Travel Diary: On the Good Ship Zuiderdam, Part Two
I'm not saying the Good Ship Zuiderdam is going to be stolen, but I am saying that if it was, it would add some excitement and adventure to the trip.
View From the Crow's Nest
Iâm sitting in the âCrowâs Nestâ a game/lounge/bar area on the top deck at the bow of the ship. Large windows show a view of water and clouds and rain today. It is pretty enough, the dark blue-grey of the ocean against the light blue-grey of the skies. I think one reason people are drawn to the ocean is the endless movement. The ocean is never still and, today, the clouds in the sky are also on the move. Where the ocean is filled with countless small waves, the ponderous clouds move ever so slowly across the sky. I donât know if I could stare at it for hours but as someone who didnât even see an ocean until he was 24 years old, I am fascinated.
I have long wondered why people find the flat ocean view pretty but the flat prairie view ugly. So, Iowa is âboringâ and the ocean is âinspiring.â I think it is because Iowa is cultivated. What you see there are fields of corn and beans. Human creations. I doubt many of us have ever seen the endless tall-grass prairie that Midwestern North America used to be. On the other hand, if farm land is so boring then why is our stateroom decorated with a picture of it? I invite you to contrast the farm land picture with the ocean view outside our window.
Beautiful vs. Boring? You be the judge!
Doing a Little Eavesdropping
The conversations around me are quite different. In one place, is one of two children Iâve seen on board. A young girl, perhaps four years old, is carring on a constant stream of talk with her grandpa. She wonders âWhat does this big ship eat?â Grandpa explains about âfuel.â She points out the monster under grandpaâs chair and grandpa reacts with appropriate concern. She points out her stuffed panda has just come back from a great adventure and he wants to hear all about it. The entire time she is on the move, kind of orbiting around him and stopping by for an occasional hug. He hasnât gotten out of his chair the whole time, The quintessential grandparent/grandchild dynamic. Heâs singing her a nonsense song now and sheâs giggling. It is so damn cute, itâll make you sick.
In other table, is an older couple enacting the cliched hetero couple dynamic. She is on her phone offering a constant stream of talk while he says nothing, just sitting and drinking his coffee. Sheâs comparing flights and airports. If they fly out of this airport, it would take that amount of time to get to San Francisco, but if they fly out of a different airport then they get to fly on a 787 and wouldnât that be nicer? She discusses endless options, he remains silent drinking his coffee. I find it kind of sad, but maybe that is just their morning dynamic and does not represent the entirety of their relationship. I hope so.
Behind me, are two retired gentlemen. I think they are the husbands of straitght couples and obviously theyâve cruised together before because they are in the âPinnacle suitesâ which are the super-fancy places for rich people or people who have accumulated enough modern currency of âpoints.â Those suites come with a $250 ship credit to spend on on-board amenities or ship excursions. Much of the conversation concerns how to spend this âmoney.â One possibility is Colonial Williamsburg, but neither man has much enthusiasm for it. Wine? Perhaps. The key for them is the cost of what they cosider mid-tier wines offered compared to equivalent wines at Costco. Iâm no wine guy, but I like that this is the comparison they are making. I can relate to people who use Costco as the baseline of quality.
Now, the grandchild has gone off in search of bamboo to feed to the stuffed panda. Poor little thing is hungry! I ask permission to take a picture of the panda, named "Benny," and both child and adult agree that she should be in the picture with Benny. Delightful.
jpj stories by John Jackson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
