H-91 Brooklyn L H 66 L 56 RAIN H H 76 L 61 RAIN M H 74 L 60 RAIN
L-78 C H 96 L74
Bear update: The Bear says We Must Set Sail After The Piratesses Party. TR says, “The Name Of The Bear Ship Is Bearus 2.” Moose say, “At least it’s not named after you, Bear!” Lou says we will have a General Bearus Party. We will serve General Bearus’s Favorite Foods. The Amazon says, “We will escape.”
We woke up to sun. Will it last? It lasted, and the temperature in Brooklyn climbed to 91.
Tucson 99/78
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and went to breakfast in the motel. We packed up the car and checked out of room 117 at 10:45AM. We followed the motel’s directions to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. We saw the Queen Mary 2, but we couldn’t find the main entrance to the parking lot. Finally we saw arrows and followed them. We arrived at exactly 11:00AM. The odo was 21,450. Gary went to park the car. Kenny and I entered the terminal building to sit there and wait. Finally Gary showed up after snapping photos. We went through the metal detector. Apparently my shoes set the machine off. But before that the machine operator tried to approach me with a wand. I pushed him away. He got angry. But I made my point. Then we approached a check-in counter. We were given the number 3 as well as our room keys. These people had better manners. When our number was called we walked down a hallway and up either an escalator or a stairs. That was what I expected. But after that I expected a glass-sided straight entrance ramp onto the ship. Instead I found a three-part one that snaked up there slowly. At times it stopped. And it wasn’t air-conditioned!
Once we entered the ship we discovered the A/C once again. Then we had only to go up one nice flight of stairs with a painting on the landing to find our cabin, 4072. Not all the luggage had yet arrived. We decided to go to lunch on deck 7 at the King’s Court. We had Italian food. It was somewhat crowded, but we beat most of the mobs. We called my parents and said to visit the pets. Kenny met another Russian. She showed up at our table to advertise a dinner tomorrow night at the special restaurant at the King’s Court. We made a reservation for 7:00PM. That was the earliest they had available, which sounds kind of late to me. Then we saw the Winter Garden and ventured out on the promenade deck. We made our way down to deck 6 and saw the Minnows Pool. We returned to our cabin and unpacked. Surprisingly there was enough room for our clothes and accessories. We heard the muster drill for the Germans being called for the Royal Court Theater. Then they said we were going to have a muster drill in 20 minutes. Wow! They blasted seven times and we appeared at station E on deck 7. The captain came over the loud speaker address system and said we’re about ready to leave port. It’s almost dinner time. We got a photo of the Bearmobile sitting in the parking lot as we left. We went to dinner at the Britannia Restaurant on Deck 2. We had table 169, a table for three. Then we went to a Welcome Aboard Show in the Royal Court Theater. We found Sir Samuel’s and saw some shops on Deck 3. The Bear saw the Queen Mary Bears in a shop. Then we took baths in the shower. They finally delivered the LL Bean cooler.
Friday Facebook Blog: What’s TSA Doing In Brooklyn? I don’t know what TSA is doing at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. We called Cunard, and they said they did their own metal detecting. An obnoxious man confronted us with a wand when we set off the detector. I pushed him off. He said never to touch him. But then doesn’t he have any manners? He’s supposed to tell you to walk through the detector again trying to figure out what’s setting off the alarm.
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Saturday, July 7, ’12
H-68 L H 65 L 57 RAIN H H 76 L 59 M H 76/59
L- C H 96 L 75
Bear update: The Bear says We Have Encountered The Merry Pirates Party. TR says, “I saw them in the store today.” Moose say, “They saw you, too, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Merry Pirate Party. We will serve Merry Pirate Foods.
We woke up to clouds. Will they last? There are patches of blue sky, the captain says as we cruise past the Grand Banks, a fishing area. We get these reports once per day at 12:00 noon. We’re doing 22 knots as a speed with 2 to 3 foot seas. It’s 68 outside our stateroom. It’s cooled down since yesterday.
Tucson 101/78
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went down to deck 3 for Sir Samuel’s for breakfast. They charged us for the tea and coffee, but we got the Danish for free — but they were small. After that we lined up for immigration on deck 3. We showed the British our passports and room cards. German immigration collected our passports to give back in a few days. We then went to Illuminations to listen to a 10:30 lecture about Christopher Columbus. We gave $1000.00 in cash to the purser to put money in our shipboard account. We reported back to our cabin to sign up for the Internet. I bought 260 minutes for $89.95. I got on and posted on Facebook, but I couldn’t get to weebly.com. I sent myself yesterday’s journal and expenses by email and downloaded that. I haven’t been able to complete the weather widgets nor has Kenny been able to get online. It’s one computer at a time. They don’t start serving lunch until 12:30PM. We went to the Britannia Restaurant on deck 2 and ordered ravioli and tomato soup. Kenny went to meet the young adults at 12:30 on the third level, but no one else showed up except him. Probably no one else saw the announcement. We bought two keychains in a gift shop on 3 on the way back to the cabin. Kenny went up to the library to get a book to read. He bought postcards for himself. At 3:30 PM we had tea on deck 7 and visited the library and the bookshop on 8. I bought lots of postcards, an animal book marker, and Gary bought a book in German on Hafen City. Now we’ve got 2 hours and 45 minutes to wait until dinner. I used the time to write postcards, even though I just discovered that it costs $4.20 to mail just three of them! We went to the Carvery for dinner and paid a $30.00 cover charge for the privilege. Kenny was talking to another waitress in Russian. By the time we returned to the room they’d delivered the program of events for tomorrow.
Why do they have to collect my passport for German immigrations on July 7 when I’m not supposed to get there until July 15? Besides, what does Immigration do with my passport? Can’t they just look at it, stamp it, or whatever? What good is collecting it? There is nothing there to read for their edification, and you’re not supposed to let your passport out of your sight!
So far I’ve found three YA novel ideas on this trip. The first was in Van Horn, Texas where the America’s Best Value Inn seemed so deserted with its closed pool and weird night-time lighting that I imagined seeing ghosts playing out there while we went to sleep. That impression was reinforced when we woke up to find the motel deserted, knocking on the door to the reception area where there was no breakfast out. When we checked into the Ramada Inn in Harrisonburg, Virginia there were messages on the phone that didn’t relate to us. You couldn’t get rid of them. They kept on coming back. That reminded me of a YA mystery. Today I saw an ad on the Queen Mary for a rare gemstone called zultanite. First they’re giving a presentation in the Chart Room on Monday. Then Monday afternoon they’re featuring it in the fine jewelry boutique on Deck 3 from 2 to 4 along with glasses of champagne. What’s so special about it? It changes color. Now that sounds supernatural!
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Sunday, July 8, ’12 Time Change 12:00 noon Atlantic Daylight Time
H-66 L H 68 L 57 H H 77 L 59 RAIN M H 78 L 61 RAIN
L- C H 95 L 77
Bear update: The Bear says We Have Captured A Pirate Tiger Party. TR says, “Me wouldn’t want to capture you, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Pirate Tiger Party. We will serve Pirate Tiger Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? No! It got foggy laster in the afternoon. During the Captain’s 12:00 noon report he mentioned dolphins. We were about 130 miles south of Newfoundland, near the North American shelf. He referred to the Labrador currents. He said this is the richest fishing ground where you can find scallops, lobsters, and seabirds, seagulls, seals, and whales. We were doing 21 knots. The sea is 57 degrees. The wind is at 16 knots.
Tucson 101/79 T-STORMS
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went to the Britannia Restaurant for breakfast for the first time. Gary and Kenny wanted orange juice. The lady at the table right next to us was complaining about the ship’s vibrations. The man in her party was saying it was such a big ship. I took lots of photos, including a movie for the first time. After breakfast we went back to 3. The shops weren’t open, but we found the photo shop. They had the very same Lumix camera on sale that I packed as my extra camera, the water proof one. They were selling trip DVD’s, whatever that is. We’ll have to find out. Gary then showed me the laundry room on deck 4, our floor. Then we returned to our cabin. The maid had already come for the day. I went online and did my weather widgets. For some reason I can’t access weebly.com. We went to lunch in the Britannia Dining Room and lost an hour at 12:00 noon. They seated us next to the window. The Bear did his narration. We looked at items in the shops and bought 2 T-shirts and a converter plug. We showed up in the Royal Arcade to watch The Canterbury Tales at 2:30. Shortly after that we showed up at Illuminations to listen to a talk by Nigel West about spies during WW2. When we got back to the cabin we found the invitation for dinner. But when we arrived at the place for the Chef’s Galley we discovered it was Thai food. We ate dinner at the King’s Court instead and then went down to the shops.
The laundry room on the Queen Mary 2 is way too small. They only have one per deck for all the passengers. My husband picked up the laundry after breakfast and took me along this time. You couldn’t edge your way into the tiny space on deck 4 no matter what. You had to keep saying, “Excuse me, excuse me!” One British lady said she was going to dry her clothes on her balcony instead of waiting for a dryer. I can see why. They should have provided at least two laundry rooms, one on port and one on starboard.
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Monday, July 9, ’12 Time Change 12:00 noon West Greenland Summer Time
H-59 L H 67 L 55 RAIN H H 66 L 57 RAIN M H 75 L 58
L- C H 95 L 76
Bear update: The Bear says I Met My Nemesis In The Shop Today Party. TR says, “He was wearing a British Outfit.” Moose say, “Why didn’t he shoot you, Bear!” Lou says we will have a British Bear With A Gun Party. We will serve Fish And Chips.
