I chose this picture of the Vanderbilt mansion The Breakers (compliments of Google), because we never got to see it on our excursion. It was cancelled.

Why, you may ask?

After we sailed from Brooklyn at sunset and watched the Statue of Liberty glow in the fading sun, we sipped our cocktails on the top deck of the ship taking in the NYC skyline as the sky turned from pink and peach to periwinkle, then inky indigo.

We dined – feasted really. We were introduced to our steward Dennis, our waiters Maida and Nemanja, the former from Serbia, the latter from Bosnia. Afterwards we merrily headed to our rooms to sleep off the excitement hangover.

At a very early hour (before 7 a.m.), the Captain announced to all (even us in our staterooms  – rudely interrupting my self) that although we arrived at our first port of call, Newport, Rhode Island, we were unable to enter the harbor due to a tall ship that was sunk or stranded in the middle of it, preventing us to dock. He was hopeful that the Coast Guard would be arriving and begin moving the craft. However, several hours later, way past the time for our planned trip to tour the Vanderbilt homes, we were stuck on-board and would be traveling ahead onto Boston. We felt let down, but we soon found the perfect activity. Trivia is what really makes this group bubble with anticipation. Oh, that and bingo and the casino.

Gathered around on of the tables in the lounge, we put our heads together to answer the most challenging of trivia questions. We all have our areas of expertise, but in most of the cases, pure dumb luck (and some form of logic) gets the right answer. This time, we were in serious competition with two other groups who would keep us on toes for the rest of the cruise. The gauntlet had been thrown that first day, and we gladly picked it up.

Lady Rockford (the cousin) was exhibiting signs of a reaction to the bee sting – her hand was beginning to swell and other than a headache from her fall, she seemed fine. However, in the morning, that was not the case.

The hand ballooned overnight and most of our group went in search of medical help on shore. A helpful Bostonian said the hospital was just a few blocks up the road. She was delusional – it was a couple miles. They walked to the hospital and got Lady Rockford tended to. In the meantime, my husband and I walked the Freedom Trail and then headed back to the ship to rest our tootsies!

Bar Harbor was our next stop and I had booked for myself an excursion in a boat to see lighthouses. I felt confident that I could survive this trip – I am prone to seasickness and had gotten prescribed the patch to wear behind my ear. I even put a fresh patch on that morning. It was working like a charm! But with little more than half an hour left in the tour, I did my best to watch the horizon to help ease my tummy. Instead, I had to rush to the on- board bathroom.

My husband however, was left without an excursion – the one he was really looking forward to – whale watching. It was cancelled because the tide was out and that meant the whales stayed away. He lagged behind the Denver Contingency while they shopped in town. It is his least favorite thing to do unless you get him in a hardware store, model train shop or a place that sells science lab equipment. I mention this, because even though he abhors shopping. the man will walk into a store and find something to purchase. In this case it was a fossil. I’m sure he did his own secret happy dance in the aisle of that shop when he came across this science nerd’s treasure. I wish I could see the security camera footage…

I joined the group for lunch – a must – the Nathan’s hot dogs of Maine – lobster rolls! I discovered at the restaurant we had our choice of ‘hot with butter’ or ‘cold with mayonnaise’. It was almost 50/50. I am told the cold was delicious – the hot was too!

After lunch, we hopped onto a trolley and heard how the Acadia National Park was created. I was childlike in watching the fall colors and Nature’s Beauty as it flashed past my window seat. It was breathtaking and I’ll leave it at that.

That night as we dined, we sailed on toward Canada!

To Be Continued….