An espresso martini, Olivia's Bistro, and a new post

Hello beautiful people! Today I am in Skagway sitting at a little bistro called Oliva’s…it is quaint and cozy and all though it is only 1:45 I am sipping on an espresso martini. The ones on the ship are alright so I decided I wanted to have a delicious one. I should have snapped a photo before indulging due to the fantastic presentation of the beverage. It is infused with bailey’s, crème de menthe, a shot of espresso and I believe a touch of vodka…a perfect afternoon pairing to reading and blogging=) Where to begin with the week, I guess at the beginning.

 I had an amazing day in Vancouver! I got up around 8:30 to get off the ship by 9am. Ashley and I were going to get internet and coffee before meeting up with her family for a little beach trip. The weather in Vancouver was beautiful, right around 80 degrees. Ashley’s family packed a huge picnic lunch for the beach. It was quite the treat to have fresh fruits and veggies. On the ship most produce is not as crisp and fresh as it is on shore because everything is shipped frozen and then thawed on board. We feasted on mango, strawberries, avocado, fresh greens, bell peppers, watermelon and carrots! There was also fresh potato salad, dill dip, sun-dried tomato turkey, and rice crispy treats!!!!! Needless to say we pigged out the entire day while laying out. I placed my toes in the water for about 30 seconds since it was freezing. It resembled the mountain water of the Smokey Mountains…real fridgid. There was an open swim association event taking place on Kit’s Beach. The times they were announcing when I was standing by the finish line were just over 4 hours, of course the swimmers were in wet suits, but what amazed me most was the swimmers were over the age of 40!! Apparently they had swam around the hook of the bay...now I was unable to decipher how long a swim it was but it must have been quite the distance if it took 4 hours! Before ship life I could swim about 30 minutes of freestlye before being beat…I cant not imagine swimming for 4 hours in the freezing water…amazing. Overall the day was a really great one with the Bell family. I did end up getting really sunburnt, but today it has seemed to settle in a bit. I am starting to itch so I imagine the peeling will begin soon…bum bum.

Our crowd this cruise has been fairly reserved. Last weeks guests were really responsive to all of our shows. Having a more timid audience makes the shows seem longer. We are still performing our re-blocked versions of our shows due to the injury I mentioned last blog. She is healing very well but the process is taking some time.

I got my hair cut this week again in the spa. Moe did a great job as always. I always feel so clean after getting my hair cut. Besides catching up on the Harry Potter movies I have been having double days at the gym. I usually lift in the morning and then do some form of cardio at night. I like the schedule and it keeps me away from the OB. A big group of us were suppose to go to the new Harry Potter film in Juneau but our movie outing turned out to be an epic adventure in the rain. It all started when no taxis were available. We decided to try our luck with the bus…this is where we made our first mistake. We waited for the bus and by the time it arrived we had 15 minutes to make it to the cinema. Once on the bus we didn’t have a clue as to what stop the movie theatre was located. We asked a local for directions…I think this is where we made our second mistake. We got off at a skate park. The local said it was about a ¼ of a mile walk from there. WRONG it ended up being about a 15-20 minute walk in the pouring rain to the cinema. We arrived 40 minutes late to the movie and ended up seeing Friends with Benefits instead. It was your typical romantic comedy and given my current dating life put me in a worse mood then the walk in the rain. I would however give the movie 2 thumbs up, even if it was very similar to No Strings Attached. Justin Timberlake delivered a surprisingly good performance as well as Gomez. I enjoyed watching their chemistry. Ashley and I went out for dinner at a little Chinese place. I had hot and sour soup and a sushi roll. It was the perfect way to end our stay in Juneau. Back on board I went to the gym for a little biking. When I arrived at the gym I met the nicest family from South Carolina. They were such encouraging individuals and we had about a 30 minute conversation while biking about Jesus and American Idol…so random. It made me miss Beth Bowen because the mom sounded just like her. For those of you who don’t know Beth, she is my good friend in Raleigh, N.C. who is about the sweetest woman I have ever met in my entire life, full of wisdom and is great at learning to love people! I really value her voice in my life.