We woke up to clouds and fog. Will they last? The noon report said that we had cleared the Grand Banks of Newfoundland at 8:00AM this morning. We were skirting the Flemish Cap and were 100 miles E of the Grand Banks. Cold water hits warm air and turns into fog. Behind us a depression formed that created some swells. We are 350 nautical miles E of Newfoundland. Our speed is 22 knots. We’ve come 499 nautical miles since noon yesterday. The seas are moderate. The temperature in the North Atlantic climbed to 59.
Tucson 104/81 Gila Bend 116/90
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went to Sir Samuel’s for breakfast just as we did Saturday morning. We mailed the postcards on deck 2 at the purser’s office and charged up our onboard account with another $500.00 in cash. We returned to our cabin. The maid was already there. I went online and downloaded email and did my weather widgets. I also sent myself an email and posted on Facebook. I can’t access my bank accounts on Fidelity. I can’t even get to Amazon. I haven’t been able to access weebly.com since I boarded the ship on Friday. It seems as if there’s a problem accessing anything where you have to reach a website and then go through a log in procedure. The internet is unbelievably bad! Shortly after 11:00AM Gary left for a short game of cricket on deck 13, believe it or not. Kenny and I downloaded photos. We went down to deck 3 to return the converter. We met Gary and went to Sir Samuel’s for lunch. I listened to the noon report. We are now on West Greenland Summer Time.
After that I found the zultanite exhibition and took photos and notes. It continues to remind me of a YA novel. Kenny went back to the room. We bought Gary a new watch. I got a wallet. We then met for the matinee classical concert at 3:00PM at the Royal Court Theater on the lower level. We listened to an opera singer as I moved items from one wallet to another. Near the end of the concert the lady complained that she didn’t feel quite stable in her high heel shoes. We went back to our cabin. You can hear the wind. But when you look at the webcam
Amazon Tops The Mayfair Shops: I’m surprised that the Mayfair gift shops on deck 3 in the Royal Arcade sell converters that don’t work. Worse than that — we plugged one in in our stateroom last night to power our Vornado fan. Within minutes the fan smoked and stopped. It was burned out. You would think that they would pick and choose more carefully. I could buy better on Amazon.com. Unfortunately Amazon doesn’t deliver in the North Atlantic.
The zultanite exhibition on deck 3 in the fine jewelry store had adults, especially women and their husbands, gathered around a computer screen where the swarthy dark man in charge was playing an advertising video. At the same time he was allowing women to try on the zultanite rings. People became more and more mesmerized. The bad guys are drawing people in. They are taking over the ship.
The noise in this cabin is incredible. The wind is howling outside, rattling the glass, and whistling. It’s enough to drive you crazy. I wasn’t anticipating something like this in July at all. I thought this was the best weather of the year. If it isn’t, when is?
By now I’ve lost all my three rocks and my fan.
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Tuesday, July 10, ’12 Time Change At 12:00 Noon Cape Verde Time
H-63 L H 65 L 53 RAIN H H 69 L 57 RAIN M H 76 L 60 RAIN
L- C H 95 L 76
Bear update: The Bear says I Was Photographed With The Mary Bear Party. TR says, “He was wearing a red sweater.” Moose say, “Look what you’re wearing, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Mary Bear Wear Party. We will serve Mary Bear Wear Foods.
We woke up to clouds. Will they last? They lasted, and the temperature in the North Atlantic climbed to 63 according to the Captain’s Noon Report. There’s supposed to be pleasant weather. The sea temperature is 57. Seas are moderate. The ship’s speed is 23 knots. We’re supposed to have passed the North Atlantic Ridge by later this evening. We’re two days away from the West Irish Sea. Apparently the distance from New York to Southampton is 8 meters greater than it was in 1848 when Cunard had its first crossing.
Tucson 103/82
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went to Sir Samuel’s for breakfast. Then we mailed postcards and got a printed report of our shipboard account. We attended an astronomical lecture about Stonehenge: Archaeoastronomy The Dawn Of Science that started at 10:00AM. We returned to the cabin. Kenny went to a lecture about fisheries. I worked on the computer and went online. I answered an email from Christine about Putlitz and Sabaka which I should incorporate into today’s journal under Dog/Cat Report. Then we went down to Sir Samuel’s to meet Kenny for lunch. I told him either there or Britannia. Gary and I transferred down to Britannia. Kenny eventually found us during the captain’s noon report which I was writing down standing outside the restaurant. We then proceeded to the Royal Court Theater. We sat outside waiting for the performance. Gary made reservations at The Carvery for dinner at 7:00 PM because only the Lotus buffet was open tonight in the King’s Court. We took our usual seats in the back of the Royal Court Theater in the back of the auditorium. They had a Murder Mystery at 3:00PM, which was pure junk. I kept on working on my computer. We ended up leaving in the middle of the performance and going to another lecture on the welfare state given by Derek Fraser. Kenny says at least the topic is half-serious. We ended up walking out of that, too, at the end when they mentioned Voodoo.
