New York to Newport

We flew from Minneapolis to New York on Saturday, September 11th, 2010, then took a cab from JFK International Airport to the port of the Norwegian Cruise Line where we boarded the Norwegian Jewel with plenty of daylight left to take some good pictures as we left the New York Harbor.  The full story, which I called “Our Ocean’s Eleven,” is in the Gazette archives and featured on the front page of the October 2010 issue of the Victoria Gazette.

Our balcony rooms were on the 9th floor and we took an elevator to the 12th floor for a wide angle view during our departure from New York.

The skyline of New York is unending.

The Statue of Liberty is always an awesome sight.

We would see it again in eleven days when our cruise ship returns.

As I said, New York goes on forever.

Is that the Brooklyn Bridge?

This open deck on the 7th floor became our favorite hangout.  Hi, Jan.  Hi, John.

We pulled into the harbor at Narrangansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island, at 6:30 a.m. the next morning, Sunday, September 12th.

Mansions lined the coast.

Our balcony door was wide open and we audibly inhaled the cool refreshing air.

Newport, with a population of nearly 30,000, was lovely.

Hundreds if not thousands of sailboats and yachts were anchored throughout much of the harbor.

Across from where our ship docked was the Adams Fort, named after one of our country’s first presidents.

Along with many other passengers, we climbed aboard one of the tenders that  transported us to land.

Once in Newport, we picked up a tour bus that took us around the island.  We went past the rocky rugged coastline where pelicans and lone fishermen were perched on the out-croppings.

Names like Vanderbilt and Bouvier were bandied about by our tour guide.  Newport is where Jackie Bouvier’s family spent their summers and where she met and married Senator John F. Kennedy in 1953 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Since we arrived at  Newport on a Sunday morning, our group and a few others attended the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s, an old  brick church established in 1828. 

Neither large nor pompous, it tells many stories of our faith through its art and stained glass windows.  The woodwork of its very long pews had grown darker and worn smoother from the human touch and layers of glossy varnish.

I imagined the young Kennedy’s walking down the aisle after their wedding ceremony.

We lunched at the Red Parrot, a restaurant similar in name but not so rustic as the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, Alaska.  My argula salad was delicious.  Many of the shops were closed but we didn’t care yet about shopping anyhow.

Allan and Lloyd, who love tennis and play it regularly, went off on their own to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in Newport.

They said the place was nice but not exceptional.

 

The tender returned us to our ship about 3 p.m.  We rested for a little while then met in our room for happy hour.  Hi, John.  Glad you’re feeling better.

Hi, Rosalie.  Hi, Jan.  That’s Lloyd hiding from the camera.

At this very table the next day I had a late breakfast of smoked salmon, a hamburger lunch, and a little sunburn.  It was an entire day at sea, on our way to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  We occasionally caught the silhouette of another cruise ship at the horizon far, far away.

Our table near the window at Tsar’s Palace Dining Room awaited us, along with another fantastic menu.

It was always fun to see how they plated our food.  This night many of us ordered the Lobster and Grouper combo.  Delicious.

Our waiter, Mauricio, showed us how to make things with napkins.