United Kingdom, Norway, and Spain I. July 29 - August 14, 2026.

I.  July 29 - August 5, 2026.

II.  August 6 - August 14, 2026.

If there is an anchor for this trip, it was Joe P that persuaded both Ellie and we to get on this Disney Cruise from Southampton to Norway where we will visit some of the towns and sights (mostly towns, fjords, and hiking trails) in Southwest Norway.  For Anne and me, we decided to fly over to London a few days earlier to catch a few BBC PROMS 2026 concerts (we ended up going to three).  Ellie had a conference in Madeira, so she left in early July, her family joined her in the UK in mid-July.  Anne and I met up with them for a day in Bath.  Joe P and family went on a National Geographic cruise in early July, then flew to NJ to spend a few days with us, and we (7 of us) flew to London on the same flight.  They would stay at a different London hotel, but we met up on a few occasions.  Ellie had planned to spend a few days at the Marriott Vacation Club in Mallorca.  Since August 12 was going to be total solar eclipse visible in Mallorca, we all decided to visit as well.  Joe P and I for three nights, Ellie will stay a few more days, then stop over in Lisbon for a few more days before returning to NJ around August 20.  Her plans are subject to change as I finish this blog entry.

7/29/2026 Wednesday.  Between Joe P and we there were 7 of us, so we took two ride-share cars into Newark (an Uber and a Lyft).  We checked in one piece of luggage so CC didn’t have to haul it all over the airport; turns out she did quite a bit of it anyway.

Just as we went through security and settled at the United Club, we got a message from United that UA904 would now leave at 11 pm due to mechanical issues (scheduled departure 7:50 pm).  We were glad that we all could get into the United lounge: Anne, Joe P and I each could bring in a guest, and Jess was traveling in business class.  Soon after the departure time got moved up to 8:30 pm as they substituted a different plane, then to 9 pm, then 9:15 pm (why bother?), and finally to 9:35 pm when we boarded.  The pilot then explained a couple of times that paperwork for the maintenance needed to be signed at a “higher level”.  When the plane was ready to leave, the pilot told us there were 40 planes ahead of us.  All said and done take off was at 10:53 pm.  Meanwhile the tail numbers changed from N668UA to 653 to 657 to 672 and finally 671, all 767-300ERs.

One of the many messages from United on UA941 delays.

A reasonable decent dinner served in Polaris.  On the other hand, it used to be much better meal service.

Joe’s flight from Boston earlier in the week (he hopped back for a day) was also delayed by several hours.  Not the best way to run an airline, or an airport.

Accommodation.  Overnight UA904.

7/30/2026 Thursday.  Both Anne and I managed some sleep (we flew Business also).  The clinking of silverware woke me up in time for breakfast, Anne slept through it.

The plane approached the airport from the East, so we overflew the city of London and I could see many of the landmarks: the Thames (including some rowing shells), Millenium Dome, London Eye, Hyde Park, and Royal Albert Hall.  Touchdown was at 10:21 am.

LHR, Terminal 2 in this case, is a sprawling behemoth.  The walk from the Gate to exiting the terminal was about 0.8 miles.  Joe P and family took a train (Elizabeth) to their hotel (Hyatt Regency Churchill).  Anne and I “discovered” this Arrivals Lounge and decided to stop by to get something to eat.  (A benefit of flying business on United.)  We took an Uber to the hotel.  The roads were not as congested as I remembered them.

When we got to the hotel at around 1 pm, the receptionist told us our room was ready (good news).  However, the bad news was that the AC was down, and probably wouldn’t be fixed today.  Little did I know (or anticipate) that the AC in the room would be out for our entire stay.  They did send up a fan which helped a bit.  The room was still too warm in the afternoon.

The Executive Lounge had functioning AC, we had snacks there and then went to Royal Albert Hall for our first PROMS concert, titled “Korngold’s Violin Concerto.”

Our plane approached the airport from the East, so we got to see many familiar sights from the air.  London Eye.

"Gherkin," the egg-shaped building designed by Norman Foster, still stands out, not necessarily in a good way.

Hyde Park, with Royal Albert Hall just south of it ("beneath" in this photo).

BBC PROMS 2026.  Alena Baeva performed the Korngold Violin Concerto, Delyana Lazarova conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony.

