Tuesday night...

We had a very nice surprise happen tonight at dinner, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is...hehe That'll keep y'all in suspense for a bit, right? Hmmm, what do you think it is??? Did we win the lottery? Did Dick win big in the casino? Did Ed McMahan finally find us for the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes? I wonder....what could it be????????

Sleep well...sweet dreamns....life is good on the High Seas!

Day 23 - Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

Dick and I were on the Cabot Trail Loop back in September 2005 (above) and the sun was shining back then. We visited the Fortress of Louisbourg, and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. Concerts at the Louisbourg Playhouse are outstanding, complete with tea and oatcakes! We toured the Maritimes with 9 other motorhomes back in '05, and enjoyed seeing the city of Sydney by a different mode of travel today...on foot!

The fog never lifted yesterday, so we stayed onboard and played with the Windows Live Photo program, uploaded pictures, and read...no nap either. Bee was so right--we just pretended it was a sea day. We did get to go to the Captain's special cocktail party for the Mariners Club. Do you think that he'll remember meeting us??? He apparently is a shy fella...he's gotta hate some of his duties for sure!

Today is overcast, but at least not foggy. We got off the ship and walked around the town, and visited one of the historic homes of a former Anglican priest, a craft sale at another church, and the shops at the pier where locals were selling their crafts. Amy, I did find an item that you requested.

We had lunch back onboard; Dick is watching a movie on TV. Oh yes, our TV receiver now works and we now have CNN again, so we'll be catching up on the news and hearing more political crappola (we didn't miss that!).

Check out the pictures that we'll upload later on today. The crew was having another boat drill, and it was hysterical. The 'tendering' into the port yesterday didn't go so well, so the guys were out practicing this morning. And practicing some more. I think the captain kicked some butt last night. We sometimes have to remember that this is still a shakedown cruise and keep everything into perspective. Anyway, Dick took lots of pics of the boat drill and other stuff in town. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who has been following our journey and posting comments. We are definitely on the homeward stretch now, and that feels sooo good. But we aren't done with this adventure yet, so stay tuned for what happens next...Halifax tomorrow. Life is good!

Day 22 - St. Pierre & Miquelon

As we pulled out of port in St. John’s, the "Harbor Symphony" was indeed a delightful orchestration of sounds. Ms Eurodam sounded her horn...tugboats, pilot boats, any boats all sounded theirs in resounding response to our departure, and it was a loud but happy delight to our collective ears (and I caught it on video, complete with sound!) We were heartily welcomed by our neighbors to the north. A ceremony featuring a real, live band welcomed the ms Eurodam captain to the shores of St. John prior to our departure, where local dignitaries presented the captain with the proverbial key to the city, and a continued welcome back to this delightful port.
Performance by the flautist last night was great, as were the HALCats and David later on in the lounge. The onboard daily entertainment leaves a lot to be desired, unless you like bingo and the marriage game...not! Thank goodness for the digital workshop, books and naps.

Bonjour! Today we are in foggy France...I’ll bet you didn’t know it was so close to Canada!

These tiny islands comprise a speck of French territory located in the middle of Atlantic Canada. It was first settled by the French fishing fleet in the 1500s, and for some reason, the British never bothered claiming these islands during their colonial conquest of North America. I'm sure the Brits won't be getting this land back either, although the Portuguese actually got there first but lost it to the French.

This was a very popular place during our Prohibition era. Canadian distilleries legally exported their products here, and then the rumrunners picked it up and ran it south to the US. How 'bout that!

Of course with the fog, we can't see diddly right now, although we had about a one-mile visibility when we docked this morning at 8a local time. The pier is only 300' long, which is way too short for the Eurodam, so folks are going ashore by tenders, two by two. Not people, tenders are going in tandem for safety in this now very soupy fog. We can't even see the island off shore about one-half mile that we could see earlier. And the tenders are waaaay backed up trying to get folks on shore, so we are waiting to see if the weather clears up. If it doesn't clear, we'll probably stay onboard, as it won't be much fun trying to sightsee when we can't SEE!

