Sunday, October 5
Back at sea with distinctly gray weather outside. I’m told it’s the remnants of a typhoon from down south. Hopefully it will be gone by the time we reach China the day after tomorrow.
Usual sea day schedule included Team Trivia at noon and Watercolors at 1:00 p.m. Then I put the photos from Japan in order and chose the ones to add to the blog account and uploaded te whole works.
Tonight is the Captain’s Cocktail Party for the 1,100 of us on board who have sailed with Holland America before. Given that the capacity of the ship is around 1,300 and there are a fair number of single cabin occupants, that doesn’t leave much room for first-timers! Since I skipped lunch, I’m getting a bit peckish so should go and get into the glad rags and A-rocks.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Wednesday, October 1
Up early for Japanese Customs at 7:30. On the bus and rolling for the overland Tour at 8:30. There are 38 of us plus Cathy from the Shore Excursion staff. Jill is also on this tour. Our guide is Hama who will be with us on the whole tour, although the bus drivers and assistant guides (young women in smart uniforms complete with little hats) will change for each city.
The weather was absolutely perfect, bright blue sky, no clouds, and a very comfortable temperature. Our first stop was at Jodogahama Beach (“hama” means beautiful beach). The beach itself is mainly large pebbles, but it is ruly beautiful with large rock formations just off-shore. Next brief stop was at a very interesting place called Seatopia Naado which was a combination tourist information center, grocery and flower store, then we were off over the mountains to Morioka.
After a spectacular view of the city and surrounding mountains from the Mt. Iwayama Observation Deck, we visited the Nambu Family Garden. The Nambu family were aristocrats under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The family is long gone, but the garden has been preserved. I only went part way into the garden as my walker does not do well on gravel paths (the same situation obtained at several other places on the tour). Japanese gardens are not about flowers, but about trees and shrubs and water features to represent nature. The shapes and colors of the plants and their foliage as well as their spatial arrangements are what make them pleasing and restful.
After a nice buffet lunch, we boarded the bullet train (Shinkansen) for Tokyo. The trip took only about 2.5 hours, and “bullet train” is a real, live description of how it goes! Very fast! The scenery included lots of mountains both east and west of us as we traveled through small cities and rice paddies in various stages of growth. The younger rice fields were a bright green with a touch of yellow while the ripe ones were almost a golden color. Fields where the rice had been harvested and the straw collected to be dried were, of course, dry ad dirt-colored.
When we got to Tokyo (at rush hour), it turned out that we had to tote our own luggage to the waiting bus. This should not have been a problem, but it turned out that the buses are not allowed to park near the train station! I only had my purse and an overnight bag, so could load them only my walker pretty easily. Hama took off at a good clip and we were soon strung out in quite a long line with me getting farther and farther behind with every minute. Cathy stayed with me, and the assistant guide for Tokyo hung back to keep beckoning us on. The actual hike was about a mile from where we got off the train to the bus. Since I was so far behind, I didn’t feel like I could stop to rest, and by the time I got to the bus, needless to say I was in pretty sad shape physically and pretty irate to boot. Fortunately, the rest of the folks on the tour were not upset with me for being so slow as many of them were also worn out by the unexpected hike. This was the only bad part of the whole tour. All the rest, before and after, was excellent.
We stayed at the Keio Plaza Hotel which was very posh. Spacious rooms, lovely decor, and elegant bathrooms. After a nice dinner, a few folks went out for walks, but most of us collapsed.
Japanese toilets...what can I say! I’m sorry that it didn’t occur to me to take a photo of one. You have to be a cross between a civil engineer, hydraulic engineer, and computer scientist to work one...even to figure out how to flush one! Heaven forbid if you want to turn off the music (as I found in one restaurant facility) or on/off the heated seat or any of the other features! In the Keio Plaza, the flush mechanism wasn’t even on the toilet itself, but was discretely located over on the side of the marble counter! Of course there were instructions for each of the buttons (located on a little side arm down at seat level) in Japanese along with one inscrutable word in English...not much help there.
Thursday, October 2
Bags in the hall by 7:00 a.m. and downstairs to a breakfast buffet featuring both American style and Japanese style dishes. Japanese style breakfast is pretty much the same as Japanese style dinner...rice and lots of different vegetables and meats, mainly seafood. Guess which style I chose.
The first stop of the day was at the Meiji Jingu (Shinto) Shrine. Again there were gravel paths along with slopes, so I opted to sit in a nice plaza with tables and chairs and enjoy the perfect weather. There was a Forest of Life Museum there (not open at the time) which had a wonderful inscription over the gate: “We must take care of this shining road. Our forests of both land and sea assure our very lives.”
Our next stop was the observation deck on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. This is a fairly new building, and the view was amazing! Even given the hazy atmosphere, most of the city was visible. After that we went on to another Shinto shrine that is very popular with the Japanese.
