ok... i did it again with the skipping a couple days thing... sorry!

since my last entry, we’ve hit my hometown of anchorage, the lovely hamlet by the sea of homer, surprisingly sunny kodiak and the mighty hubbard glacier.  today we are in sitka, maybe my favorite little place we go, and i had some great coffee, walked around, checked in at a few fave spots, got some homemade chowder and am now back on the ship.  a lovely, cool cloudy day and the air smells like the ocean.  every so often, like today, the air smells and feels just a certain way that takes me immediately back to my childhood years in valdez, and i wish we could stay in some of these ports for a few more days… oh well! 

i am now all about a nap, then it will be dinner time, shower time, then show time.  only 3 days til bob gets here, and then the days will get a sort of lovely routine to them… i mean, sure, i do okay on my own, but i think most people who know me know i am much better with my loved ones than without.  bob will be a stabilizing influence for sure!  it was so great to talk to him and nino today and hear about his upcoming schedule this year – IB art, graphic design, newspaper and yearbook… sweet senior schedule!  busy, but fun, and a nice preview to what art school might be like… so glad he’s got a cool schedule, a cool girlfriend, some good friends and his papa to keep him busy, yet balanced while i am on the road.  i always feel pretty ripped up about heading out, so i get some comfort from knowing this. 

i feel that even tho alaska sounds so adventurous, and can be, it is still so familiar to me that i have this sense that my real adventure will really begin when we leave for asia… i will try and remember that some of you might not be so familiar with Alaska, so i will pledge to blog the next two week cruise better… like i said, when bob is here, my routine is just more solid, and, in a sweet way, bob always helps me with goals i have (like blogging) by being a buffer, or bodyguard of sorts to deflect casual chatter, folks who want to sit down and join and any other distractions… he’s sweet that way!  anyway, only 3 more days til i feel like my head will be on a little straighter…  it will be nice not having to miss bob.  i’ll still be missing my babies (nino and gimli), that doesn’t really go away, and having bob here will definitely be a comfort and keep me on a more even keel!

big hellos to everyone!

gee, it's busy!!!

normally i am so right on with the daily entry – i’ll tell you, tho, i have had surprisingly little free time since i have been on – between updating all my expired trainings, getting to the gym to learn how to work stuff and then actually getting to the gym and doing it, writing port songs and show prep every day, i am wiped out by the end of the day… anyway, i am in anchorage today and will be spending the day with friends and family, and i really want to get to it, but i swear i will be able to catch up a little now that my obligatory certifications are done and i am getting a bit of a routine down… crazy busy!  at least it will make the time go quickly til bob gets here next week and the trip will prob'ly be a blur, then i will be back home with nino and gimli for the holidays… what a life!  more soon, i promise, port songs, and pictures, too!  xo

yes, i'm here!

well, it’s been a coupla days – it will take me a minute to get back to the daily thing… day before yesterday we were in Ketchikan, and it was beautiful and rainy and gray… call me crazy, but i love my rainforests rainy!  i love anything rainy, actually, but it was lovely.  the air is so fresh, and it definitely wakes you up.  as usual, once i get out to sea, my allergies basically disappear… funny!  nice to not be all medicated!  my theme for the night was ‘american pie,’ a genre stump the band game that usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour and goes through a wide variety of tunes.  i like to play this at the top of a cruise so that people realize they can ask for all kinds of stuff and it will be more fun for everyone, including me.  nice crowd so far, and it was nice to see the cruise director and hotel manager and event manager come hang out for most of a set. 

one of my fave guest entertainers is here, jeff trachta.  i’ve met him on several cruises, so we’ve gotten to know one another a little bit over time, and he always comes in and is supportive.  the guitar player who opens up my lounge from 5-9 (i play 9-close) is a nice kid from texas.  he has a pretty good rapport with folks and sets the room up well for me, so he’s alright with me.  we have been overlapping and doing a couple of tunes together which the crowd seems to enjoy also.  glad the powers that be are amenable to that. 

yesterday we cruised tracy arm, a fjord very close to Juneau, and we got fairly close to the sawyer glacier.  i will do a coupla pics once i get some more batteries.  before they died, i did snap a coupla pics out my window so y’all could check out my snazzy new view.  i really am enjoying the new cabin.  i think, even though i am rather mole-like, that the daylight at some level for at least a little bit is probably good for me.

today we are in lovely rainy Juneau, and i am trying to hide my glee at my fave weather because most people really hate it, especially when they are on vacation… oh well.  i went to the trainer today to get my metabolic tests and go over my food plan – put together a realistic vision, i think, and i’ll keep you posted.  i walked a lot today, picked up a few items at the fred meyer’s and made sure my car payment was made… made plans to meet up with my buddy brett and my sister donna in anchorage this friday, so i am very much looking forward to that!  tonight’s theme is ‘showtime’ which will contain music from broadway, movies and television… i will get back into the blogging habit and the camera being with me habit and should be rolling here this week.  thanks for coming with me!

cruising the inside passage

checked in and unpacked… called home and told the fellas i miss and love them!  i had my first night last night, and it was a great group of guests.  sometimes, the first night is just people wandering by, looking in , and then moving on to see everything before they decide where to hang… i have a guitar player playing in my lounge til 9pm, so i went a little early and we had a little impromptu session at the end of his set.  the crowd seemed to really enjoy it, and we had fun.  no particular theme to my show, just called “getting to know you,” and i just try and chat with folks, see where they are from, and get a read on their musical tastes.  it ends up being pretty much an all request night… we had quite a variety, too!  everything from buddy holly to etta james… good stuff!  we rolled til about 12:30, and i slept really well.  i am in a swanky new room on the top deck, and have a great big window and am a few feet away from the sports deck, which i would prefer to think of as my own very large verandah. 

