Last photos of Bar Harbor

Just some final shots before getting on the tender back to the ship. A lovely day all around.

Around town Bar Harbor

We walked by this side yard of a home that had three raised garden beds. What was unique about them were the borders - made of rope. Kind of special, given this is a fishing town.

The town square and park was so pretty. And then there was my delicious lunch.

Churches in Bar Harbor

There were three churches in the downtown area of Bar Harbor. A Catholic church, an Episcopal church, and another one whose denomination escapes me at the moment. I think it is a general "all purpose" Christian one.

The Episcopal one is attached to the town cemetery. They are all on the same block, too. Kind of funny.

Bar Harbor Neighborhoods

Local home with lobster fishing gear out back. Old church graveyard dating back to 1600's when town was first settled.

Bar Harbor

Arriving bright and early to Bar Harbor, Maine, a tender port, we had a nice leisurely breakfast in the dining room and then grabbed a tender to town. It's a short five minute ride.

Still early, and a Memorial weekend Sunday, very few people were out, but the shops were open and the restaurants opened soon thereafter. Most hotels and inns were full, but everyone must have been sleeping in, as the streets were generally quiet and the stores were nearly empty of customers.

We wanted to see the three main churches as well as the town square park, today. It was a beautiful day to go out to Acadia National Park, but I'd been before and Adrienne preferred to see the town since it was her first visit.

I stopped in at the ranger office at the town park and was able to get a stamp for my National Parks passport book. I also was able to get one when we were in Salem last week.

We walked and shopped some and then stopped at the Thirsty Whale for lunch. Maine is known for their lobster, so of course a lobster roll and chowder was just the ticket for me. A cold local draft beer rounded out the meal. Adrienne chose to have iced tea and then eat lunch back on the ship.

I took a few photos so there will be a couple of posts of them, as I'm still experiencing problems posting photos. I can't seem to post more than three or four at a time. It's totally pissing me off, especially since I emailed the provider two weeks ago and they are still "working on it".

Boston again

After spending a few days in Bermuda, our ship - the Veendam - returned to Boston and all but about 120 of us disembarked for good. We chose to stay on the ship during the turnaround. The ship was so quiet and empty for about 2 hours before the next load of new passengers embarked. It was so nice to wander about the ship, feeling all alone, practically. A nice treat.

We spent a couple of hours up in the thermal spa and even with a few interruptions, it was calming and restful.

We managed to finally get to the Pinnacle, HAL's specialty steakhouse restaurant, for dinner. It was, as usual, perfect and delicious. We both had the filet mignon and shared sides of asparagus, baked potato and crispy skinny fries. I had a huge spinach salad as a starter and it too, was excellent.

Turnaround day complete, we turned in early. Bar Harbor Maine was our next stop.

Goodbye Hamilton and Bermuda

So long. Farewell. It was great!!

Crystal Caves

These Caves were discovered by two young boys in 1904. They were playing cricket and lost their ball, which fell down a hole in the ground in the field where they were playing near their homes. Wanting to find that ball, they ran back home and got a bunch of rope and a small lantern and lowered themselves down this hole. And this is what they found!! Beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.

Some more aquarium pics

Bermuda Aquarium

> The aquarium was small, but very nice. Interesting fish. I especially loved the blue parrotfish and the seahorse.
>

Bermuda Aquarium

The aquarium was small, but very nice. Interesting fish. I especially loved the blue parrotfish and the seahorse.

Bermuda Zoo

We visited the Bermuda Zoo this afternoon on a ship tour. Combined with aquarium and the Crystal Caves.

Taking the Ferry to Dockyards

We hopped on the ferry this morning from Hamilton out to the Dockyards. A short five minute walk from the ship and we were paying our $9 round trip and walking onboard for the 25 minute ride.

The Dockyards is where the bigger ships have to moor. They can't fit through the narrow passage (see my picture with the boat's wake) but the Veendam can! There's not a whole lot in the Dockyards other than a small shopping mall. You can grab yours from here, though, to take you out snorkeling and swimming at local beaches. Otherwise the passengers from these bigger ships must rely on either the ferry or taxis to get them to Hamilton and St. George.

We wanted to ride the ferry and kill some time shopping. We certainly accomplished both this morning. We returned in time for lunch on the ship and this afternoon we have a tour scheduled to visit the Crystal Caves and the Aquarium.

The funny looking glass bubbles you see in one picture is a nod to
The old British shopkeepers when they were taxed by how much light came into their shops. Weird, right? Anyway, the shops made their windows with these bubbles because it cut down on the light and therefore, their taxes.

End of Twizy

Had to say goodbye to Miss Twizy this afternoon. Just a one day rental. We could have held on to her longer but then we would have missed dinner. And as anyone who cruises knows, you can't miss dinner!! It's free and it's filling!! Especially after a long day in the Twiz-mobile.

I included a picture of the Princess Resort where Snort attempted to paddle board while Adrienne and sat under the umbrellas and sipped flowery and fruity iced teas, and waited for the Twiz to charge some more. The resort's on a beautiful little beach with a protected cove, allowing guests to swim and frolic without worrying about dangerous riptides and the like. I sure could get used to laying around in a water hammock all day while handsome waiters in Bermuda shorts brought me pretty drinks on trays. Yes. Yes. Yes.

When we dragged our asses out of the resort and arrived back in Hamilton, I dropped Adrienne off in front of the ship and then drove the few blocks back to Twizy's home. Handing over the key to the every most good looking attendant ( in hot pink Bermuda shorts by the way, AND with that suave British accent), I toddled on back to the ship. I stopped along the way to grab a final few snaps - a very cool sculpture and the birdcage, a literal metal cage that sits in the middle of this crazy 3-way intersection. When traffic gets really busy, a policeman comes out and gets into the cage and directs traffic. Sadly, the cage was empty this afternoon. It's relatively quiet here, I guess, at this time of day or this time of year. They don't allow you to rent cars in Bermuda but tourist season does bring more people and I suppose more tour bans, scooters and Twizys.
By the way, if you want to rent a Twiz, you'd better make reservations far in advance. They're very fun and easy to drive. The hardest part is remembering to drive on the left, like the British do, and make sure you put the tallest person in front, to drive it. You sit tandem, and there's not a lot of room in the back if you're tall. It's not that you can't fit once you're in there, it's the getting in that's the struggle. Even with that caveat, I'd urge anyone to give it a twirl. It's great fun.

Last thing for today, they said we were docking right in town in Hamilton. And they meant it. Our ship looks like it's sitting right in the middle of the street, which it almost is. Great location!!