Hama, our guide, did a marvelous job of explaining things to us from historical data to modern day stuff. At one point, she even gave us a lesson in the three kinds of Japanese writing. No wonder Japanese children have to work so hard in school...they learn two different alphabets along with thousands of ideograms! I can now read the signs for “entrance” and “exit,” but that’s about it. Fortunately they also use a number of readily understandable pictures for things in public places. I’m sure I would have enjoyed my tour of Japan even more if I could have read the signs of the places we passed.
We had a wonderful Teppanyaki lunch. The chefs here do not “perform” all the whirling knives and flaming onion tower tricks that the chefs in American Japanese steak house restaurants do. Here they just get right down to it and cook!
Then we boarded the bullet train again for Kyoto. We zipped by Mt. Fuji en route, but it was too hazy at this time of year for a good view. Arriving at Kyoto, we were checked in to the Righa Royal Hotel Kyoto. This was an equally lovely hotel, and even more Japanese in flavor with shoji screens at the windows of the rooms. After a fine buffet dinner, again some went out for walks and some (including me) just made an early night of it.
Friday, October 3
Bags in the hall by 7:30...hooray, and extra half hour! Another buffet breakfast and off we went.
We toured the Sanjusangen-do Buddhist Temple. Photos weren’t allowed inside. This is a photo of a gardener in the courtyard very carefully trimming a tree twig by twig. The temple is a Japanese National Treasure. It was established in 1164, burned, was reconstructed in 1266 and has remained unchanged with only four renovations since. In a few places you can see some of the original ceiling decorations up among the enormous beams of the roof. It contains 1000 gilded standing statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon carved of Japanese cypress and one very large statue of Kannon in the center of a long hall. There are also 33 other statues of guardian deities. Of the latter, I found the Thunder God and the Wind God most impressive. Mos t of the others were variations on the theme of fierce and/or grim which, I suppose, is appropriate for guardian deities.
Next was the Garden of the Heian Jingu Shrine. Again, I didn’t go in very far on the gravel paths, but spent some time perusing the souvenir stalls outside and watching the tourists. Everywhere we went there were lots and lots of Japanese tourists, and lots of school-age groups.
Just before lunch we had a too short visit to an amazing Japanese arts and crafts store called the Kyoto Handicrafts Center where we all could have easily spent the whole afternoon. Lunch was at a nearby hotel and fully lived up to the rest of the meals on this tour.
After lunch our first stop was at Nijo Castle. This was built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. More gravel. Jill and I stayed around the main gate area and people-watched. One of the people we watched (and spoke to) was one of our table mates who was on a one day tour from the ship in Kobe. The massive gates and stone work of the moat walls were spectacular.
Our last stop was the Golden Pavilion at the Rokuon-ji Temple. I did walk around in these gardens a little as the gravel wasn’t as deep as elsewhere, but I didn’t actually get back in far enough to see the Golden Pavilion as there were lots of steps also.
Our bus then took us about 1.5 hours through Osaka and on to Kobe. A goodly portion of the roadway seemed to be elevated, and the multi-level interchanges with sweeping curves are as, or perhaps more, complex than anything I’ve ever seen anywhere. There was great excitement on the bus when we finally spotted the ship in the distance about 5:30 p.m. The vast majority of us headed straight for our cabins with the intention of calling room service and falling into our own beds!
Saturday, October 4
This was mostly a lost day for me as I spent a great deal of it asleep! In the afternoon I did go ashore to the shops in the Terminal to spend the last of my yen. Then I went to the spa for a facial and massage before dinner.
A couple of general thoughts about Japan...or at least what I saw of it. It is a country of spectacular scenery...mountains everywhere...mostly volcanic. I quickly gave up counting the tunnels we went through, and I can’t imagine how they keep them in repair in this earthquake prone country. It is also extremely neat and tidy. I saw exactly one piece of litter during the entire five days which is somewhat surprising given the general dearth of trash cans in most places. The people are extremely friendly and helpful and, of course, polite. Another thing that we all noticed was how quiet the cities are. I never heard a horn honk and only once or twice heard a siren on an emergency vehicle. My guess is that the Japanese substitute politeness and patience for honking and road rage. U.S. drivers should take lessons.
Up early for Japanese Customs at 7:30. On the bus and rolling for the overland Tour at 8:30. There are 38 of us plus Cathy from the Shore Excursion staff. Jill is also on this tour. Our guide is Hama who will be with us on the whole tour, although the bus drivers and assistant guides (young women in smart uniforms complete with little hats) will change for each city.
The weather was absolutely perfect, bright blue sky, no clouds, and a very comfortable temperature. Our first stop was at Jodogahama Beach (“hama” means beautiful beach). The beach itself is mainly large pebbles, but it is ruly beautiful with large rock formations just off-shore. Next brief stop was at a very interesting place called Seatopia Naado which was a combination tourist information center, grocery and flower store, then we were off over the mountains to Morioka. 