We did share an instant noodles after we returned to the hotel.

Accommodation.  Marriott London Kensington (4 nights).

7/31/2026 Friday.  We met up with Joe P’s family for a visit to the British Museum.  Because of difficulties walking long distances, I spent most of the time sitting at the café in the atrium.  I revisited the Assyrian exhibit.  Many sections were closed, and the ones that remained open were again disappointing.  (Perhaps I was expecting too much; but it was my visit to the British Museum several years ago that raised my expectations.) 

We then took the bus down to the Trafalgar Square area to visit the National Gallery.  The main “attraction” was afternoon tea at the Ochre Café.  For 35 GBP per person it was reasonable, and they served up a lot of food.  Quality, however, was only adequate. 

Our evening concert at Royal Albert Hall was “Bruch’s Violin Concerto” performed by the young violinist Daniel Lozakovich.  We left right after the concert and managed to grab an Uber to return to the hotel.

Paintings done by Renoir and Monet of the same scene.  Which is whose?

Well, Anne has reproduced a copy of this Van Gogh "Wheat Field with Cypresses."

I only learned about Judith and Holofernes recently.  Or is this Salome and the head of John the Baptist?  Macabre in either case.

Afternoon tea at Ochre in the National Gallery.  Certainly a lot of food.

This from the Marriott Executive Lounge passed for dinner.

Conclusion of BBC PROMS 2026 7/30 concert.

8/1/2026 Saturday.  Ellie and family are spending a couple of days in Bath, so we decided to go visit them.  It costs about 75 GBP for a roundtrip ticket to Bath from Paddington, but one can buy a two person rail pass for 35 GBP (good for a year) and the ticket price would drop to about 50 GBP per person; we were ahead a little by going that route.  (Ellie bought a family pass and paid less for five people; go figure.) 

After stopping by Ellie’s hotel (Abbey, a Marriott brand) we started out for lunch, a short walk away.  My legs began to feel wobbly when I was close to the restaurant (Robun) and I tripped, scraping my left elbow and bruising my left arm and hip (those became apparent a couple of days later).  Things could have been worse (a broken bone, for instance), but the scrapes were something I had to contend with for a while.  There were also damages to my iPhone as it slipped out of my hand; hopefully the screen protector did its job. 

Last time we went to Bath we decided to skip the Abbey.  It was first used as a monastery in 675 AD, and the current building was completed in 1611.  Seating capacity is 1200, with an interesting interior design of “fans” supporting the roof.  There is a museum that details the history of the place (I didn’t visit). 

We spent sometime at the Abbey Hotel for coffee (kids could grab free drinks from hotel refrigerator as Elite members).  Ellie insisted on buying me a walking stick. 

Our return to London was booked for the 6:44 pm train, but grabbed an earlier train (that evidently is allowed).  That would also explain why so many “reserved” seats were vacant as we also had seats reserved for the 6:44 pm one which we wouldn’t be using.  And as far as I can tell, the system didn't know as our tickets were never scanned.

We could still grab snacks at the hotel after we got back to London.

Bath Abbey.

Notice the fan-shaped supports of the roof.

8/2/2026 Sunday.  The Anglican Church Holy Trinity Brompton is the “birthplace” of the popular course “Alpha.”  We heard its retired vicar Gumbel preach at St. Paul’s Bloor Street in Toronto last year.  Nicky and Pippa Gumbel now look after a “Bible in a Year” program.  HTB is about a mile away, so we decided to join their 11:30 am service this morning.  The place is not that big (they now have several locations), and was full by the time service started.  Most of their services are labeled “informal,” I would call them contemporary.  It was quite a show (perhaps too much) with strobe lights on stage.  The sermon “Come unto me” was given by the warden who jokes about holding the keys to the church (he literally does). 

Anne had dropped off our laundry earlier in the day, so after church service we took the bus to Earl’s Court Station which is close by.  Joe P and family came to our hotel; they and Anne went off to lunch at Nando’s (there were quite a few to pick from).  I felt too tired and stayed behind – and managed to sleep for an hour.  We told them about the huge Natural Science Museum on our way to HTB.  They decided to visit. 

Joe P also got tickets to tonight’s PROMS concert, headlined as “Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky.”  They left after intermission as they needed time to pack.  For them it was an exhausting day.  At the end of the concert, I felt good enough to walk the one mile or so back to the hotel.

