Another nice day at sea as we are scheduled to cross the Equator…
Ship’s Position
I am up a little earlier today because I want to be out on the deck when the Golden Princess crosses the Equator at approximately 7:20 AM. This will be our second Equatorial crossing but the first during the day.
The deck was surprisingly empty at 7:20 AM (not a big deal for a lot of people, I guess). The air temperature was warm but the skies were cloudy over relatively calm seas. Since there was no one out there but me, I had to resort to a “selfie”, which have always been sub-par.
Top three – Crossing the Equator at 7:20 AM Local Time
I am pretty free this morning as my next talk is scheduled for 2 PM this afternoon. I am now reading “The Closers”, another Harry Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly. This story is not the usual Bosch fare in that it involves a Cold Case and a recent CODIS Cold Hit. Harry has come out of retirement to work with the “Open-Unsolved” Case Unit (Cold Cases). The book also uses at least one real LAPD Cold Case detective, Rick Jackson, as a character in the story. The room that Harry works out of (Parker Center 503) is the real room that Rick Jackson worked out of when we was working cases for the LAPD – e.g. “Southland Strangler”.
At 11:00 AM, the ship is having a “Crossing the Equator” Ceremony on the Pool Deck. It is a naval tradition to initiate “pollywogs”, sailors, who have never crossed the Equator, into the Kingdom of King Neptune. Once initiated, sailors become “Shellbacks” or children of Neptune. Sammi was the host of the ceremony. It’s hard to describe what went on but it involved “King Neptune”, his wife, and the “Royal Court” (all singers, dancers, and crew). Several passengers (couples) went through the initiation process. They were subjected to all sorts of crazy things. It was fun and zany and outrageous.
The last time, we crossed the Equator, the ceremony involved getting drenched by a bucket of sea water. Things have escalated.
Let the Ceremony Begin
Sammi Waiting to Start
King Neptune and Queen Make an Entrance
Above – Neptune’s Court
Official Start by the Staff Captain
First Couple to be Initiated
Initiation – Too Painful to Watch
The “Lost Dauphin of France” – is the seventh and one of my shortest presentations so there is no pressure to hurry to finish. There is another terrific crowd – around 80 percent full – approximately 550 passengers. The talk went smoothly.
Tonight, we have reservations in the Bernini Dining Room at 5:30 PM. The entrée was Breaded Sole (excellent) along with Spaghetti Carbonara (sans ham) – also very good. Dinner was quiet, good, and relaxing.
The Atrium
To cap off a full day, there was a deck party up on the Pool Deck. We went up to check it out. It wasn’t super well attended but the band was loud and the people were dancing.
Pool Party
“Hawley Magic” is the show tonight. We decided not to attend; instead, I spent the evening reading my Bosch Novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment