Halifax Citadel National Park, and more. At 1:20, we had to be back out at the Pier 21 to catch the bus for our ride out to Peggy’s Cove. It was a 35-mile ride out there with the foliage colors getting prettier and prettier the farther we went. We arrived at Peggy’s Cove and disembarked the bus. What a visual feast for our eyes and an audio feast for our ears to see and hear the waves crashing against the granite boulders. It was a gorgeous afternoon with bright blue skies and bright sunshine. From yesterday’s storm they still had a stiff wind out there but it just added to the mystique of the place. I can’t even begin to describe the beauty we witnessed out there. I hope that the 300+ photos we took will somehow represent all that we saw and experienced out there. For anyone interested, I found a "live" webcam that shows the Peggy Cove Lighthouse in real time. Here is the URL: http://www.peggyscovewebcam.ca/live/
We got back to the ship right at the 5:30 cut-off for returnees and came on up to our room and dressed for dinner. A couple of nights ago, we met a delightful couple from the Huntsville area and had met up with them again and so had made plans for dinner tonight. We met at a restaurant and enjoyed a 2-hour meal with Paul and Judy.
While eating, the ship set sail for our return trip to NY. Here is our sailing itinerary: Since departure, Caribbean Princess traveled on a South Westerly and will pass through the Lehave Basin late on this Friday evening. We will clear the Nova Scotia coastline in the early hours of Saturday morning. Caribbean Princess will continue on her South bound course transiting the Fundin Channel, crossing over St. George’s Bank at noon on Saturday. Once clear of the Nantucket Shoals in the every evening, a Westerly heading will be set for Ambrose Light Tower. Caribbean Princess will begin her approach to New York from the Ambrose Light Tower and Sandy Hook Pilot Station in the early hours of Sunday morning. With the Pilot onboard, Caribbean Princess will approach the Channel, passing under the Verrazano Bridge and then on final approach, will pass the Statue of Liberty on our Port Side. Caribbean Princess will swing off Governor’s Island and proceed astern onto our designated berth at Brooklyn’s Red Hook Terminal. We expect to be "All Fast" by early Sunday morning.
The following are some of the 300+ pics we made during our day in Halifax and Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. It and Bar Harbor, Maine tied as the best of the scenic views of the entire trip. Here are our Halifax pics:
Getting off the ship at Pier 21 to catch our tour excursions ~~ 2 planned for today.
Our morning excursion was a hop-on-and-off trolley tour around Halifax. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of interesting sites/sights:
The stone-faced guard at the Citidel:
The sign at the entrance of the Citadel:
The clock tower at the foot of the Citadel:
A lovely old home and pretty foliage in Halifax:
The Titanic Sunk about 700 miles off the Halifax coast. One of Halifax's major ships went out and made a lot of rescues as well as recoved a lot of bodies ~~ many of which were buried in this cemetery:
Pretty scenery:
Another lovely scene:
I love to see churches and always pray that they are truly Bible-Preaching and Soul-Winning Stations in the community where they are planted:
For our afternoon tour, we boarded a big bus for our 35-mile ride out to Peggy's Cove. Rick in a Scottish Kilt was our tour guide and did an excellent job all afternoon long.
As we travel through Halifax leaving town, here was a statute/monument and a young man talking on his cell phone. Some things are universal!
We arrive at Peggy's Cove and this is one of the first sights we view: The Fishermen's Monument. The sculptor's ashes and his wife's ashes are buried in this granite wall.
A lovely scene as we view this part of the Cove; like a calendar page come to life:
The blue sky and abundant sunshine were such a blessing after all of the rain we had endured the day before:
Another gorgeous scene ~~ like a Rockwell painting -- only it's the real thing. Peggy's Cove official population is like 120 people. Unbelievable!
Just to prove it's real, here I am standing on the dock in frontof that scene:
Another view:
I'm dazzled by the scenery all around me as I try to concentrate on what our tour guide Rick is telling us about this granite sculpture:
Richard standing in front of this old boat and the idyllic scene behind it:
We finally walk around the corner and see the famous Peggy's Cove Lighthouse. That is Richard way up there waving at me:
All of that sailing mostly occurred as we slept the night away. We woke up 7:00 a.m. which is 6:00 back in the Eastern Time Zone in the States as we changed time zones when we entered Canada on night before last. It was also 5:00 a.m. for our central-time-trailed bodies. After our blustery and raining day in Saint John (which you can read about in the article below), we have a gorgeous blue-sky-and-lots-of-sunshine day here in Halifax. We dropped by the laundry room on our way to breakfast and started a load of wash. It is now drying and will be done at 9:30 so right after that we will hit the streets of Halifax. We have a hop-on-hop-off trolley tour this morning and then a ride out to Peggy’s Cove this afternoon.
The Capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax is the largest city in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. Once a military and naval base used to defend the British colonies, the historic properties in downtown Halifax boast beautifully restored buildings that recall the flourishing maritime history of centuries past. At Privateer’s Wharf, we may find Nova Scotia’s floating ambassador, the schooner Bluenose II, tied up just as old sailing ships were more than 200 years ago. Halifax is also the gateway to some of Nova Scotia’s best sight-seeing, including Peggy’s Cove where the rugged beauty of the surf-pounded granite cliffs and the solitary lighthouse is unsurpassed.
8:30 P.M. ~~ A SUMMARY OF OUR DAY’S DOINGS: We had a fabulous day. The Gray Line tour of Halifax was very good. We rode the entire route and then returned to the ship for lunch. Here are some of the places we saw: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax Citadel Fortress, Halifax Public Gardens, Halifax National Park, Halifax Citadel National Park, and more. At 1:20, we had to be back out at the Pier 21 to catch the bus for our ride out to Peggy’s Cove. It was a 35-mile ride out there with the foliage colors getting prettier and prettier the farther we went. We arrived at Peggy’s Cove and disembarked the bus. What a visual feast for our eyes and an audio feast for our ears to see and hear the waves crashing against the granite boulders. It was a gorgeous afternoon with bright blue skies and bright sunshine. From yesterday’s storm they still had a stiff wind out there but it just added to the mystique of the place. I can’t even begin to describe the beauty we witnessed out there. I hope that the 300+ photos we took will somehow represent all that we saw and experienced out there. For anyone interested, I found a "live" webcam that shows the Peggy Cove Lighthouse in real time. Here is the URL: http://www.peggyscovewebcam.ca/live/
We got back to the ship right at the 5:30 cut-off for returnees and came on up to our room and dressed for dinner. A couple of nights ago, we met a delightful couple from the Huntsville area and had met up with them again and so had made plans for dinner tonight. We met at a restaurant and enjoyed a 2-hour meal with Paul and Judy.