Holy Trinity Brompton is where the Alpha course originated.

Complete with strobe lights.

The BBC PROMS concert was "Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky."

Joe P and Emmie also went to this concert.

8/3/2026 Monday.  Today is the start of the 7-night cruise to Norway from Southampton.  Disney has arranged buses from several hotels in London, and one of the pickup points is our hotel, which makes the logistics easier. 

When I checked out, I talked to the front desk supervisor that our stay was a disappointment.  Lack of AC was the most critical to our comfort in the hotel; the afternoon heat made it impossible to stay in the room.  Then for most of the time we had to wait very long for an elevator as the other one was not working.  During breakfast food often ran out, or ran low, a problem if one is in a hurry.  Finally – and to me the most inexcusable – is that the soda machine in the Executive Lounge didn’t work most of the time; that was readily solvable by putting some soft drinks in the many refrigerators in the lounge.  She said she will reflect this to her management, and also offered me a choice of 20% off the bill or 50,000 points without prompting on my part; I opted for the latter. 

Joe P took a taxi from where he was staying to come to Marriott.  The last bus was to leave at 10 am, but 17 stragglers delayed the departure until around 10:45 am for the 2 hour ride to the cruise port.  (I suspect not all 17 showed up.)  Traffic in London and surrounding areas was surprisingly good (in general true for most of our stay), and the bus was comfortable. 

Check-in at the terminal was quite slow, which was a surprise given how efficient Royal Caribbean was, and Disney is supposed to be a “better” cruise line.  With pain in my legs while I stood, I had to find a place to sit while Anne stood in line.  It was about 1:30 pm that we got into our room.  Ellie got in about an hour earlier from Salisbury.  We (all twelve of us) went to have lunch. 

There wasn’t much to do until the boat docks Wednesday morning; which suited me as I felt quite tired.  With grandchildren around, Anne found a lot of energy. 

Since I seem to have balance problems after walking a mile or so, I decided to cancel those shore activities that may be strenuous by that measure. 

Our dinner time was 8:30 pm, so it’s after 10 pm that we finished.  The steak I had was of higher quality than Royal Caribbean, I must say.  So far the desserts haven’t measured up yet. 

First sighting of the Disney Dream.

Taken before lunch at one of the three restaurants on the ship.

Photo taken at 5:12 pm.  Anne and I visited this port in 2022.

We ate quite a few meals at the Cabanas restaurant.  Unlike many other cruise ships, it isn't open for dinner.  (Making the sit-down restaurants the only practical choices if one wants to do better than hot dogs, burgers, and pizza slices.)

Accommodation.  Disney Dream (7 nights).

8/4/2026 Tuesday.  Today was an at-sea day.  While there were many activities scheduled throughout the day, I was a bit “beaten” to participate in any.  Anne did go to a couple and thought the quality of the programs was quite high. 

There was some excitement as a helicopter (mostly likely from the Netherlands) had to land on the ship to take care of a patient.  We did see the helicopter, but other than advised not to go near the landing site, nor point cell phones at the helicopter (reflections may distract the pilot), we were not told much of what transpired and what the final resolution was.  Piecing together bits of information and conjecture, the aircraft first dropped off a few personnel to tend to the sick person, and it circled the ship several times before landing again to pick up the patient.  From the track of the ship, it turned south towards Amsterdam and afterwards returned to its northerly course.  The ship had been cruising at around 20 knots, and after the incident it went faster at 22 knots; as a result, there is more rocking, or perhaps the North Sea is rougher than the English Channel. 

We did see other marine traffic, including a large container ship (Maersk Milan).  There were a few sightings of oil rigs, the ones we saw didn’t look particularly active.  The oil production in the area is in decline, with many oil rigs being decommissioned. 

Before dinner all 12 of us went to the atrium to have some family photos taken. 

More bruises showed up on my left arm and my left hip as a result of a fall while we were visiting Bath.

A medivac to evacuate a passenger from the ship.

The little "blip" is the ship altering its path for the operation.

A decommissioned oil rig?

The ship offers princess makeovers for kids at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

8/5/2026 Wednesday.  The ship docked at Haugesund at around 9:30 am, after a journey of about 40 hours (left Monday at around 5 pm).  Given how rugged this part of the country looks like, the town, with a population of about 45,000, is surprisingly large. 