I received really awesome news this week. My parents booked an 11 day cruise on the Zaandam to come and see me in October. This is amazing and I am so happy they are going to be able to get away and enjoy a little vacation…they desperately need some time away to relax. Now coming up in August my great friends from Atlanta (I call them my Atlanta parents), Ed and Patti Richardson, are coming to visit and then 2 months later I get my parents…its gonna be wild! Having something to look forward too definitely makes the time go by a little quicker.

Well since I have finished my martini I believe I am going to end my blog for now. I still have much to talk about like a new coffee shop I found in Juneau. They served Stumptown Roasters…if you are a coffee fan look up their products…truly a fine establishment that is well educated on the coffee bean. I am going to get back to reading for now though. Till next time!

Emergen-C 101

Well this cruise has definitely been an exciting one and we are only 3 days in to the trip. Tuesday morning around 3:45 am our general emergency alarm was sounded. The speaker in my cabin is not working, so I was thankful that I still heard the announcement through my door. I woke up in the middle of the 7 short and 1 long blasts. The captain immediately came over the intercom and told passengers to report to their life boat station and for all crew members to report to their emergency stations. This message didn’t make sense the first time around because I was seriously sleep sedated. Thankfully, the captain repeated himself several times and after the second go round I started understanding the directions. I grabbed my life vest and traffic director vest, dressed in warm clothes and headed to my station. All the passengers looked rough crawling out of bed…I have never seen so many women walking around in night robes. I told guests to dress warmly since we were headed into glacier bay and the Alaskan night winds were merciless. While guests were scrambling to their life boat stations the captain informed us that someone had reported a passenger jumping overboard and the quickest way to account for everyone on board was to muster everyone at their life boats. The process took a bit of time but within 35 minutes everyone had been accounted for on board. During the 35 minutes sweep of the boat my brain was racing about the poor soul who jumped over board…why would they do it, what would their family think, how would the rest of the week look? I was relieved to know that it was only a scare. Apparently a passenger had been talking to another passenger who was joking about jumping overboard. When the man turned around to walk away he took another look back where they had been talking and the passenger had vanished. He ran to the front office and told them what happened and then the muster was underway.

It was a good reminder to everyone on board to always be ready for an emergency situation. I had just recently gone to bed because I was up late watching a movie, so my sleep was not disturbed. However, many of the older guests on board found it difficult to go back to bed. I felt our captain and emergency team handled the entire situation in an impeccable manner.

Emergency number 2! The following night a group of us decided to do a crew spinning class. For those who don’t know, spinning class is an intense cycling workout. One of our dancers went to get on her bike and the seat had not been secured. She fell backwards off the bike and landed on the seat bar…then fell to the floor. Now the classiest way to explain this is to say that the bike literally impaled her in the most uncomfortable of places. All of us were shocked and at first she was laughing trying to play off the pain, but eventually realized that it was a fairly serious injury. She went to the ship infirmary and is currently resting in bed. The nurse said the recovery could take a week, but they are waiting for all the swelling to go down to see how badly she cut herself. We have to re-block all of our shows for the next week. I am hoping that she is back on her feet soon and that nothing serious is damaged…I would hate to lose her on board…she is such an asset to our cast and just a wonderful girl all around.

Today we are in Haines, AK. I believe it to be on of my favorite ports because it is nestled at the bottom of a huge mountain range. The feeling here is very organic and the town is fairly hippie. I am sitting at cute shop called the Mountain Market. It is a natural food store with a coffee bar inside. They also have their own roaster called Ripinsky Roasters. The coffee area is one of the nicest I have seen as far as environment go. There black coffee is excellent…I am sipping on a cup of Mornin’ Mango…it is a full city roast that is completely organic with chocolatey notes up front and a molasses finish…I will give it a rating of delicious!!!!! They have a La Marzocco espresso machine so I can only imagine their milk based drinks are up to quality seeing as it is top of line in the barista world. I may have to get a latte before I leave!

