Bar Harbor, Maine
After a day at sea, we docked off the east coast of Maine and took a small tender boat into Bar Harbor—which everyone warned us is pronounced "Bah HAH-bah"—a small town on Mount Desert Island, most famously known as the gateway to the Acadia National Park. Despite gloomy predictions, the weather was crisp and sunny—perfect for a hike through the woods. We were hoping to see fall colors. Our first day ashore did not disappoint.
Riding in a large motorcoach, we spent several hours touring Acadia National Park, created about 100 years ago when local millionaires, like the Rockefellers, donated land to preserve the area's green foliage. Today the area is home to celebrity millionaires, such as Martha Stewart and Dick Wolf, creator of the Law and Order franchise.
Sadly, a huge portion of the park—and Bar Harbor—was destroyed by fire in 1947. But, as devastating as this was, the good news is that other types of trees, like birch, beech, maples, etc., grew in place of the conifers, resulting in the beautiful yellow, orange and red leaves we now love. Hundreds of tourists were visiting the national park when we were there, even though it was a Wednesday in the middle of October! Lucky for us, we had excellent tour guides to lead us away from the leaf-peeping crowds.
Glorious colors!!
More color
Diverse foliage
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Saint John was our next day's adventure. Another small town, but with colonial roots. We took a two-hour "foodie tour" of the downtown area. The most famous attraction is the Saint John public market, located inside an 1876 building and rather small, compared to other markets we've visited in Canada. Tim did sample "dulse," a seaweed product that's high in iodine and potassium—our group was not impressed! We were, however, very impressed by the town's Pomodori pizzeria, which has won numerous awards. Who knew?
Colorful but small public market. That's Tim
peaking over our "loyalist" tour guide's shoulder.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
A true high point of our trip was spending an entire day in Halifax, the provincial capital of Nova Scotia. Lots of history here, including being the burial site of over 100 passengers who died on the Titanic. Halifax is fully exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and so has seen its fair share of hurricanes. Still, of all the places we visited, this is the one I'd move to if we had to live in Canada.
Our first stop was the public garden, a beautiful Victorian space established in 1874. Some modernists apparently want to update the grounds, but I say "No!" I loved the plants, especially the small collection of dahlias, which are the garden's specialty.
From here, we visited the Titanic gravesites—very moving—and then on to Peggy's Cove, a picturesque fishing village on the edge of nowhere. Very blustery, but happily the rain held-off until we got back to the ship. It was a bumpy boat ride back to NYC.
of Queen Victoria's 60-year reign. Elizabeth
visited on her 60th anniversary year.
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