After a spectacular view of the city and surrounding mountains from the Mt. Iwayama Observation Deck, we visited the Nambu Family Garden. The Nambu family were aristocrats under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The family is long gone, but the garden has been preserved. I only went part way into the garden as my walker does not do well on gravel paths (the same situation obtained at several other places on the tour). Japanese gardens are not about flowers, but about trees and shrubs and water features to represent nature. The shapes and colors of the plants and their foliage as well as their spatial arrangements are what make them pleasing and restful.After a nice buffet lunch, we boarded the bullet train (Shinkansen) for Tokyo. The trip took only about 2.5 hours, and “bullet train” is a real, live description of how it goes! Very fast! The scenery included lots of mountains both east and west of us as we traveled through small cities and rice paddies in various stages of growth. The younger rice fields were a bright green with a touch of yellow while the ripe ones were almost a golden color. Fields where the rice had been harvested and the straw collected to be dried were, of course, dry ad dirt-colored.
When we got to Tokyo (at rush hour), it turned out that we had to tote our own luggage to the waiting bus. This should not have been a problem, but it turned out that the buses are not allowed to park near the train station! I only had my purse and an overnight bag, so could load them only my walker pretty easily. Hama took off at a good clip and we were soon strung out in quite a long line with me getting farther and farther behind with every minute. Cathy stayed with me, and the assistant guide for Tokyo hung back to keep beckoning us on. The actual hike was about a mile from where we got off the train to the bus. Since I was so far behind, I didn’t feel like I could stop to rest, and by the time I got to the bus, needless to say I was in pretty sad shape physically and pretty irate to boot. Fortunately, the rest of the folks on the tour were not upset with me for being so slow as many of them were also worn out by the unexpected hike. This was the only bad part of the whole tour. All the rest, before and after, was excellent.
We stayed at the Keio Plaza Hotel which was very posh. Spacious rooms, lovely decor, and elegant bathrooms. After a nice dinner, a few folks went out for walks, but most of us collapsed.
Japanese toilets...what can I say! I’m sorry that it didn’t occur to me to take a photo of one. You have to be a cross between a civil engineer, hydraulic engineer, and computer scientist to work one...even to figure out how to flush one! Heaven forbid if you want to turn off the music (as I found in one restaurant facility) or on/off the heated seat or any of the other features! In the Keio Plaza, the flush mechanism wasn’t even on the toilet itself, but was discretely located over on the side of the marble counter! Of course there were instructions for each of the buttons (located on a little side arm down at seat level) in Japanese along with one inscrutable word in English...not much help there.
Thursday, October 2
Bags in the hall by 7:00 a.m. and downstairs to a breakfast buffet featuring both American style and Japanese style dishes. Japanese style breakfast is pretty much the same as Japanese style dinner...rice and lots of different vegetables and meats, mainly seafood. Guess which style I chose.
The first stop of the day was at the Meiji Jingu (Shinto) Shrine. Again there were gravel paths along with slopes, so I opted to sit in a nice plaza with tables and chairs and enjoy the perfect weather. There was a Forest of Life Museum there (not open at the time) which had a wonderful inscription over the gate: “We must take care of this shining road. Our forests of both land and sea assure our very lives.”
Our next stop was the observation deck on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. This is a fairly new building, and the view was amazing! Even given the hazy atmosphere, most of the city was visible. After that we went on to another Shinto shrine that is very popular with the Japanese.Hama, our guide, did a marvelous job of explaining things to us from historical data to modern day stuff. At one point, she even gave us a lesson in the three kinds of Japanese writing. No wonder Japanese children have to work so hard in school...they learn two different alphabets along with thousands of ideograms! I can now read the signs for “entrance” and “exit,” but that’s about it. Fortunately they also use a number of readily understandable pictures for things in public places. I’m sure I would have enjoyed my tour of Japan even more if I could have read the signs of the places we passed.
We had a wonderful Teppanyaki lunch. The chefs here do not “perform” all the whirling knives and flaming onion tower tricks that the chefs in American Japanese steak house restaurants do. Here they just get right down to it and cook!
Then we boarded the bullet train again for Kyoto. We zipped by Mt. Fuji en route, but it was too hazy at this time of year for a good view. Arriving at Kyoto, we were checked in to the Righa Royal Hotel Kyoto. This was an equally lovely hotel, and even more Japanese in flavor with shoji screens at the windows of the rooms. After a fine buffet dinner, again some went out for walks and some (including me) just made an early night of it.
Friday, October 3
Bags in the hall by 7:30...hooray, and extra half hour! Another buffet breakfast and off we went.
