Cycling Life's Highway

 

 
 

September 23, 2019

In the early morning light, we cruised into Portland harbor by Portland Head Lighthouse and two mid -1800 fortifications built on islands. It was another beautiful day to go exploring and Portland, Maine was waiting for us. The ship anchored out in the harbor so we had to take a tender ride into port.

Portland is the largest city in Maine with a population of 204,000. We had no pre-planned tours at this stop so we had the whole day open to ourselves. We spent most of our day walking around the waterfront to Fort Allen Park. The views of Casco Bay were picturesque. We passed by some vintage trains sitting on nearby tracks and realized it was part of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. Along with many trains to explore they had a train one could ride that circled the main city peninsula every hour.

After exploring parts of Old Portland, we made our way back to the ship and spent the rest of the day lounging in the sun on the Lido deck while snacking from the taco bar. When the Zuiderdam pulled out of Portland we cruised by Portland Head lighthouse one more time. The oldest lighthouse in Maine was built in 1791. Now the light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

September 22, 2019

On a beautiful fall morning the Zuiderdam pulled into Saint John, New Brunswick, population 70,000. The ship was moored wharf side in the Saint John River across from the spacious Bay of Funday. Centered in the relatively small city, we spent our day walking around and exploring the city and waterfront. Upon exiting the gangway, we found ourselves at a road running parallel to the shore. We chose to head southeast along the sidewalk towards the mouth of the river. Our walks, quickly led us through an undeveloped area along the river, much of which was fenced off and appeared to have once served some industrial purpose.

After a while, we came to a path that led us through a strip of parkland covering the tip of a small peninsula. At the end of the park area, we turned around and continued to enjoy a leisurely stroll back to the cruise ship berth. As the day was pleasant and still young, we continued past the ship and into the city. We were not especially anxious to undertake a lot more walking because there didn’t seem to be any noteworthy walking destinations in the immediate vicinity of the harbor.

However, we went to sample the local cuisine. Rodge was especially interested in looking for more of his favorite English/Canadian confectionaries – Scotch Mints.  After a 15-minute walk, we came to more complex civilization in the guise of the “Super Market Mall” located in Loyalist Plaza. It was a relatively small, multi-story, indoor mall housed in a non-descript red-brick building. Inside, Rodge found his mints in a small grocery store.

On our walk we saw two decorated salmon sculptures. In the fall of 2017, a partnership between the city’s tourism agency and the provincial government made way for ten sculptures to be placed around the city. Artists from the region added their own designs to help decorate the six-foot sculptures. The salmon were chosen because the Saint John River is a corridor to the fish’s spawning grounds. The painted sculptures were amazing and added a colorful addition to the city landscape.

It was time for lunch and fortunately the bottom level of the mall contained a number of small cafes that featured both indoor and outdoor seating. What followed was another relaxing meal and a taste of some local beer. Afterward, we strolled along the Harbor Passage waterfront. The 1.4-mile paved biking/walking trail led us around the head of the harbor where the sights were breathtaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 21, 2019

Rise and shine! At 8:15 a.m. the ship arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia and moored at one of the cruise ship berths. Halifax, the provincial capital of Nova Scotia, is 250 miles southwest of Sydney. The cosmopolitan city of 400,000 has the largest natural harbor on the Atlantic coast, including the United States.

We exited the ship and walked by Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market. We were overwhelmed with the smells, sights, and sounds of entertainment, fresh vegetables, baked goods, cheese, honey, wine, crafts and a mountain of ethnic cuisine. The Halifax Farmers’ Market was created by a Royal Proclamation in June of 1750, a year after the founding of Halifax. The Market has operated in several locations across the city since its inception in 1750. It moved to the Halifax Seaport in 2010 where it is now known as the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market – the longest continuously running Market in North America and proudly hosting over 250 vendors!

