New England, Finale of our Autumn Cruise

 

Portland, Maine

We heard from family that Portland had a great food scene, so we signed up for a food tour. It seems, Portland’s waterfront was revitalized in the 1990’s which made it a tourist destination.  Now they have multiple James Beard award winning restaurants and bakeries.  We have done several food tours and this one from Maine Foodie Tours was very good because the food was great, and the guide gave us a great overview of the community and its history along with many stories regarding the local food scene. Besides the places below, we stopped at the Harbor Fish Market which is the source for many of the restaurants.  It had an amazing selection.  I had no idea how many different types of oysters there are either.

• Taco and Allagash White Beer Andy's Old Port Pub, 94 Commercial St. 
• Chocolate Truffles (purchased a box too) Dean's Sweets, 475 Fore St.
• Chowder of course Gilberts Chowder House, 92 Commercial St.
• Best Lobster Roll ever Rigby Yard  50 Wharf St

After the food tour we walked around town for a while.  We tried to go up an old lighthouse that is now in town, but it was closed for the season.  It was a beautiful day, so we walked to a park on the shoreline and enjoyed the views before walking back to our ship on a path along the water.

Back on board and ready for our next destination

Boston, Massachusetts 

Friends of ours who live out on the Cape drove up to Boston to join us for the day.  And what a day it was as the weather forecast was sunny with a high of 75.  We had visited Boston’s historical sites recently, so we opted to go to the JFK Presidential Library and lunch.  We have visited 3 Presidential libraries and this one didn’t disappoint.  It has a gorgeous setting overlooking the Boston Harbor Islands.  It did a good job of covering his family and the years leading up to him becoming President. Topics that surprised me were the birth of the Peace Corp and Jacquline delivering speeches in Spanish overseas as well as her skill with French.  There were also far more international and social initiatives he proposed than I was aware of.  You have to wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t been assassinated.  

Lunch destination

Warm gorgeous day to explore the city

The ship was scheduled to traverse the Cape Cod Canal, and our friends live not too far away from it. They thought it would be fun to come out to see the ship go by.  So, a little after 10 pm we are coordinating on the phone and then waiving the lights on the phones so they could see us on board the ship and we could see them on shore.  After passing each bridge, they would then drive to the next bridge. This fun project resulted in some great pictures, a few are below.

Our ship MS Insignia approaching Sagamore Bridge

I’m below the red arrow and the white light is Carol’s cell phone

MS Insignia passing below the railway vertical lift bridge

Farewell MS Insignia

Newport, Rhode Island

We had visited a few years ago and seen the great “Cottages” of the gilded age, so this time we wanted to explore town.  The Historic Landmark District claims it is one of the largest concentrations of colonial homes.  After a late leisurely start, we set out to explore.  It’s a vibrant town with shops for the locals and tourist shops closer to the water.  

Bottom right residence is a former fire station

View from our lunch destination
It’s actually a steel hulled excursion boat, not what I hoped for

New York, New York

Our cruise is at the end, but we have a day to enjoy NYC.   As a follow up to our tour of Ireland last summer, we are going to visit the Tenement Museum for the “After the Famine:1869” tour.  Our guide escorts us through a restored tenement building while sharing the story of Bridget and Joseph Moore who immigrated from Ireland.  It’s a personal experience as you learn what life was like in the late 19th century.  They arrive in a vastly different world from what they knew.  They fall in love, marry and start a family in a German speaking community with only one other family in the building from Ireland.  The story concludes with a photo of their descendants from 2023.

After meeting up with our friends it’s off to MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art.  We focus on the artists of the late 19th and early 20th century.  Then it’s off to their temporary exhibit The Clock.  You enter a theater where on the large screen you watch the current time told through clips from motion pictures.  We thought we might spend a couple minutes, but only left an hour and half later when the museum was closing.  I found myself getting pulled into the story of many of the films and wanted more.  The editing was amazing as one clip related to the next in theme or setting, while sharing the current time of day.  Yes, it was strange, but very entertaining.  

We completed our day at Times Square to see the musical Suffs.  It takes place in the 7 years leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment, where the movement transitions from being polite to one that pioneers new protest methods.  

Suff’s promotional video

New York was a nice ending to a great cruise.  Cruising in the fall was a different experience for us; cooler weather meant people weren't laying around pools or eating meals outside much so more congestion in the dining room for breakfast type of thing, but still quite enjoyable.  If you haven't been to this part of the Northeast, I would recommend visiting and we will probably come back in the future and visit by car.