We toured the Sanjusangen-do Buddhist Temple. Photos weren’t allowed inside. This is a photo of a gardener in the courtyard very carefully trimming a tree twig by twig. The temple is a Japanese National Treasure. It was established in 1164, burned, was reconstructed in 1266 and has remained unchanged with only four renovations since. In a few places you can see some of the original ceiling decorations up among the enormous beams of the roof. It contains 1000 gilded standing statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon carved of Japanese cypress and one very large statue of Kannon in the center of a long hall. There are also 33 other statues of guardian deities. Of the latter, I found the Thunder God and the Wind God most impressive. Mos t of the others were variations on the theme of fierce and/or grim which, I suppose, is appropriate for guardian deities.Next was the Garden of the Heian Jingu Shrine. Again, I didn’t go in very far on the gravel paths, but spent some time perusing the souvenir stalls outside and watching the tourists. Everywhere we went there were lots and lots of Japanese tourists, and lots of school-age groups.
Just before lunch we had a too short visit to an amazing Japanese arts and crafts store called the Kyoto Handicrafts Center where we all could have easily spent the whole afternoon. Lunch was at a nearby hotel and fully lived up to the rest of the meals on this tour.
After lunch our first stop was at Nijo Castle. This was built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. More gravel. Jill and I stayed around the main gate area and people-watched. One of the people we watched (and spoke to) was one of our table mates who was on a one day tour from the ship in Kobe. The massive gates and stone work of the moat walls were spectacular.
Our last stop was the Golden Pavilion at the Rokuon-ji Temple. I did walk around in these gardens a little as the gravel wasn’t as deep as elsewhere, but I didn’t actually get back in far enough to see the Golden Pavilion as there were lots of steps also.
Our bus then took us about 1.5 hours through Osaka and on to Kobe. A goodly portion of the roadway seemed to be elevated, and the multi-level interchanges with sweeping curves are as, or perhaps more, complex than anything I’ve ever seen anywhere. There was great excitement on the bus when we finally spotted the ship in the distance about 5:30 p.m. The vast majority of us headed straight for our cabins with the intention of calling room service and falling into our own beds!
Saturday, October 4
This was mostly a lost day for me as I spent a great deal of it asleep! In the afternoon I did go ashore to the shops in the Terminal to spend the last of my yen. Then I went to the spa for a facial and massage before dinner.
A couple of general thoughts about Japan...or at least what I saw of it. It is a country of spectacular scenery...mountains everywhere...mostly volcanic. I quickly gave up counting the tunnels we went through, and I can’t imagine how they keep them in repair in this earthquake prone country. It is also extremely neat and tidy. I saw exactly one piece of litter during the entire five days which is somewhat surprising given the general dearth of trash cans in most places. The people are extremely friendly and helpful and, of course, polite. Another thing that we all noticed was how quiet the cities are. I never heard a horn honk and only once or twice heard a siren on an emergency vehicle. My guess is that the Japanese substitute politeness and patience for honking and road rage. U.S. drivers should take lessons.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29
Hakodate is located at the south end of the island of Hokkaido. Founded in 1454, it is the capital city of the Oshima Subprefecture of Japan.
The first order of business this morning was to clear Japanese Immigration. It was a very high tech process, and they brought lots of agents and equipment on board so things went very quickly. In one door of the Queen’s Lounge, pick up passport and previously filled out Japanese Immigration form. On to an agent who did a quick photo scan of the passport, and checked the form. Then you put your index fingers on another scanner while another piece of the same machine took your photo. Another machine spit out a little card to carry with you while on shore. Then as you left, you handed your passport back to the ship’s personnel...all done in about the same time as it took me to type this!
Neither Jill nor I had booked a tour here, so after lunch we took a free shuttle into downtown. There was a whole bevy of young girls in uniforms waiting at the downtown Information Center. Two of them guided us on a bit of a walk around. We stopped briefly at a place called Hotel Sea Bourne down a side street. It was extremely elegant! Kellie and Paula...if you have someone headed to Hakodate, I
think this would be a lovely place to stay.
The local mascot or official fish of Hakodate is the squid. This photo is of a manhole cover near the Information Center. After our walk, we enjoyed a nice cup of freshly brewed tea in the Information Center and admired works of local artists on the walls. The one thing we never did find was any kind of souvenir shop for postcards and similar items. Oh well...
This evening there was a local folkloric presentation which included a woman dancing then a group singing folk songs and playing samisans. The latter were quite good with the whole group running the gamut of ages from children to grandparents.
Tuesday, September 30
Aomori is situated at the north end of Honshu island, only about 40 miles from Hakodate. There is even a tunnel between the two islands that goes down to 800 feet deep and accomodates the bullet trains. Aomori was founded in 1889 with about 28,000 residents and now has over 300,000. It has been rebuilt twice; once after a big fire in 1910 and again after WWII. This photo is from our ship and shows the spectacular Produce and Tourism Center (ASPAM) and the stunning bridge nearby. The yellow hulled ship on the right is the Memorial Ship Hakkoda-maru.
