Blogs from North America - page 27

After I broke my shoulder on 12 JUN 2023, I guesstimated that I should have enough time to heal and undergo my physical therapy before I had to fly to San Diego to begin the 2023 chapter of “The Great Adventure” on 8 OCT 2023. It turned out my last therapy session was two days before I departed. On the way to the airport, I managed to stop and help celebrate my niece’s 70thbirthday. It was nice to see her siblings, children, grandchildren and, yes, great-grandchildren. My friend, Gary, took me to the party on the way to the airport for my sixish flight to San Diego. After one night in San Diego, I boarded the MS Noordam on Sunday, October 8, 2023 for a 48-day cruise to four ports in Hawaii, seven ports in the ... read more

Québec is Canada's most romantic city and is highly recommended for any traveler. The city itself is expansive but I advise staying within the city walls of Old Québec as that's the most charming part of town. It is filled with history and culture, as well as wonderful restaurants, cafes, bars and shops, and is absolutely worth a couple of days of exploring. You could consider a cruise on the St. Lawrence River, and there are museums and historical tours. If there is a meat-eater in your party then Le Lapin Sauté is recommended for lunch, as well as Bistrot Pape Georges. Definitely try the sortilege maple whiskey at Pub l'Oncle Antoine, and perhaps pay a visit to the historic Fairmont le Chateau Frontenac and its lovely bar. In the evening there are regular jazz performances ... read more

Tuesday 3rdOctober 2023 Baie-Comeau Went whale watching last night at 10.30pm as we passed the Saguenay River but saw no Beluga Whales this time!! Also had a quick look on deck this morning but apart from seeing loads of ducks and birds we saw nothing!! Well….unless you count tuna fish!! Got the shuttle bus into town, actually had a commentary on the bus, explaining that Baie Comeau used to have the Worlds shortest railway and that the town used to be just trees with no-way in or out except by plane or boats!! Passed aa empty marina – the people had taken out the boats, ready for winter!! Really cut off!! The town consisted of one street with shops either side and a guy singing at the other end of the street. We set off to ... read more

Crater lake it's no wonder they made it a National Park in 1909. This place is like nowhere else in the world. Imagine discovering this place, there is a spot called discovery point where it was discovered. Basically a huge volcano errupted spilled out all its ash for hundreds of miles destroyed huge areas of forest then the cone collapsed in on itself creating a huge crater. Over hundreds of thousands of years later it fills up with rain water and snow, yes, there is no Inlet or outlet and it now has a 2000 feet deep lake filling it. The water is so clear it has moss beds growing 2000 feet at the bottom. This is why it is also so blue. It's sight takes your breath away. A rim road has been built around ... read more

Wednesday 4thOctober 2023 Havre St-Pierre, Canada Off the ship by 8.00am after sussing from the ship, that there wasn’t going to be a lot to do there!! Went to the Information Office and booked a rib boat trip for 4 hrs to the Archipel-de-Mingan National Park, that consists of 20 large islands and we could visit two of them!! This left us an hour and a half to visit the town! Started with the most boring looking church I have ever seen – hoped it would surprise us on the inside ……..it didn’t!! Bumped into Hong + Conor again who had explored everything and confirmed that there was nothing there!! Just houses and two shops on the harbour front, Chez Julies ( re-nouned for delicious seafood dishes!!) and a tourist shop!! Walked along the beach past ... read more