Category Archives: Cruises

The Becky Thatcher

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Remember Becky Thatcher from Tom Sawyer? Well our riverboat was the Becky Thatcher and it was quite roomy. After the safety orientation to show us the life jackets we cast off and headed upstream. The river was beautiful.

We had a young man acting as a commentator to point out the sights like eagles nests, a ferry, the Goodspeed Opera house. It was his first time so he was nervously reading the script. If they let him do it again I’m sure he will get better.

The views of the Gillette Castle were extraordinary from the boat. The mansion is an amazing sight  anyway any time of the year but with the green foliage and bright blue sky it was truly magnificent.

Even with a full complement of guests the ride was relaxing. I find being on the water like that is very soothing.

When we reached the opera house and the East Haddam swing bridge we did a big , slow, sweeping turn that gave us plenty of time to take in the views of East Haddam.

We passed marinas and private docks and even a monestary! What a beautiful day for a riverboat ride!

Traveling back down the river we spotted the train on its last run of the day.

So that was how we would get back to the station.

The train stopped at Deep River Landing just as we pulled in. While I waited for my turn to leave the boat I watched two large birds swoop over the island across from the boat. Osprey! I was thrilled to actually see them fish, swooping down to brush the surface of the river and then climb back up with their fish. At first I thought they were eagles but closer scrutiny proved them to be osprey. They were too far away for photos but I did try..just a couple of spots came out.

Back at the station the office recommended Bill’s Seafood if I wanted to have a nice moderately priced dinner before I returned home. They gave me the address and directions and it wasn’t long before I spotted it. The weather was still wonderful so I took a seat at a picnic style table on the outdoor deck. I was glad for the umbrella, not for the sun but as protection from the birds. Sea Gulls were flying everywhere. Marshland spread out from the  deck and I spotted white ibis, great blue herons and more Osprey. There were 2 osprey nests and they were both occupied. I watched the adults hunting and returning to the nest with their catch to feed the babies while I enjoyed a lovely meal of fish and chips.

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Children were feeding the ducks and gulls bits of their lunches and the birds were clearly enjoying the attention.  This would be a wonderful place to come back to with a big telephoto lens. But even without the camera, it was a wonderful way to end the day.

Fog, a Lighthouse and Seals

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The Captain raised the anchor and turned our little vessel into the wind for the last leg of our 3 hour tour. There wasn’t much to see except grey, choppy seas and fog. The naturalist said we were about an hour out from Egg Rock Island, our next destination.

Hmmmm an hour and heading into the wind with wet clothes??? Not a good idea. I could see hypothermia being a problem so even though I didn’t want to go into the cabin I didn’t have much choice. I took a seat way up front by the “snack bar” (I use that term loosely) which also happened to be where the heater was located. The sick folks were all huddled in the back. Oh I have been there and done that. I know how miserable they were feeling.

I was almost dried out and semi warm when one of the few children still mobile popped into the cabin too. He felt that heat and glued himself to the grate effectively blocking the heat for anyone else in the room but at least he was warm and he is a child…women and children first and all..I took the high road and kept my mouth shut. If someone else wanted to tell him to move they could but it wasn’t going to be me. 🙂

In spite of the situation, once I warmed up the hour passed fairly quickly. I chatted with the Naturalist about the type of seals and tried to avoid looking in the back.  Eventually the Naturalist went outside. When he came back he announced that Egg Rock Island was in sight. Time to go back into the wind, spray, fog and cold.

Egg Rock Island is a big nesting site for many types of sea gulls. Its pretty flat and open without much cover. Consequently it is like an all you can eat buffet for passing eagles.

Our guide told me that last year there were so many eagles that not one sea-gull chick survived from that nesting season. They were all eaten by eagles. He said sometimes it was really hard to watch. Nature is beautiful but also cruel. Every creature is just struggling to survive. We didn’t see any eagles today  but judging from the number of gulls soaring over and around the island losing one season of chicks didn’t put much strain on the population.

As we came closer to the island we could see what looked like grey boulders only they moved. These were the seals of Egg Rock. The Island is a major haul out for Northern Grey seals and harbor seals.

We didn’t stop here, just slowly motored past then it was back to the harbor.

As we entered the outer harbor the sea changed again. Here the fog rolled back and the sun was out.

We passed a beautiful island with a cliff face.

Our guide said that the Navy used it for target practice. The “subs” used to come into the harbor and shoot torpedos at the cliff face where it dropped into the water.

Looking back I could see the line of demarcation between the foggy sea and the sunny inner harbor.

Back at the dock I let the sufferers off first. I enjoyed the trip. I doubt if the weather is always this bad but if anyone else plans to take this tour I recommend taking extra sweatshirts and even oilskins or rain gear…and of course your medication of choice for seasickness. You may have blue skies and fair sailing but you never know and it’s better to be prepared.

It was a 3 hour tour…a 3 hour tour

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“Just sit right back and you’ll hear tale

A tale of that fateful trip…..

…5 passengers set sail that day

on a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour…..”

Ah Gilligan how I missed you on that cruise. Remember how the Minnow was lost? Little did I know what an adventure lay ahead of me as I stood in line to board the tour boat.

The sun had burned off the fog and haze and it was a beautiful afternoon. The sea was calm, what more could anyone ask for. Well maybe a bigger boat?

There were 2 boats tied up to the dock as I stood in line. One was a fair-sized boat with  a sign “Nature Tours”.

The other was a smaller boat. I took a picture of the larger boat thinking that was the one I would be on…wrong it was it’s smaller cousin the Islander. About that time the theme song from Gilligan’s Island began to play in my head. This tour was supposed to be around 3 hours…a 3 hour tour…

What a happy little group we all were as we motored out of the harbor past picturesque islands, the water a sparkling blue. On board with us tourists were the Skipper, his mate, and a naturalist/guide.

We no sooner left the protection of the harbor when the seas began to roll and chop. Spray off the bow had me soaked in no time and that water was cold! I noticed many of the other passengers heading inside. I thought it was to get warm but in fact that was where the main mass of tourists went to share their misery…seasickness! Oh boy, it was not a pretty sight.  So far I was hanging tough but even as cold as I was, I didn’t want to press my luck by staying where I was surrounded by barfing , green faces. At least the sun was still shining…for now.

We slowed down as we passed Bear Island with  a very pretty lighthouse. Then picked up speed again to head for another island that was several miles out to sea. This island, known as Petit Manan Island, also had a lighthouse and this was where we hoped to find the Puffins.

The farther we went from land the rougher it got and more and more passengers retired to the “sick” room. Then the fog rolled in. The Gillian’s Island song started playing in my head again! 🙂 Louder this time.

Finally we spotted the island. The skipper brought us in as close as he could safely go and dropped anchor and there were the puffins. My they were tiny! Only about 10 inches and they were almost lost in the surf but there were so many of them.

They were on the land, in the water and in the air. Along with the puffins were laughing gulls, arctic terns and a few other sea birds whose names I have forgotten. On land and at a distance they made me think of penguins.Naturalist/guide broke away from his nursing duties long enough to explain that this island was the most southern point of the Puffin’s range. They don’t do well with any sea gulls except the laughing gulls so a few years ago the scientists removed all of the gulls, dug holes for puffins to nest in and put fake puffins around the island. Then they broadcast puffin calls.

The first year a few puffins stopped by to investigate but didn’t nest. The next year a few pairs came and they stayed this time. Now there is a thriving colony large enough that it can protect its territory  from gulls and other invaders.

It was soon time to head home. I didn’t get the ” National Geographic Shot” but at least I saw real live Puffins.

I learned about them and about another location where you can actually go on the land to see them. Sounds like a plan for another time. Heading back we were going by one last island, Egg Rock Island, where there were seals and possibly eagles.

So anchors away! Let’s get this ship turned around!

I can’t believe it’s April!

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I can’t believe its April 9 already. April Fool’s Day is behind us. Passover was Friday and Sunday was Easter and it’s still cold! After that mild winter I thought we’d be in a heat wave by now. At least it’s been sunny most days.

Still the problem with that is that now we’re having brush fires. The fire danger alerts are all at critical…in the red! And it’s only April! Some of the area is considered to be  in a drought because there was no snow melt and, in stark contrast to the spring of 2010 when it rained so much we had flooding everywhere, each day now dawns nice and sunny. A few passing clouds may drop a few sprinkles but nothing near to what’s needed to wet down the soil and brushland. This is New England! Not Texas or Arizona which have been struggling with drought for the last few years. What is going on with the weather?