Like Hakodate, Aomori is a very vey clean and neat city. I walked into downtown and saw not one speck of trash of any kind. I actually walked almost a mile...probably a new record for me since all my joint replacements. Of course it took me a while what with stops to rest, but I think this bodes well for my being able to keep up with the overland tour which begins tomorrow
Hakodate is located at the south end of the island of Hokkaido. Founded in 1454, it is the capital city of the Oshima Subprefecture of Japan.
The first order of business this morning was to clear Japanese Immigration. It was a very high tech process, and they brought lots of agents and equipment on board so things went very quickly. In one door of the Queen’s Lounge, pick up passport and previously filled out Japanese Immigration form. On to an agent who did a quick photo scan of the passport, and checked the form. Then you put your index fingers on another scanner while another piece of the same machine took your photo. Another machine spit out a little card to carry with you while on shore. Then as you left, you handed your passport back to the ship’s personnel...all done in about the same time as it took me to type this!
Neither Jill nor I had booked a tour here, so after lunch we took a free shuttle into downtown. There was a whole bevy of young girls in uniforms waiting at the downtown Information Center. Two of them guided us on a bit of a walk around. We stopped briefly at a place called Hotel Sea Bourne down a side street. It was extremely elegant! Kellie and Paula...if you have someone headed to Hakodate, I think this would be a lovely place to stay.
The local mascot or official fish of Hakodate is the squid. This photo is of a manhole cover near the Information Center. After our walk, we enjoyed a nice cup of freshly brewed tea in the Information Center and admired works of local artists on the walls. The one thing we never did find was any kind of souvenir shop for postcards and similar items. Oh well...This evening there was a local folkloric presentation which included a woman dancing then a group singing folk songs and playing samisans. The latter were quite good with the whole group running the gamut of ages from children to grandparents.
Tuesday, September 30
Aomori is situated at the north end of Honshu island, only about 40 miles from Hakodate. There is even a tunnel between the two islands that goes down to 800 feet deep and accomodates the bullet trains. Aomori was founded in 1889 with about 28,000 residents and now has over 300,000. It has been rebuilt twice; once after a big fire in 1910 and again after WWII. This photo is from our ship and shows the spectacular Produce and Tourism Center (ASPAM) and the stunning bridge nearby. The yellow hulled ship on the right is the Memorial Ship Hakkoda-maru.Like Hakodate, Aomori is a very vey clean and neat city. I walked into downtown and saw not one speck of trash of any kind. I actually walked almost a mile...probably a new record for me since all my joint replacements. Of course it took me a while what with stops to rest, but I think this bodes well for my being able to keep up with the overland tour which begins tomorrow
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 28
Yesterday was pretty bouncy also. Fortunately I seldom get even slightly seasick, but it does make me sleepy, so I spent much of the afternoon napping. The evening was yet another formal night...our third since sailing, but they did recommend that women not wear high heels. No problem there as I don’t remember the last time I wore heels!
We had a meeting about the overland trip in Japan in the afternoon. I think that’s going to be do-able for me, and there should be no problem with taking my “chariot” along.
When I woke up this morning things were so smooth and quiet that for a moment I wondered if we were docked at Hakodate! but that’s not until tomorrow. So today is smooth and sunny although the air temperature is still on the cool side.
I’ve met a number of interesting people on board. Today I had lunch with a young woman who is the ship’s Youth Coordinator. There are no youth aboard...at least not on this portion of the trip, so she’s getting a turn at general activities duties. Then there is one elderly gentleman with a strong accent which may be German who is always out on the back deck with his cigars. He and I have had several long conversations on a wide range of topics...I get the impression that he was a physicist before he retired. Oh, and I’ve forgotten to mention the other Mary at our dinner table. She’s from Walla Walla.
Our trivia team consists of myself, Jack who is American, Ann who is his English wife, and Donald and Margaret who are Scots living in Canada. We did fairly well today. So here’s your question of the day: What or who has as its motto “Blood and Fire?” Would you believe the Salvation Army? Yup.
The watercolor class is interesting but rather disorganized. The instructor is a fine artist and probably a fine instructor for smaller groups of people, or perhaps it is the crowded quarters we are working in. However there classes only on days at sea, so it will be awhile before I get to go again.
I haven’t mentioned the food on board...excellent as always on Holland America ships. And the chefs are just as cutesy with their flavor combinations as always. Some of the dishes are way more complicated than most of us at our table really want. At least you can get things with the heavy sauces left off which is what I do most of the time.
Yesterday was pretty bouncy also. Fortunately I seldom get even slightly seasick, but it does make me sleepy, so I spent much of the afternoon napping. The evening was yet another formal night...our third since sailing, but they did recommend that women not wear high heels. No problem there as I don’t remember the last time I wore heels!
We had a meeting about the overland trip in Japan in the afternoon. I think that’s going to be do-able for me, and there should be no problem with taking my “chariot” along.
When I woke up this morning things were so smooth and quiet that for a moment I wondered if we were docked at Hakodate! but that’s not until tomorrow. So today is smooth and sunny although the air temperature is still on the cool side.
