#19 Cruising Down the Canal - Amsterdam

 We walked for hours seeing the city but could cover relatively few square blocks. The best way to see more was to take a ride on a canal boat. We managed to score an outside seat which meant lots of sunshine, plus we couldn't hear the guide over the loudspeaker. If we're honest, there are times when we just want to take in the beautiful view.






We were smitten with the boathouses along the canal and wondered what it would be like to live in one. Flowers are abundant in Amsterdam and this is true on the boathouses. A few even had "patios" with lots of plants, chairs and a view of us as we rode by.

We boarded a boat across from Central Station, which took us on the Singel Canal, the innermost  canal of Amsterdam's circle of canals. This is one of 1500 bridges in the city.





  
Most of the buildings in Amsterdam were built in the 17th and 18th century. This house with red shutters was one of my favorites.

In a busy, densely populated city like Amsterdam, many ride bicycles. We observed everyone skillfully moving with vehicular--ladies in skirts, young people and the older generation. Many residents of Amsterdam own 2 or 3 bicycles, including a weekday bicycle and a Sunday one. The owners park them around the city to serve their particular purpose.

We were surprised, though pleasantly, to see modern buildings such as this one. People of legend who have held back the North Sea for centuries are surely adaptable and inventive.

#18 Visit to World Heritage Sites - Wales, Montana, Wyoming

 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, North Wales
Date of Inscription: 2009

Thomas Telford and William Jessop's awe-inspring aqueduct won our accolades as well. It is one of the most beautiful things we beheld, and we recognize that it is an engineering and architectural wonder.   Don, Jen (pictured left with Rubye), and Rubye enjoyed a leisurely walk across the 1000 feet long aqueduct which takes the Llangollen Canal over the beautiful River Dee Valley. As we walked we met several narrowboats carrying sightseeing passengers.
 On the left was a continuous line of trees and when we came to a break in them, we decided to peer around at the view. We were met with this breathtaking scene as we looked back at the aqueduct over which we had just walked.

 The aqueduct is 125 feet high and consists of an iron water-carrying trough on stone piers. There are 19 arches, each with a 45 ft. span and piers 116 ft. high. The mortar was made of oxen blood, lime and water.
And for the non-Welsh speaker, Pontcysyllte is pronounced 'pont-ker-suth-tee'--you may need to practice the famous Welsh "ll" sound! Our cousin, Jenny has mastered it very well.

 Glacier National Park, Montana

Date of Inscription: 1995

The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the name of the union of the Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and Glacier National Park in Montana. Their union is a World Heritage site. We visited Glacier NP on which we have previously reported in Post #7.

The very small island in the St. Mary Lake is Wild Goose Island. According to folklore, a handsome warrior and a lovely maiden swam to the island, one from each side, and there they fell in love and planned to marry. Their families would not hear of it, so the Great Spirit transformed them into wild geese, which mate for life, so that they might fly away together and live happily ever after. While our story isn't quite as dramatic, it is a blessing to have been married almost 50 years.

Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming (and a bit of Montana and Idaho)
Date of Inscription: 1978

This fabulous "painting" was done by none other than the Creator Himself. This is typical of the bubbling pools or hot springs. We were told that we would feel as though we were in a volcano and we did.

 We are pictured here waiting (along with hundreds of others) for Old Faithful geyser to erupt. We were not disappointed.

 Harlech Castle, North Wales
Date of Inscription: 1986

Harlech Castle is a World Heritage site, reflecting its importance and remarkable state of preservation. It was built in the latter part of the 13th century by King Edward I. It is high and far removed but at one time the Irish sea lapped its base.







 The castle is open to visitors, but we were viewing it from below. Its imposing presence over Gwynned was impressive.

#17 The Lucky Catch Lobster Boat - Portland, ME

 It was a beautiful day, warm on shore but a bit breezy on the waters of Casco Bay. Lobster and crab balloons soared high above the harbor. That was a nice surprise as we came back into Old Port.

We had previously visited the Portland Head Light from shore, but it was fun to see it from the boat. It became very special to us and we thought of it as "our lighthouse."

 Rubye didn't want to miss the opportunity to "work" the traps. One essential step was filling the bags with exactly 6 herring. They weren't alive so they posed no threat except from their smell.

The lobster runners were paid $4 or $5 by the restaurants for each lobster. Everything else went back into the water. Don took a turn throwing back the undesirables, mostly crabs.

 The Lucky Catch is an appropriate name for the boat. We worked only 8 traps but harvested enough for everyone. Don chose two nice ones for dinner.

 At the Portland Lobster Company Don walked in and placed the two lobsters upon the counter. The hostess bagged and tagged them for the cooks and we enjoyed the fruit of our labors.

Thank you, wonderful crew of the Lucky Catch. It was a great afternoon.