We will finally be in Hawaii tomorrow!!!! I can't wait! It has been around 80 degrees for the past couple days, with gorgeous blue skies. It already feels tropical, and tomorrow I'll get my first sight of the islands. We start on the big island tomorrow, in Hilo. Unfortunately we have a rehearsal to work around, so I won't have as much time as I'd like, but whatever happens I will enjoy being in Hawaii. I can't wait to watch my first official Hawaiian sunset and take pictures!
The crossing has gone by very quickly so far, these 5 sea days have really flown by. Keeping busy helps a lot. The big test will be next cruise, with a total of 12 sea days....we'll cross that, well, ocean, when we come to it. :-) Thankfully the sea days are broken up into 2 segments so it'll be manageable.
We worked with a comedian/vocal impressionist named Roger Behr this week, who is apparently pretty well known. He was easy to work with, and told the band jokes before and after every show. A lot of them went over my head, but I appreciated the thought.
I met a fellow trombonist yesterday - he recognized me when I was walking around the ship, and is probably the only person on board to notice that I used a different trombone for Lionardo's show than for Roger's. I love meeting people like that. :-) It makes the extra effort I put in to bring that second trombone along feel worth it. There really are some shows that sound much better with my F-attachment large bore. Hooray! Ok, no more trombone-speak.
Well, I will do my best to post throughout my days in Hawaii, but don't be surprised if I wait til the end and then play catch-up. I plan to be very busy and have lots of adventures. Hawaii, here I come!!!
Mont Blanc
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pacific Crossing - the journey begins!!
On Friday we officially finished our last Alaskan cruise. It was a beautiful week, especially for mid-September, and there were a few great highlights I need to share with you before we start the next chapter, so to speak. First and most importantly, I got to see the Northern Lights for the first time in my life. I had been watching the forecasts and weather, and one day last week my efforts finally payed off. We are a bit too far south in Alaska to see the brightest and biggest displays, but we were all so excited by what we did see, some pale ribbons and veils of green light that were constantly changing. It was really beautiful. A few of my camera-savvy friends got some good photos, which I'll share as soon as I get them. I would love to see more of the phenomenon. Maybe someday! But for now I'm glad I got to check that off my list in a way. :-)
In Ketchikan I went on a Bering Sea Crab tour with one of the boats from season 2 of Deadliest Catch. It was an awesome tour - they demonstrated how crab fishing is done, and even did some right there while we watched. We all got to hold big ole crabs and prawns, and we saw the famous Alaskan King Crab too. There were a couple of run-ins with big octopi too, who sneak in the nets to feed on the crab. It was a really interesting tour. Afterwards a bunch of us went to the famous Alaskan Lumberjack show, which was a lot of fun. Monica and I brought some lumberjacks home with us.....on a calendar. :-) I had an amazing lunch of cheesy king crab pasta, did some shopping, and headed back to the ship. It was a great day, and fun to go to a new port.
Then on Friday we were in Vancouver for our embarkation day. I must say, Vancouver's ship terminal is a pain in the butt. Its confusing and big. Instead of just letting you out, they send crew on a giant roudabout loop around the whole building that takes about 10 or 15 minutes. Once out I went shopping with my friend Julie, one of the dancers. Mistake....spent a LOT of money. Spending like a sailor, I guess. But I'm pretty happy with my treasures. It was really fun to be in town for one day and get to wander around. We also had a great lunch at a little crepe place - yummy. Reluctantly, at 3:30 (the last minute) I got back on board the ship, which will be my scenery for the 5 day crossing to Hawaii.
This is now our second sea day, and the seas haven't been bad at all so far, though it is still cold out. It should start warming up maybe tomorrow, as we get further south. Last night we backed up a pianist from Vegas who goes by Lionardo. I can't say whether or not the show was entertaining for the audience, but my part was awesome. I had a whole bunch of sweet low notes that I got to honk out, and I had a really good time. After the show he took us out for drinks, which gives him major points as well. Tonight the cast has a show, which means we're off. I've decided to start going to the gym on the days the cast has a show instead of our workout, to make up for not doing anything on those days. So tonight that's where I'll be. Alright, enough already of this too-long post.
