The New Colossus

By Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

 

Unless you are full-blooded native American, you or your ancestors came to America as immigrants. For me, it isn't possible to see the Statue of Liberty without being moved by it as a symbol of our freedom and promise. I pray we never lose that.

We arrived in Portland, Maine just before noon this morning.

Here is an old fortification for the harbor -

The trees are sporting their fall colors -

The harbor is busy with 2 cruise ships and many tour boats, lobster boats and sailboats

After a US Customs inspection, we wandered around town for a couple of hours - it was HOT!

Tomorrow is our last sea day; we arrive in NYC on Friday morning.

We arrived in Halifax early this morning. There are 6 cruise ships in this harbor so there were a lot of tourists wandering the city today. The day was overcast, but the little bit of rain abated as soon as we stopped to put our rain jackets on. We walked along the harbor and then into town. Halifax is a lovely city with a mixture of older and new buildings.

We did not see the Titanic Cemetery, but the city of Halifax sent rescuers to the sinking Titanic only to realize that their mission was to be one of recovering bodies instead. The White Star Company maintains the burial place of 121 Titanic fatalities.

Only a few years after the Titanic disaster, two ships collided in the narrows of the harbor. The Cargo of munitions and fuels exploded. Thousands were injured or killed and over 1600 buildings were destroyed.

The Halifax Public Gardens were a highlight of our walk. This beautiful Victorian Garden was severely damaged by a hurricane in 2003 but rebuilt by volunteers. The garden has 140 varieties of trees and beautiful beds of flowers that have something blooming year-round.

After 2 rough days at sea, we arrived at St. John’s Newfoundland late this morning. Finally, the wind has died down and the rain has stopped. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and took a hike up to Signal Hill and then along the shore back to the ship. In a few hours, we leave for another day at sea and then Halifax, Nova Scotia.

October 3 & 4 – Yesterday (the 3^rd) we arrived in Reykjavik around 10:00am. Right after an early lunch, we walked into the city along the waterfront. It was still cold and windy but manageable. I would love to show you pictures of the places we saw, but our current internet connection just won’t allow it!

We visited the Harpa, the very modernistic performing arts center. Its glass exterior is made to look like the basalt columns of the rock of the area. We also visited Hallgrims Church. It is both simple and beautiful; we were entertained by strains of organ music as we looked around the church. One picture I can’t show you is a sign saying not to interrupt the organist in English and Icelandic. We all know organists who don’t want to be interruptedJ

Today, we took an 8 hour tour of highlights of the countryside. We saw beautiful scenery including geothermal features (and a geyser erupting), the huge Gullfoss waterfall, the widening valley formed where two tectonic plates separate an additional 2 centimeters each year. All along the way, we took in the stunning scenery and enjoyed watching Icelandic sheep and horses.

We arrived back at the ship late this afternoon. We leave this port soon. The wind is howling! It may be a bumpy night. We now have 2 days at sea so I doubt I will be able to post anything. I’ll be back when I can.

October 1 – Today we visited the Shetland Islands, the city of Lerwick to be more exact. Last night turned very windy and rough so we are happy to be able to be on land for a few hours. I had some doubt that the Tender Craft would be able to transport us to shore from our anchorage in the harbor.

This morning’s sunrise had a bit pink and orange.

 

We did some walking around town in the windy 40 degree weather. We went by St. Magnus Episcopal Church and the Methodist Church as well. We enjoyed the excellent museum that has displays on the history and culture of the Shetlands. Too soon, we had to head back to the Norwegian Jade and wave goodbye to Lerwick.

October 2 – The captain warned that the night would be bumpy, and he was right. I am happy that Norman has his transderm patches. The barf bags have appeared in public areas! I’m not sure you can appreciate the 21.3 foot waves from this photo –

When we walked/ran on the treadmill this morning, we felt every bit of the roll of the ship. The feeling was like a treadmill on a base of pudding.

 

 

September 30 - It is our first morning at sea. We got underway at 5:00pm our time. Norman always enjoys looking at a refinery so I took this picture for him -

 

We have a lovely and roomy cabin -

Our spacious bathroom even includes a bath tub!

We shared a table at dinner with a couple from England and a couple from Canada and enjoyed lively conversation covering many topics. We have not escaped the wind; the waves are about 8 feet and, with the wind, the result is some slight rolling of the ship.

This morning we had a colorful sunrise (red sky at morning, sailors take warning).

Well, this is a lovely picture you won't get to  see right now. Our internet connection is very poor. It will take some time to catch up. Stay tuned....

