| Monday July 28th Setting the scene before we left. Cue Anne talking to Vic: “The stupid Mapquest program says 6 ½ hours to Portland, Maine – HA! I know better. It takes me 6 ½ hours to get to Boston! It’ll be another 2 hours or so after that. Well, no I-95 for me, I don’t do the George Washington Bridge – I HATE that bridge. We’ll go the way we usually do, across the Tappan Zee Bridge.” Well, THOSE words I had to swallow! We got 10 miles away from the Tappan Zee to find out that there had been an accident right before the bridge involving hazardous materials and it was closed. We HAD to take the OTHER bridge. So it’s back down the Palisades Parkway to NYC and over my favorite bridge – the George Washington. YUCK. At least this time the potholes weren’t as big as Volkswagon Beetles. We got to Portland with about 4 hours to spare. The ferry people told us to arrive about an hour and a half before departure time. The ferry was supposed to depart at about 8:30 so we had some time to eat dinner and relax before we got in the queue. We thought we were being smart when we drove to the terminal to line up at 5:30. Well, surprise #2, there were already about 20 cars lined up before us on either side. SO we pulled over behind the last car and waited. As more and more cars pulled up behind us, a line-cutting war began ahead. The check-in didn’t open till 6:30 and then there was only one person doing the checking in. What a waste of manpower! At 7:30 PM we still had not budged an inch because of the line jumpers. It takes a lot to get me riled but I was getting pretty annoyed. So with all the grace and self-control I could muster, I got out of the car and went up to the two line-jumping cars. I knocked on the window and politely informed them that 20 cars behind them had been waiting since 5 PM and would appreciate it if they went to the back of the line. “Oh! We didn’t know till we got up here that the end of the liner was all the way back there!” came the reply in both instances. “Well, we’d certainly appreciate your getting back in line where you’re supposed to,” I replied and went back to the van. I did not really expect them to move but I had my say so I felt better. Believe it or not, both cars moved on back! Boy was I pleasantly surprised! Because of the horrible checking-in process in Portland – the cops eventually had to get involved – the ferry ended up leaving 40 minutes late. Not before we saw this interesting car. |
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| Normally I love ferries but it was too annoying having someone come up to you every 2 minutes asking if you want a Bahama Mama. I didn’t the first time, nor did I the 20th time I was asked. I forgot they use this boat as a 23-hour cruise. I guess I should never go cruising. At least on something without sails. I met some nice folks as usual and made friends with a little Cairn Terrier and a Chihuahua. |
| We watched a seal swimming around in the harbor and enjoyed the view as we sailed past the place where they are building an offshore oil rig. And I watched the light revolving in the lighthouse but really couldn’t get a great picture of it. The most amazing thing was the appearance of the water as we left the safety of the harbor. There was a definite line where the current and wind picked up markedly. We enjoyed our cabin and went to sleep almost as soon as the ship hit the sea. |
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| Bound Down for Newfoundland 2003 |
| 13. Excursion 'Round the Bay 14. Carbonear 15. Hearts Content 16. Ferryland 17. Ferryland Disaster 18. The Colony of Avalon 19. The Battery 20. The Royal St. John's Regatta 21. Bay Bulls 22. Puffins 23. Kittiwakes & Turres 24. Whales 25. Bridie's and Bars 26. Last Day in Newfoundland 27. New buddies and a ferry ride. |
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