Kuau and Ellie took the four older kids on a hike.  Joe P & Jess took the youngest two to go into town to stroll around, and to buy some yarn.  Anne and I took it easy, so we did the short walk to the Viking Adventures area for an electric boat ride in the harbor (booked through GetYourGuide). For today the boat had about 15 passengers, one group in English, and the other one in German.  From what I remember of what the guide said, this used to be a herring town, and during herring season one could walk across the boats from one island to another.  For some unknown reason the herring population collapsed (he thinks the fish went somewhere else), and now there is only one herring processing plant.  He also mentioned the Disney Dream visits once a year, and last year skipped because of weather.  Waterside apartments are expensive at 6 to 9 million krone (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 

We were offered town side dropoff, and we took the short walk from the pier the “the big orange church” to pick up the shuttle bus to get back to the ship. 

It rained today, at times moderately heavy.  The ship provided ponchos, so we managed to keep dry.

View of Haugesund from the ship.  The "Big Orange Church" is readily seen.

Waterfront apartment complexes.

Siblings.  The families have five adjoining rooms on the ship, and the balcony barriers between the rooms were removed.

Kuau and Ellie took these on a hike.

An all-electric boat to tour the harbor.

Inside.  There were about 15 tourists and two guides (English and German).

The guide described this as a power module being fitted out in Haugesund.  It started its journey in Thailand (both Anne and I heard that, we thought it could be Ireland) and will be transported to its final destination in Scotland.  Google Lens, however, identifies the H-542 as a Chinese-made cargo pontoon.  It's load is a massive 10,030-metric-ton high voltage direct current module that will be part of a windfarm.

Even though Norway still produces about 2 million barrels of oil a day, most of its consumed electricity comes from hydro- and wind-power.  Fossil fuels contribute 1-2%.

... CONTINUED ...

Upstate New York. July 19 - 20, 2026.

This was just a short trip to Glimmerglass Festival for two operas: Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.  Both started at 1 pm, so we decided to drive up from NJ Sunday morning to the first performance, stay in a local hotel, and return to NJ after the second performance.'

I didn't expect much traffic going up given it was a Sunday morning.  Indeed we made it to the location in good time.  Monday afternoon traffic can be tricky, but we encountered only minor slow downs, and got back home at 9 pm.

The week before NJ was suffering from this "Canadian fog" from the wildfires in Ontario.  It was so bad at Glimmerglass that they had to move the performance (the night before) to an air-conditioned high school auditorium (some high school, some logistics).  For the two days we were there, the weather was gorgeous, and it was quite cool also, which made for a pleasant concert experience.

For the afternoon/evening of July 19 we didn't do too much - just visited Lock No. 21 and walked around Mohawk River right by the hotel.  Utica has declined considerably over the last decades, the area the hotel is at is part of the city's revival attempt.  Things look reasonably new, and there are multiple eateries in the area (we are talking Denny's).

Accommodation.  Fairfield Inn, Utica, New York (1 night).

Cruise to Halifax, Canada. June 23 - 27, 2026.

Background

Anne and I were part of the Cornell Chinese Bible Study Group (CBSG) during our years in Ithaca, NY in the 1970s.  Over the nine years of my being at Cornell (8 for Anne) we had come to know many other Chinese Americans; some are older than us, some are younger.  For this cruise the oldest got his/her first degree around 1970, and the youngest around 1979.

Over the years we have kept in touch.  There is a Northeast contingent that meets regularly (well, a couple of times a year), and a West coast contingent as well.  We had two prior reunions, one in 2007 - a cruise from LA area to Mexico, one in 2009 from NYC to St. John, New Brunswick.  It took 17 years for this third one to be organized.

Cruise Specifics

For this 2026 cruise, five couples flew in from the West coast, one couple form Toronto, and one individual from Hong Kong.  Altogether 36 people attended.  (I may be miscounting here and there.)

The cruise ship itinerary was simple: start Tuesday night, arrive Halifax Thursday morning, spend the day in Halifax, and return that evening to arrive at Bayonne Saturday morning.  Two full at-sea days.

We only had a few scheduled activities, Bible studies lead by two of the cruisers, and one session on health.  However, between reminiscing over old photos and general catching up we had little "free time."