After working our way through the market, we boarded a tour bus and were on our way to the quaint fishing village of Peggy’s Cove, an hour away. Peggy’s Cove is a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margaret’s Bay in Nova Scotia’s Halifax Regional Municipality. We were riding there to see Peggy’s Point Lighthouse. Nova Scotia is home to over 160 historic lighthouses and the majestic beacons can be found throughout the province. Peggy’s Point Lighthouse was built in 1915 and is one of Nova Scotia’s most well-known lighthouses.

At Peggy’s Cove we exited the bus and entered a land of stunning rugged beauty with working lobster boats and colorful houses perched along a narrow inlet. The locals have earned a living off the sea since the early 1800s when six fishermen and their families-built homes there. They found this to be a sheltered cove offering close proximity to the large populations of fish in St. Margaret’s Bay. The main livelihood was catching groundfish like cod, pollock and haddock which they would clean, split and salt before shipping overseas.

As we looked toward the ocean, we immediately saw Peggy’s Point Lighthouse, a striking red and white beacon standing atop a granite outcrop. Built on rolling, rocky formations near the edge of the ocean, it had a commanding presence from all around. We hiked over huge boulders to get a better look. As we got closer to the lighthouse, we could hear the waves crashing on the rocks around the beacon. We could have stayed there much longer taking in the beauty and uniqueness of Peggy’s Cove but had to head back to Halifax.

After we left our tour bus we stopped for lunch in the market and then began an exploration of the beautiful waterfront. The waterfront in Downtown Halifax was the site of the Halifax Harbourwalk, a popular two-mile long tourist attraction. Many mid-sized ships dock at the many wharfs. The Harbourwalk was home to the Halifax Transit ferry terminal, hundreds of stores, historic properties and several office buildings.

We grabbed a map and headed north on the Harbourwalk. It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice northerly breeze. The wide, wooden boardwalk provided pedestrian access to a myriad of activities and sights including harbor tour boats, museums, hotels, restaurants, outdoor entertainment and an old Canadian Navy ship on display. The harbor was full of sailboats taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and sailing conditions.

This was one of the best waterfront experiences of any city we had ever visited. At one point in the middle of the boardwalk was a large cement “wave” caught just at the point of breaking – a pretty unusual sculpture. During our walk we stopped at a “Cows” store take-out window for some excellent Canadian ice cream. Halifax was definitely one of our favorite cruise port visits and we would be back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 20, 2019

We awoke to a crisp fall morning and readied ourselves for our first day exploring the province of Nova Scotia. We were anchored in Sydney Harbor and once again had to take a tender ride to shore. Sydney is located on Cape Breton Island on the northeastern part of the province.

When we arrived in port the first thing we saw as we strolled along the waterfront was the Big Fiddle. The giant replica standing 60 feet high was unveiled in 2006 as a tribute to the folk music and traditions of the province’s Celtic community. We would have loved to explore the nearby shops and catch a concert but we had to board a tour bus for our ride to Baddeck and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.

Baddeck, a town of 800, was a 50-minute bus ride from Sydney. We traveled through hilly countryside dotted with colorful trees and expansive bodies of water. It wasn’t long before we arrived at the museum and Bell’s favorite summer escape. In 1885 the Bell family vacationed in Baddeck and were so taken with the area they returned the following year to build a summer home. Two years later, a larger complex of buildings was built including a new laboratory. Bell would spend his final, and some of his most productive years in residence in both Washington, D.C., where he and his family initially resided for most of the year, and in Baddeck.

We thoroughly enjoyed the museum. It was outstanding and showed Bell’s involvement in the telephone and work with the deaf (including his wife who was deaf from the age of five). Exhibits displayed how he and his associates achieved Canada’s first powered flight with their airplane The Silver Dart, produced the world’s fastest watercraft, and built advanced recording equipment, an early metal detector and huge tetrahedron kites.

The museum included both actual vehicles and reconstructions. Some of the latter were quite large. Original artefacts, films, and family photographs highlighted his scientific and humanitarian work. It truly opened our eyes to the broad scope of his interests, energy and inventiveness. It was certainly a world-class exhibit and well worth the stop.

