June 17, 2024 – At Sea – Pacific Ocean – Cloudy, Raining, 80F

A not so nice day on the Pacific Ocean. 

We are sailing through a series of rain storms.  The seas are angry and the ship has been rocking and rolling since we entered the Pacific Ocean.  When I walk on Deck 12, the pool area is wet and the guys are trying to get rid of the water.  In our Forward Port location, the roll is evident but the big issue is the sudden lurch that can send you sprawling.  It is too dangerous to attempt a shower in this kind of ocean even with grab bars. 

Sour cream is now appearing at my table at breakfast and will be for the remainder of the cruise.  The breakfasts are consistent and good and the waiters are always there with coffee refills.  

There are two things I have planned for today.  I am going to see Roger’s talk on “The History of the Byrds” this morning and then attended the Odyssey Art Session this afternoon.  In between, there will be gazpacho and looking over my talk for tomorrow.

Roger’s talk was really good – he continued to use a lot of graphics (of places we know in both Northern and Southern California.  He also spoke about his years at Columbia Records and how a studio group, the “The Wrecking Crew”, actually provided the instrumentals for groups like the Beach Boys and the Byrds.  Roger was able to join in because his 12 string guitar was key to the Byrd’s sound.  He also said that groups on TV would always lip synch and showed how that went very wrong in a clip from the 70s. A very informative presentation and Roger played a couple of tunes to make it just that much better.

He also explained how his name got changed from Jim (his real name) to Roger.  Someone told him that he needed a spiritual name and it had to begin with the letter "R".  "Roger" comes from the radio communication lingo - "Roger - Over and Out".  Interesting.

At 3:00 PM, I attended the watercolor class.  The number of people attending has really increased.  Amy said it was because Reflections started putting in more detail on the class content for the day.  The class was interesting and fun.

Tonight we are going to see the “spot show” – “Rock Pop-amania” – in the Stardust Lounge.  

Lauren Heavner is still the lead female dancer/vocalist but the male dancer/vocalist is now James Burn.  He has replaced the other guy and about twice his size – he does sing well and dances OK.  The other singer dancers were all very good and the show is a lot of fun.  The venue is small but the cast does manage to move around pretty well without running into each other (especially when the ship is moving).  Best of all, the volume of the music was manageable.

The seas continue to move and wiggle.