A Day In St John New Brunswick

The first thing the tour guide said was this is a Canadian Loyalist City.  Loyal to the Crown of the England.   It seems after the American Revolutionary War 70,000 Tory Americans came to St. John to remain in the British Empire.  They wanted you to be aware of this fact.

 Geographically the city sits on the Fundy Bay at the mouth of the St John river which flows upstream when the tide rises.  The 28-foot tidal rise is one the largest in the world.

The third stop on our Cruise Adventure is a great experience.  My favorite part of the tour is the downtown City Market built in 1876, oldest city market in North America, with an original ship's hull roof design.   A city is once known for its wooden ship building industry with 42 shipyards which collapsed when ships started to be made out of steal.

St John is also home to the Red Rose Tea and Mouse Head Beer both world Famous.  St John is largely a company town built by the multi-billionaire Irving Family who established the Paper Industry and the Oil Refining Industry in St. John.  2 out of the 3 jobs in this city work for this family.

St John is often called the Canadian Irish City when over 150,000 Irish trying to escape the Potato Famine in England immigrated into the City in the 1830's.  Partridge Island was used as a quarantine station just offshore from Saint John.

Before heading back to we had lunch at Billy's Seafood in the old city market the seafood chowder was outstanding.  Well, it is back to the ship and a day at sea before we arrive in Newfoundland at Halifax.

Portland Maine a Walk Up to a Signal Station

Well we left Boston on Sunday for a 7 day cruise to Maine and Canada.  It is our first cruise so I’m still undecided on how much I like this.  I’m used to making my own decisions when traveling, not being locked into any set schedule. 

So far so good! Our first stop was Portland Maine.  It was neat to wake up the next morning and be in a completely different state and city.  After a good breakfast we headed out to see the city, which was in easy walking distance.

Like most cities the downtown has made a tremendous come back, with plenty of shopping and restaurants in Portland.   We first walk up to the Portland Observatory which is the only free standing naval signal station left in the United States.  It looks like a lighthouse but it is not.  Its mission is to communicate with vessels off shore.  This was the method used before radio communications, with flags and Morris Code.

For lunch it was Lobster Rolls and fresh steamers at a great local hole in the wall called J Oysters.  It is why I wanted to Visit Maine for the great seafood.  So after a bowl of Haddock Chowder we were ready to head to the old port part of the city and then back to the ship.

As the ship pull out of Portland harbor it felt good to have been here.  Well off to Bar Harbor, but first our formal dinner. 

 

Riding Tennessee Counties: A Place Stuck in Time Alternate US 70: Milan to Waverly

This is a collection of roads that I have ridden throughout Tennessee.  Here is a small sample of the best roads between the Mississippi River and Bristol.  These roads are a must to achieve Motorcycle nirvana in Tennessee.

This road takes you to a different time.    Bypassed by the major interstates it seems time has stopped in these towns.  Leaving Milan which is known for its Army Ammunition Plant we turn onto Alternate US Highway 70 we follow a winding road to Huntington Tennessee the County seat of Carol County.  With a population of 3,900 it is your above average Tennessee small town,  We stop for lunch and I ask the waitress, what is Huntingdon famous for?  Her answer was the Mustangs the High School Football team.  A 1A football program that has won a championship or two in the past.   With a standard southern downtown, with a picturesque Courthouse, town square, and standard old time movie theater Huntington is a symbol of the past.

We continue our ride to Camden where we cross the Tennessee River which is flowing into Kentucky Lake.  After crossing to river we arrive in Waverly another small southern Tennessee Town. We then turn north onto Tennessee 13 for the final push home to Clarksville.