On the Golden, Days 6-14

OK. So you missed some stuff. The reason I didn't post for the past 10 days or so wasn't because I didn't have time. Sure I was busy when we were in the islands, but what about those four and a half days and five nights when I was crossing the Pacific?

For one thing, I was mostly disconnected from the news, and life in general. Lots of stuff happened on the ship -- met some fun people, played a lot of poker (two words: bad beat), read four books. I had some things to say, I suppose, but I didn't feel so much like commenting on what was going on as I was experiencing what was going on.

That said, I would like to share a couple of video clips I captured on board and on the islands, just to give you a flavor for the trip. I tried to upload them from the boat, but usually the connection was just too sketchy.

This bit was taken on Hawaii, our first day ashore. It's of the current steam/gas vent taking place in Kiluea Iki:



Yes, it was windy up on the crater's edge.

This one I took one day, heading west, just to give you a feel for the sensation of sitting on the veranda, enjoying the sound of water as the ship slices through the sea:



And this one is just to give you a TINY feel for the vastness of the Pacific.



Now imagine four days of that. Hypnotic. Not sure what four months would be like.

On the Golden, Days 3-5

Sorry to gang all these days together, but we've been very busy. Poker, reading, eating -- and even a business conference call (at 5:30 am!) -- seem to fill the days. Poker on day three was awful -- I couldn't get a hand, and when I did, someone else got a better one. But I made it all up on day four.

Yesterday we rented a car on the Big Island and drove up to Volcano National Park, which was amazing. Since I had been there last (in the summer of 1975), there had been several large lava flows that have changed the landscape quite significantly. We drove through miles of young lava fields (see picture above), their black, cracked and fissured surface putting me in mind of a pan of cooked brownies. It looked like an edible landscape. There is currently a large active steam vent in the Kiluea caldera that was quite dramatic. I took a few seconds of video and tried to upload them to share with you, but for some reason the upload process isn't working today. Maybe I can add it when we're in another port.

Today we wandered around Honolulu for a bit, and then I went to the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Powerful, even after all these years.

Tomorrow we are at Kauai.

On the Golden, Day One

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all. In this time of economic stress and political turmoil, it’s important to remember that all of us (at least the readers of the Feast) have much for which to be thankful. In addition to my biggest blessings (chief among them my amazing daughter and adorable husband), I’m also lucky enough to be writing this on the balcony of my stateroom on the Golden Princess as she steams southwest to Hawaii.

Let’s talk about cruising a bit, shall we?

I’d never thought of myself as the sort of person who would enjoy life aboard a giant yacht filled with 24-hour buffets, clanging slot machines, boutiques filled with mostly useless tchotchkes and ruthlessly cheerful (albeit) second-rate entertainers. On the other hand, I love the ocean, love having round-the-clock access to pizza slices, love playing poker and love watching humanity go about its business. On this seagoing hotel, I have all that and more.

We set out last night from San Pedro Harbor, Port of LA, just as sunset. The police boat escorted to the breakwater, and we sat at the stern a while and watch the lights of LA recede into the distance as the great, overfed masses of America (and the world, for there are plenty of Canadians and Brits about, and I hear snippets of conversation in French, Spanish, German and Russian) waddled about us. Make no mistake, if you like your humanity in XXL, a cruise ship is the place for you. The Golden Princess weighs in at 109,000 tons, and 60% is housed in inside cabins on the fiesta deck.

Ever prone to motion sickness, I’ve boarded both my cruises with some trepidation. But with a little help from Meclizine, knock (teak) wood, I’ve had no problems thus far. Granted, it’s a bit odd when you are walking and the floor is in a different place when your set your foot down than it was when you picked it up. It’s disconcerting but not frighteningly so. A bit like biting into a See’s candy that you thought was buttercream but turns out to be filled with caramel: it’s not what you expected, but it’s not unpleasant, either. With the swells relatively small (4-6 feet), and the ship’s stabilizers at work, the ride is quite smooth. When seated, it feels rather like riding a horse in slow motion. At night, lying in bed, the sensation is one of being in a brobdignagian hammock, gently swaying back and forth.

At the moment, the weather is cool, and the sea stretches out in all directions, nothing but blue horizon and the occasional dolphin coming to investigate what beast has invaded its waters.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the food on board ship.