Our Trip to New England October 2024

As we have never been to the north east before, what a perfect choice for our first trip for the start of our retirement.

Day 1-2 - We spent the day driving to Seattle to board the plane at 10pm to Boston MA. In Boston we spent 2 full days exploring the wonderful historic sights around the area. We walked the majority of The Freedom Trail and loved every bit of it. Old Iron Sides, Bunker Hill, Boston Commons and Granary Cemetery were highlights. Along with visiting all these historic places, of course we had to throw in some Geocaching as well. We also visited Harvard and walked the grounds including rubbing John Harvard statue's foot (a good luck for admission ritual, ya right but when in Rome etc.).

We rented an AirBnB house that turned out to be a row house with three floors that had been converted into 3 separate mini-apartments. Of course we were on the third floor, so Tom had to haul all our luggage up three flights of very steep, tight and narrow stairs. Turns out the place was perfect for what we needed, and had a very nice bakery/coffee shop just 2 blocks away. Boston was a much bigger city than we had expected, but we did enjoy our time there!

Day 3 - Board the ship day and say good bye to Boston. We boarded the Zuiderdam for a 7 day cruise from Boston to Quebec City.

Day 4 - Our first port of call was Bar Harbor Maine and it was a tendered stop meaning we had to take a life boat from the ship to the pier. We  walked up to the local bus stop and jumped on their free bus system to tour Acadia National Park. We spent the entire day jumping from here to there in the park, and a quick lunch break in Bar Harbor before heading back to the ship just in time for dinner. The giggle of the day for us was the advertising saying that Cadillac Mountain was the first place the sunrise hits in the U.S. at a towering 1530 feet high. Living in the Pacific Northwest 1530 feet high is not very impressive!

Day 5 - Halifax NS. Started the day walking from the ship to Point Pleasant Park. Within the park we visited Prince of Wales Tower along with a few other landmarks. We then caught an uber and went to Hallifax Public Gardens. From there we walked by Wanderer Grounds to Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. Awesome old fort with a nice museum and Scottish officers playing bagpipes. From there it was back for another round of sustenance provided by the dinning room aboard ship.

Day 6 - Sydney NS. We really didn't have any plans for Sydney when we got off the ship, but after talking to one of the Taxi Tour people, we decided to jump in and see the sights. This actually turned out to be GREAT. This was the last tour of the day for our driver and he was in no hurry to get back. We ended up going to just about every place there was including all the way out to Low Point Lighthouse and the Fort Petrie Military Museum. Another very personal host that showed great interest in us and shared his families life story in the area. About a 4 hour tour as the saying goes, but we did not end up on a deserted island. I think that night we did dinner at the cafe and skipped the formal dining room.

Day 7 - Charlottetown PEI. - From the ship we took a walking tour of Charlottetown with an amazing gentleman that had lived his entire life there. Very interesting and personal tour that involved all the hot spots in town. After the tour we walked to Victoria Park and did some geocaching and more sightseeing. We ended up back in town for lunch and some shopping before heading back to the ship. All in all, a 7 mile walking day!

Day 8 - Cruising.  Well how boring right? Well actually, and we hate to admit this, but YES!!!!!!

Day 9 - Quebec. We got off the ship first thing and spent the entire day walking Old Town. Lot's of surprises with a few geocaches thrown in. Old Town was amazing and very much reminded us of 

Day 10 - Quebec. We rented a car and drove all around Orléans Island visiting a number of fantastic places. What a treat to drive on our own for a full day enjoying wonderful New England fall colors. Last stop of the day was at the base of Montmorency falls, and taking the tram up to the overlook. FANTASTIC end to an amazing vacation! After that we ended up in a nice motel just a mile or so from the airport, and enjoying Italian cuisine for our final dinner of the trip.

Day 11 - Wonderful walking tours of the Quebec, Toronto and Seattle airports. AMAZING lol....

What a great trip! What a way to start off our retirement! What's next????