QM2 Not So Luxurious After All: It’s supposed to be a luxurious experience, but the QM2 Transatlantic Voyage is crowded. My son and I were waiting on level three for my husband to walk down the main staircase in the atrium to the pursuer’s desk to mail postcards at 11:00AM when a gentleman asked us if we were using the chairs in front of us. We said no and stepped aside a few yards to stand somewhere else. There is also a sense of competition to get seats. It seems to be easy to get a table at Sir Samuel’s at breakfast, but lunch is iffy. Yesterday we had to wait to grab a table. We haven’t been able to inch our way into the Golden Lion Pub yet. They were broadcasting Wimbledon over the weekend. There wasn’t even standing room. And to attend the astronomical shows in the observatory, Illuminations, you need tickets. You don’t have to pay for them, but you might not get in otherwise. We attended a lecture about spies on Sunday. We had to sit on a sofa from which you couldn’t even see the speaker.
What I wrote on my postcard today is:
We heard according to the noon report given by th eCaptain that the temperature outside is 63. The sea temperature is 57. Seas are moderate. The ship’s speed is 23 knots. We just passed the Atlantic Ridge. We’re 2 days away from the West Irish Sea. Every day at noon the time advances by one hour.
What I wrote to Parkview Kennels was:
Last night the wind was howling past our room on deck 4 rattling our windows and the door to our balcony. Up on deck 12 where the kennel resides the racket must have been worse. When Gary was up there playing cricket he aid they blew the fog horn. Sabaka and Putlitz must like your kennel much, much better.
Dog/Cat Report:
Dear Linda and Gary:
Sabaka is doing much better and is more comfortable in his new environment.
He is eating and exercising well.
Putlitz bird watches in the morning as that is when mom feeds all the birds.
Putlitz continues to get strolled around and enjoys the evenings in
particular!
Linda’s mom and dad stopped to visit and they spent time with Pulitz.
Sabaka was a little nervous with them. However, he was a perfect gentlemen.
I will email you again soon.
Best regards,
Christine
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Wednesday, July 11, ’12: Time Change At Twelve Noon Azores Summer Time
H-59 L H 63 L 50 RAIN H H 65 L 53 RAIN M H 70 L 57 RAIN
L- C H 97 L 75
Bear update: The Bear says The Piratesses Are Hanging Out At Sir Samuel’s Party. TR says, “They are hiding behind those pots of tea and coffee.” Moose say, “They sure aren’t hiding behind you, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Piratesses At Sir Samuel’s Party. We will serve Quiche.”
We woke up to clouds. Will they last? They lasted, and the temperature in the North Atlantic climbed to 59. This the message I wrote on my postcard to my parents and Gertrude:
Every day at noon we hear 8 bells for the noon report. The time advances by 1 hour, and the captain tells us our position. We just crossed the mid-Atlantic Ridge. We are in the Porcupine Plain. By 6:00PM tomorrow we will be in the Celtic Sea and back on the continental shelf. It’s all downhill to Bishop’s Rock in the English Channel. It’s 59 outside with fog and showers.
Tucson 100/81 T-STORMS Gila Bend 112/91
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went to breakfast at Sir Samuel’s. After breakfast at 10.00AM we went to a lecture in Illuminations called “Steam Conquers The Atlantic”. After that Gary mailed the postcards and checked on the transfer. We returned to the cabin. I went online. Kenny ordered the fan from Amazon.de to be delivered on Sunday to the Best Western in Potsdam. I downloaded email. We sent Gary ahead to get a table at Sir Samuel’s, which is right next to the handbag shop. Wow! They were having a handbag sale, but what do I need another handbag for? Besides, by the time I got there they were putting out the dresses for another sale. We had lunch while we listened to the noon report and lost still another hour.Then we went to see Richard 3 at the Royal Court Theater. That took an hour and fifteen minutes with all the staging. But they fitted in the whole play. We were back in the cabin by 4:00PM. I did postcards. We tried to go online but couldn’t. Gary checked the laundry but didn’t get anywhere. We ordered room service dinner at 5:00PM for the first time since we’ve been aboard. I was surprised by how short the room service menu is. Most resorts have a far longer menu. At least we ordered Coke, steaks, and cheesecake. Steak has eluded us thus far on the ship. There was nowhere to put the plates. We were spilling things. We got our wash in the machines, but getting online eluded us for some reason. Gary and I went down to the shops. We bought three windbreakers for Friday. Would you believe they are black? We have to pack an excursion bag for Friday. Maybe if we prepare for rain, it won’t rain that much.
Would You Believe Lots Of Russians Work Aboard QM2?: Would you believe that most of the wait staff on deck 7 in the King’s Court is Russian or Eastern European? We discovered this surprising fact as soon as we boarded the ship on Friday. A Russian lady came over and tried to recruit us to make reservations for Saturday night at the Carvery. My son is a Russian translator. He conversed with her. On Saturday he met more Russian waiters and waitresses and conversed with them. Apparently Cunard had a recruitment drive in Belarus recently. Because of the political situation there they got quite a response.