While eating, the ship set sail for our return trip to NY. Here is our sailing itinerary: Since departure, Caribbean Princess traveled on a South Westerly and will pass through the Lehave Basin late on this Friday evening. We will clear the Nova Scotia coastline in the early hours of Saturday morning. Caribbean Princess will continue on her South bound course transiting the Fundin Channel, crossing over St. George’s Bank at noon on Saturday. Once clear of the Nantucket Shoals in the every evening, a Westerly heading will be set for Ambrose Light Tower. Caribbean Princess will begin her approach to New York from the Ambrose Light Tower and Sandy Hook Pilot Station in the early hours of Sunday morning. With the Pilot onboard, Caribbean Princess will approach the Channel, passing under the Verrazano Bridge and then on final approach, will pass the Statue of Liberty on our Port Side. Caribbean Princess will swing off Governor’s Island and proceed astern onto our designated berth at Brooklyn’s Red Hook Terminal. We expect to be "All Fast" by early Sunday morning.
The following are some of the 300+ pics we made during our day in Halifax and Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. It and Bar Harbor, Maine tied as the best of the scenic views of the entire trip. Here are our Halifax pics:
Getting off the ship at Pier 21 to catch our tour excursions ~~ 2 planned for today.
Our morning excursion was a hop-on-and-off trolley tour around Halifax. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of interesting sites/sights:
The stone-faced guard at the Citidel:
The sign at the entrance of the Citadel:
The clock tower at the foot of the Citadel:
A lovely old home and pretty foliage in Halifax:
The Titanic Sunk about 700 miles off the Halifax coast. One of Halifax's major ships went out and made a lot of rescues as well as recoved a lot of bodies ~~ many of which were buried in this cemetery:
Pretty scenery:
Another lovely scene:
I love to see churches and always pray that they are truly Bible-Preaching and Soul-Winning Stations in the community where they are planted:
For our afternoon tour, we boarded a big bus for our 35-mile ride out to Peggy's Cove. Rick in a Scottish Kilt was our tour guide and did an excellent job all afternoon long.
As we travel through Halifax leaving town, here was a statute/monument and a young man talking on his cell phone. Some things are universal!
We arrive at Peggy's Cove and this is one of the first sights we view: The Fishermen's Monument. The sculptor's ashes and his wife's ashes are buried in this granite wall.
A lovely scene as we view this part of the Cove; like a calendar page come to life:
The blue sky and abundant sunshine were such a blessing after all of the rain we had endured the day before:
Another gorgeous scene ~~ like a Rockwell painting -- only it's the real thing. Peggy's Cove official population is like 120 people. Unbelievable!
Just to prove it's real, here I am standing on the dock in frontof that scene:
Another view:
I'm dazzled by the scenery all around me as I try to concentrate on what our tour guide Rick is telling us about this granite sculpture:
Richard standing in front of this old boat and the idyllic scene behind it:
We finally walk around the corner and see the famous Peggy's Cove Lighthouse. That is Richard way up there waving at me:
Oh.... Rick the tour guide gave a talk about the world-famous Peggy's Cove lobsters. At the end, he wanted someone to volunteer to hold that live lobster. Look who volunteered and even kissed it:
That gorgeous lighthouse ~~ the crowning touch of this gorgeous cove, granite cliffs, and pounding Atlantic surf:
Here we are out past the lighthouse and nearer to the water ~~ standing on the cliffs.
Here we are out past the lighthouse and nearer to the water ~~ standing on the cliffs.
Every turn and twist of the cliffs gives a different view of the beauty out here:
That's me up there touching the lighthouse:
As we are preparing to leave the lower part of the cliffs, we look back for one last view of her beacon:
As we are preparing to leave the lower part of the cliffs, we look back for one last view of her beacon:
This was an interesting carved out granite configuration:
Richard standing by one of the boulders that make up the cliffs:
This was a shot I made by standing at the base of the lighthouse and looking up. It was really tall:
The sun shining across the water as we prepare to leave. What a wonderful afternoon we enjoyed at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia!
October 2: Our Thursday in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
We slept in and didn’t go to breakfast until 9:00 for a rainy introduction to Saint John. During breakfast, we agreed that if the wind and rain didn’t diminish that we might not go out for our tour. We had until 12:00 noon to make that definite decision.
The rain did lighten up so we laid our clothes and set out to catch the tour bus at noon for our "SAINT JOHN HIGHLIGHTS" tour. Saint John’s history began in 1604 when Champlain landed dear the present-day city on the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. On this tour we were to explore the historic city, visit the oldest farmer’s market in Canada, and watch the tides of the Bay of Fundy actually make the St. John River flow upstream.
Visits scheduled on our tour were: Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site: The circular stone fortification was one of 16 built in North America and used by the British for coastal defense against the Americans in the War of 1812. During WW II, the tower saw new life as a fire command post for harbor defense. Old City Market: Located in the heart of Saint John, the oldest working farmer’s market in Canada is still a popular meeting place for local residents. The shipwrights who built the market gave it a crowning touch: a roof in the shape of a ship’s hull. Reversing River Rapids: The fierce tides of the Bay of Fundy actually force the longest river in Atlantic Canada to reverse direction and flow upstream.