To get to and from the Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal, we enlisted a couple of private cars.

While we were on a large passenger ship, that we had calm sailing was not a given.  Weather was great throughout the trip, except for some light rain during our first full day at sea.

Ship Review

Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas was built in 2008, and refurbished in 2018.  If refurbishment is on a ten-year cycle, that would mean we are a couple of years from the next one.  While the ship shows her age, she remains highly functional, and was in great condition.

Our stateroom on the 9th deck has a balcony, and is quite roomy compared to some other cruise ships we were on recently (Disney Alaska Cruise and a couple of European River Cruises come to mind).  Considering how little time we spent in the room, even less on the balcony, I wonder if an inside stateroom, or one with portholes, wouldn't be sufficient.

A few words on the cruise ship experience.  Staff on cruise ships are always friendly, and generally know what they are doing (getting food orders correct, and the staterooms clean are prime examples), so there are no issues there.

The ship gave us a conference room that we could use for most of the cruise, which was much appreciated.  Only drawback was no food and drink were allowed.  (I suppose we could always order coffee and snack service from them.)  One result is we spent a lot of time at the Windjammers Restaurant.  It closed at 9 pm, so we had to break up by then (the last night was an exception, we were there until around 10 pm).  While there was no more food offering, we could still get coffee and tea.

Food quality on cruise ships seems to have declined considerably over the last few decades, even though as I get older I am less picky about food.  From the first evening meal on, "Sizzler" kept coming to mind.  Indeed Sizzler steaks are generally thicker than what the cruise ship offered; so "medium rare" is a concept that was seldom achieved.  Menu selections at the dining room were also limited.  I found that surprising as I thought a ship with 4,000 passengers would be able to offer more variety.  In that regard Windjammer offered a much broader variety, but that meant looking for a table during rush hour.

Some sort of entertainment is offered every evening.  We went only for a playing card show.  It was pretty impressive; the pace could be a bit faster, though.

Halifax, NS.  Anne and I drove from NJ to Nova Scotia back in 1980, when she was pregnant with our first child.  We stopped by several cities in the province, including Halifax.  What is more memorable was Peggy's Cove, and the lighthouse.  Today's Peggy's Cove is very touristy, with several shops and eateries.  The walk to the lighthouse looked treacherous enough that I decided not to walk there; instead we went to the actual Cove for which the town is named.  Our tour guide told us that the population in the winter is 29.

Given the population of Canada (about 40 million) and Nova Scotia (about 1 million), I was surprised that Halifax has over 500,000 residents.  Today was a nice day, and the drive through town was very pleasant.  Given its location next to the ocean, and the gulf stream, the weather generally isn't as harsh as one would expect.  We decided not to explore the city further, again in large part due to my back problems.

Overall.  The friendship and camaraderie fostered by the group in the 1970s remain as strong as ever.  Even though some had not seen each other for 17 (or more) years, we talked with each other without skipping a beat.  We lost a few from the 2009/2007 cruises, which makes the reunion even more precious.  There is talk we will do it again in a couple of years.  It would be nice if we could pull it off.

Below I post some of the photos taken during the trip (some are taken from the shared drive set up for photo uploads).

After (formal) dinner on June 24.

The group spent a lot of time hanging out in the Windjammer Restaurant.

The "older" group.  (Well, the younger group is approaching 70.)

The actual Peggy's Cove.

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse.

If one looks closely, on Anne's right is a puffin with spinning wings.

St. John's Anglican Church in Peggy's Cove.

More time spent in the Windjammer.  This was the last evening.

George came by to pick up Ka Shi for a tour of the Princeton area.

We met up at PF Chang in Princeton for dinner.  Ka Shi stayed at our house until 10 pm, to be picked up to go to JFK for her flight back to Hong Kong.

New England. June 15-20, 2026.

A non-profit we have been supporting for many years is hosting a lunch in Boston, so we take that as an excuse to spend a few days in the area (we have been doing that in the early summer on-and-off for many years).  We can also attend the Sunday service at the Quincy church before we return to NJ.

Car rentals were very expensive (over $1000 for a week) when I first looked.  Eventually the price dropped to about $700, by that time the plane ticket prices have gone up considerably.  So we decided to save money by driving; we have only done this once or twice since COVID.  This price surge and volatility are probably due to the World Cup.  A few matches will take place in Foxborough, everything associated with these events are expensive.

