Updates!

Hello blogging community, also known as mom and dad and a few other family members. I apologize for slacking on my blogging as of late. I have been so engulfed in reading in my free time (my parents got me a NOOKcolor for my birthday and it is amazing!!!! THANKS GUYS!) that I have not been writing as much, but here I am…sitting in Ketchican, while it is pouring sideways rain and sipping on some Yerba Mate. The weather this week as been the worse I have seen in awhile. SO MUCH rain! Ugh! I am definitely ready to move on to the more tropical climates of Hawaii and Mexico. We will be heading there September 25^th and then come October 12^th my lovely parents will be boarding the Zaandam for 11 days!!!! I CANT EVEN TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT THEIR VISIT!

Since my last blog I have been taking in more sights of Alaska! I went on a river float trip in Haines Alaska and in Juneau Ashley Bell and I went glacier trekking. We flew in a helicopter to the Mendenhall Glacier and hiked around the glacier for about 3 ½ hours. Along the journey we went ice climbing with our guide. It was an incredible trip…thank you Mamaw and Papaw for my excellent birthday present! I will post a picture of the glacier trek so you can see just how beautiful the experience was even though it was raining! 

This week I have the Richardson family coming to visit me! This is a real treat, Ed and Patty are like my second parents from Atlanta. I love them dearly and to be able to spend some quality time with them will do my heart a whole lot of good! I am praying the weather of here cooperates for the week=)

I am going to start introducing my cast on my blogs so you will have to check back and Meet the Cast! This week is the lovely Elizabeth Whipkey! Here is her story:

Meet the Cast:                                               

Name:  Elizabeth Whipkey   

Age:  25

Hometown: Evansville, IN

Number of ship contracts: First Contract!!! 

Favorite food found on board the MS Zaandam: Late Night Buffet Lasagna

Favorite production show on board: On the Air

What are a few things you miss while cruising at sea? My family and my dog, Peyton.

What did you find most challenging about the rehearsal process with Stiletto?  Cramming all that choreography into my brain in 4 short weeks!

What was the most enjoyable aspect of rehearsals? Spending so much quality time with our amazing cast and show directors!

What is your favorite feature of ship life? That some of my favorite people live within walking distance of me.

What was the largest adjustment for you in adapting to ship life? Trying to get into a routine.  I’m the kind of person that likes to be busy at all times.  It has been difficult finding enough things to fill my time.

Tell us a little bit about your performance background:  I started dancing at age 3 at Jan’s School of Dance in IN.  I danced and was a competitive cheerleader up through high school.  After high school, I went to Ball State University for 2 years pursuing a Dance Major & Sports Medicine Minor.  However, I wasn’t feeling challenged at Ball State, and therefore, decided to put college on hold for a few years and start my career.   I moved to Orlando, FL and performed at Walt Disney World as a dancer and acrobat for about 6 years.  

Out of your past show credits, what has been your favorite to be a part of?  At Disney, I was an acrobat in the Block Party Bash parade at Hollywood Studios.  It was such a fun, high-energy parade, and the cast was small and very tight knit.  The shift was amazing as well.  We worked about 3 hours a day and made great $$$.  Because we had such a short shift, I was able to start going back to school again for Elementary Education.  We were all extremely sad when the parade closed.

What’s next after this contract ends? At this time, I’m hoping to do another contract with HAL.  Hopefully, Stiletto will have me back! 

What are you looking forward to the most over the next 6 ½ months?  Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, & Hong Kong.

If you could only have packed 3 items when taking this contract, even though it is impossible, what would you consider to be the most important? My dog, because he’s like my child.  My computer, to stay in contact with family and friends.  My credit card, so that I can buy everything else I need.

Well I hope you enjoyed meeting Liz! She is so much fun and I value her a lot on this contract, full of smiles and encouragement! Love you all!

-bradley!

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!