Speaking of latte’s I got o make my own on board the ship this week. I have become good friends with one of the beverage assistants, Melinda. Two mornings this week she let me come behind the counter and play on the espresso machine. I may look into working behind the bar on sea days. I was talking to our Cruise Director about doing “coffee with the singers” and making it an activity in the daily program. It would be a great way to interact with some of the guests and then I would get to practice my latte art and make coffee….double bonus, plus I have a feeling it would boost our ratings=)

Before I sign off I will tell you what I get to do tonight! My friend Rashida on the shore excursion team invited me to a private tour and BBQ with one of the tour companies in Haines. We are taking 4x4 mules up the mountain and we’re having a big BBQ once we reach the top! I am so excited!!! I think we are going to be eating buffalo…Yahoo!!!! The tour companies always want to make sure they are in good standing with the shore excursions office since they sell their tours. I am just pumped that I get to hang out with Rashida, Todd, Damian, Hana, and some others off the boat. Originally I was going to take Ashley with me, but due to the accident she will be in rehearsals to re-block the show…boo! I will post some pictures=)

Im going to finish my coffee now and try to catch up on some phone calls! Love you guys!

It is 9:19 and the sun is still up outside, although it was a rather cloudy day in Skagway. I am in between production shows. Tonight we are performing Southern Nights. The first audience was very receptive to the show. There were even a few guests that had a little too much wine that REALLY enjoyed the show! I was so full of pizza during the show because before getting back on board the Zaandam I ate at the Red Onion. It is a famous little saloon in Skagway where they serve local brewed beers and fantastic pizza. I hung out there with some people from the shore excursion office and some locals. We ordered 2 huge pizza’s that were made with goat cheese, mozzarella tomatoes, mushrooms, and spicy sausage… they were delicious! I enjoyed my pizza with a porter stout from the Alaskan Brewery. The beer tasted like a delicious cup of dark, rich, black coffee

Before ending at the Red Onion, I had been out hiking with my friend Sterling, who works at The Klondike Gold Mine Dredge. We went out to Smuggler’s cove. It was a beautiful hike through the woods. When we arrived at the point of the cove, we sat on the rocks and looked out over the bay. I had the pleasure of seeing sea lions and eagles. It is awesome to see these creatures in their natural habitats as opposed to the zoo’s where I am from. Also in Skagway I met this girl from California, Alyssa, in the Yukon and Whitepass Coffee Shop. Leave it to me to always strike up conversations with friendly baristas. I told her I worked on the Zaandam and she got all excited because her DAM SHIP mug had just broke. I told her I would get her a new one next time I came into port, which wont be for two weeks. You would have thought I told her she won the lottery! She was so excited and that made my heart extremely happy! When I got back on board I ran to the shops to make sure they had the mugs…luckily they did! I am writing about this experience mostly to remind myself to get the mug in a couple of weeks for Alyssa. I have to purchase it in advance because the ship shop closes in port, therefore I cant wait till our next Skagway day.

(2 day break) I pick back up in Seward, AK

Skagway is really a great little town. I enjoy my visits here. There is an excellent cupcakery there as well. It is called Sugar Mama’s. I believe I have talked about it already. Sterling had brought the shore excursions team a whole box of cupcakes and they saved me a chocolate one. It was delicious…if you know anything about me it is my divine love of sweets….mostly baked goods and not candies…but I always enjoy sharing a good dessert with a friend. This reminds me of a story. My old roommate Kylene and I use to watch the movie New In Town. It was about this Southern California business executive that gets moved to Wisconsin to cut cost at a production factory. The saving grace of the movie is the Midwestern accent and some of the locals that the main character meets along the way. There are some great one-liners throughout the movie. Any ways Kylene and I use to make tapioca pudding and watch the movie because in the movie there is a lot of tapioca. Sad to say, we are not the greatest makers of tapioca…I believe it flopped more times then actually turned out. Nevertheless we always enjoyed our dessert together.