The fan has eluded us since Sunday night on this ship. It was working fine on Friday and Saturday. Gary called housekeeping. But they don’t have anything to replace it with. We miss it every night. We’ve taken to sleeping with bathrobes as covers instead of quilts. Quilts are too warm with the slight A/C in the room, which is always on max but doesn’t cool very well. We’ve ordered a fan on Amazon.de to be shipped to the Best Western at Postdam. We’ll see if it gets there by Sunday.
We bought 260 minutes of internet time. We’re down to about 100. We can hardly get online at all. What do we do?
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Thursday, July 12, ’12: Time Change 12:00 noon English Time
H-59 L H 67 L 56 H H 62 L 50 RAIN M H 66 L 55 RAIN
L- C H 98 L 56
Bear update: The Bear says Piratesses Are Dressing As Nazi Spies Party. TR says, “I certainly can’t put up with that.” Moose say, “Pirates can’t put up with you, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Pirate Party. We will serve Pirate Foods.
We woke up to clouds. Will they last? They lasted, and the temperature in the North Atlantic climbed to 59.
Tucson 102/81 Gila Bend 109/89 T-STORMS
We woke up at 8:00 AM. We got dressed and went to Sir Samuel’s for breakfast. At 10;00AM we attended the astronomical lecture on space aliens. After that we went back to the room. Then we met Kenny at the interview of the Captain at the theater. Then we went to the tour office, mailed postcards, and ate lunch at Sir Samuel’s. Gary got the transfers for Sunday. I cornered the Mary Bear on Deck 3 and handed him over to TR along with a tote bag. We listened to the noon report. The time advanced by 1 hour. We almost missed part 2 of the classical concert but we got our usual seats in the back on the left. We returned to our cabin. Still can’t get online. Gary went up to deck 13.
Charles Barclay 10:00AM lecture on success of one particular venture to find space aliens. This was in the planetarium. He says Pluto was de-planetized. Eris replaced Pluto, which is the same size as our moon. Beyond Neptune there are lots of dwarf planets. We discovered more moons. Astronomers have gone multi-cultural in naming planets. Planets are small compared to stars. Stars are like making scones short o, not long o. Pillars of creation, stellar nursery, make stars of space debris that collects together and ignites. Need to build really big telescopes to see what’s in stars. Europeans are building a telescope in Chile. High and dry. Hubble launched in the 1990’s. Most stars have many planets. Barclay put up a map of Kepler planet candidates. Planethunters.org is part of handout that he will give out in the Winter Garden this afternoon. You can help discover planets.www.blackettobservatory.org which is where he works. He wants you to become a member of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The food on the ship is uneven in quality. Sometimes it’s very tasty, and sometimes McDonalds has the edge. We didn’t visit the grills or Todd English, but we did visit the Britannia Restaurant, Sir Samuel’s on deck 3, and the KIng’s Court on deck 7 including The Carvery, a speciality section of the King’s Court which requires a cover charge of $10.00. We also sampled room service. The orange juice isn’t tasty anywhere. It’s not fresh squeezed. Western Sizzlin’ does better than the dried out steak I ordered last night from room service. It’s about what you would expect at Denny’s — the same tasteless white rice that sticks together. Ruby Tuesday’s pork chops are more juicy than the pork chop from the Carvery. But the tea service at Sir Samuel’s hits the spot. The quiche lorraine served there at lunch isn’t bad either. Even the roast beef we had the first night aboard at the Britannia Restaurant would pass muster.
Noon Report:
Final sea day of transatlantic crossing. Leaping forward another hour again. Almost a whole night with no fog. Morning murky and overcast but fog has lifted. Sailing down toward approaches to English Channel without whistle going. On Continental shelf. S of Ireland. Celtic Sea. W approach to English channel. S coast of Ireland. Less than 100 meters deep on Celtic Shelf. Sea life increases: fish, fishing boats, approach to Bishop’s Rock. 14 miles S of City Island, pass Bishop’s Rock 4:00PM, up English Channel half past 5:00 PM. Dorset around midnight. Isle of Wight. Pick up pilot at Isle of Wight at 4:15AM tomorrow. Old Elizabeth 2 terminal. 6:30AM tomorrow morning arrive. Queen Elizabeth and Victoria going in ahead of us. 3:45, 4:00, 4:15, forecast improve, brighter in Southampton, wettest June on record, 60 in Southampton tomorrow, 19 knots, 473 nautical miles since yesterday, distance 2798 nautical miles since NYC, distance to Southampton 293 nautical miles, overcast outside 59 degrees, sea temp 14 C or 56, seas moderate, forecast seas to ease but chance of isolated showers, highs 60 with chance of rain in afternoon tomorrow.
