112 Diana and I in the Atrium before the Black and Silver Ball
115 Some of the cruise staff. The girl next to Diana is Daniella the Tai Chi instructor from Portugal.
Sept 29 - At Sea. After yesterday’s seventh consecutive 25-hour day I’m wondering if we get a ninth today. We’re heading south so the longitude lines are getting farther and farther apart. Guess I’ll just have to wait to find out. Tonight is the Black and Silver Ball, which is their way of saying dress, will be formal for the evening. That will mean two down and 12 to go.
If you’ve been looking at my blog it’s been a mess. The satellite internet connection has been wild here in the North Pacific. We sailed so close to several of the Aleutian Islands that I could have hit them with a rock. Not really but it makes a good story. I think I have the issues under control but won’t really know until I try to send today’s entry. I’m going to attach a few photos to see how it winds up on the blog.
The Unexpected Boys lead singer is recuperated and they put on a matinée show this afternoon. Their shtick was corny but their music was very good. Frankie Valle had some great hits and they covered most of the biggest ones.
This evening is formal and officially the Black and Silver Ball. HAL often has a Bland and Gold Ball or a Black and White Ball but this is the first Black and Silver I’ve encountered. Some of the ladies go all out for these things and a portion of the ship’s officers are required to attend to provide dancing partners. Most seem to enjoy it but traditionally if the ship’s engineering staff is mostly Dutch, not so much. If their Scots, they seem to love it. On the other hand, the Dutch captains and navigation staff usually have a great time. Should be interesting.
Dinner on formal night is always interesting. Usually too many favorites show up and you have to choose between them. Last formal night I had Beef Wellington, a dish that HAL does particularly well.
Tonight the hits just kept on coming at dinner. They had ‘Surf & Turf’, a filet mignon with lobster tail, medallions of venison and almond crusted salmon, three excellent choices and only one stomach to put them in. Delicious once again. However the crowning glory of the dinner was desert. They had Lovin’ Spoonful Chocolate Cake. It’s layers of fudge cream, semi-sweet chocolate genache with just enough dark chocolate cake in between for it to qualify as a cake. Yikes!!
Diana was wearing a jacket she had made from some silk fabric her dad brought back from occupied Japan in 1947. It has alternating black and sheer stripes and is a gorgeous piece of cloth. A tailor in Irvine told her exactly what to buy to line it and made her a very nice jacket.
Historical Note: Diana’s dad fought on Iwo Jima and then was sent to China to prepare his Marines for the invasion of Japan. Fortunately for him and me, Harry dropped first one, and then when the Japanese remained unconvinced, a second A-Bomb that ended WWII in the Pacific. Had Harry flinched on that decision her dad surely would have been killed, along with thousands of other US soldiers and Marines in the invasion. Instead he was part of the transition government in Japan. I grow very weary of all the hand wringing over Harry’s decision to drop the bomb. It appears to me that if someone comes into your house and absolutely begs to get their butts kicked, they have no room to whine when you accommodate them.
The ball was fun. The poor captain got no break whatsoever. A constant stream of ladies kept him on the dance floor continuously.
Another hour back tonight for a total count of 8 in a row. Tomorrow’s the last day at sea before we arrive in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
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