Recently I have been drinking a lot of yerbe mate (YER-BAH MAH-TAY). For those of you who do not know what it is I will fill you in. Yerbe mate is a holly tree native to the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It is brewed just like coffee and tea. Traditional yerbe mate blends boasts a rich and robust mate flavor, toasty aroma, and a balanced finish (it is like green tea but really taste so much better by itself). Some benefits to drinking mate include:

·      Stimulates focus and clarity

·      Improves physical energy

·      Traditionally used to support weight loss programs that include a balanced diet and exercise

·      Antioxidant properties higher than green tea

·      Aids in elimination

I enjoy drinking it hot but you can have it iced or even make a mate latte! There is as much caffeine in mate as a single cup of coffee except there is no crash. Mate has also been proven to reduce stress…big bonus! I think I have been drinking it so much because the coffee on board is so terrible. When I want to drink something that makes me feel cozy on the inside…like a hug on the inside…I brew my mate. I finish it off with a touch of Agave nectar…ahhh it is perfect. I am sipping on a mug of it right now.

Today in Seward I went to a really cute diner with Todd, Damian, and Ashley for breakfast. It actually reminded me of Flapjacks in Pigeon Forge. The entire restaurant was made of natural wood…kind of like a cabin feeling. I was really excited because they had Frank’s Red Hot sauce and literally I eat that $#*% on everything=) (That is their campaign slogan) My mom got me hooked a few years ago to putting in on my eggs. Now I eat it on potato chips, chicken, fish, pasta. It is such a great little condiment to kick up the dish a bit. Breakfast was fabulous. I had homemade French toast with farm fresh eggs (totally beats the eggs we eat in the Lido that come out of a HUGE carton) and some sausage. It was a homey little breakfast and the 4 of us had a good time. If you are ever in Seward look up Nellie’s… you wont be disappointed!

Well I need to get ready for boat drill! It is in about 15 minutes and then I get to perform Let Us Entertain You. I really wish the show was not as cheesy as it is, but what can you do? I need to find the silver lining in the show…it would help;) I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all! Take care and until next time!

-bradley

Birthday Greetings!

Where we started our bike ride

The Mendenhall Glacier...this is where we finished our ride

The fabulous Ashley Bell and my birthday cake, it was buttercream with a rum layer!

The zip-lining get up!

Hey everyone! It has been almost a week and a half since my last update. Many events have taken place since then… our Red White and Blue Ball, the Canada/July4th party, Zip-lining, and my BIRTHDAY!!!! It was a busy week full of activities as always. I actually had time to get off at the ports and enjoy some of the local flair of Alaska. The weather was so beautiful this past week that I ate most of my meals outside on the aft deck of the ship. I am telling you what, there is nothing more beautiful then the Alaskan scenery. I know I have said it before, but it is truly breath-taking every where you look.

Let us start with last Monday night. We had our production show Love Broadway. It is more of like Broadway in concert because the show doesn’t take numbers from Broadway shows and reproduce them. The staging and dance styles are far from the original pieces as are the arrangements of the songs. Anyways I am not writing to tell you about the show, but rather our first rocky night at sea. The first show our ship encountered some windy seas and we began to ROCK…not just a little back and forth motion, but full on swells. If you timed it just right you could jump extremely high, kinda like the experience of jumping at the end of an elevator ride down a few stories. The second show we were a mess on stage, stumbling every which way back and forth trying to keep ourselves from falling over. It was hilarious and at times a little embarrassing.

Following the show the cast got all dolled up to make an appearance at the Red White and Blue Ball! It was thrown in honor of the 4^th of July. For awhile the bar was open and we didn’t have to buy drinks, but around 11:30 it went to cash bar. I had a glass of wine and walked about to take pictures with some folks. Before heading back down to the crew area I waltzed with our librarian Carlyn… who reminds me so much of my friend Carolyn in Rochester. The turn out for the ball was very low due to the rocking waves. I think most guests retired to their rooms because they were getting sick. By the time we all made it up to the ball most of the people there were crew officers and engineers. I really enjoyed the rocking ship. It helped me fall asleep quickly and I slept like a baby.

The next big event that I participated in was a party thrown in the crew bar. It was to celebrate Canada Day and July 4^th. Our company manager put it together. All Canadians wore red, Americans wore blue , and everyone else wore white. I didn’t end up staying very long, I was not in a party mood. So I went back to my cabin and went to bed early that night. Call me a party pooper, but I believe I was a little homesick that evening too.