Weather report: Salisbury 66/59 chance of storms
Weather report: Cloudy with patchy rain across Gloucestershire, but elsewhere just scattered showers with some afternoon sunshine.
logged out 9:39AM
At 4:18PM the European cell phone that we’re charging started to beep indicating that you’re starting to get a signal from land in the UK.
Englishman says Bishop’s Rock is out there. It’s sort of like a lighthouse, jutting out from Land’s End. But visibility is such that you probably won’t see it today. He also said there are other islands that you can’t see.
Add to blog post about Russians: Even the opera singer for the classical concerts was from Serbia.
Room Service dinner room 4072
1)steak with rice 2
2)penne bolognese Italian dish
3)3 tomato soups
4)3 fudge cakes
5)3 Cokes and two bottles of water with 6 cups
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Friday, July 13, ’12: No time change!
H-66 Salisbury RAIN L H 65 L 56 RAIN H H 62 L 55 RAIN M H 71 L 61 RAIN
L-59 C H 99 L 77
Bear update: The Bear says I’ve Had My Forkfight Party. TR says, “We will have to have one again because the Merry Bear Cheated.” Moose say, “He’s bigger than you are, Bear!” Lou says The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall Party. We will serve Little Miss Moffet Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? No! It got cloudy and rained, then it got sunny again. The temperature in Salisbury climbed to 66.
We had a wake up call for 6:00AM. Room service brought breakfast at 6:45AM.We reported to the Royal Court Theater on deck 2 at 8:10AM and were assigned to Group 3. We boarded a bus with that group. It wasn’t any Greyhound. We left Southampton at 8:45AM. We got to Stonehenge at 10:22AM after doing a bathroom break at Salisbury. It was horribly crowded. There were no proper facilities for tourists. All they had was a gift shop that was small and overused. The bathrooms were separate. You had to walk through a tunnel to get to the stones. I snapped a few photos and went back to the gift shop. Gary and I took photos of barrows, sheep, and birds until it started to rain. We returned to the bus early and left at 11:40AM. They got us to Salisbury at 11:54AM. We had lunch at the cathedral restaurant, which was like a cafeteria. We had sandwiches, soup, Pepsi, and banana bread. I bought postcards and a calendar. We visited the Magna Carta and I took a movie in the cathedral. Then it was time to return to the ship. We left at 2:15, dropped off other guests at the Queen Elizabeth terminal, and arrived back at the Queen Mary Terminal. We had to go through the metal detector again and went up an elevator. We boarded and returned to our cabin. The Queen Elizabeth sailed past our stateroom. So did the Victoria while Gary did the laundry. It seems that we have a bunch of noisy Germans in the cabin next door. We went to dinner in the Britannia Room at table 169 just as we did one week ago and haven’t done since and won’t do again. After dinner we did postcards in the Chart Room and bought Kenny a T-shirt.
Tucson 96/78 T-STORMS
Boy is England crowded! 7/13/12 We just took part in a shore excursion to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral for the day while the QM2 was in port in Southampton. I was amazed at how narrow the English roads are. The bus was also smaller than anything I remember back in the States. We could hardly fit, especially my son who is over 6 feet. Everything also seems more crowded, including Stonehenge which doesn’t even have a proper visitor’s center. It makes New Jersey look roomy by contrast.
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Saturday, July 14, ’12: European Central Time
H-61 L H 65 L 53 RAIN H H 62 L 52 RAIN M H 70 L 56 RAIN
L- C H 100 L 77
Bear update: The Bear says The Mary Beat Is Bringing His Cohorts Aboard Party. TR says, “They reside in the cabin next door.” Moose say, “They don’t speak your language, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Secret Bears Party. We will serve Secret Bears Food.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? It lasted, and the temperature in the North Sea climbed to 61.
Tucson 93/76 T-STORMS Gila Bend 97/63 T-STORMS
We woke up at 8:00AM. We got dressed and went to Sir Samuel’s for breakfast. We caught several minutes of the 10:00AM lecture on Hamburg in Illuminations. Then we went back to the room. Gary asked questions at the tour desk. He saved a table at the Golden Lion Pub. We joined him for lunch and listened to the Captain’s report. Then we returned to our room to commence packing. We ordered room service dinner and went down to the purser’s office to settle our accounts and sign up for self-help disembarkation tomorrow morning. Gary got $100.00 back. Gary and Kenny practiced with the luggage. He took photos of the Queen Elizabeth paralleling the QM2 and overtaking her. We have now less than 12 hours until we disembark the ship.
Next sunrise: 4:51AM. Will arrive Hamburg 5:00AM.
Yesterday’s postcard read:
Today we set foot on land for the first time in one week. We took the shore excursion to Stonehenge & Salisbury. when in port in Southampton. We ate lunch at Salisbury Cathedral and saw a copy of the Magna Carta.
