earendel's "North to Alaska" trip - Day 3

[earendel]

This was an "at sea" day, meaning that there would be no landfalls and we would have to entertain ourselves to the best of our ability. Fortunately Holland-America provides its guests with a digest of the New York Times, including the crossword puzzle; this being Sunday, that meant the Sunday crossword, to which I look forward every week (it's published in our city's alternative newspaper on Wednesdays). Plus, according to the calendar of events, there would be a trivia contest. All in all it had the makings of a great day, and so it turned out to be.

The weather out on deck was delightful - a bit breezy but not too cool. I parked myself in a deck chair near the pool (which was not open) and worked my way through the crossword puzzle, finishing just before it was time to climb to the Crow's Nest for the trivia contest. I had planned on being a team of one, but the host wanted to make sure that everyone was on a team, so I ended up on a team with five college-age students. I couldn't decide whether this would be an advantage or a disadvantage; as it turned out, it was neither. They didn't know many of the answers but were wise enough to accept my answer if I was positive. There were several questions that I figured they wouldn't know the answer to - as an example, the name of the Beatles' first LP album (one of them had to ask what "LP" was). But there was at least one question that dealt with pop culture and the kids came through. In the end we handily defeated the other teams. Our prizes were modest, so modest, in fact, that I can't remember what they were, but it was the win that counted.

In the afternoon elwing did laundry, so that our clothes would be clean. By now the story of our lost luggage was circulating around the ship; people I hadn't met would come up and ask if our luggage had arrived yet. As I related earlier, elwing's sewing kit was in the luggage, so the pants she bought for me in Vancouver couldn't be hemmed, meaning that I had to wear the same ones. Hence the need for laundry. So I wrapped myself in the bathrobe provided for our cabin and switched on the TV set, catching the second "National Treasure" movie.

This was also "formal night" in the dining room, and since our formal wear (such as it was) was in the luggage that never arrived, we didn't have any. So we eschewed the opportunity to dine in the dining room and went up to the Lido Deck, where their buffet offerings are almost the same as what is being served below.

At evening's end elwing and I took a stroll on the Prominade, enjoying the twilight (even at 10PM). Afterward we went back to the cabin and watched "Enchanted", which we had wanted to see but hadn't managed to get to at the theaters back home. This was what I was hoping for when I started this vacation - a relaxing time. Maybe this experience wouldn't be so bad after all.

[nitrah55]

That last sentence sounds ominous.

But it could just be my dark Irish soul.

[MarleysGh0st]

We have similar ideas of entertainment. Wild, outrageous ideas that make the APs hearts go pitter-pat. But....

You're sailing up the Inside Passage, past gorgeous scenery, and you're inside your room watching movies???

[gsabc]

... There were several questions that I figured they wouldn't know the answer to - as an example, the name of the Beatles' first LP album (one of them had to ask what "LP" was). ...

Ouch. That would make me feel old. My kids may not want to be trivia experts, but I've at least taught them the basics like the meaning of LP.

[christie1111]

I've been amiss at asking an important question.


Did Elwing have any handwork to do? I would imagine that her luggage also contained some yarn and needles and that her hands would be getting restless if she had nothing to work on. Flight restriction being what they are, carring stuff on the plane has gotten more difficult. I have travel materials such as a dental floss container to trim threads, etc so I usually have something to sew.

But hopefully she had something to do to keep her hands busy.

[earendel]

We have similar ideas of entertainment. Wild, outrageous ideas that make the APs hearts go pitter-pat. But....

You're sailing up the Inside Passage, past gorgeous scenery, and you're inside your room watching movies???

I enjoy scenery as much as the next person, but eventually I get to the point where if I've seen one rugged coastline, I've seen 'em all. And since elwing and I don't gamble or drink, most of the nightlife of the cruise ship was pretty much out of the question.

[earendel]

I've been amiss at asking an important question.


Did Elwing have any handwork to do? I would imagine that her luggage also contained some yarn and needles and that her hands would be getting restless if she had nothing to work on. Flight restriction being what they are, carring stuff on the plane has gotten more difficult. I have travel materials such as a dental floss container to trim threads, etc so I usually have something to sew.

But hopefully she had something to do to keep her hands busy.

Actually she didn't have any problems bring knitting needles on the airplanes and she was foresighted enough to carry her yarn in her carryon bag so she was free to knit both while airborne and elsewhere. I should point out that knitting is a great conversation starter - wherever she was women would come up to her and ask what she was making.

[silverscreenselect]

Only 46 days till my cruise... or so Carnival keeps telling me.

These posts from you and the others the last couple of months have made the time go much much slower for me.

We at least live close enough to a variety of ports that we can drive, and even with gas prices the way they are, I've heard too many horror stories of missed/delayed/cancelled flights and missing luggage and missed cruises to have any serious desire to fly to a cruise port.

Reading your posts made me reflect that one of the things we really enjoy about these cruises is the opportunity to get to know a group of strangers gradually over the course of dinner on a cruise. If you think about it, how often do you have a meal, let along a week's worth of meals, with people you don't already know as friends/work/family? The chance to meet people of different backgrounds/parts of the country/lifestyles has really been one of the best aspects of the cruises for us.