Monday 6/15/2026.  As with the last time we drove to the area we broke up the drive by stopping in the Hartford area.  This time we decided it would be Providence, Rhode Island.

We didn't leave until around 11 am, so by the time we got to the New Haven area we were ready to stop at Pepe's for pizza.  A small (12") Calabrese Pizza costs $18.25.  The ingredient list is long: tomatoes, sausage, pepperoni, chilies, and pecorino romano cheese.  In reality it was like sausage pepperoni with chilies and tomatoes.  Still quite good though.  We took the pizza to Long Wharf Drive, by the Amistad memorial, and ate there.  Meanwhile, a few ospreys were hovering over the water to try to catch dinner.

Both Sally's and Pepe's were busy at around 4:30 pm in the afternoon.

After checking into the hotel, we went to a random place along the Providence River.  It was the Salter Grove Memorial Park.  What was interesting was one could walk from the shore to a small island at low tide, but would have to wade (perhaps 2' deep) when the tide is high.  People were doing that.  We were there at around 7:45 pm, high tide for the day was around 9 pm, so still a bit to go.  Indeed the path we took was beginning to flood we we started back to the car.

View from Long Wharf Park, where we ate the pizza.

Accommodation.  Courtyard Providence Warwick, RI (1 night).

Tuesday 6/16/2026.  Newport is about 45 minutes away.  We drove there and walked around town.  This is early in the summer season, but things are starting to get busy.

Smuggler's Waterfront Bar, however, was very quiet.  We ordered fish & chips and fried shrimp for lunch while we debated if we wanted to get on the "hop on/off" boat.  It takes longer than an hour to complete the loop, so we decided against it.

Many many years ago our nephew Larry studied at St. George's School.  We attended his graduation.  We drove by this time (located on Purgatory Drive).  It has a huge campus.

We will be staying in Portsmouth for 2 nights.  For this trip we won't be venturing beyond South Maine, so Portsmouth seems a reasonable place to stay.  Also, Visa Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a rebate for 2 night stays at Holiday Inn (and other IHG properties), so I wanted to take advantage of that.

The Jamestown Verrazano Bridge crosses the Narraganset Bay.

Newport Harbor is a large harbor.

Fried shrimp and Fish & Chips at Smuggler's Waterfront Bar.

Our nephew graduated from St. George's.  We attended his graduation.

Accommodations.  Holiday Inn Portsmouth, NH (2 nights).

Wednesday 6/17/2026.  Sunapee Lake or Sunapee Harbor gets mentioned a lot in the travel brochures given out at Welcome Centers along the highways.  Our guess is it is akin to Winnipesaukee, and one would be right; other than Sunapee is much smaller than Winnipesaukee, and much quieter.  As far as I know, there are no large towns that line the lake, although we saw only a small part of it from our short visit to Sunapee Harbor.  (And I later found out Lake W is actually closer.)

It took about 90 minutes to drive to Sunapee, and we basically sat at the harbor enjoying then nice cool day, and admire at how people launch and retrieve their boats.  There was an inspector who checked boats going in and out of the water to make sure they didn't end up harboring foreign invasive plants and animals.  He also pointed out to a nearby building where the LSPA (Lake Sunapee Protective Association) offices are, and suggested that we take a lot at the displays.  The building looks quite impressive, although I must say I didn't learn a lot about the science and ecology of what they are dealing with.  They do have brochures talking about how to maintain septic tanks properly to protect the water supply.  I thought better of asking if that is indeed a problem.

Many years/decades ago, I read quite often from financial planning magazines that Portsmouth NH was one of the best towns to live in America.  That level of praise seems to have fallen off.  Enquiries to AI still affirm that is the case.  There is ample reason to agree with that sentiment, if our stroll this afternoon in town was any indication.  Of course today was sunny and pleasant, winters here must have a fair share of brutal weather.  Reasonable looking condos sell around $1.5M, per Zillow.

We visited the waterfront with a beautifully maintained garden, and walked around downtown a bit on our way to have dinner at Thai Bistro 5.

Sunapee Harbor.  There were a few boats being launched and retrieved at the boat ramp (left of photo).

It was a pleasant day.