My postcards for today read:
At noon clocks advanced 1 hour to European Central Time. We passed Dover at 2:00AM. By 12:00 noon we also passed Antwerp and Amsterdam. By mid-afternoon we entered German waters in the North Sea. We should reach the Elbe River by 9:30PM and should dock in Hamburg at 4:30AM. It’s 61 outside and sunny for a change.
lecture: no barriers in Hamburg Zoo, just enclosures at zoo, taxis available look for taxi rank symbolized by green, taxis white in color with yellow sign, accept credit cards or euros, tourist taxis
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Disembarkation Sounds Like A Disaster 7/14/12: I don’t like the way the ship intends to operate disembarkation. They want you to get off at 7:00AM as a self-disembarkation carrying all your own luggage or they want you to disembark deck by deck. I want to disembark whenever we get ready all by myself. I don’t see why everything has to be so regimented. After the shore excursion yesterday I’ll never sign up for a groupie anything again with signs being waved in the air and tour directors telling you when you can go to the bathroom. All they need to do is let porters from the Hamburg cruise terminal get on the ship for hire and help you with your luggage.
It’s light out very late. I’m writing this at 9:28PM local time, and it’s still sunny!
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Sunday, July 15, ’12: No time change!
H-60 Potsdam L H 65 L 55 H H 63 L 52 M H 66 L 52
L-52 C H 100 L 77
Bear update: The Bear says Pirates Are Hiding On Hell’s Island Party. TR says, “We will have to clear out the Island despite the Mary Bear.” Moose say, “They ought to clear you out, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Clean Up The Pirates Party. We will serve Pirate Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? No! It got cloudy and rained.
Tucson 90/75 T-STORMS
We woke up at who knows what hour. We woke up to shouting and cheering at the QM2 tied up to the Hamburg Cruise Terminal in the dark. Then came the wake up call at 5:30AM. We proceeded to early breakfast on deck 7 in the King’s Court. Then we returned to our cabin. But at about 6:45 AM came the call for early self-disembarkation. I waited on deck 3 while Gary and Kenny joined me on the elevator. The line snaked towards the exit. Then all we did was to walk down two consecutive ramps into a parking lot. We showed the customs officer our passports and we were in the Hafen City Terminal. We ended up in a cafe where there was a pit stop and a postcard stand. While Gary returned to the cabin in the ship to get Kenny’s camera I purchased postcards and stamps. After that we went outside to the taxi stand. We got hold of a van-like taxi with windows that you could open. He took us to the airport in about half an hour. Practically as soon as we left the cruise terminal I took a photo of the Der Spiegel Building. I bet it was Axel-Springer Platz 1! Kenny chatted to the cab driver. We paid 30 euros including a tip to be let off in front of terminal 2. Kenny and Gary went downstairs to the Hertz counter while I waited on the ground level with the luggage. They went to pick up the car while I continued to sit with the luggage by the window. They said they were upgraded. But I haven’t seen it yet. I keep on glancing out the window at the cars driving past wondering where they are. I wonder why they do’t have any common sense to leave me here like this.
Finally they showed up with the Ford Mondeo, a mid-size wagon with a hatchback. It was an upgrade. The Hertz counter put $200.00 on Kenny’s card. We loaded up the car and headed for the A-24. There are all sorts of pit stops. We had lunch at one of them with a restaurant. It was early, about 10:30AM, but we’d had breakfast at an ungodly hour this morning and were starved to death. Gary bought a map of Potsdam. We’re running into tour buses and some crowding. There was even a putz frau that Gary tipped at a rest area. We crossed the border into the former East Germany and into Brandenburg. We saw lots of windmills. There was even a solar field. We saw the turn off for the town of Putlitz. I took photos. We stopped at Prignitz West, a Serways pit stop. Gary and I had to pay 70 cents each to go through a turnstile to go to the bathroom. Gary makes sure he knows how to use the windshield wipers. It’s getting cloudier and darker. And by the time we’re 70 km from Potsdam he’s turning on the windshield wipers from time to time. We actually ran into a “stall”. We’re backed up bumper to bumper. We stopped at a McDonalds. Then we got off 24 and onto 10 to go to Potsdam. It’s called the Berliner ring road. We have 39 km to Potsdam. We’re looking for the Potsdam Nord exit. We finally get off the road and try to find the Best Western Park Hotel Potsdam. It takes forever. It’s not marked. We have to call for directions on our new European cell phone which we got for that purpose. We finally get there. There’s no place to park except in a fire lane. They have an underground garage. My husband refuses to go there. He says he’ll never get out again. We finally check into rooms 103 and 102. We go to dinner. First we take a walk out to the Cecilianhof. We eat dinner at the Gasthausbrauerei at the Mereri near the lake. It was like a beer garten. After dinner we went online. They have a wired connection.
