Some Liberty

As you might imagine, any state that has "Vacationland" embossed on its license plate probably sees a lot of tourists each year. One new phenomenon in our city that has cropped up over the last fifteen years or so has been the influx of cruise ships docking. I visited the City Portland site 'Cruise Portland' and found out that over 400 cruise ships, of all all shapes and sizes, have made PORTland a 'port of call' since the first of May. Most of the big ships, like the Liberty of the Seas seen here yesterday, make most of their trips in September and through the month of October. They, of course, capitalize on the fall foliage season here in the state and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The Liberty of the Seas is the largest of the ships making port this season. Yesterday, it dropped off many of its 3697 passengers and crew of 1360 to take tours of the city's streets via trolleys, walk the Old Port and visit the many restaurants offering a wide variety of cuisines. Piece of information: we have tastes for many things here other than lobster. The tour buses were lined up too, featuring destinations like LL Bean, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and, of course, many areas where their cameras could record the splashes of color that the state is known for in October. Standing here at Bug Light, I could hear the many announcements coming across the ship's PA system. I was that close. I know them well. Having sailed many a time on Royal Caribbean ships, this early morning viewing was special.
Was I envious?
You betcha!
Gangway!

*After all, I had to post a ship on Columbus Day.