I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog a bit since I came back from Florida. Trying to launch my little side business has been time-consuming. I have to laugh because I set up that little store at dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com and I am getting visitors to the site but so far no orders. What I’m finding is it’s all local folks that are checking it out to choose the cards they want and then they just tell me. That’s ok by me but I hope the word starts to spread beyond my “inner circle”.

I’m going to be adding custom decorator  pillows and some prints to the line. I’m waiting to get my sewing machines back from the shop. I hadn’t done much sewing in the past few years so I wanted to have the machines cleaned and checked before I tried using them again. I am really excited about this idea so am quite anxious to get started.

When I was in Florida I was given a 4 day cruise for 2  from my time share. There were two hitches. 1) I have to pay the port fees (around $185.00 per person) and 2) The cruise has to be used within 18 months. I’ve been toying around with my schedule and vacation time and so on and  I’m going to try to secure a date for next January. My friend Joe aka JR will be by cruise companion. We’ll be leaving from the Port of Miami and going to Cozumel. Once this is actually booked I’ll share more info on the itinerary.

I just got approved for some time off in July so I’m going to take a mini vacation in Maine. Just have to book the hotel. I’m looking at Portland as my “Base camp” for the 4 day get-away.

Late September is also in the works. I have approved vacation then to go to upstate New York to visit family and friends. There’s a hot air balloon festival in Glens Falls the weekend I’m going and my sister mentioned the Scenic Railroad trip through the Adirondacks. It’s still early in the planning stages.

And the Big Alaska Cruise is back in the works. Goal for that is now May/early June of 2013. We want to see baby animals so spring is the time for that.

So as you can see, there is some travel in the planning stages. My local jaunts have been curtailed a little by car issues and the demands of the new  business but that was to be expected. Still I love my aroundustyroads.com blog and don’t want to neglect you either.

Thanks for hanging in with me during this slow posting period.

Last Thoughts for now on Cruising Alaska

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Ok so I went a bit overboard on the stateroom stuff. I sounded like a paid advertisement for Holland America. OOPS! Plus now I know cruise ship cabins are boring! 🙂 But there are just a couple of last points I want to add to this series on the Alaska cruising.

One is the tradition od “dressing for dinner”. Historically dinner in the dining rooms on cruises were a formal affair. There were assigned times for each meal seating such as early or late, maybe 5:30 and again around 7:30. You were assigned to a table that often put strangers together. You sat with the same people throughout your cruise so hopefully you all got along.

The most formal dinner was the Captain’s Dinner when Jacket and Tie if not Black tie was strongly encouraged. Many of the cruise lines are getting away from this. The dining atmosphere is becoming more relaxed and casual. They are using a term “freestyle dining” or cruising which means that you can choose your own seating and the restaurant you want to eat in.

Beware of one thing…not all restaurants are included in the meal plan. Be sure if you chose not to eat in the dining room that the alternate restaurant is one of the inclusive options. If not you will surely have a wonderful meal but there will be a hefty price tag at the end of the meal. This can catch some new cruisers off guard.

On the Alaska Cruises through Holland America two of the dinner seating are formal. However if you don’t want to “dress the part” you can eat in the Lido Cafe which is casual. The same menu is offered as is in the dining room and it is an “inclusive” restaurant so no pricy surprise.

One other thing I made a point to ask about was the plane reservations to get us to the departure port. I had heard all kinds of things about the best way to handle the flights and of course no one agreed on anything so I tossed it out for the agents to answer.

What it boils down to is this: If the flight is booked for you by the cruise line they assume the responsibility to get you to the boat on time. They will assist you if your plane is delayed or your connections missed. If you book your own flight and have a mishap, you are on your own.

If the cruise line can’t get you to the departure port in time due to airline issues then they will be responsible for getting you to the next port of call. If you book the flight yourself, you are on your own.

Now if dollar for dollar the flight was the same cost either way it would be easy to decide . Just let the cruise line handle all the details. The problem is that unlike the “olden times” when cruise lines reserved a block of flights and offered discounted fares, you can now get a better price by booking your flight on your own. Just remember you will be on your own to handle any snafus.

One suggestion is to book your own flight and arrive a day early in your departure city. Use the time to relax, adjust your body clock or sightsee.

According to the “pros” from AAA and Holland America, this will be one of the most expensive vacations most people will take in their life so this is one time they strongly urge that you insure your vacation with trip insurance.

Although I don’t usually buy trip insurance, I expect that I will for this trip because as has been pointed out numerous times in this series of posts..it’s a lot of money!