I’ve met a number of interesting people on board. Today I had lunch with a young woman who is the ship’s Youth Coordinator. There are no youth aboard...at least not on this portion of the trip, so she’s getting a turn at general activities duties. Then there is one elderly gentleman with a strong accent which may be German who is always out on the back deck with his cigars. He and I have had several long conversations on a wide range of topics...I get the impression that he was a physicist before he retired. Oh, and I’ve forgotten to mention the other Mary at our dinner table. She’s from Walla Walla.
Our trivia team consists of myself, Jack who is American, Ann who is his English wife, and Donald and Margaret who are Scots living in Canada. We did fairly well today. So here’s your question of the day: What or who has as its motto “Blood and Fire?” Would you believe the Salvation Army? Yup.
The watercolor class is interesting but rather disorganized. The instructor is a fine artist and probably a fine instructor for smaller groups of people, or perhaps it is the crowded quarters we are working in. However there classes only on days at sea, so it will be awhile before I get to go again.
I haven’t mentioned the food on board...excellent as always on Holland America ships. And the chefs are just as cutesy with their flavor combinations as always. Some of the dishes are way more complicated than most of us at our table really want. At least you can get things with the heavy sauces left off which is what I do most of the time.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25
No September 24 for us this year...we crossed the International Date Line. Yet another lazy day at sea with the usual modicum of activity: Trivia and Watercolors. The trivia questions on this ship are fiendish! For example, what is the national game of India? Virtually every team said “cricket,” but the correct answer was Parcheesi of all things!
Friday, September 26
The main has been bounding since yesterday evening. At lunchtime today we were heading directly into 14 foot swells and had slowed to 15 knots. I skipped Watercolors today as I didn’t feel like tripping the light fantastic up the stairs to the place where it is held. Two more days at sea before we get to Hakodate, Japan.
No September 24 for us this year...we crossed the International Date Line. Yet another lazy day at sea with the usual modicum of activity: Trivia and Watercolors. The trivia questions on this ship are fiendish! For example, what is the national game of India? Virtually every team said “cricket,” but the correct answer was Parcheesi of all things!
Friday, September 26
The main has been bounding since yesterday evening. At lunchtime today we were heading directly into 14 foot swells and had slowed to 15 knots. I skipped Watercolors today as I didn’t feel like tripping the light fantastic up the stairs to the place where it is held. Two more days at sea before we get to Hakodate, Japan.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22
And a Happy Elephant Appreciation Day to you all! Jill and I celebrated by wearing our EAP buttons all day. Jill passed out peanuts in the shell to all who asked her about hers. This evening at dinner I distributed packets of Virginia peanuts to all at our table along with our waiter, assistant waiter and head waiter. For those who don’t know, Elephant Appreciation Day, September 22, was begun about 15 years ago to celebrate all the good things that elephants have done forr humans over the ages.
I had a relatively busy day. 10:00 a.m. I heard an interesting lecture about “exotic” fabrics from around the world. 11:00 a.m. brought another interesting lecture about Imperial Russian Alaska and the sea otter fur trade. (Dr. Jay Wolfe will be a lecturer for the entire cruise. He’s an expert in history and a frequent commentator for The History Channel. He’s a wonderful speaker who makes history come alive with great stories.) 12:00 was time for Team Trivia (our team didn’t win, but we did better than yesterday) and 1:00 p.m. was the first session of Watercolor Instruction.
Tuesday, September 23
Well, today we have a bit more “ocean motion”...not enough to be a bother, but enough to feel like we’re at sea. Fairly lazy day but I did make it to Team Trivia and Watercolors. I also atended a reunion meeting of passengers from last year’s Grand South America and Antarctica cruise. I knew I’d seen several familiar faces this year, but it seems like there are 49 of us on board! Not all came to the “reunion,” but many did. Of course the first thing we did was swap stories about the big wave in Drake’s Passage!
And a Happy Elephant Appreciation Day to you all! Jill and I celebrated by wearing our EAP buttons all day. Jill passed out peanuts in the shell to all who asked her about hers. This evening at dinner I distributed packets of Virginia peanuts to all at our table along with our waiter, assistant waiter and head waiter. For those who don’t know, Elephant Appreciation Day, September 22, was begun about 15 years ago to celebrate all the good things that elephants have done forr humans over the ages.
I had a relatively busy day. 10:00 a.m. I heard an interesting lecture about “exotic” fabrics from around the world. 11:00 a.m. brought another interesting lecture about Imperial Russian Alaska and the sea otter fur trade. (Dr. Jay Wolfe will be a lecturer for the entire cruise. He’s an expert in history and a frequent commentator for The History Channel. He’s a wonderful speaker who makes history come alive with great stories.) 12:00 was time for Team Trivia (our team didn’t win, but we did better than yesterday) and 1:00 p.m. was the first session of Watercolor Instruction.
