notes from a global piano bar: greeting from ketchikan!

cruise ships lined up like sentries in ketchikan

so i got my bob back on friday in seattle! that morning i was able to have a happy 50^th anniversary celebration with my folks while bob got re-situated – we had a really nice visit and got to catch up on each other’s situations before they get ready to move while we are away… (when i was younger my pop always said that someday when i left they would move and leave no forwarding address… hee hee)

it was a whirl getting bob in the door and catching up on some lost time this year… we are now comfortably settled in in our new digs (swanky!) and we will be settling into our comfortable, tho busy, at sea routine. everything is far easier and happier when he is here!

our first day was at sea going through the inside passage. quite lovely… my first night’s theme in the piano bar was ‘getting to know you,’ which is where i just chat with people, getting their names, asking where they are from, what kind of music they like, and is pretty much an all request night. people are often tired from traveling, so they will either not want to sing or clap along, or they draw a blank when it is their turn to request a song. this is when we fall back on the artist request, so they don’t have to come up with a particular song… i don’t make them work too hard on their first night! the second night was the genre-stump-the band game ‘american pie’, and was a formal night. on these shorter cruises, i am usually working 9-close, so my themed set is from 9-10, happy hour is from 10-11, and after that we might go til anywhere from 11:30 til 1, depending on how much activity, how many port days in a row, etc. the guest have had.

yesterday was ketchikan day, and my theme was ‘let’s be frank!’ featuring the music of frank sinatra. it was fairly well attended, and i had a good, steady crowd for the rest of the evening, tapering at 12:15… nice folks, and i think with my wits back around me, i am doing better this cruise in terms of getting people’s names down, etc. i have a few guests who i have met on other cruises, and one gal who even said she booked this particular run because i am on it. that felt good! i’m never too aware of what day of the week it is, only whether it is a sea day or which port we are in. i am firmly fixed in knowing that anchorage and seattle are both on fridays, tho…

nino has started his senior year (hard to believe!) and has some great senior pics (which he hates) coming soon… our summer boarder, uncle larry, moved out, and with me and bob taking off, the mascorella boys and the dog are bachelors in a quieter home… we will be back in time for christmas holidays taking december and january off, and we may take a little family trip out to the winter-stormy coast. that would be fun!

in ketchikan, bob and i went out to walk and get some good coffee… we took the married man’s trail through the woods ( back when, the fellows could visit the fancy houses on creek street this way without being seen…)… lovely day! hope everyone is well, and here are a few pics to get current… cheers!