This was our first port day of the cruise, Portland, Maine. I checked out the breakfast buffet on the Lido deck and found an omelet station and so that is how I started my morning. After breakfast, I watched us docking from the upper decks.
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| the aft pool on deck 9 just behind the buffet |
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| Deck 10 |
Once the ship was cleared, my nephew and I headed out to explore the city.
We walked along the waterfront and were able to catch quite a few good views of the ship.
Along the shore, was this beautiful Herring Gull who let us get fairly close to take his photo.
A flock of American Goldfinches were making a lot of noise as they flew back and forth between bushes near us.
I didn't realize what this next bird was until I looked it up later. There were several of these immature European Starlings hanging out in the rocks.
This next one is a Common Eider, a new species to me!
There were also a lot of Gray Catbirds.
Here is the path we followed along the water.
After we explored enough of the shoreline, we headed up these stairs and took in the views of the port from up above.
Then we continued to the
Portland Observatory. The next tour wasn't until 11:00 a.m. so we had almost an hour. Upon the recommendation of a friend, we went in search of
The Holy Donut which meant walking down the hill towards the port (and then back up for our tour). It was worth it though and we had perfect timing. Right after we ordered, a line started forming that went out the door!
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| A maple bacon donut |
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| It was drizzling at this point and so we stood under the restaurant's awning while we ate our donuts before heading back up the hill. |
Back up the hill, we took a guided tour of the Portland Observatory. Its octagon shape helped it withstand storms and wind. This is not a lighthouse. It was not used to send signals to ships. Instead it was used to receive signals from ships and communicate with the dock. The dock didn't have good sight lines to see what ships were coming. From this view point though with a good telescope, the type of ship and shipping company could be identified by their flag and then a series of flags would be flown from the flag pole that the dock workers could see to let them know what kind of cargo to prepare for. This gave the dock about 3 hours to hire workers and prepare the docks. Shipping companies would pay the owner, Captain Moody, of this observatory for this service. It greatly increased the efficiency of the docks.
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| Captain Moody drafted this map (without today's modern tools) yet it is still incredibly accurate (except for the names of some of the islands which have changed over time) |
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| We had an amazing view from the top! |
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| This is where the telescope would have been mounted. |
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| ms Zuiderdam |
Back on the ship, we all gathered on my parents' balcony for sail away and a celebration. There was a nest of Ospreys just off their balcony.
Here is a family of Common Eiders.
Here is a look at the tower my nephew and I climbed.
One of the things I wanted to do to make this trip different from the one twenty years ago was to celebrate this new chapter in my life. Although there is still a lot of grief with the end of my marriage, especially the way it ended, I am finding a lot of joy in this new life I'm building. So I bought two bottles of good Champagne which we opened and shared as the ship sailed away from Portland. It felt really good to be surrounded by family as I marked this milestone.
Here are some photos of sail away.
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| Fort Gorges |
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| Bug Light |
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| Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse |
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| Portland Head Light |
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| Ram Island Ledge Light Station |
Back on the ship, I love the carpet in the hall near each set of elevators that clearly shows which side of the ship you are on and which way is forward. It can be so easy to get turned around in a ship that it's really nice when they have subtle or not so subtle clues.
I had dinner in the main dining room and then a quiet evening. It was a dressy night so I took advantage of the photographers with backdrops around the ship.
I usually tried to step out on the promenade even if just for a few minutes each evening to take in some fresh air and enjoy the sea.
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