I took the American Cruise Line trip September 22-30, 2017 billed as “New England Fall Foliage.” There had not been any cold weather so there was no fall color, but it was a beautiful trip anyhow. We had beautiful weather most of the time, though pretty hot.

I flew to Boston Friday September 22. I tried to walk around the city a little but the wind was very strong, it was very cloudy, chilly, and rained lightly off and on so I didn’t do much walking. Hurricane Jose was affecting the weather. I explored the hotel. The Omni Parker House was built in 1855. It’s a beautiful old building with high ceilings, chandeliers, and lots of photos of famous people who worked or visited there. My nephew, Gary, and his family were able to come for dinner in the Parker House dining room (home of Parker House rolls and Boston Cream Pie). We had a lovely dinner. Gary was also in Boston to participate in Hacking the Machine Boston.

The Parker House Restaurant

The Parker House was a pre-cruise hotel choice so there were lots of other people there taking the trip. We gathered Saturday morning and were bused to New Bedford. Our ship, the American Constellation, was supposed to go to Boston but the stormy weather caused them to take shelter inland. We boarded the ship with beautiful weather and had lunch onboard as we got underway.

My room on the American Constellation

Sunday we were docked in Vineyard Haven. We boarded an old school bus for a narrated tour of Martha’s Vineyard. I spent most of the afternoon trying to get info on the Panthers/Saints game. I could get a play-by-play description with score for a few minutes and then would lose the Internet connection. I did the same thing Saturday with the UNC/Duke game. Both were good games for me to miss. Panthers played poorly; UNC did better but still lost.

I spent some time exploring the ship. The American Constellation is new, max of 175 passengers, 6th deck has a few chairs and putting green. There was kite flying going on up there while I was there, 5th deck has very nice outdoor seating, 4rd deck has snack and drink area with indoor seating, 3nd deck has lounge that is used for presentations, entertainment, and cocktail hour, and the main desk has the dining room. Meals are at a set time. I’d wait until most people were settled in at a table, then pick one and join the group. The people were very friendly and I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable traveling by myself.

Monday we were docked in Newport and had a bus tour of the mansions. We got off the bus to tour Rosecliff Mansion. In the afternoon, I did the guided tour of Fort Adams with a park ranger. The fort is very large and impressive.

Back of Rosecliff Mansion

Rosecliff backyard

Fort Adams. We were docked across the parking lot from the fort.

Tuesday we cruised from Newport through Long Island Sound to New York City and up the Hudson to Kingston. It was a particularly beautiful day and I spent the afternoon on the top deck enjoying the scenery. In the morning, a particularly good speaker, Rachel Perkins, talked about the geology of the Hudson River reminding me of things of learned years ago about sandstone, shale, schist, basalt, and the like. Late afternoon our pilot treated us to an up-close view of the Statue of Liberty.

Wednesday in Kingston, I chose the narrated city tour. We stopped at the Old Dutch Church, founded in 1659, and then The Senate House, which was a home built in 1676. In 1777 the home became the first meeting place for the New York State Senate. We also visited a small museum next to the house that contains works of artist John Vanderlyn and some other artists and other historical information. In the afternoon, I did the tour to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College. I would like to have seen more of the campus — it was beautiful. Reminded me of Duke. We docked in Catskill Wednesday night. The entertainment Wednesday evening was particularly good — a woman playing a synthesizer and man on guitar both good singers — lots of good music, with some passengers dancing.

Thursday morning I took the Olana State Historic Site excursion. I loved the Persian style home of Frederick Church and would like to have spent a lot more time there. He is considered one of the most influential Hudson River School painters. His home had lots of his paintings plus works by many other well known artists. He collected beautiful objects and had them everywhere. His estate was a huge 3D canvas for him and he had it landscaped for its beauty. There might have been an art class going on in the yard — there were several artists painting views of the Hudson. We went over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge traveling to the home and back.

Thursday afternoon, while we were cruising again, Rachel Perkins gave a presentation on Benedict Arnold and the war for the Hudson River. During the night, we docked in Yonkers.

Frederick Church home

Dining room

Stairs

An artist’s painting of the view

View of the Hudson from Rip Van Winkle Bridge

Friday morning I took the excursion to Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside. In the afternoon, we had a tour of New York City with a stop at the 9/11 Memorial. The Memorial is beautiful. So much thought and care went into every detail. Very impressive.

Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside

Washington Irving’s view

9/11 Memorial

9/11 Memorial

Survivor Tree

Last night in New York City

This was my third American Cruise Line trip. I like them. Good company, good food, nice areas to see and excursions, ships are relatively small, holding around 150 passengers. I met several people who’ve had more than one trip with American Cruise Lines.