up early today for safety trainings, updates, department meeting, crew ID picture, busy!  after lunch, i took a walk on my verandah, down the back stairs to the promenade, around that a coupla times, nice scenery here along the inside passage, and decided i would enjoy a bit of organization time in my room followed by a nap (short night, long day yesterday…). 

i dropped a few pounds over the summer, and i am trying to not undo my progress out here, so i brought my good walking shoes, and made an appointment with a trainer in the gym to put a gym program together for this contract as well.  he’s giving me the metabolic/diagnostic test for free, so that’s cool… and it is actually possible to eat very healthy here, you just have to avoid certain things, but they certainly have everything one needs.  … i was down 13# over my break, and i’ll see if i can at least do that again or better while i am here.  i usually get more activity at sea than i do at home because i walk a lot more… i’ll keep you posted on my progress.  ciao for now!

i guess it's really happening...

always so weird prepping to leave and not realizing i'm really going til i say goodbye to nino.  that's definitely always the worst part.  i was glad he went to his pal austin's tonight so i can say goodnight and see ya soon tonight instead of at 6 in the morning...

had a nice dinner (green curry with alaskan halibut from my folks, jasmine rice, edamame) with the whole fam and my friend, ahsha - she and i have missed connections all summer long, so this really was the last chance to hang before the holidays...

bob is amazing, as usual, helping me every step of the way from transfering lyrics from my laptop to my ipad, to being there to hug me when i am still sniffling from hugging nino farewell... he is a rock for me, and i know how lucky i am.

tomorrow when i get around to blogging i will be on board my ship, and getting settled in.  now that my berthing assignment has been moved to the uppermost deck, i wonder if i will get internet in my room - i never did when i was below decks... i hope so!

great gig last night!

our last wednesday night gig at the wine bar 'til the holidays... it was lovely, with special guest vocalists, carole miguel and stephanie johnson... good times!  the only melancholy note was saying goodbye to my folks, who are moving while we are out at sea... it might be awhile before we get to see them, and it certainly won't be every week like it is now.  *sigh*   at least my mom will still have business out here and she and dad can come visit, and when they get settled, we will be able to see them and bob's brother down in colorado when we get a break.  my son will truly be bach-ing it with his dad this time out, but i am grateful he is as independent as he is, and now that he's got a girlfriend, he won't be without lots of hugs (hee hee...)... lucky to be escaping before the sunny, hot weather finally arrives!  not my thing... i'll take gloomy, chilly september in alaska, then we won't get heat 'til we get to australia... and there's always the climate control of the ship to return to after a day in the elements...  i've so enjoyed my summer at home, and this is the hard part where i am keenly aware how much i will really miss my son, my folks, my dog, my friends... i will focus on being a workaholic to cope, and be making the most of this time at work and having some adventures with bob - in this crazy economy i am grateful for the work and the fact that with bob's and my needs mostly covered on the gig, we can save most of what we make... that's another reason i aim to do this for awhile to come.  if we are, indeed, facing another possible recession dip, we will get through it playing, and try and just enjoy our lives in spite of it.  what else can you do?  i learned a long time ago that if you make your happiness conditional on external circumstances, you won't have a very happy life.  it's better to go for happiness first, and then just deal with things the best you can from the stance of feeling good...  more soon!

grand world voyage 2011 port songs are available to listen to or download!

Port Songs 1-21 link: http://soundcloud.com/bneale000/sets/Port-Songs-1-21/ 

Port Songs 22-42 link: http://soundcloud.com/irbank/sets/port-songs-22-42

thanks to bob for getting all these up onto this download service!  you can click on link to listen to or download the songs from the grand world 2011 voyage... cheers!

busy day!

i think bob and i finally made it through the whole house sorting things to be put in phase one of our garage sale series... 1st one will be next weekend (after i leave - lucky me!) and be all the little to medium-sized stuff, the bric-a-brac, the 13 out of 15 candleholders, baskets, the extra ice bucket, the olive oil pitcher and bread dipping set, the multiple floral vases, the houseplants (i can't bear to come back from another voyage to more dead plants...), there is soooo much stuff that gets accumulated.  anyway, we got a lot done...

nino and i went to see midnight in paris, which was wonderful, and we had thanksgiving leftovers for dinner... mmm!!!  many errands to run tomorrow, to get last minute necessities, etc, then we have a gig at the north city wine bistro at 7pm... hope to see some of you there!  ciao for now!

getting ready to head back out...

yes, it's that time again... the last week before i go back is always major in terms of packing, preparation and panic - whether i will be ready, whether the boys at home are ready for me to go, and it is a bit of a whirlwind! it is monday today, and i leave early friday morning, so this is it!  and what a great summer break i have had!  it's been so good to share some time with nino, watching him having a busy summer, getting a girlfriend, yearbook camp, newspaper camp, art camp, time with friends... i have a movie date with him tomorrow (glad he could squeeze me in!)!  i have had fun playing a little bit of dueling piano this summer and at the wine bar... bob and i still have this wed nite at the wine bar, so i will look forward to the chance to play with him before i head out!  i needed a break after the wonderful world voyage we did, and after a great summer, i feel i will be fresh and ready to go for this fall!

today we are having our un-thanksgiving dinner since bob and i will not be here in november - i am doing a full-on turkey dinner with all the trimmings, too!  i will be blogging at sea again, and want to invite you all to join me on this journey - i will be finishing the alaska season, then embarking on a long voyage to asia and australia.... so exciting!  i am also so happy that my husband, bob, will be on this voyage, too, joining two weeks after i board... just wanted to get the blog up and running and put the word out!  stay tuned!