New England - Day 7

Some of us got an early start to our day by watching the sunrise at 6:39 over the Atlantic Ocean. The sky was clear, and with the waves rolling in, we experienced a thrilling sight. Some went on to walk the beach and collect shells. Our first group stop was at Cape Neddick Lighthouse, the most photographed lighthouse in Maine and possibly all of New England. At Old York, we walked through a cemetery with graves dating back to the 1700's and past homes built in those same years. We also loved the church steeple with the rooster weather vane. At our rest break, we all got a taste of natural Vitamin C from rose hips picked along the beach. Leaving Maine, we drove through New Hampshire's coastline and into Massachusetts. The road to Gloucester wound back and forth through small towns settled in the 1600s. Gloucester has sent fishermen out since the 1600s, and not all of them have returned. The Fishermen's Memorial and the Fishermen's Wives Memorial are waterfront sculptures dedicated to "those who go down to the sea in ships." The afternoon was spent on a whale watch. Yesterday they had to cancel the cruise because the winds were too strong, but today the weather was very good. We were out 18-19 miles from Gloucester where the whales are feeding during this time of year. We spent quite a bit of time watching a whale named Geometry. A naturalist on board gave a wonderful commentary on humpback whales in general, on Geometry and on the identification and tracking of the whales. We found another unnamed whale who was also feeding and watched him for awhile. There were lots of pictures taken, and it was an exciting experience.-Laurel Johnson, Tour Director