We boarded the bus and set out on our tour. It was lightly raining so a lot of the small top windows of the bus were open, which afforded us some nice ventilation with some 50 folks on the bus. In just a bit, however, the rain got really heavy again with the wind blowing in the windows so everyone but us closed our window. The couple in front of us wanted it left open and we did as well (we were in the middle of the bus and there was an opening behind us with a door instead of seats so no one behind us was affected.) We did get some drips and drops of rain, but the cool fresh air far outweighed the potential problem of the water coming in. In a matter of minutes after everyone else closing their windows, the condensation set in, and we were totally fogged in. We couldn’t see a thing without constantly wiping off the windows. The tour guide suggested that a few more people open their top windows, which they did which helped the problem greatly.
The guide pointed out lots of homes and churches that had lots of history and then our first top was at the Farmer’s Market. We had a fun time looking around and it was while we were in there that the rain really got heavy again so we got quite damp walking across the street to get back on the bus.
We saw more buildings and heard more history as we rode along and then stopped at the Carleton Martello Tower. It was raining but a lot of folks got off (including Richard) to view it and make pictures. I did get off to avail myself of the restrooms nearby.
Our last stop was at the Reversing River Rapids. It was raining and blowing but Richard got off with the others who braved the elements to see this phenomenon. I could see the flow of the river from the bus just fine, thank you!!
We got back to the ship and came aboard at about 3:00 p.m. We came back to our stateroom to put away our coats and backpack and then went to a late lunch and/or early dinner ("lupper") and had a delicious meal. Afterwards, we came back to our room and have been here all evening. We have watched some news. CNN in our only news channel on the ship, and it is HORRIBLE to have to watch their liberal biased reporting. We saw a bit of an old LOVE BOAT show and realized that it was the Princess Pacific ship they were on and that the Princess logo was everywhere. It had been years since I had seen that show but found it quite intriguing that it was a huge advertisement for the Princess cruise line way back then. I had started a Lauraine Snelling novel this morning so read some more of it this afternoon. The reading lulled me into a delicious nap. We are now watching the VP Debate on this terrible CNN channel. Sarah is holding her own ~~ so far so good. Of course, we won’t hear one good thing about her in the post-debate commentary on CNN. Oh how I miss Fox News right now!!!
Speaking of TV, we hope the BAMA game will be broadcast on ESPN as that is our only possibility of being able to watch it from here on the ship come Saturday. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are now sailing up to Nova Scotia and BOY HOWDY is the boat pitching quite a bit. I just took my evening Dramamine. We have done real well and certainly don’t want to get sick here at the end. We do pray for a better day of weather tomorrow as we are turned loose in Nova Scotia. Time will tell.
The rain did lighten up so we laid our clothes and set out to catch the tour bus at noon for our "SAINT JOHN HIGHLIGHTS" tour. Saint John’s history began in 1604 when Champlain landed dear the present-day city on the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. On this tour we were to explore the historic city, visit the oldest farmer’s market in Canada, and watch the tides of the Bay of Fundy actually make the St. John River flow upstream.
Visits scheduled on our tour were: Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site: The circular stone fortification was one of 16 built in North America and used by the British for coastal defense against the Americans in the War of 1812. During WW II, the tower saw new life as a fire command post for harbor defense. Old City Market: Located in the heart of Saint John, the oldest working farmer’s market in Canada is still a popular meeting place for local residents. The shipwrights who built the market gave it a crowning touch: a roof in the shape of a ship’s hull. Reversing River Rapids: The fierce tides of the Bay of Fundy actually force the longest river in Atlantic Canada to reverse direction and flow upstream.
We boarded the bus and set out on our tour. It was lightly raining so a lot of the small top windows of the bus were open, which afforded us some nice ventilation with some 50 folks on the bus. In just a bit, however, the rain got really heavy again with the wind blowing in the windows so everyone but us closed our window. The couple in front of us wanted it left open and we did as well (we were in the middle of the bus and there was an opening behind us with a door instead of seats so no one behind us was affected.) We did get some drips and drops of rain, but the cool fresh air far outweighed the potential problem of the water coming in. In a matter of minutes after everyone else closing their windows, the condensation set in, and we were totally fogged in. We couldn’t see a thing without constantly wiping off the windows. The tour guide suggested that a few more people open their top windows, which they did which helped the problem greatly.
The guide pointed out lots of homes and churches that had lots of history and then our first top was at the Farmer’s Market. We had a fun time looking around and it was while we were in there that the rain really got heavy again so we got quite damp walking across the street to get back on the bus.
We saw more buildings and heard more history as we rode along and then stopped at the Carleton Martello Tower. It was raining but a lot of folks got off (including Richard) to view it and make pictures. I did get off to avail myself of the restrooms nearby.
Our last stop was at the Reversing River Rapids. It was raining and blowing but Richard got off with the others who braved the elements to see this phenomenon. I could see the flow of the river from the bus just fine, thank you!!
We got back to the ship and came aboard at about 3:00 p.m. We came back to our stateroom to put away our coats and backpack and then went to a late lunch and/or early dinner ("lupper") and had a delicious meal. Afterwards, we came back to our room and have been here all evening. We have watched some news. CNN in our only news channel on the ship, and it is HORRIBLE to have to watch their liberal biased reporting. We saw a bit of an old LOVE BOAT show and realized that it was the Princess Pacific ship they were on and that the Princess logo was everywhere. It had been years since I had seen that show but found it quite intriguing that it was a huge advertisement for the Princess cruise line way back then. I had started a Lauraine Snelling novel this morning so read some more of it this afternoon. The reading lulled me into a delicious nap. We are now watching the VP Debate on this terrible CNN channel. Sarah is holding her own ~~ so far so good. Of course, we won’t hear one good thing about her in the post-debate commentary on CNN. Oh how I miss Fox News right now!!!
Speaking of TV, we hope the BAMA game will be broadcast on ESPN as that is our only possibility of being able to watch it from here on the ship come Saturday. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are now sailing up to Nova Scotia and BOY HOWDY is the boat pitching quite a bit. I just took my evening Dramamine. We have done real well and certainly don’t want to get sick here at the end. We do pray for a better day of weather tomorrow as we are turned loose in Nova Scotia. Time will tell.
October 1: Our Day in Bar Habor, Maine
Gorgeous colors and scenery as we drive through Acadia Park. I belive this was Eagle Lake.