In Ketchikan I went on a Bering Sea Crab tour with one of the boats from season 2 of Deadliest Catch. It was an awesome tour - they demonstrated how crab fishing is done, and even did some right there while we watched. We all got to hold big ole crabs and prawns, and we saw the famous Alaskan King Crab too. There were a couple of run-ins with big octopi too, who sneak in the nets to feed on the crab. It was a really interesting tour. Afterwards a bunch of us went to the famous Alaskan Lumberjack show, which was a lot of fun. Monica and I brought some lumberjacks home with us.....on a calendar. :-) I had an amazing lunch of cheesy king crab pasta, did some shopping, and headed back to the ship. It was a great day, and fun to go to a new port.
Then on Friday we were in Vancouver for our embarkation day. I must say, Vancouver's ship terminal is a pain in the butt. Its confusing and big. Instead of just letting you out, they send crew on a giant roudabout loop around the whole building that takes about 10 or 15 minutes. Once out I went shopping with my friend Julie, one of the dancers. Mistake....spent a LOT of money. Spending like a sailor, I guess. But I'm pretty happy with my treasures. It was really fun to be in town for one day and get to wander around. We also had a great lunch at a little crepe place - yummy. Reluctantly, at 3:30 (the last minute) I got back on board the ship, which will be my scenery for the 5 day crossing to Hawaii.
This is now our second sea day, and the seas haven't been bad at all so far, though it is still cold out. It should start warming up maybe tomorrow, as we get further south. Last night we backed up a pianist from Vegas who goes by Lionardo. I can't say whether or not the show was entertaining for the audience, but my part was awesome. I had a whole bunch of sweet low notes that I got to honk out, and I had a really good time. After the show he took us out for drinks, which gives him major points as well. Tonight the cast has a show, which means we're off. I've decided to start going to the gym on the days the cast has a show instead of our workout, to make up for not doing anything on those days. So tonight that's where I'll be. Alright, enough already of this too-long post.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Goodbye, Seattle.
Yes, this is officially my last week cruising in Alaska. I've already had to say my goodbyes to Victoria and to Seattle. This week I will say goodbye to Skagway and Juneau, and say both hello and goodbye to the ports of Ketchikan and Vancouver. I know I haven't been posting much recently - I had a friend on board last week and we kept really busy making the most of his week here on board and cramming in all the fun we could. I got to make another awesome trip to the ice caves in Juneau, and go on the White Pass train again in Skagway.
This week we have Judy Kolba on board, an entertainer whose show I played on my very first ship, and who I haven't seen since. I need to look up my old posts to see what I said about her then....it would be interesting to compare. I had a great time playing her show this week. She is easy to work with, has a HUGE personality, and is absolutely hilarious on stage. Later this week we'll have the Unexpected Boys again. I'm hoping we'll get a lot of new entertainers for the crossing and once we are in the South Pacific. I'm ready for a change of scene in the theater as well as in the ports!
In other news, I survived a hard drive crash, thanks to the wonderful men and women of the Apple Store in University Village, Seattle. Thanks, guys!! Way to get me in last minute, give me a new hard drive in 20 minutes, and send me on my way in time to make it back to the ship.
This week we have Judy Kolba on board, an entertainer whose show I played on my very first ship, and who I haven't seen since. I need to look up my old posts to see what I said about her then....it would be interesting to compare. I had a great time playing her show this week. She is easy to work with, has a HUGE personality, and is absolutely hilarious on stage. Later this week we'll have the Unexpected Boys again. I'm hoping we'll get a lot of new entertainers for the crossing and once we are in the South Pacific. I'm ready for a change of scene in the theater as well as in the ports!
In other news, I survived a hard drive crash, thanks to the wonderful men and women of the Apple Store in University Village, Seattle. Thanks, guys!! Way to get me in last minute, give me a new hard drive in 20 minutes, and send me on my way in time to make it back to the ship.
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