We haven't had CNN/BBC news in awhile. Dick said they probably forgot to include satellite receivers for this side of the world. Well, it is not that...I found out through a very reliable source this morning that the receivers are onboard, someone just forgot to activate them (meaning: they don't have the local card to insert in it!). Helllloooo...didn't someone look at a calendar and realize the Eurodam was gonna be out of Europe and the use of their receivers from over there...and would be in North America in late August??? Just askin'. This is definitely still a shake-down cruise...let me count the ways......!

Later...life is still good!

Day 21 - St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

View of St. John's Harbor from Signal Hill...where Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal. We've come a long way, baby!

Street scene...

This is North America's oldest city, dating back to the 1400s. Who knew? Its first permanent settlers were the British, who arrived in the mid-1700s. The tour book sez the city's architecture is a pleasant blend of colorful, wooden houses, stately stone and brick churches, colonial buildings and modern commercial structures. I'm sure we'll enjoy our day here. The port has a big welcome and a bigger send off for us at 6ish tonight. It is sunny, so we should get some good pics to post. Later, y'all! And a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lynne!!!!!!!!!!

Day 20 - At sea - Pool view

Another day at sea...Sunny greetings from the Labrador Sea, our third day in a row for being on the high seas. We are getting lots of reading done, photos edited and uploaded, and having a lazy time. A few folks are enjoying sitting by the pool today, soaking up the sun (not us). We’ll both be ready for new sights tomorrow in St. John’s, NF, since this is a place we have never been.

The very best of wishes today as Lala and Aero get married (Bee & Charlie’s g/dtr). May you have a long and happy life together. Cyber hugs and God’s blessings to you both.

Tonight is formal night, and neither of us is in the mood for getting all gussied up, so we’ll enjoy a casual dinner up on the Lido deck for a change. We need to inform our (great) waiter. Our entertainer tonight is Sally Jones (never heard of her), who has a background in musical theatre. The write-up states that it will be an ‘exciting evening of great music, theatre and laughter.’ I’m all for that. Tell me what you are doing tonight, OK? Cheers...and go check out our Prince Christian Sound pics from yesterday at ivylog.

Day 19 - At sea - Charming cabanas, all in a row

Our captain altered our course a bit and has been edging us closer to Greenland so that we can see a bit of the southern Arctic, with scenic cruising RIGHT NOW through Prince Christian Sound. These charming cabanas probably won’t be in use today at all, since it is a bit foggy and chilly. Yesterday the temps hovered about 52, and today it is about the same. We are seeing ice floes...and internet service is spotty today, being as we are floating between some high cliffs. Stay tuned for some awesome pictures!

Fall is falling in Podunk/Mayberry already...normal for August that some leaves begin to change color, despite the still warm temps there. We'll be there one week from today. Time is flying.

Our tablemates...one couple from Seattle, one from Victoria (Canada), and one from Las Vegas. We had a lovely couple from London for one night only, darn it! He is a London taxi driver, so he had marvelous stories to tell us. Our waiter and helper are both wonderful, as are so many of the crew.

Hmmm, we are slowing down...the captain idles the engine when we go through a clump of ice so that the prop doesn't have to act as an ice crusher. Dick just went out to take some more pictures. No, this is NOT the Titanic, so don't worry. OK, we are moving again and it is foggy outside. Dick is back; we were actually making a L-hand turn, so we weren't stopped, just turning a little bit. Don't you like this minute-by-minute account of happenings? hehe We are hoping the sun will come out and burn this fog off, but regardless, we'll upload pictures later on, so be sure to check out our photo gallery and leave us a comment here or over there... http://www.ivylog2.spaces.live.com/ or check out Dick's pics at http://www.ivylog1.spaces.live.com/. Having fun in the fog! Tell Parker to behave...hugs, y'all!

Day 18 - At sea - Here is the main dining room

Enjoy the shot of the lovely Rembrandt Dining Room, as it is overcast, has rained, is chilly outside, and our verandah will probably remain empty all day!

Good morning from our sea day! Dick is busy uploading photos in class, so he'll have some new ones to post. I plan to walk around and take more ship pictures, so I'll have some new ones for later on today.

We offloaded our previous entertainers in Iceland and took on new ones. Tonight we'll be entertained by a Nat King Cole kinda guy. We'll spend the afternoon reading, maybe even taking a nap. Whew...what a hectic pace! Wish y'all were here. What are y'all doing on your Thursday?