One of the boats that can take guests for a ride on the lake.

People in this area take their water quality very seriously.

A well-maintained garden in Prescott Park along the Portsmouth waterfront.

Thursday 6/18/2026.  It's a 2-hour drive from Portsmouth NH to Boothbay Harbor, and that's what we did today.  Boothbay Lobster Wharf was quiet today because of rain.  We ordered the 3-soft shell-lobster package (about $40).  Anne wanted to go back to Bakers Way to buy some pastries - and to chat with the Vietnamese folks who work there.  We then drove to Damariscotta to take in the view of the harbor.  We saw an osprey and bald eagle fighting (probably over food, and interestingly a few smaller birds were in the mix).

Larry the Lobster claims to be the world's largest inflatable lobster.  It's 12' high and weighs over 700 pounds.

The ones we ate were considerably smaller.  At Boothbay Lobster Wharf.

On the way to and from Boothbay Harbor we passed by Red's Eats.  The lines were long.

We had dinner at an Asian Restaurant in Yarmouth after we checked into the hotel.

Accommodation.  Springhill Suites Freeport Brunswick.  (1 night)

Friday 6/19/2026.  We have visited Fort Williams Park and (the much better known) Portland Head Lighthouse on several occasions.  Since Portland is on the way back to Boston, we decided to give it another go.  It was a nice day, in fact the strong breeze made it a bit cool.  We got there at around 12:15 pm, things were still  quiet.  Bite of Maine, a lobster roll truck, has been a fixture at the park since our first visit (perhaps 15 years ago?).  I forget how much a lobster roll cost then, but today a 6" one set us back $41.  So we balanced the purchase with a grilled cheese sandwich that was $5.  Still made for a nice lunch.

We shared a 6" lobster roll and a grilled cheese sandwich at Bite into Maine.

We decided to walk around the lighthouse.

The Ram Island Ledge Light Station.  I don't recall noticing it before.  (In checking over the blog, there is another Ram Island Light further up the coast, just outside of Boothbay Harbor.)

These are most likely eider ducks.  Quite a few ducklings around the area today.

Google Maps told me it would take a bit over 3 hours to get to Somerville.  I had thought the trip should be shorter than that, but didn't think about it.  Along the way Anne looked at her phone, it showed the same routing as mine, but also had an alternate route that would take an hour less.  No idea why Google did that, and we couldn't get it to recommend such an asinine route again.  Rather than taking I95 all the way to where it connects with I93, Google did suggest we take Route 1 instead; that was a good suggestion.

 

We got to Putnam at around 4:45 pm, no one was home.  We did a load of laundry, and ordered some Ramen from Assembly Square for the two of us and Emmie when she returned from her soccer match.  I left Putnam at around 6:45 pm to go to Ember, and Anne stayed behind to wait for Emmie (that was the plan).

We met up at the hotel at around 9:30 pm for check in.  (Joe P drove Anne to the hotel.)

Accommodations: Marriott Quincy.  (2 nights)

Saturday 6/20/2026.  We had a bit of time before the celebratory lunch for ACCESS friends and supporters, so we drove to Granite Links to take in the view.  This golf club in Quincy has a great view of the Boston skyline.  It was very busy on a pleasant Saturday.

About 40 or so people were at the ACCESS lunch.  Some have been faithful supporters since the early days of the organization over 30 years ago.

Dinner was at Outback.

Granite Links provides a great view of the Boston skyline (not very visible in this photo).

Lunch with ACCESS friends and supporters at Joyful Garden.

On our way to Outback at Assembly Square.

Sunday 6/21/2026.  We attended the Sunday Service at Ember Community Church.  As the pastor was getting ready to preach, some lady had a fainting episode.  She was attended to immediately as there are a couple of nurses in the congregation.  She was still (mostly) unconscious when the ambulance drove her away.  She eventually made a full recovery, and was discharged the next day.  I was quite impressed with how everyone remained calm, and people handled the incidence as well as could be expected.  One of the nurses accompanied her to the hospital, stayed with her until the family showed up.

That meant we had a short service.

Today was Fathers' Day, and the church prepared lunch to mark the event.

We started our drive back to NJ around 4 pm.  Traffic was unexpectedly light, and we got home before it got completely dark (at 9:18 pm, per Google Timeline).