Panama Canal Cruise...Norwegian Star

Well, I am off again on another adventure.  This time there are 4 of us traveling from Los Angeles to Miami via the Panama Canal.

This time I am on the Norwegian Star.

I really like Norwegian Cruise Lines.  The people are great, big casino, lots of perks.

Here's my room........

Our itinerary includes Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Huatalco, Puerto Chapias, the Panama Canal and Cartegena before docking in Miami.

We flew JAX to LAX and stayed at the Hilton LAX, nice hotel with a shuttle and they arranged a private transfer to the port for us.

On our way out of port we passed the USS Iowa which is a tourist attraction here.....

Now to be fair, I am not a big Mexico fan which I will explain later.  However I had often heard of these ports of call but never visited.

Next post I will tell you all about them.....at least the parts I saw!

Maine, A Beautiful State!

I have never been to Maine before so when the opportunity arose to do a home exchange with my beach house I jumped at it!  I am here with two great traveling companions, Marsha and Carolyn, for two glorious weeks. 

The weather is spectacular, beautiful sunny days although a bit warmer than usual which has slowed the changing of the fall colors.

We are staying in Searsport in an old sea captain's cottage built in 1860.  Searsport supplied the country with 10% of all the sea captains in the 1800 and 1900's with its deep water port.  Here's our house.......

And  a view of the deep water port......

 

Searsport, with its history, has an interesting museum that comprises several buildings including boat workshops, old houses and a some fun to boot......

 

 

 

 

We are traveling along Route 1 which runs along the coast and everywhere is water and stunning views.  Most commerce has to do with the sea. We stopped at this great craftsman that makes lighthouses.......

And of course there are the REAL lighthouses.  Here are a couple.......

 

We all know that Maine is known for lobster so my companions dug right in...

 

 

The locals have places called Lobster Pounds which literally mean you buy the fresh lobster by the pound and either take it home to cook or eat in.  The place is filled with live lobsters and you choose your dinner!  Needless to say I passed since I'm a vegetarian.......

 

 

We wore out Route 1 since it took us pretty much everywhere we wanted to go including Bar Harbor and the beautiful Acadia National Park.

 

 

Here's the view from Mount Cadillac looking down on Bar Harbor...

 

 

The harbors are simply stunning here.  This is Camden where we went to a local art festival that was set up by the water.....

 

 

Then up to Mount Battie overlooking Camden ........

 

 

One of our absolute favorite places was the tiny village of Castine.  Loaded with history, it is also the prettiest town we saw.  We all just loved it.  It has stunning views, wonderful old houses and a fabulous bay.  Unfortunately I did not take enough pictures to show you how pretty this place really is..............

 

 

I did, however, manage to get this picture of the Tin Man and Toto that a local made. Note the pig faced Toto and Moosehead keg body They really go all out for Halloween!!

 

 

One of our final excursions included a ride on the foliage train from Belfast.  It is an old traditional depot and train on which volunteers provide rides for the locals and tourists....

 

 

 

 

I will try to get some better foliage shots on our ride back to Portland but I will tell you this.  I would come back to this beautiful state in a heartbeat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern England, The Vyne, Rothschild's Exbury Gardens, Beulieu Manor, Motor Museum

On our last England outing we several different kind of places.  First up is The Vyne.  This manor house was visited by Henry VIII and was left to the National Trust by the owners if they would leave it just as they found it, a home.

The beautiful rooms are filled with antiques, wonderful architecture and fabulous wall tapestries.....

 

 

The views are beautiful as are the gardens.....

 

As is this very pretty summer house....

 

Our next stop was the Rothschild's Exbury Gardens.  We were driven through the over 200 acres of gardens in a cart that allowed us to admire its beauty.  It is till early spring but still a beautiful place and has hosted royalty at the main house many times.....

 

 

Romsey Cathedral and Southampton

The next day we left to see Romsey Cathedral.  Founded in 907, it escaped the dissolution of the monasteries by paying Henry 100 pounds.

 

 

 

It is the final resting place of the Earl of Mountbatten who was assassinated by the IRA...

 

 

 

As well as these three beautiful and heart rending tombs.  The first was dedicated to their parents by their children....

 

 

The second was for a young mother who died at the each of 30......

 

 

And the third was for a young child.....

 

 

 

Before leaving I happened to notice this memorial on the wall.  It was dedicated by the parents who lost thier son on the Titanic......

 

 

 

Then it was on to Southampton

.  Our first stop was the Sea City Museum that housed a touching memorial to those who died in the Titanic disaster.  It is centered around the memories and meomorabilia of the many people from the area that lost their lives.  Although no pictures were allowed, I took these before knowing.  They show a map of Southampton with the red dots showing how many familes in the area lost loved ones.

 

 

 

We then went to the local Tudor Museum.  Much of Southampton was flattened by the bombing of World War II but this old building manged to survive and was left as a museum.

 

 

We saw evidence of the bombing because some of the remnants remain.  here are the ruins of an ancient church in the city center....

 

 

 

Southampton is a thriving seaport and two of the world's greatest ocean liners happened to be in port.  Here is the Queen Mary....

 

 

 

And here is the Queen Victoria....

 

 

Before leaving Southampton, we made one last poignant stop. This plaque is a memorial to the band that played as the Titianic went down.....

 

 

And this memorial across the street that is dedicated to the engineers of the Titianic...

 

 

 

Next stop The Vyne, the Rothschild's Exbury Gardens, Beulieu Manor and the Motor Museum!!!