After touring the museum, we walked around the gorgeous grounds overlooking Baddeck Bay and Kidston Island with its picturesque lighthouse. It was a wonderful fall day to be exploring the beautiful sights of Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 19, 2019

At 8 a.m. we pulled into Charlottetown Harbour. After a day at sea we were ready to explore Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province. Twice the size of Rhode Island, P.E.I. is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Charlottetown is its capital city. The ship was not able to moor pierside because another cruise ship was tied up there, so instead we took a five-minute tender ride to shore. When we arrived at the pier, we jumped on a bus for a 40-minute ride to Green Gable Heritage Place.

On our drive through the countryside we rode by gentle rolling hills, woods and fertile farmland. The pastoral land is a result of glacial deposition. Most of the original forests of mixed spruce and broadleaf are confined to stream beds and tiny woodlots as the majority of the land is devoted to agriculture. Prince Edward Island is called the “Spud Island” because of its major potato crop. It is also known for its fruit orchards, blueberries and cranberries.

The look and feel of the island were a dramatic contrast to the province of Quebec. There were no French accents or influences apparent anywhere we went. Instead, the look was more like that of New England towns, farms, and landscape with outstanding natural beauty. We noticed many recently-downed trees and flattened corn along the way due to storm damage from Hurricane Dorian the previous week.

At 10 a.m. we arrived on the northern side of the island in the community of Cavendish.  Just down the road, we stopped at the Green Gables Heritage Place. Our group quickly disembarked for a tour of the farm and its historic home. The large farmhouse was the original structure where L.M. Montgomery, the author of “Anne of Green Gables,” lived as a young girl and later used as the backdrop for her popular novel.

The house was beautifully designed. Its many rooms were lovingly restored and maintained to reflect a late 1800’s/early 1900’s look with well-appointed period furnishings. Park Canada did a fine job of restoring the house and the other farm buildings. The adjacent interpretive center was superb along with the popular snack bar where we purchased a “Beaver Tails”- essentially a large piece of fried whole-wheat dough. There were several options for toppings; we tried the version coated in cinnamon sugar with lemon squeezed over it. The confection was very sweet and the lemon provided a unique tang.

On our way back to Charlottetown we took a detour and stopped on the northern shore to view the red sandstone cliffs at Cavendish. Part of Prince Island National Park, the coastline has a combination of long beaches, dunes, cliffs, salt water marshes and numerous bays and harbours. The beaches, dunes and cliffs consist of sedimentary rock and other material with a high iron concentration, which oxidizes upon exposure to the air. Severe erosion by the sea-flung waves had created a cliff structure that was undermined a bit more by each storm. There were warning signs posted in the most dangerous areas.

Back in Charlottetown, we strolled along the waterfront and ended up at Peak’s Wharf. It was a great place to browse in little shops and grab a bite to eat. We ended up at the famous “Cows” for some delicious ice cream. It was so good we had to fight off a squadron of yellow jackets for the privilege of eating the cold slice of heaven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 17, 2019

While we were sleeping the ship cruised down the St. Lawrence River to our next port, Saguenay, Quebec. The city is situated on the Saguenay River at the midway point of a long fjord that runs roughly northwest from the St. Lawrence River. Saguenay is situated at a point where the fjord is no longer navigable by large ships. The city is divided into three boroughs and we were in the borough of La Baie. We were roused by the sound of loud music and a speaker-amplified French-Canadian voice from pierside. It turned out to be a group of locals in period dress cavorting to lively French-Canadian music at the head of the pier to welcome the ship and its passengers.

We departed the ship at 10:30 a.m. to board a shuttle bus to take us to Saguenay Fjord National Park. We drove for 45 minutes along a wooded two-lane road.  Along the way we caught glimpses of colorful fall foliage. We pulled into the park and stopped at a visitor center where we met our hiking guide, a 50-something French-Canadian ranger. After she filled us in on the basics of the hike, we started our trek through the woods. The sunlight filtering through the trees caused colorful leaves to shimmer. Wildflowers joined in with their gold and red hues. Mother Nature was putting on a fall display for all to see.