Tuesday, September 23
Well, today we have a bit more “ocean motion”...not enough to be a bother, but enough to feel like we’re at sea. Fairly lazy day but I did make it to Team Trivia and Watercolors. I also atended a reunion meeting of passengers from last year’s Grand South America and Antarctica cruise. I knew I’d seen several familiar faces this year, but it seems like there are 49 of us on board! Not all came to the “reunion,” but many did. Of course the first thing we did was swap stories about the big wave in Drake’s Passage!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Friday, September 19
Ah! On board at last! In my cabin surrounded by suitcases not yet unpacked. But the life boat drill is over and there’s nothing to do for the next 9 days but relax and get used to the ship while we cross the Pacific to Hakodate, Japan.
My flight from Virginia went smoothly as did the transfer from the airport to the hotel. The Fairmont Olympic is an historic hotel in downtown Seattle with a great deal of Georgian architecture and ornamentation. My room was quite comfortable and spacious.
Yesterday evening I had dinner with my cousin, Hunter, and his wife, Patricia, who live here. They took me to a great Italian restaurant where they often dine. The owner greeted all three of us with great glee and Italian effusiveness. Hunter and Patricia have just returned from three weeks in Italy, including several places recommended by the restaurant owner, so there was a good deal of talk about those places as they caught him up on their travels. We had a truly delicious dinner and a lovely visit. As always, other people’s children and now grandchildren tend to grow up on me when I’m not looking. Hunter’s first grandchild, Evan, is suddenly ten years old! Not only that, but his brother Nathaniel (Nate) is five, and I’d never even heard about him! (Note to self: keep in better touch!)
This morning I met a member of my Haiku Special Interest Group (SIG) for breakfast at the hotel. Mike Leake has been a member for quite a while, and has coordinated most of our recent Rengas-by-Mail. He lives in Issaquah and works in downtown Seattle. We ate in the hotel’s gorgeous Georgian dinning room...very high, wide, and handsome...must have been a ballroom at one time. Our enjoyable conversation ranged from haiku to history along with a dozen or two other topics. An auspicious start to boarding day!
The boarding process went very smoothly. As our cabins were not yet ready, I headed up to the Lido deck and found Jill just where I thought she would be. We had lunch and chatted until almost 2:00 p.m. when we strolled off to find our cabins. We are each on the port side of Lower Promenade deck, not too far apart. What I have seen so far of the ms Amsterdam is conveniently laid out and beautifully decorated as are all the Holland America ships. It’s quite familiar as it is the sister ship of the ms Maasdam on which I sailed last November.
After reading through assorted information on shore tours, I took myself off to the Shore Excursion Office to consult about both the ones I had already booked and several others I wanted to book. I wound up cancelling an all-day tour in Bangkok which included a lunch where you have to sit on the floor Japanese style. I have no intention of voluntarily putting my body at floor or ground level again in this life, so nix on that tour. I also cancelled a pedi-cab tour in Da Nang, Viet Nam when it was explained that one has to be able to hoist oneself pretty high off the ground to get into the thing...also not in my physical lexicon any more. Lastly, I have cancelled the land tour to Xi’an and Beijing due to the extreme amount of walking involved. The young man who was helping me said that he was exhausted after doing that tour last year...ooookay, fine! I did book a fistful of other tours which you will hear about as I take them.
Now to do a bit of unpacking before dinner. Later, y’all.
Saturday, September 20
I spent the majority of the day unpacking and recovering from jet lag (aka “sleeping”). Thus I missed the first bexcitement of the trip. Ship’s rumor reports that a woman who was traveling alone was discovered in her cabin paralyzed on one side (sounds like a stroke to me). Anyway, the ship turned around and headed back toward North America until it could rendevous with a plane from the Canadian Coast Guard which circled us until a CCG rescue helicopter could arrive. A paramedic and basket were then lowered to the front deck then hoisted back up with the woman aboard. After that we turned around and again headed for Hakodate.
According to what I can see on the display of the ship’s position, we are nnot going anywhere near the Aleutian Islands. Ship’s rumor also has it that the reason that we are not going to Petropavlosk in Russia is that the last Holland America ship that stopped there was not cleared by Russian Customs for people to go ashore until six hours after arrival. When you only have nine or ten in port, cutting six off is a definite no-go...especially when they still had to pay the tour operators on shore.
Sunday, September 21
The Pacific Ocean has been living up to its name...pacific...smooth as glass! Outside weather is chilly and mostly cloudy although the sun breaks through on occasion.
This morning I signed up for Watercolor Instruction every sea day at 1:00 p.m. Should be interesting and fun. Later I joined a Trivia Team which also meets on sea days...also fun.
This evening is the first formal night. Maybe our “missing” tablemates will turn up. Jill and I are at a table for eight, but have only met three others so far: Mary from Seattle, Phyllis from Phoenix, and Josie from Edmonton, Alberta. It’s going to be a good group, even if no one else shows up. Harvey and some of his family of pookahs may board in Japan to fill the empty seats...we’ll see.
