Gallivanting Grandma

Thursday – August 3, 2017

We left Boston last night at 9:45 under pouring rain and loud clapping thunderstorms.  There were leaks falling from the ceiling in the forward lounge and the Lido Cafe had several buckets neatly arranged to collect rainwater.  I overheard someone this morning say it rained 1.8 inches in two hours.

A variety of unknown sounds and the vibration of the ship woke me several times during the night, but otherwise I slept well.  The seas were calm so the Rotterdam quietly sailed north along the Atlantic coast.  Early this morning, I looked out as the ship plowed past hundreds of colorful small lobster-pot buoys which dotted the dark waters.  We arrived off the shores of Bar Harbor, Maine (or “Bah Hah-Bah” as the locals call their famous tourist town) about 9:30 in the morning.  The skies were gray and threatening but the forecast was optimistic.

We wanted to try the dining room for a leisurely late breakfast and were surprised to find a long line.  After waiting about 20 minutes, we were finally seated among many empty tables.  We guessed that Holland America must be understaffed.  I enjoyed my yogurt parfait with fresh fruit & granola and Jeff had the “European Cold Breakfast” which included pickled herring.  He said the herring at Russ & Daughters’ on the Lower East Side was better!

Later, we arrived at the Ocean Bar about 10:45 to pick up our “Tender Tickets” to go ashore.  The room was crowded with fellow passengers.  We were handed two blue tickets with the number 30 written on them and told to wait until our number was called.  They said it would be a 30 minute wait, However, we noticed some people had red tickets.  We found seats in the adjoining theater and waited.  After a while, we noticed that the red ticket holders were being called more than the blue ticket holders.  We finally guessed that the red ticket people had higher “medallion” status and the blue people were less important and had to wait longer to go ashore.  After an hour and forty minutes, “Blue 30” was finally called!

It was a pleasant ride in the lifeboat past moored lobster boats to the dock in Bar Harbor.  From previous visits, I remembered this lovely town had been swamped with tourists many years ago and I suppose Maine residents who needed a boost to their economy allowed the onslaught.  Bar Harbor seems to belong only to tourists.  Many years ago it was a charming seaside town with white colonial houses. Today Bar Harbor is filled with hotels, high-end restaurants, boat-ride rentals, whale watching boats, and too many shops selling souvenirs.

We walked along the “Shore Path” and looked out at the boats moored in the bay. The sun had come out and the weather was warm and beautiful.  Then, after a brief stroll around town,we went for lunch at the West Street Cafe for lobster rolls and wild Maine blueberry pie.  I’m a purist.  I only eat Maryland crab cakes in Maryland and New England Clam Chowder in the Northeast and I eat lobster rolls only in Maine because they are incomparable and are the best! The month of August is when blueberries are ripe in Maine and the locals make an incredibly delicious blueberry pie!  Worth a trip to Maine in August.

After lunch we walked around and took pictures around Bar Harbor then took one of the tenders back to the ship.  In the late afternoon, we explored the upper deck of the Rotterdam and noticed a huge fog settle over the offshore islands.  It reminded me of the coastal fog in California which rolls in from the Pacific Ocean in he evening.  We took photos and watched the fog roll toward shore covering small islands in the harbor until the ship started her engines and slowly drove into the thick fog.  The air cooled quickly and there was no visibility as the Rotterdam slowly moved through the dense mist with her fog horn blaring its mournful note at regular intervals.

Jeff and I had a light supper in the Lido Cafe then went to the ship’s theater to see a stand-up comedian named Tony Daro.  He was amusing and entertaining.  We had a busy first day of the cruise and expect and look forward to many more adventures.

Wednesday August 2, 2017

It took us four hours to drive to Boston yesterday along the “Mass Pike” on a glorious sunny day.  We had rented a car to make the trip and left it off at Logan Airport. We checked into a hotel with a gorgeous skyline view across the bay overlooking Boston Harbor and relaxed.

The anticipation of this trip was worse than that old Heinz ketchup ad!  “Aaaann-tiii-ci-paaaaaa-tion” the song stretched out the word.  For several weeks, I made lists, packed and re-packed, and tried to think of everything I might need for a month in the North Atlantic in every kind of weather imaginable.  How does one prepare for a 38 day cruise along the Canadian coast up to Greenland, Iceland, across to Norway, Holland, British Isles, and then home? Two suitcases and a backpack later, I was ready!

Today we boarded the Holland America Line’s MS Rotterdam for our “Voyage of the Vikings” cruise.  We’ll be sailing the North Atlantic Ocean and stopping at ports which had been explored by the “Vikings.”  Yes, those Norse seafarers who raided, pillaged, and traded all the way from their Northern European homelands south into the Mediterranean Sea and west all the way to what is now Greenland, Iceland, and Maritime Canada.

We spent the day exploring the ship and settling into our stateroom.  We splurged on a larger cabin with a balcony because with so many days at sea, we thought we might need extra space.  Finally, at 9:45 in the evening I felt the ship move.  We went out on the promenade deck and watched the glittering lights of Boston as the Rotterdam slowly moved away from the harbor and out into the Atlantic Ocean.