We made it!!
More color.
Another pretty view of Eagle Lake.
What a pretty day for a pretty drive. We enjoyed our day in Bar Harbor.
We made it!!
More color.
Another pretty view of Eagle Lake.
What a pretty day for a pretty drive. We enjoyed our day in Bar Harbor.
We are just finished with our tour of Bar Harbor and are in an internet cafe so I won't take any extra time in writing and posting this update.
We got up and were off the ship at 7:30 to catch our tender from the ship to Bar Harbor. We boarded our bus at 8:30 for our 4-hour tour. (I'm glad we fared better than Gilligan did!). We had a fantastic ride over much of the area with a ride up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was foggy up there but then the sun broke through the clouds and we saw blue sky. AWESOME!! The leaves are GORGEOUS up here. They are not at their peak but the reds and golds are gorgeous among the green of the evergreens. We saw an eagle this morning so that was cool. One of our stops was to go in to a lobster man's place where he showed us a lobster and we learned a lot about the Creator's making of a lobster, their life and their lifespan. It was an amazing talk and demonstration.
We are now in "downtown" Bar Harbor and it is a beautiful and very quaint little town. The New England look is so refreshing!!!
Well, I had better get off and get this posted as the laptop battery is running down. We are headed back to the ship here in a bit for lunch and will cast off this afternoon.
Love to all!!!!
We got up and were off the ship at 7:30 to catch our tender from the ship to Bar Harbor. We boarded our bus at 8:30 for our 4-hour tour. (I'm glad we fared better than Gilligan did!). We had a fantastic ride over much of the area with a ride up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was foggy up there but then the sun broke through the clouds and we saw blue sky. AWESOME!! The leaves are GORGEOUS up here. They are not at their peak but the reds and golds are gorgeous among the green of the evergreens. We saw an eagle this morning so that was cool. One of our stops was to go in to a lobster man's place where he showed us a lobster and we learned a lot about the Creator's making of a lobster, their life and their lifespan. It was an amazing talk and demonstration.
We are now in "downtown" Bar Harbor and it is a beautiful and very quaint little town. The New England look is so refreshing!!!
Well, I had better get off and get this posted as the laptop battery is running down. We are headed back to the ship here in a bit for lunch and will cast off this afternoon.
Love to all!!!!
September 30: Our Day in Boston and Meeting Chickie
I woke up this morning especially eager to get the day going for it was the long awaited event of finally meeting my online friend, Chickie in Boston! Richard and I showered, dressed, and had a light breakfast in preparation of the big meeting. We were the first in line to disembark the ship when we were given the all clear at 10:00 a.m. Chickie had emailed me to let us know where she and her friend Cindy would be waiting on us. While we were waiting to come off the ship, Chickie called Richard’s cell phone to tell her precisely where she and Cindy were located. We were walking through headed to the area when we heard our names being called in highly Bostonian accents. Looking across the way, I saw Chickie waving her arms. We sped up and got to them quickly as I was ready for our hug to take place. Having been online friends for years and knowing each other and our families inside out and sharing lots of pictures along the journey of our friendship, it was FANTASTIC to meet Chickie in person. Her hug was warm and loving and we shared the joy of getting together.
We were whisked to Chickie’s waiting car and Cindy was our chauffeur for the day. She was such a nice gal and a dear friend of Chickies so we thoroughly enjoyed her company, too. They took us on a grand tour of Boston with Chickie showing us the house where she lived as a kid, where her parents lived out their later years, and we even saw the big building where Chickie worked in a law firm for some 25+ years. All the way, we were chatting and enjoying the sights that Chickie and Cindy were pointing out. We ended up at a lovely restaurant called "Phillip’s." Cindy knew the Maitre D as he is her neighbor and it turned out that Chickie knew his brother and that he knew Chickie’s dad. It was fun to watch all of those connections being made. As a result of the connections, Lou (the Mait) treated us to two wonderful appetizers. Chickie had a gift bag which she presented to me and my oh my…. She gave me the BEAUTIFUL cookbook that was produced as a fundraiser for the Interfaith Social Services where Chickie volunteers her time and talents in ministry. There was also a beautiful cross "penny charm" magnet, which says: "A little wish, a little prayer, God keep you in His loving care." That will go on our refrigerator at home! Chickie had also included two editions of the Thrift Shop newsletter that she and Cindy produce which I really enjoyed reading. And then there were some informational pamphlets and papers about Quincy (Chickie’s town). And all of that came with a fantastic black "courier" bag that has a fantastic logo, which reads: "REFLECTING HIS GLORY" and has a silhouette of a boy y and girl praying before a cross. It is a shoulder bag and will come in handy for the rest of our trip!! Oh my…………. I was blown away by Chickie’s thoughtful and meaningful gifts.
We ordered our meals. I had heard so much about Boston’s specialty (Lobster Rolls) so ordered a lobster roll, Richard had the Cod Cakes, Chickie had the Scrod Fish, and Cindy also had the cod cakes, I believe. All of it was delectable. During lunch, Chickie received a cell phone call from her friend Lorrayne (whom Chickie had mentioned often in emails about her work in the Catholic Church) so Lorrayne came on out to the restaurant so we could meet her. She was as sweet as could be (I didn’t know Yankees are so nice!!) and we enjoyed chatting with Lorrayne. Richard and I had determined ahead of time that we would treat Chickie and Cindy and asked for one ticket at the beginning of the meal, but SOMEHOW Chickie ended up with the bill and would not hear of us taking care of it.
Chickie and Cindy drove us back to the ship terminal after a wonderful 3 hours together and we had to have our final hug good-bye. It was difficult to say good-bye to Chickie and so I told her that if I didn’t see her again on this earth that I would look for her in Heaven. It was truly the highlight for me that I was able to meet Chickie. By the way, we had our camera but had left the card in the laptop from our last uploading of pics. Thankfully Chickie and Cindy both had cameras and made lots of pics so when I am able to access my email and receive them, I will certainly post a few of them here.
