The Portland Spirit: Cinnamon Bear Cruise

This last year, Stewart and I decided that Maya was old enough to enjoy the Cinnamon Bear Cruise. We figured that if she enjoyed it, that we would make it one of our family traditions to do every December.

About two weeks before our cruise, we started reading the story of the Cinnamon Bear. Neither Stewart or I had ever seen or heard the Cinnamon Bear Radio Show. We figured that this would be a great way for all of us to understand the story and know the characters.

The morning of our cruise, we dropped Brooklyn off at my parents house and headed down to the river to board. Once we boarded, Maya became EXTREMELY excited. We made our way to our private table and enjoyed a yummy buffet brunch. When the boat left the sea wall, all of a sudden the fun REALLY began....

Maya's first glimpse of Paddy O'Cinnamon Bear.

She even followed him back towards the bathroom so she could get a hug from him.

While waiting for more of the characters to come by to visit, Maya loved looking outside.

Since it was a special occasion, Maya was given hot chocolate to sip. I think she actually gulped it down!

Mommy and Maya loving on each other.

Maya couldn't take her eyes off of Queen Melissa. She was thrilled to have her picture taken with a Queen!

The most memorable picture of our cruise!

Maya held on tight to that cinnamon bear cookie. Daddy kept hinting that if she put it down that he would eat it...guess what?? She shared it with both of us.

The Crazy Quilt Dragon appeared on the top deck of the boat. It was pretty windy up there, but once we saw him, she didn't want to go back inside. Seriously, I think he was about 9 feet tall.

Daddy and Maya at the back of the boat before heading indoors.

Mr. Presto, the magician caught her attention when he pulled a real rabbit out of his hat!

Ah ha, caught Miss Maya in the act...kneeling on the window sill looking out.

Sitting in Queen Melissa's chair.

Judy and Jimmy sang a bunch of Christmas songs together.

One of Maya's favorite characters, Sweetie. Not only did she like her name, but she also liked her bright pink hair.

All the characters were outside as we left the boat. Maya could have stayed at the sea wall all day waving to all of them. She had a GREAT time and we know that The Cinnamon Bear Cruise will be added to our yearly traditions for the holidays. Next year, Brooklyn will join us.