What a wonderful vacation

Welcome to my blog about our wonderful vacation to New England and Canada. We left Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ on September 30,2010. The 9-day cruises went to ports in Portland, ME, Bar Harbor, ME, Saint John, NB, Halifax, NS and Boston, MA.

We had great weather!

We went with 2 other couples from our church and had a wonderful time. What a blessing it was to enjoy vacation time with brothers and sisters in the LORD.

As with most blogs, these entries are in latest first order, so you may either wish to go the first entry, Leaving Home and work your way up or read it the way it is understanding that you are going backwards.

Sue and I want to thank Frank and Ruth and Dick and Ann for a great time and having so much fun together. Where are we going next?

We also want to thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His grace and mercy throughout the trip.

Enjoy!

Paradoxical Christianity

We are in the world but not of the world.

We are separated, called out, but yet, we are united in Christ.

Someone once said,

That to be low is to be high That the broken heart is the healed heart That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit That the repenting soul is the victorious soul That to have nothing is to possess all That to bear the cross is to wear the crown That to give is to receive That the valley is the place of vision

Let me find Your light in my darkness Your life in my death Your joy in my sorrow Your grace in my sin Your riches in my poverty Your glory in my valley Thank you, LORD, for granting me so great a salvation.

The paradox, between having or belonging to a religion and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is the fact that salvation, the reconciliation between you and God, is not earned but given. Jesus offers the gift of salvation. He doesn’t say you can earn it.

Jesus replies to Nicodemus in John 3:3 when he asked Jesus about eternal life this way, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born from above, or, born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

What is He saying to Nicodemus? “Nicodemus, you’re working really hard to get into the Kingdom of God. But I want to tell you something. You don’t get in there from here, it comes from above. If you’re going to be regenerated, it has to come down from above. You can’t achieve it.”

This is a divine miracle that comes down from heaven. This is not something you can generate. This is not something you can produce. This is not something you can manufacture. This is a spiritual thing, a work of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit comes to whom He will when He wills. That’s such a powerful answer. You’re talking about a divine miracle that comes down from above.

Has that miracle happened to you? Are you born again? It’s the only way to heaven. Not my words but Jesus’ words.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
(Romans 1:16,17 ESV)

The righteousness from God and not from man is revealed in the gospel. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. You can NEVER earn your way to heaven. The bible describes our works as filthy rags. Nothing “good” that we do earns us any points. Salvation is a gift to all who believe.

It’s as simple as ABC:

• A  - Admit to God that you’re sinner and repent and turn away from your sins.
• B  - Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and accept His gift of forgiveness.
• C -  Confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior and your Lord forevermore.

Read the Gospel of John!

Towel Origami

The name of our stateroom attendant was Alvin, as in the chipmunk. He was a really nice quiet kid probably no older than 20 or 21 years old from South America, I think.

One of the things these Royal Caribbean stateroom attendant do for fun is something Sue called Towel Origami. They would take towels and fold them into animals. Apparently, it’s a trademark of Royal Caribbean.

Here are his animals:

Elephant
Rabbit
Dinosaur
Sting Ray
Monkey
Bat
My own feeble attempt at a lobster. (Originally, it was supposed to a butterfly but everyone said it looked like a lobster so, I went with it.

Towel Origami is not difficult to learn, although the results often seem very elaborate. One of the most challenging aspects of towel origami is that you can't achieve crisp and even folds when you're working with a washcloth or bath towel. You must be a bit flexible in your approach, applying forceful manipulation and occasionally reinforcing the design with rubber bands or other accessories. Or, you can just throw the towels together in a heap, sprinkle some ketchup on it and call it road kill.

In researching towel origami, I discovered that Royal Caribbean is not the only cruise line that does this. Here’s a how-to video from Carnival.

We enjoyed coming back from dinner and seeing what animal awaited us on the bed. There was a towel-folding demonstration in one of the lounges on the last day.

If you get adapt at folding towels into animal, just think of the fun you can have scaring your neighbors.

“Honey, there’s a white monkey hanging from the tree on the front lawn!”

Boston, MA – Leaving the Harbor

These modern ships are unbelievably maneuverable. Our ship was in dock facing toward the city and we had another cruise ship right behind us and a container ship across the pier.

We had to push away from the dock, back out between the two ships, and then turn around in the Charles River. And we did it and they didn’t need Frank’s help at all. As we passed the other ship. the Aida, Frank asked for bananas because our ship was out of them. Unfortunately, so was theirs.

Here are all the pictures from Day 8, a day in Boston, including pictures of us backing out in the river between 2 ships.

Boston, MA – The Dog Tag Memorial

“One if by land; Two if by sea”

Famous words from the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. The lanterns were placed atop the Old North Church.

Today, in the gardens of the Old North Church which is still an active church, there is an eerie memorial of dog tags to the soldiers who have lost their lives in America’s never ending quest for freedom in the Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The dog tags are unmarked but each represents as of this writing, the 5710 men and women who have lost their lives for the cause of freedom. These freedoms which America holds so dear began on this very site on April 18, 1775.