Our hike led us along the shoreline of the fjord. The tide was out so we walked on a raised wooden path by muddy tidal flats. The path protected the landscape from our shoes and our shoes from the sometimes-soggy landscape. We walked at a comfortable pace with many stops at scenic outlooks and near flora and fauna of interest. A crane perched on a big grey rock sunk in the tidal flats watched us as we walked by. In the distance the cliffs of the fjord rose some 500 to 1,000 feet above the river. A sailboat anchored in the distance floated lazily in calm waters. It was a great time to commune with nature.

When we got the Welcome Center it was time to board the bus and head back to the Zuiderdam. To recover from our hike, we spent the rest of the day relaxing and eating. At 4 p.m. the ship got underway for our cruise down the St. Lawrence River. We would spend the next day (September 18) at sea slowly steaming to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 16, 2019

We awoke to a beautiful morning in Quebec City after arriving on a late-night Air Canada flight. We were aboard the Holland America cruise ship Zuiderdam and ready to start our twelve day “Colors of Canada and New England” cruise. We looked forward to our day touring Quebec City, the oldest city in Canada, and its surrounding areas.

After a hearty breakfast we climbed aboard a tour bus and readied ourselves for a four- hour journey through the countryside. Our guide was a Quebec native who gave us an almost continuous narration as we crossed over the St. Lawrence River to the island of Orleans.

The entire island is a designated historical area and has a traditional French countryside feel. Orleans was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island. Some of the houses are 300 to 400 years old and limited to the height of four stories in support of the government’s historical preservation efforts.

The island, about the size of Manhattan, supports farming and many forms of agriculture all year-round. We passed by cows, corn, strawberries, apples, grapes and many homes decorated with colorful flower boxes. The vineyards on the island feature cold-tolerant grapes that can survive to -30 degrees C. Many maple sugar products are produced on the island. The province of Quebec generates a large percentage of the world’s supply of maple sugar.

Our first stop was at the L’ En-Tailleur sugar shack, a popular place for the locals during the maple sugar season. The collecting of maple water to use as a sweetener was first practiced by indigenous people who tapped maple trees each spring. During the sugaring-off season, days were filled with trudging through the snow to collect maple water from buckets. At night, families would gather for a meal of hearty homemade delights and celebrate with the sound of fiddles.

In the shack the ninth-generation owners gave us a presentation on maple sugar production and showed us the vats where the maple water was boiled down to produce a taste of heaven. The highlight of the stop was sampling maple syrup that had been dribbled in a line onto man-made snow which instantly solidified into a soft mass and then was rolled up onto a large flat stick for tasting.  Before we left, we were ushered into the sugar shack store where we were confronted with a mouth-watering array of maple sugar products.

After crossing the bridge into Quebec, we drove to Montmorency Falls. The falls are located at the mouth of the Montmorency River and plunge 275 feet into the St. Lawrence River. We walked down a wood-paved path to a scenic overlook and had a magnificent view of the cascade falling from a high bluff to sea level. We also had an excellent view of helmeted and harnessed zip liners crossing the ravine within feet of the falls. At the base of the falls on a small sand beach amid scattered driftwood someone had spelled out a “Will you marry me” message in logs. We hope the answer was “yes”.

We arrived back at the ship and boarded another shuttle for Old Quebec City. After many twists, turns and climbing, we arrived in the center of the old fortified section of the city. It was the only fortified wall city remaining in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were dropped off next to Le Chateau Frontenac. The 5-star, 600 room hotel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad as part of a string of hotels the company constructed across the country at every major stop.

We walked around the upper town area on narrow winding one-way streets lined with bistros, boutiques, antique shops and horse drawn carriages. We had a dramatic view of the St. Lawrence River from the escarpment fronting the Le Chateau Frontenac. Quebec City was founded by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain early in the 17th century. The ramparts, gates, and other fortifications that surround the city serve as a rock-solid reminder of its role in the colonial wars for control of the Americas. Fountains and bronze statues abound with a representation of the explorer Champlain being particularly prominent. It truly was a magnificent city and we would be back to explore again.