I’ve also just discovered that I can access the ship’s wireless network from my cabin. This is excellent since I won’t have to haul my laptop up to one of the public areas to do e-mail and the blog.
Ah! On board at last! In my cabin surrounded by suitcases not yet unpacked. But the life boat drill is over and there’s nothing to do for the next 9 days but relax and get used to the ship while we cross the Pacific to Hakodate, Japan.
My flight from Virginia went smoothly as did the transfer from the airport to the hotel. The Fairmont Olympic is an historic hotel in downtown Seattle with a great deal of Georgian architecture and ornamentation. My room was quite comfortable and spacious.
Yesterday evening I had dinner with my cousin, Hunter, and his wife, Patricia, who live here. They took me to a great Italian restaurant where they often dine. The owner greeted all three of us with great glee and Italian effusiveness. Hunter and Patricia have just returned from three weeks in Italy, including several places recommended by the restaurant owner, so there was a good deal of talk about those places as they caught him up on their travels. We had a truly delicious dinner and a lovely visit. As always, other people’s children and now grandchildren tend to grow up on me when I’m not looking. Hunter’s first grandchild, Evan, is suddenly ten years old! Not only that, but his brother Nathaniel (Nate) is five, and I’d never even heard about him! (Note to self: keep in better touch!)
This morning I met a member of my Haiku Special Interest Group (SIG) for breakfast at the hotel. Mike Leake has been a member for quite a while, and has coordinated most of our recent Rengas-by-Mail. He lives in Issaquah and works in downtown Seattle. We ate in the hotel’s gorgeous Georgian dinning room...very high, wide, and handsome...must have been a ballroom at one time. Our enjoyable conversation ranged from haiku to history along with a dozen or two other topics. An auspicious start to boarding day!
The boarding process went very smoothly. As our cabins were not yet ready, I headed up to the Lido deck and found Jill just where I thought she would be. We had lunch and chatted until almost 2:00 p.m. when we strolled off to find our cabins. We are each on the port side of Lower Promenade deck, not too far apart. What I have seen so far of the ms Amsterdam is conveniently laid out and beautifully decorated as are all the Holland America ships. It’s quite familiar as it is the sister ship of the ms Maasdam on which I sailed last November.
After reading through assorted information on shore tours, I took myself off to the Shore Excursion Office to consult about both the ones I had already booked and several others I wanted to book. I wound up cancelling an all-day tour in Bangkok which included a lunch where you have to sit on the floor Japanese style. I have no intention of voluntarily putting my body at floor or ground level again in this life, so nix on that tour. I also cancelled a pedi-cab tour in Da Nang, Viet Nam when it was explained that one has to be able to hoist oneself pretty high off the ground to get into the thing...also not in my physical lexicon any more. Lastly, I have cancelled the land tour to Xi’an and Beijing due to the extreme amount of walking involved. The young man who was helping me said that he was exhausted after doing that tour last year...ooookay, fine! I did book a fistful of other tours which you will hear about as I take them.
Now to do a bit of unpacking before dinner. Later, y’all.
Saturday, September 20
I spent the majority of the day unpacking and recovering from jet lag (aka “sleeping”). Thus I missed the first bexcitement of the trip. Ship’s rumor reports that a woman who was traveling alone was discovered in her cabin paralyzed on one side (sounds like a stroke to me). Anyway, the ship turned around and headed back toward North America until it could rendevous with a plane from the Canadian Coast Guard which circled us until a CCG rescue helicopter could arrive. A paramedic and basket were then lowered to the front deck then hoisted back up with the woman aboard. After that we turned around and again headed for Hakodate.
According to what I can see on the display of the ship’s position, we are nnot going anywhere near the Aleutian Islands. Ship’s rumor also has it that the reason that we are not going to Petropavlosk in Russia is that the last Holland America ship that stopped there was not cleared by Russian Customs for people to go ashore until six hours after arrival. When you only have nine or ten in port, cutting six off is a definite no-go...especially when they still had to pay the tour operators on shore.
Sunday, September 21
The Pacific Ocean has been living up to its name...pacific...smooth as glass! Outside weather is chilly and mostly cloudy although the sun breaks through on occasion.
This morning I signed up for Watercolor Instruction every sea day at 1:00 p.m. Should be interesting and fun. Later I joined a Trivia Team which also meets on sea days...also fun.
This evening is the first formal night. Maybe our “missing” tablemates will turn up. Jill and I are at a table for eight, but have only met three others so far: Mary from Seattle, Phyllis from Phoenix, and Josie from Edmonton, Alberta. It’s going to be a good group, even if no one else shows up. Harvey and some of his family of pookahs may board in Japan to fill the empty seats...we’ll see.
I’ve also just discovered that I can access the ship’s wireless network from my cabin. This is excellent since I won’t have to haul my laptop up to one of the public areas to do e-mail and the blog.
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