After leaving Chickie and Cindy, Richard and I came back onboard the ship to freshen up and get ready for our 2:20 call for the Boston Harbor cruise and then a Boston City bus tour. It had been a very cloudy morning but the sun broke through and shone bright during our cruise. We enjoyed seeing a lot of the city on the 2-hour bus tour and thoroughly enjoyed our time spent in Boston today.
We returned to the ship at about 6:00, came up and dressed for dinner, and reported to the dining room. We sat with delightful folks tonight and one couple is from Huntsville and knew of Capshaw Baptist Church where Chip is the youth pastor. Chip, they go to the church where John Ferry goes but they didn’t know him. They were real nice. Another neat couple at our table was from New Mexico and they were great folks, too. She reminded me a lot of Carol Hicks and low and behold if she doesn’t raise chickens. (You who know Carol will understand that reference.) Then there was another nice couple from Nevada and his elderly mother as well. It was a very lively dinner conversation and we enjoyed getting to know these folks.
It was a very fun day full of God’s best blessings in Boston, MA.
We were whisked to Chickie’s waiting car and Cindy was our chauffeur for the day. She was such a nice gal and a dear friend of Chickies so we thoroughly enjoyed her company, too. They took us on a grand tour of Boston with Chickie showing us the house where she lived as a kid, where her parents lived out their later years, and we even saw the big building where Chickie worked in a law firm for some 25+ years. All the way, we were chatting and enjoying the sights that Chickie and Cindy were pointing out. We ended up at a lovely restaurant called "Phillip’s." Cindy knew the Maitre D as he is her neighbor and it turned out that Chickie knew his brother and that he knew Chickie’s dad. It was fun to watch all of those connections being made. As a result of the connections, Lou (the Mait) treated us to two wonderful appetizers. Chickie had a gift bag which she presented to me and my oh my…. She gave me the BEAUTIFUL cookbook that was produced as a fundraiser for the Interfaith Social Services where Chickie volunteers her time and talents in ministry. There was also a beautiful cross "penny charm" magnet, which says: "A little wish, a little prayer, God keep you in His loving care." That will go on our refrigerator at home! Chickie had also included two editions of the Thrift Shop newsletter that she and Cindy produce which I really enjoyed reading. And then there were some informational pamphlets and papers about Quincy (Chickie’s town). And all of that came with a fantastic black "courier" bag that has a fantastic logo, which reads: "REFLECTING HIS GLORY" and has a silhouette of a boy y and girl praying before a cross. It is a shoulder bag and will come in handy for the rest of our trip!! Oh my…………. I was blown away by Chickie’s thoughtful and meaningful gifts.
We ordered our meals. I had heard so much about Boston’s specialty (Lobster Rolls) so ordered a lobster roll, Richard had the Cod Cakes, Chickie had the Scrod Fish, and Cindy also had the cod cakes, I believe. All of it was delectable. During lunch, Chickie received a cell phone call from her friend Lorrayne (whom Chickie had mentioned often in emails about her work in the Catholic Church) so Lorrayne came on out to the restaurant so we could meet her. She was as sweet as could be (I didn’t know Yankees are so nice!!) and we enjoyed chatting with Lorrayne. Richard and I had determined ahead of time that we would treat Chickie and Cindy and asked for one ticket at the beginning of the meal, but SOMEHOW Chickie ended up with the bill and would not hear of us taking care of it.
Chickie and Cindy drove us back to the ship terminal after a wonderful 3 hours together and we had to have our final hug good-bye. It was difficult to say good-bye to Chickie and so I told her that if I didn’t see her again on this earth that I would look for her in Heaven. It was truly the highlight for me that I was able to meet Chickie. By the way, we had our camera but had left the card in the laptop from our last uploading of pics. Thankfully Chickie and Cindy both had cameras and made lots of pics so when I am able to access my email and receive them, I will certainly post a few of them here.
After leaving Chickie and Cindy, Richard and I came back onboard the ship to freshen up and get ready for our 2:20 call for the Boston Harbor cruise and then a Boston City bus tour. It had been a very cloudy morning but the sun broke through and shone bright during our cruise. We enjoyed seeing a lot of the city on the 2-hour bus tour and thoroughly enjoyed our time spent in Boston today.
We returned to the ship at about 6:00, came up and dressed for dinner, and reported to the dining room. We sat with delightful folks tonight and one couple is from Huntsville and knew of Capshaw Baptist Church where Chip is the youth pastor. Chip, they go to the church where John Ferry goes but they didn’t know him. They were real nice. Another neat couple at our table was from New Mexico and they were great folks, too. She reminded me a lot of Carol Hicks and low and behold if she doesn’t raise chickens. (You who know Carol will understand that reference.) Then there was another nice couple from Nevada and his elderly mother as well. It was a very lively dinner conversation and we enjoyed getting to know these folks.
It was a very fun day full of God’s best blessings in Boston, MA.
September 29: OUR ANNIVERSARY DAY IN NEWPORT, RI
We just completed our first excursion into Rhode Island and have found a Panera Bread for lunch and free WiFi time so will try to post here during lunch. Our next excursion is less than one hour from now….
I need to back-track to yesterday, Sunday the 28th. We got up and out of our Elizabeth, NJ hotel room at 9:00 and THOUGHT we were headed to breakfast before starting our drive over to Brooklyn. Once on the road, we couldn’t get off without a lot of difficulty so went ahead and made our drive to the Cruise Pier. We had to drive right through the middle of downtown Manhattan; but thankfully the traffic wasn’t horrible as it was a Sunday morning~~ we only experienced a couple of aggressive New Yorker drivers honking at us. We got arrived at Pier 12 in Brooklyn at 10:30 which was some 2-1/2 hours ahead of our scheduled 1:00 embarkation of the ship. We got our luggage tended to right away and while out there doing that, a little accident happened between two vehicles right behind us. We were eye-witness to the vehicle behind us also parked along the drop-off curb where a vehicle coming up the 2nd lane alongside him swiped the driver’s open car door. Boy, how you hate to hear the crunch of metal of metal when two cars collide. I know it was a bad way for both of the people involved to start their cruise. But back to us~~ we were able to check on in and were allowed to board the ship at 11:30 so that was extra nice. We got on, found our stateroom, and then went to the buffet to grab some lunch. It was extra good as we hadn’t had anything to eat since dinner on Saturday night.
