My friend Farrell has already written me four or five times on this subject. The last time, attaching an article, he wrote the single word, “Ouch!”
Jon Stewart was a major disappointment at the Oscars.
I guess the good news is, he was a disappointment because he’s normally so good. The bad news is, for many people, this is their introduction – and possibly their final impression.
Tom Shales was brutal in today’s Washington Post – but Shales specializes in being brutal¹.
I wonder what’s going through Stewart’s mind today? Is he having second thoughts about he approached the broadcast? Has he just tossed it off and moved back to his ‘real’ life?
¹ – After I put this online, Farrell called and questioned my characterization of Shales.
Shales does not specialize in being brutal. He writes better than anyone on the subject of television period. He’s honest, frank. Likes TV and when he sees something good, he praises it. When he sees something bad, he’ll write and say so. And you can quote me, WeatherBoy™!
Before I left home, and now that I’m at work, I have been watching the one Olympic sport I really enjoy – 
Every cruise must have a muster drill within the first 24 hours. We had ours at 4:30 PM the afternoon of our departure. That was two hours before we left, and I assume not everyone was on board by then.
Of course normal lifeboats aren’t the only way off. There are some oddball methods which are enumerated on Deck 7.
I can’t begin to tell you how clean this ship was. There were squads of employees constantly patrolling the food areas. No piece of schmutz would stay for long!
If Mexico to you is Tijuana, you would have been sorely disappointed. There was virtually no sleaze!
This arch, at Lands End, Cabo San Lucas, is a sight made famous by The Love Boat. I snapped a few shots of it as we passed by. Then, our ship made a u-turn and headed around the other side. I waited with the camera, but the arch never reappeared!
Going to the Colima Volcano was one of my favorite moments. It was reasonably far from Manzanillo (which the ship’s captain constantly pronounced “Man-zan-ill-oh”), which meant a long car drive.
As we traveled from port-to-port, I began to notice these prehistoric looking birds.
Is there a Mexican Navy, you might ask? Sure. We saw installations of four or five ships at a few of our port stops.
In the meantime, as long as I’m writing, I might as well say I was disappointed with my choice of photos from Cabo San Lucas. It’s a little difficult to change things without full time Internet access (I have been writing the blog offline and then uploading the entries and photos all at once). When I get home I will post more from Cabo, which was beautiful.
I had a meat/cheese/spinach lasagna. As has been the case with nearly all the food, it was excellent. My dessert was an Italian cheesecake.
OK – on to the reason for this entry. We decided to see a magic show tonight. The venue was the Spinnaker Lounge, where we saw Dave Heenan last night. This magician, Matt Fallon, was performing some close-up magic.
I make no claim of being anything but a dweeb myself. There was no chance of my being name most popular while a teenager.
I tried to do my best to help a fellow performer. That meant I did as I was told and wasn’t too curious or anxious to bust his trick (Not that I could. I just didn’t try).
We did decide to see Dave Heenan, the comedian, again. This time he was in the Spinnaker Lounge on Deck 12. It’s a nightclub style venue. I’m guessing it seats 400 or so. The chairs are comfy. The service is excellent.
When the show ended, we walked downstairs to Aqua. That’s deck 12 to Deck 6 for those counting. It was nearly closing time and the restaurant was emptying out. Once again the meal was great and once again I had a light cooking meal that couldn’t have been light. It was Chicken Parmesan with pasta. The dessert was a souffle.
I’m not really sure whether it was the captain’s announcement or Helaine in the shower that woke me this morning. They happened pretty much simultaneously. We were anchored near the harbor at Cabo.
Looking out I could see miles of white beach flanked by five and six story hotel (maybe condo) buildings. Between us and the shore was a huge yacht. Whatever you’re thinking of, it’s bigger. A helicopter sat on an upper deck in the rear of the ship. Attached by lines were a few jet skis and other small boats.
Helaine and I went up to Deck 12 for breakfast while Stef showered. As soon as we had a vantage from the port side of the ship, I saw the rocky outcropping that makes Cabo San Lucas so famous.
A few of the lifeboats had been lowered down to the water. They would be used for tendering.
When you looked to the water, you saw boats and you saw pelicans. Lots of pelicans.
“Cabo Wabo” is owned by rocker Sammy Hagar. It’s a few blocks off the main drag, up a hill and across the way from a strip club. Inside was set up for small concerts with bar service. My guess is the real money maker is the merchandise stand near the front door.
We didn’t buy anything from these vendors, but we did make one more stop. At a bend in the marina, a Mexican man stood, holding two iguanas. One was wearing a sombrero. Neither seemed particularly mindful that they were the main attraction in this man’s business.