The sound the dog tags make when the wind whips through them is a solemn and chilling reminder that freedom is not free. May God bless the families of these brave men and women. May we be always grateful for their supreme sacrifice.

For a full panoramic view of the memorial, click here.

Boston, MA – The Freedom Trail (Historical)

 

Boston Commons

The starting point of the Freedom Trail, Boston Common is the oldest park in the country. The park is almost 50 acres in size.

Today, Boston Common is the anchor for the Emerald Necklace, a system of connected parks that winds through many of Boston's neighborhoods.

The "Common" has been used for many different purposes throughout its long history. Until 1830, cattle grazed the Common, and until 1817, public hangings took place here. British troops camped on Boston Common prior to the Revolution and left from here to face colonial resistance at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775.

King’s Chapel and Burying Grounds

King's Chapel, designed by Peter Harrison, was constructed on land taken from the burying ground. To insure the presence of the Church of England in America, King James II ordered an Anglican parish to be built in Boston. Since none of the colonists were interested in selling suitable land for the Church, the King ordered Governor Andros to seize a corner of the burying ground for the Church of England.

King's Chapel Burying Ground is the oldest burying place in Boston proper. The burying ground is the final resting place for many colonists, including John Winthrop, the Colony's 12 term governor; Hezekiah Usher, the colony's first printer; Mary Chilton, the first woman to step off the Mayflower.

Faneuil Hall

Faneuil Hall has served as a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. Funding was provided by a wealthy merchant, Peter Faneuil, for the construction and local artisan to create the grasshopper weather vane that still perches on the building's cupola. Inspirational speeches by Samuel Adams and other patriots were given at Faneuil Hall. These oratories became the footstool for America's desire to obtain independence from the British.

Faneuil Hall was expanded in 1806 by Charles Bulfinch. When Boston became a city the use of Faneuil Hall as a government meeting place came to an end, but it was still regularly used. Today, the first floor is still used as a lively marketplace and the second floor is a meeting hall where many Boston City debates are held. The fourth floor is maintained by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.

Paul Revere House

Built around 1680, this house is the oldest building in downtown Boston. It served as the home of silversmith Paul Revere and his family from 1770 to 1800. Paul Revere is famous for his "midnight ride" to Lexington, Massachusetts informing Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them.

In the 19th century, hundreds of Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants to the North End lived in the Paul Revere House and in the 20th century, the house was restored and converted to a museum. The site is owned and operated by The Paul Revere Memorial Association.

 

Old North Church

Known as "Christ Church in the City of Boston", this Episcopal church was built in 1723 and is Boston's oldest Church building.

On the steeple of this church, Robert Newman signaled with lanterns the approach of the British regulars; "One if by land, and two, if by sea".

The steeple is 191 feet tall, making it the tallest steeple in Boston. The bells within the steeple were the first bells ever brought to America. Paul Revere was one of the neighborhood bell ringers. The interior high box pews and brass chandeliers, as well as the Church's first clock are all original.

For more information about the Freedom Trail in Boston click here: The Freedom Trail Foundation

Boston, MA – The $2 Bus Driver

One of the drawbacks of cruising is the high prices of the excursion trip offered by Cruise Line. It certainly is easier to take one booking through them but you can do very well if you make some of your own arrangements. One case in point was our “excursion” to the Boston Commons. The ship was offering a shuttle bus to the Commons from the pier at $16 a person round trip. However, 2 blocks from the pier is the Boston MTA which takes you to downtown Boston (and I guess just about anywhere in Boston) for we think is $4 round trip. And as it turns out, you can get it even cheaper. More on that later.

So, the six of us leave the ship and head the 2 blocks towards the MTA stop. This line to the pier is relatively new and they use buses but at some point they go underground and ride in tunnels only accessed by the same buses with no other traffic.

Initially, we had no idea how much the fare was or whether we needed “exact change”.  So, when the bus stopped, we asked about the fare. The MTA Bus Driver, fresh from her breakfast of nasty pills, said “Two Dollars!”

I asked nicely, “Is it exact change?”

She replied, “Two Dollars!”

Thinking that maybe she would be more comfortable with the soothing voice of a woman, Sue asked, “Exact Change?”

She replied, “Two Dollars!”

A third time she was asked about exact change but now she was growing increasingly hostile. “TWO DOLLARS!!”, she sneered.

The MTA Bus Driver had lost what little cool she had and took a different tactic, “I’m late, either get on or wait for the next bus!”

We got on. Amazingly, I put 2 fives and 2 ones in the slot for the fare. Unbelievable. Who could have guessed? The fare was two dollars. Luckily, I had exact change.

 

When we finally reached Park Street which is our exit for the Boston Common, we bought a return ticket and as it turns out it was only $10.20 for 6 rides. This time we were helped by an MTA employee who was very nice. I guess we can conclude that half the MTA workers are nice. I think.