We ate and then walked around getting acclimated. At 4:20, we had to attend the "MUSTER" call where we learned what to do in case of emergency and having to abandon ship. What an eerie thought!! After Muster, we went outside to watch our 5:00 p.m. launch from Brooklyn. It was a very pleasant temperature and a beautiful evening. We enjoyed watching the start out on our week-long cruise. We talked to some nice folks out there and eventually went back in to catch some dinner where Richard had Prime Rib and I had a Italian pasta dish. All was delicious. We purposely sat at a table for 8 and soon had 6 nice folks join us for dinner. There were two nice couples and then two more ladies. We had lively conversation through dinner. We returned to our stateroom after dinner and relaxed for a bit before going to bed. It was an exciting day to say the least!
September 29th ~~ Our 35th Anniversary is today!
We got up at 6:00 to get showered and dressed for our day. We went to a restaurant for a lovely sit-down breakfast with exquisite service for 2 and enjoyed the start to our anniversary day. From there, we returned to our room for a few minutes to prepare to disembark the ship and make our way into Newport. We met our group for the tour in the Princess Theater and were taken from there to board the covered lifeboats from the ship to be "tendered" over to the town of Newport. Once across the sea by way of life boat, we boarded our bus to take the tour of the town. We boarded a big bus and made a wonderfully narrated ride around Newport which ended at the Astor Mansion where we were shown through it by the way of a "play" put on by actors and actresses dressed in period costume. It was as though we were the invited guests for a weekend of balls, dinners, etc. That’s how we were shown from room to room and learned about the Astor’s lifestyle of luxury in the late 1800 Newport.
We are eating lunch and will be leaving to go on our next tour shortly. We are having a truly unique anniversary day and are enjoying it to the hilt. We had a real sweet call from Amy on our cell phones this morning which left me in tears while hearing it as we were on the life-boat ride. I imagine my comrades wondered what on earth was my problem. HA!!!
Amy~~~ we have met a real nice couple from Springfield, ILL whose grandchildren were all homeschooled by the Abeka method. She was sure that they all had done the 5th grade videos so that was neat. They were the first "bonafied" Christians we have met thus far and we truly enjoyed the Christian camaraderie with them.
I need to sign off so I can eat and we can get to our next tour on our anniversary day.
I need to back-track to yesterday, Sunday the 28th. We got up and out of our Elizabeth, NJ hotel room at 9:00 and THOUGHT we were headed to breakfast before starting our drive over to Brooklyn. Once on the road, we couldn’t get off without a lot of difficulty so went ahead and made our drive to the Cruise Pier. We had to drive right through the middle of downtown Manhattan; but thankfully the traffic wasn’t horrible as it was a Sunday morning~~ we only experienced a couple of aggressive New Yorker drivers honking at us. We got arrived at Pier 12 in Brooklyn at 10:30 which was some 2-1/2 hours ahead of our scheduled 1:00 embarkation of the ship. We got our luggage tended to right away and while out there doing that, a little accident happened between two vehicles right behind us. We were eye-witness to the vehicle behind us also parked along the drop-off curb where a vehicle coming up the 2nd lane alongside him swiped the driver’s open car door. Boy, how you hate to hear the crunch of metal of metal when two cars collide. I know it was a bad way for both of the people involved to start their cruise. But back to us~~ we were able to check on in and were allowed to board the ship at 11:30 so that was extra nice. We got on, found our stateroom, and then went to the buffet to grab some lunch. It was extra good as we hadn’t had anything to eat since dinner on Saturday night.
We ate and then walked around getting acclimated. At 4:20, we had to attend the "MUSTER" call where we learned what to do in case of emergency and having to abandon ship. What an eerie thought!! After Muster, we went outside to watch our 5:00 p.m. launch from Brooklyn. It was a very pleasant temperature and a beautiful evening. We enjoyed watching the start out on our week-long cruise. We talked to some nice folks out there and eventually went back in to catch some dinner where Richard had Prime Rib and I had a Italian pasta dish. All was delicious. We purposely sat at a table for 8 and soon had 6 nice folks join us for dinner. There were two nice couples and then two more ladies. We had lively conversation through dinner. We returned to our stateroom after dinner and relaxed for a bit before going to bed. It was an exciting day to say the least!
September 29th ~~ Our 35th Anniversary is today!
We got up at 6:00 to get showered and dressed for our day. We went to a restaurant for a lovely sit-down breakfast with exquisite service for 2 and enjoyed the start to our anniversary day. From there, we returned to our room for a few minutes to prepare to disembark the ship and make our way into Newport. We met our group for the tour in the Princess Theater and were taken from there to board the covered lifeboats from the ship to be "tendered" over to the town of Newport. Once across the sea by way of life boat, we boarded our bus to take the tour of the town. We boarded a big bus and made a wonderfully narrated ride around Newport which ended at the Astor Mansion where we were shown through it by the way of a "play" put on by actors and actresses dressed in period costume. It was as though we were the invited guests for a weekend of balls, dinners, etc. That’s how we were shown from room to room and learned about the Astor’s lifestyle of luxury in the late 1800 Newport.
We are eating lunch and will be leaving to go on our next tour shortly. We are having a truly unique anniversary day and are enjoying it to the hilt. We had a real sweet call from Amy on our cell phones this morning which left me in tears while hearing it as we were on the life-boat ride. I imagine my comrades wondered what on earth was my problem. HA!!!
Amy~~~ we have met a real nice couple from Springfield, ILL whose grandchildren were all homeschooled by the Abeka method. She was sure that they all had done the 5th grade videos so that was neat. They were the first "bonafied" Christians we have met thus far and we truly enjoyed the Christian camaraderie with them.
I need to sign off so I can eat and we can get to our next tour on our anniversary day.
September 28: Sunday and It's "Board the Ship Day"
We are up, packed, and will head out in about 2 hours so we can board the ship right after they start allowing that at 1:00 p.m.