We tendered in and were back on the ship by 12:30. Right now, as I type, the last of the tenders are bringing passengers back. A few of the tenders have already been hoisted on their davits and stowed for their real job. We should get underway within 10 – 15 minutes.
With a few blasts of the ship’s horn, we’re underway. Though we’ll be doing 21 knots on the trip north, it takes a long time to accelerate to that point.
We’re all alone in the Pacific.
The crew is very much like the United Nations with a few critical expulsions.
Have I mentioned the stairs? I wish I had a pedometer. We have been walking stairs like crazy. Each of us climbs and descends dozens of floors worth of steps. Sure, I huff and puff when I reach our room, but isn’t that OK after climbing six or seven flights?
Since we’re in an industrial port, with lots of activity, including auto imports, we got on the mandatory, but free, shuttle, which brought us to the main gate. From there we hopped a cab.
We got out, walked to the sidewalk, and about three feet later Helaine and Stef walked into a store selling silver and other things you buy in foreign ports. Stef got a few little rings.
Considering this was a mystery resort, what we saw was a pleasant surprise. We walked through the lobby and between hotel buildings, following signs to the “playa/beach.”
We made our way to the beach, to a man sitting in his ‘office’ under an umbrella. Did he have wave runners to rent? You bet!
The bay itself was large and bounded by hilly islands. Criss crossing the water were other wave runners, sail boats and power boats, some towing tourists harnessed into parachutes.
I don’t know that much about wave runners, but I do know we went fast and neither of us had the guts to really let them run! I can’t imagine.
I know it wasn’t Steffie’s first thought for a good time. That changed by the time we were done.
We headed back through the hotel, looking to find a cab. Here in Mazatlan there is a strange looking, open air vehicle, used as a taxi. If you recognize what this was when it started life, let me know. There are no identifying marks – as if the manufacturer wanted to disavow all knowledge of its Mazatlan usage.
As we drove, I stuck my body to the right, out of the vehicle, and took photos. It didn’t take Jorge long to notice. Before long we were slowing down for anything vaguely resembling a photo op.
I’m glad I have this shot, because it is really the first time I’ve been able to show the ship in perspective. It is a behemoth – and I think you sense that looking at the size of things in the foreground.
Jorge (note the Red Sox hat) asked for $10, but got $15. He is the kind of good will ambassador any tourist town needs. I speak no Spanish and I think Jorge matches me in English.
I woke up early enough to hear the Captain on the P.A. system. The harbor pilot was coming on for our entry into the harbor at Manzanillo. I moved to the balcony.
Two gangways led of the ship. I went down one, looked, didn’t see Gilles and moved on. I went to the second. He wasn’t there either!
Long story short, it wasn’t long before I was in Gilles SUV and we were heading out of Manzanillo.
As we approached Colima, we left the highway for a more traditional road, then cobblestones through a town and finally onto a winding rutted dirt road running along the edge of a cliff.
There was another gate farther up the path and we repeated the process.
Even if you’d never seen a volcano, it is immediately obvious. The sides are steep and a light gray, courtesy of the ash which accompanies eruptions.
As we watched super heated steam escape from the top, another truck pulled up. Inside were three Mexican men, in the forties. They sat down and watched too.
Even without major activity, Colima was active. The plume’s steam intensity varied with time. Every once in a while a different plume of steam or smoke would rise from one of the mountain’s faces. Gilles said, at night you would often see the glow of molten lava.
I’m back on the ship now. It was quite a day.
No need to rush. I’m writing this from Gate B17 at Baltimore – Washington Airport. It’s nearly 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. Our flight doesn’t leave until well after 6:00 PM.
Actually, our night at the Holiday Inn was just fine, punctuated by Helaine’s discovery that ‘shadow puppets’ could be projected on the wall. She does the world’s best AFLAC duck. Steffie attempted a worm.
We moved into the rat’s maze that leads to the ticket counter and scanned the agents. Who would we get? Who did we want?
Steffie and Helaine were hungry, so we headed to a ‘real’ restaurant, Phillips Seafood. I must admit, though it cost nearly as much as Steffie bat mitzvah, it was very good.
Our original flight from Hartford is also on the board as delayed. I will watch with interest to see if it is in early enough to allow passengers and baggage to move to the Los Angeles flight.
Helaine asked Stef if she’d let me drive her. I’m sure Steffie could have made the drive herself, but I think she was happier to not risk it.
I dropped Steffie off and headed back north. From home Helaine made the call for Chinese food. Garrison Keillor was coming on the radio and I turned his homey, anachronistic music up loud.
Now the two of us are home, as we are nearly every New Year’s Eve. I think the last time we went out was when we were dating. We got into a fight and nearly broke up. New Year’s Eve out lost its luster that night.