Embarkation day - Here is our view of our ship, the Norwegian Jade, from our hotel window -

More later .....

Today was a day of train travel. Our first train from Filey to Doncaster was late enough that we almost missed our connection. Fortunately, the station in Doncaster is small. It's not quite as small as the Filey Station here -

Our last train from Birmingham to Southampton Central was sooooo crowded. Luckily, we had reserved seats; there were people standing all along the way.

We arrived at our hotel in Southampton just as the sun was setting. Here is a view from our window (with Norman's reflection as a bonus) -

Our cruise leaves tomorrow late afternoon:)

Day 11 was windy again. We left Scarborough behind -

The hike was rumored to be short and easy; we did not find it so as the wind blew as hard as yesterday. The sun was out though, and the coast was picturesque -

We turned to look back at Scarborough in the far distance -

Finally, we could see the end of the Cleveland Way and the spit of land beyond it -

 

And a not very good selfie at the Cleveland Way sign at the end -

The sign says it is 109 miles, but my Fitbit says it was more like 125 counting walking to accommodations and dinners.

Tomorrow is a day of train travel to Southampton!

Day 10 was a VERY windy walk from Ravenscar to Scarborough. According to my Fitbit, it was our longest walk of the trip, just over 16 miles and 39,000 steps. We looked back on Raven Hall under a menacing sky -

 

Due to a landslip, we were diverted into the trees (out of the wind) -

 

When we got back to the coast, we walked by a Coast Guard Station and this Radar Installation  -

 

 

The views along the rugged coast vary but are always beautiful -

 

Except for our detour into the woods, we battled strong wind all day; it was hard to walk straight along the path with the wind constantly blowing out to sea; we ate lunch at a bench in the wind; there was no escaping it -

 

Finally, we made it to Scarborough, but we still had three miles to walk around the point where these castle remains are -

Tomorrow's walk should be around 10 miles. And we hope the wind is more cooperative. Still, we are thankful to have avoided rain for the last few days.

 

Before we leave day 8, here are some photos of last night's dinner at the Fisherman's Wife in Whitby -

Scallops from the Shetland Islands

Haddock with shrimp and sea beans

Mixed seafood curry

We left Whitby after breakfast at the No. 7 Guest House. There are 199 steps up to the Abbey (after the 40 or so steps down to the river). Here is a picture looking back at Whitby and our lodgings -

A little farther along, we could see the Whitby breakwater as we looked back at the coast behind us - 

And farther along, we spotted this wreck in the foreground of the photo -

We passed an old fog horn station and lighthouse (both can now be rented as holiday lodgings) -

The day was beautiful, and we enjoyed wonderful views of the coast -

Finally, we came to Robin Hood's Bay. It is a charming old town built on the hillside. This picture is looking back as we walked on to Ravenscar -

The Raven Hall Hotel is the only one in town. We have a lovely view from the window in our room -

While eating dinner, we saw these rooks flying homeward as the shadows fell -

Back at our room, the sunset was beautiful, the end of a wonderful day -

Day 8 in Whitby - After a latish breakfast, we set off for a bus tour of the city. Whitby became more than a sea town when railroad baron, George Stephenson, opened a horse-drawn rail line from Whitby to Pickering in 1836. There are many fine old buildings including a Royal Crescent that Stephenson planned to mimic and rival that of Bath.

Certainly one of the main highlights of Whitby is Whitby Abbey, or the remains of it. The ruins are a Heritage Site and are striking. Here are some pictures -

These ruins date from the 13th century and are on the site of the first abbey founded by St. Hilda in the 7th century. That abbey was destroyed by invading Vikings in the 9th century.

When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the Abbey land was sold to his friend Richard Cholmley who used stones from the Abbey buildings to build his house (now the visitor's center) -

St. Mary the Virgin of Whitby is just below on the same hill. It was built in the 12th century to provide a place of worship for the lay people who worked at the abbey. Here is the three-decker pulpit -

And an altar guild member polishing the brass eagle -

Later on our bus tour, we visited the replica of Captain Cook's ship, the Endeavor -

Tomorrow our hike begins with the 199 steps up to the Abbey. We have enjoyed our day of rest!

Our shortest day, day 7, began with a hike across the beach at low tide (there is nothing to do at high tide except wait) -

 

Before long, and many, many steps up, we were looking back on the beach at Runswick Bay -

 

 

We came to a way marker that told us of our progress to Filey (the end) -

All along were beautiful views of the coast and sea on this cold rainy day -

 

This is Sandsend, the small town before Whitby where we are tonight -

 

 

Tomorrow is a day of rest and exploring Whitby and doing laundry!