I looked up the weather forecasts for our port-of-call cities this week and they look pretty good as follows:
Monday in Newport, Rhode Island: 72/59 & 20% chance precip
Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts: 75/55 & 20% chance precip
Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine: 60/47 & 40% chance precip
Thursday in St. John New Brunswick Canada: 57/43 & 30% chance precip
Friday in Halifax, Nova Scotia: 58/45 & 3o% chance of precip
Saturday at sea all day sailing back to New York
Sunday in New York, New York: 64/50 & 20% chance of precip
Kyle will affect the sea. We would appreciate your prayers that we won't get sea-sick. We started taking our Dramamine last night and will keep it up as well as pray.
Have a wonderful day of worship ~~ we miss our Campus Church!!!
I looked up the weather forecasts for our port-of-call cities this week and they look pretty good as follows:
Monday in Newport, Rhode Island: 72/59 & 20% chance precip
Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts: 75/55 & 20% chance precip
Wednesday in Bar Harbor, Maine: 60/47 & 40% chance precip
Thursday in St. John New Brunswick Canada: 57/43 & 30% chance precip
Friday in Halifax, Nova Scotia: 58/45 & 3o% chance of precip
Saturday at sea all day sailing back to New York
Sunday in New York, New York: 64/50 & 20% chance of precip
Kyle will affect the sea. We would appreciate your prayers that we won't get sea-sick. We started taking our Dramamine last night and will keep it up as well as pray.
Have a wonderful day of worship ~~ we miss our Campus Church!!!
September 27: We had a fun day in NYC today and are enjoying the Alabama Crimson Tide Football Game Tonight!
We were up and out of our hotel by 9:30 this morning to get ourselves back to New York City for the whole day. From the hotel we took their courtesy shuttle to Penn Station in Newark, and from there we took the PATH train into New York City. The whole deal took an hour.
In the Big Apple, we jumped back on the Grey Line to continue our forage into the city. It drizzled on us but never really rained. PTL!!! We went out to Battery Park to catch the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty but the line was sooooooooooooo long with those buying tickets and another of those already in line with tickets that we nixed that idea. We walked around out there and I was so blessed to see Lady Liberty from a distance. We walked and walked back out of there to get back to where we could get back on the Gray Line bus. We got off at the Rockefeller Center to try to find the Fox News Studio. It was quite a walk but we made it!! We stepped inside the lobby but they weren't giving any tours due to renovations. :( We were able to look in the window from the sidewalk to watch the Fox Business Channel do a live show. Richard knew who the female business guru was but I had not a clue. Her name was Megan McDowell. Ever heard of her? I guess you have to be in the financial world to know about her. Ha!
From there, we walked to Times Square and looked around. That is an exciting place for sure. We got back on the Gray Line and got off at the World Trade Center stop. Today, we were one of hundreds who filled that little church with a quiet and reflective spirit as we saw a lot of tributes and memorabilia from the aftermath of 9-11. For nearly a year after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, St. Paul's Chapel served as a relief mission for recovery workers at Ground Zero. Over 14,000 volunteers worked in 12 hour shifts to provide solace, comfort, and care for 2,000 workers each day. St. Paul's Chapel became the spiritual home of Ground Zero. For many, it was the first time they had ever volunteered, and they discovered that one individual's efforts could indeed make a difference. The poet Chester Johnson was one of the many who came to St. Paul's offering his help to those who needed hope and healing. Like many who volunteered their time, he discovered that what he took away from this place of extraordinary ministry was far greater than what he brought in. Here is a poem he wrote:
ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
It stood. Not a window broken. Not a stone dislodged.
It stood when nothing else did.
It stood when terrorists brought September down.
It stood among myths. It stood among ruins.
To stand was its purpose, long lines prove that.
It stands, and around it now, a shrine of letters,
poems, acrostics, litter of the heart.
It is the standing people want;
To grieve, serve and tend
celebrate the lasting stone of St. Paul's Chapel.
And deep into it's thick breath, the largest banner
fittingly from Oklahoma climbs heavenward
with hands as stars, hands as stripes, hands as a flag;
and a rescuer reaches for a stuffed toy
to collect a touch:
and George Washington's pew doesn't go unused.
Charity fills a hole or two.
It stood in place of other sorts.
It stood when nothing else could.
The great had fallen, as the brute hardware came down.
It stood.
From St. Paul's Chapel, we walked over to the Financial Center where you can go in and go to an observation place to view Ground Zero. It was very touching to look across out there and see where those buildings came down and so many lost their lives in just a few minutes.
At 5:00 p.m., we began our mass-transportation rides back to our hotel arriving an hour later. We were starving (having not eaten since breakfast) so went out for dinner before coming back to our room.
We are right this minute watching the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE beat the Georgia Bulldogs. They are nipping at our heels a bit right now so we are rooting for the Tide to go ahead and put them in the dog pound!
We are packed up and ready for drive into Brooklyn tomorrow so that we can board the Princess Caribbean Cruise Ship sometime between 1:00 and 3:00. We will set sail at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
I will try to keep the blog updated while on the ship and pray it is an easier matter in New England than it was on the Alaskan cruise. I will do my best. No doubt.
In the Big Apple, we jumped back on the Grey Line to continue our forage into the city. It drizzled on us but never really rained. PTL!!! We went out to Battery Park to catch the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty but the line was sooooooooooooo long with those buying tickets and another of those already in line with tickets that we nixed that idea. We walked around out there and I was so blessed to see Lady Liberty from a distance. We walked and walked back out of there to get back to where we could get back on the Gray Line bus. We got off at the Rockefeller Center to try to find the Fox News Studio. It was quite a walk but we made it!! We stepped inside the lobby but they weren't giving any tours due to renovations. :( We were able to look in the window from the sidewalk to watch the Fox Business Channel do a live show. Richard knew who the female business guru was but I had not a clue. Her name was Megan McDowell. Ever heard of her? I guess you have to be in the financial world to know about her. Ha!
