February 15, 2019

Dateline: Somewhere East of the Bahamas –

Today is another sea day.  I slept in, rolled over, looked at the dreary skies and rain outside the stateroom windows, and decided to sleep in some more.  I did get up eventually, having missed breakfast and took a constitutional and did some reading.  I then had lunch with Rich Campbell, who owns and runs both Atlantis Events and RSVP Vacations, two of the major gay travel companies.  Rich and I go back more than twenty years at this point as Steve and I first started to travel with Atlantis before they even had cruises.  Rich and I have kept tabs on each other, but hadn’t actually seen each other for pushing fifteen years so it was nice to catch up on things over Indian food.

I then retired back to the stateroom and did some writing.  Sue Millinocket will be happy to know there’s another MNM column finished and one beyond that should be done by the end of the day tomorrow.  There wasn’t a whole lot happening on shipboard in general so it was the perfect day for it.  Eventually there was another nap, a nice dinner, and some time in the piano bar.  I was tempted to return to the slot machines, but I was good and have remained $100 ahead for the cruise.  It won’t pay for the vacation, but it should take a big bite out of the bar bill.

There’s another dance party tonight late on the deck.  I shall wander up to look at the outfits.  The theme is ‘Royalty’ and on my way back to the cabin I was nearly run over by a guy in a gorilla suit and crown with a name tag reading King Kong so it sounds like there might be some interesting looks up there.  And I did bring my chainmail shirt…

After last night’s very long post and story, I think I’m out of gas tonight.  I’ll try to think of something interesting to write up tomorrow night, which is our last night on board.  Cruise time is very different from land time.  In some ways, it feels like living in a Las Vegas Casino.  There is no day; there is no night; everything just is in the moment.  My college roommate Craig Mollerstuen is working for Holland America on the Alaska run this summer.  I’ll have to call him and find out exactly what he’s doing.  He was working as a tour guide for the shore excursions last summer.   It seems to be his semi-retirement calling.  I once looked into working for a cruise line as a ship’s doctor.  Looking at the contract and expectations was enough to disabuse me of ever wanting to do that.

One more travelogue update tomorrow night, a wrap up the night after, and then back to intermittent long posts depending on life and emotional state.  I have no major traveling planned from now until late June but I may have the occasional weekend away or make a jaunt to Seattle to check up on the family.  I’ll figure it out as time goes on.  In the meantime, I go into rehearsal for two shows as soon as I get back to Birmingham so that should keep me out of trouble.