We were worried about German customs, BUT . . . We worried what German customs was going to be like at the Haafen City Cruise Terminal in Hamburg after enduring New York idiots in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. The workers in the Southampton Cruise Terminal on Friday were more polite than the ones in New York. But the German workers somehow addressed us by name and escorted us through. True, they had collected our passports ahead of time, but this was an unexpected relief! Even the disembarking set up was far superior to anything I’ve so far seen. There were no escalators or stairs, only two ramps. Then you were outside and down on the ground level walking towards a cafe and the cab stand.
At least we’re on land for now . . .
Have you ever heard of a McDonalds that served English tea in porcelain cups? Germnay’s the place! I can’t believe it! And to think I was looking for my favorite strawberry lemonade and my free internet service that was the hallmark of every single McDonalds in the States this summer on the way to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Here in Deutschland they have two counters: one for McCafe that sells fancy pastries and cakes along with even fancier coffees and teas and the regular counter that serves burgers which don’t seem to resemble their American cousins exactly either. And free internet service? Forget it along with something Americans take for granted — free restrooms. They want to charge for both.
How can I explain it? I can only theorize that in the US companies including McDonalds are more competitive and have to offer more freebies to attract customer. In continental Europe such a level of competitiveness might be frowned upon. My friend in Austria calls it “Anglo-American conditions”.
How can I explain the hot tea? It’s July and the temperatures outside are only in the low sixties! And cit’s about to rain.
Dog/Cat Report: This was the email we got from Christine:
Dear Linda and Gary, I hope you are recieving this and the other email I sent about the kids-please let me know if you are recieving them. Hopefully your trip is wonderful I got the post cards in the mail and read them to Sabaka & Pulitz. They are both doing well. Sabaka loves his toys an I look forward as much as Sabaka for the packages in the mail LOL!!! Sabaka has become very comfortable with his pen-even to the point where he barks and growls at people on the other side of the cage. His appetitie is veracious! He is eating like a King-he eats four meals a day and finishes each meal. I have taken 4lbs off him. Our Kennel vet came for the quartley visit and we spoke about Sabaka’s diet and exercise. The vet felt he was a little overweight and thouht 4 smaller meals a day would be good along with veggies and some fruit-we have increased our walks since we spoke last. Sabaka is able to walk about a mile each outing in the park. This is his favorite time!!!! He runds in circles and is so happy-Pulitz just watches him like he some crazy dog. Pulitz also loves the park. When i put Pulitz in the car he knows we are going to the park and sits straigh up in his stroller, he has the best time on our outings-people want to pet him but i dont take any chances and dont unzipper the stroller. Pulitz is eating well also. He is finishing 3 cans a day and normally a small amount of the 4th can. I leave the dry out for Pulitz at all times so he can eat it when he wants. He hisses at strangers and things he’s not sure off!! Pulitz really loves watching the birds and his bed is right by my sliding glass window so he can see all day and night. My daughter goes with us when we walk. I tried the gentle leader a couple times but that really doesn’t do a whole lot with Sabaka I would like to use a chain collar with your permission-if not i will continue to use the collar and harness.Well signing for now and will email you soon. Enjoy your trip and have fun
Christine A. lewis
Parkview Kennel
E-MAIL — chrisalewis@yahoo.com
(412)277-0215
Still no contract . . .
What next?
Lusitania Plot Corrections:
1)Dora should be collecting her nickels for the trolley rides
2)When they drive to BMC they should be driving the Lincoln Highway, not Route 30. They should see the Amish in buggies driving down the road. Incorporate rural scenes with red barns and signs that say, “Drink milk”. Describe the Allegheny Mountains as they climb over them with the terrorist tailing them.
3)Fog when Dora peers out porthole wondering if can contact parents. Warm air meeting cold North Atlantic seawater and can’t even make out the waves out her porthole. The terrorist has put a sign over most of her porthole so no one can see in and she can barely find a crack for peering out.
4)When Dora’s locked inside her cabin she feels that she’s going crazy being so alone and so thwarted. It’s emphasized and underlined by the whistling wind outside her cabin door.
She can’t get any sleep listening to the howling wind, tossing and turning, and thinking about the saboteur.
5)At another point listens for anyone on the deck. Silent except for vibrations of ship.
6)When Edward first meets Dora she wraps comforter around herself, not sheet. Europeans don’t use top sheets. She also notices that double beds are like two singles pushed together.
7)Guests at the Verandah Cafe must make sure to wear shawls and outer wraps. And don’t wear hats! Make sure to leave those in the cabin because of the wind. Dora sees folks with blankets on their legs and wrapped around themselves enjoying hot tea, coffee, and steaming chocolate. Don’t make it look like a Southern California cruise!
Captive At The Berghof corrections:
1)Change description of Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street
2)Might mention Admiralty officer invited to Carinhall on the occasion of the Naval Treaty. Or mention there were other meetings that had already occurred. Goering could be talking to the navy officer in the background. Better yet say it already occurred and Hitler is using the event as an excuse to draw Edward in.
3)Helga mentions a French bed