From there, we walked to Times Square and looked around. That is an exciting place for sure. We got back on the Gray Line and got off at the World Trade Center stop. Today, we were one of hundreds who filled that little church with a quiet and reflective spirit as we saw a lot of tributes and memorabilia from the aftermath of 9-11. For nearly a year after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, St. Paul's Chapel served as a relief mission for recovery workers at Ground Zero. Over 14,000 volunteers worked in 12 hour shifts to provide solace, comfort, and care for 2,000 workers each day. St. Paul's Chapel became the spiritual home of Ground Zero. For many, it was the first time they had ever volunteered, and they discovered that one individual's efforts could indeed make a difference. The poet Chester Johnson was one of the many who came to St. Paul's offering his help to those who needed hope and healing. Like many who volunteered their time, he discovered that what he took away from this place of extraordinary ministry was far greater than what he brought in. Here is a poem he wrote:
ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
It stood. Not a window broken. Not a stone dislodged.
It stood when nothing else did.
It stood when terrorists brought September down.
It stood among myths. It stood among ruins.
To stand was its purpose, long lines prove that.
It stands, and around it now, a shrine of letters,
poems, acrostics, litter of the heart.
It is the standing people want;
To grieve, serve and tend
celebrate the lasting stone of St. Paul's Chapel.
And deep into it's thick breath, the largest banner
fittingly from Oklahoma climbs heavenward
with hands as stars, hands as stripes, hands as a flag;
and a rescuer reaches for a stuffed toy
to collect a touch:
and George Washington's pew doesn't go unused.
Charity fills a hole or two.
It stood in place of other sorts.
It stood when nothing else could.
The great had fallen, as the brute hardware came down.
It stood.
From St. Paul's Chapel, we walked over to the Financial Center where you can go in and go to an observation place to view Ground Zero. It was very touching to look across out there and see where those buildings came down and so many lost their lives in just a few minutes.
At 5:00 p.m., we began our mass-transportation rides back to our hotel arriving an hour later. We were starving (having not eaten since breakfast) so went out for dinner before coming back to our room.
We are right this minute watching the ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE beat the Georgia Bulldogs. They are nipping at our heels a bit right now so we are rooting for the Tide to go ahead and put them in the dog pound!
We are packed up and ready for drive into Brooklyn tomorrow so that we can board the Princess Caribbean Cruise Ship sometime between 1:00 and 3:00. We will set sail at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
I will try to keep the blog updated while on the ship and pray it is an easier matter in New England than it was on the Alaskan cruise. I will do my best. No doubt.
September 26: Friday Night After our Tour of NYC!
We left Clinton, NJ after running in Wal-Mart to buy a backpack for our ponchos, candy bars, granola bars, water bottles, wallets, etc. for our day trip into New York City. We drove over to Penn Station in Newark, NJ to catch the "Path Train" into NYC. By the way, it rained a bit on us during our drive over but never a down-pour. PTL!!!
By the time we got parked, bought our train tickets, etc., it was nearly noon before we were on the Path Train headed into the City. Once there, we found our way out of the World Trade Center Station and headed out into the fray. We found where to purchase our tickets for the Grayline narrated bus tour and made that ride for over 2 hours. On our first bus, we rode up top as shown in the picture. On the second bus, we sat on the inside and were glad we did as it showered pretty good while we were on that bus; but again, never down-poured. PTL!!!
We were able to look over into GROUND ZERO as we rode the train in and saw the ramp that folks walk down to get into there. It wasn't as wide as we would have thought. We hope to get in on a tour of Ground Zero tomorrow.
We saw lots of interesting sites while on the bus. Tomorrow we want to return to Manhattan and find the FOX NEWS, see more of Times Square, and ride the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. My grandmother from Norway came into America through Ellis Island as a 16-year-old back near the turn of the century. I will certainly be thinking of her while I am there.
We got back on the PATH TRAIN to return to NJ as we wanted to make our drive in the daylight to find our hotel. We are in the Four Points Sheraton out at the Newark, NJ airport. It is quite a fancy place!! We walked a block down to eat supper at a Perkins Restaurant. It was a real good meal. We got all of our stuff up to our room since we will be here until Sunday morning and are ready to watch the Presidential Debate. We pray that McCain makes a real good showing against Obama. We are in the wrong area of the country to say that outloud. :)
On Saturday night, we look forward to hanging out here in our room and watching the Crimson Tide positively drown those Georgia Bulldogs.
We thank the Lord for His provision of "good" weather today and for safety as we were out there with the mass of humanity in New York City. All is well.
By the time we got parked, bought our train tickets, etc., it was nearly noon before we were on the Path Train headed into the City. Once there, we found our way out of the World Trade Center Station and headed out into the fray. We found where to purchase our tickets for the Grayline narrated bus tour and made that ride for over 2 hours. On our first bus, we rode up top as shown in the picture. On the second bus, we sat on the inside and were glad we did as it showered pretty good while we were on that bus; but again, never down-poured. PTL!!!
We were able to look over into GROUND ZERO as we rode the train in and saw the ramp that folks walk down to get into there. It wasn't as wide as we would have thought. We hope to get in on a tour of Ground Zero tomorrow.
We saw lots of interesting sites while on the bus. Tomorrow we want to return to Manhattan and find the FOX NEWS, see more of Times Square, and ride the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. My grandmother from Norway came into America through Ellis Island as a 16-year-old back near the turn of the century. I will certainly be thinking of her while I am there.
We got back on the PATH TRAIN to return to NJ as we wanted to make our drive in the daylight to find our hotel. We are in the Four Points Sheraton out at the Newark, NJ airport. It is quite a fancy place!! We walked a block down to eat supper at a Perkins Restaurant. It was a real good meal. We got all of our stuff up to our room since we will be here until Sunday morning and are ready to watch the Presidential Debate. We pray that McCain makes a real good showing against Obama. We are in the wrong area of the country to say that outloud. :)
On Saturday night, we look forward to hanging out here in our room and watching the Crimson Tide positively drown those Georgia Bulldogs.
We thank the Lord for His provision of "good" weather today and for safety as we were out there with the mass of humanity in New York City. All is well.
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