On a more positive note I finally found a coffee shop that makes 8oz cappuccinos!!!! It is called Paradise Café and the owner Joan makes fresh pastries every morning! Last week I had a blueberry scone that was unbelievable and this morning I had a strawberry rhubarb scone. Now, I don’t like rhubarb usually because it is so sour, but this scone was so delicately created that I bout fell over after my first bite! Joan’s pastries are definitely addictive and I am going to have to be careful about how much I choose to partake. I am happy about this discovery thought because once a week I can have one decent cup of coffee or a correctly made cappuccino! The barista I talked to today has family in Atlanta and totally knows about my favorite coffee shop…Dancing Goats. Needless to say we had a great coffee conversation ending with my deep satisfaction of knowing that there are people out in the world that know good coffee!

My next key topic will be that of shore excursions. Crew members can sign up on board to be ship escorts for the excursions at all our different ports. This past week I signed up for zip-lining, kayaking, and an adventure hike. I really wanted to go zip-lining for my birthday and luckily I got it! The escorts are handed out on a first come first serve basis. Zip-lining was a blast! The only other people on my tour was a family of 5. The dad was a cardiologist and the mom was afraid of heights…it was quite comical. Their kids were all under 14 so they had a great time zipping through the canopy. The longest zip-line was over 600ft and I think we reached about 40mph on the ride. We went through 6 zip-lines, a suspension bridge, a tiny 40ft repel, and then down a 250ft slide. We were in Ketchikan and now I want to go again in Juneau. Today in Juneau I went on another shore excursion. It was called the Juneau Bike and Brew. We rode around the Glacier National Park and around the Mendenhall Valley for about 10 miles and then had a beer tasting at the Flight Deck. I tried 4 Alaskan beers…a white, an amber, an IPA, and a Brown Ale. All the Alaskan brewing company beers were quite delicious, however; the brown ale was my favorite.

Since I wrote last time I have become a year wiser…I am officially 26 years old. My birthday on the ship was actually amazing. My friend Ashley Bell made sure the entire experience was, as she would say, “FABULOUS”! We originally tried to book dinner at the Pinnacle but our reservations got denied due to all the guests bookings. We resorted to requesting dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room. I had a delicious dinner that started with a Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart, French Onion Soup, wonderful Salmon in a tomato broth crusted with garlic, lime, and other herbs, and finished the entire meal with Gold Rush Baked Alaska. The classic dessert is made of a fudge brownie topped with coffee ice cream and meringue…amazing! Ashley treated me to a glass of wine as well as taking care of our tip, it was a lovely date. My actual birthday was very busy with cruise activities. We had to sing Love in Any Language at 10am, do a noon tech, cast chat with the passengers at 1, we had the afternoon off (my birthday nap) and then had 2 shows of On The Air that evening! The cast bought me a hydra lift facial from the Greenhouse Spa on board and through me a mini party in the OB with cake and candles after the show. Ashley really made the day special and I was so thankful to be surrounded by such a great group of friends on board. OF COURSE I missed all my friends and family back home. Thank you all for my facebook messages, emails, and phone messages….it truly made my day.

Tonight Ashley, Emi, and I are making up for not making it to the Pinnacle Grill last week. Our reservation is at 6! I am pumped and looking forward to a nice evening filled with fantastic food! I always feel really far away from the ship when I eat at the Pinnacle.

On a side note, today while biking I had the privilege of seeing my first Alaskan Black Bear and cub. The cub was napping up at the top of a spruce and the momma bear was keeping an eye out below. I saw her run across the road down to the stream, catch a fish, and then run off into the woods to have a little snack…thankfully it was the fish and not me=) I was videoing the entire event on my camera and at one point I was getting a little nervous and I didn’t realize I was video taping the ground and not the bear at all….hilarious. The weather as been in the high 70s the last two days. I even laid out on the sky deck yesterday to soak up a little sun. I still look like Casper the friendly ghost but hopefully I will get some color before long.

I am going to try and upload some photos I took today on my bike ride. The internet is slow at the Viking so it may be impossible but I am going to try. I am really going to try and write more often because it is a lot of work to recap such large gaps of time. Hope everyone is doing well…email me with your updates…bradscoffee@gmail.com. Love to you all. Live each day as if it were your last, life is too short to sit around!

-b