Monday the 1st Nina was back at RCC’s Camp Goodtimes on the Road. She was happiest about the trip to the Water Mine on Friday. We all had telehealth appointments that night as we were up early the next day to start our big, twice postponed vacation: the final Eddie From Ohio cruise to Alaska. Our travel karma was very good on the way out, as while many folks had delayed or canceled flights, we got to San Francisco without any issues. We had breakfast in the airport there: a Bacon Bacon bowl for me and Proposition Chicken wings for Nina (Jill picked up some See’s Candies for later).
We got to Vancouver and quickly got through Customs. We took the SkyTrain to downtown Vancouver and walked over to our hotel. I wasn’t sure until we got there, but the Embarc resort there is actually the top 3 floors of the Sheraton, and we were soon checking out some lovely views of the city. We were off, Jill and Nina for clothes and shoes and me to Beat Street for CDs (best haul of the trip). We went out again for dinner at The Mexican for tacos and margaritas. Amazon.ca delivered the camera memory cards I’d ordered the day before (by signing up for a Prime trial).
Sunday morning we went to check out brunch at Nero Waffles, but they were full, so we got some of their mini waffles to go (very much like donuts), then went to the aptly named Brunch. I got the ribeye hash, Nina got the Eggs Benedict and a chocolate crepe, and Jill got enchiladas. Soon it was time for us to check in for our cruise, and I was glad I’d printed out our documentation, as there were several lines to go through. But we were on the Celebrity Eclipse before sailing time, and that’s what counted. Jill and Nina used the pool and hot tub while I sat on a lounge chair, then they dried off and we went to check in at the meet and great to get our shirts and badges and hear the announcements. We went to our late dinner and met the fellow Edheads at our table before heading to bed.
Monday was all at sea as we left Canadian waters and entered USA ones. Nina tried out Camp at Sea, where it turns out she was able to check herself in and out and met new friends. In late afternoon Eddie From Ohio had their first concert with lots of classics and a couple nice covers (only my 3rd time hearing their cover of Scarlet Begonias). We got drinks from the martini bar and went to see the cruise only show Topper after that, and were pleasantly surprised it was a pop jukebox musical with Cirque like aerialists.
Sitka was our first stop in Alaska on Tuesday. We took a bus to town, stopped at the coffee shop and the bookstore. We had decided not to pay for the Wi-Fi service on ship and only had cell service in port, which meant no YouTube for Nina. As a consolation, I offered to buy her a book, and she chose the first two books in Chris Colfer’s “A Tale of Magic…” series. We picked up some kettle corn on the way back to the bus, then waited at the pier for our excursion. The Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest was exactly as described (asides from the irony of spending the first 10 minutes looking for a bald eagle when we saw one in a tree when we docked). We got fairly close to a raft of sea otters, then saw three different humpback whales and three Steller sea lions snoozing on a marker buoy. I picked up some hot sauce made with kelp from the gift shop, and that was useful for the rest of the trip. That night we paid extra to eat at Le Petite Chef, which had animation on the table for each course – it was very cute and delicious too. After dinner we watched the Production Cast cover British songs in the Sky lounge.
Wednesday was another day at sea, but this time we were going by something special: the Hubbard Glacier. After a very slow approach, Captain Leo got us within half a mile of it, then slowly turned the ship so we could get a good view (after we got soaked on deck, I preferred that). As we pulled away, we paid extra to eat at the Sushi on Five restaurant, where we had some nice views of waterfalls. The second Eddie From Ohio concert was that afternoon. Jill and Nina decided to skip in favor of swimming at the indoor pool during family hours, which worked in their favor as they both felt a little seasick in the ocean and felt fine once they got in the pool (which created natural waves). The concert was another bunch of their classic tunes with no repeats from the first one. And since I was videoing in the back row, no one recorded me when I danced like a maniac during “Eddie’s Concubine”. Later the Production Cast did a selection of Broadway songs called the Broadway Cabaret, and everyone enjoyed that (I think Nina knew half the songs).
Thursday the 11th we docked in Juneau. We left the ship and walked over to Alaskan Crepe Escape where Nina and I had crepes. It was like a parked food truck park. Jill got coffee and I also got drinks (including a draft beer) from the Beer Truck. After that we split up and they went to the Changing Tides yarn shop while I went to Downtown Disc (hard to find, but worth it). We’d planned on meeting up at Heritage Coffee Roasting Co. but they had no outside seating, so we went to the nearby Sacred Grounds (run by and for native Alaskans) and sat outside so we all could use their Wi-Fi (including Nina). Jill went shopping and came back with grilled chicken from Bernadette’s BBQ tent near the ship (she said all the people who work on the ship were waiting in line there, which was a good sign). Nina liked it so much I came back with more.
They kept shopping after that, and I went back to the ship as I’d neglected to charge my camera battery. So I read in our room, then walked over to Tracy’s Crab Shack 2. The Edhead cruise portion had an optional excursion that day: a jumbo crab leg and a concert from Eddie From Ohio as they’d rented out the whole place. We got a decent seat and some good crab (Jill had picked up some unsalted butter for me) and beers. The concert was again filled with classics, with only one repeat: “Rocky Mountain High/Old Dominion” (there were several Alaskan fans there as well). After the show Nina played in the pool with some other Edhead kids while I and other parents watched, and by the time our late dinnertime rolled around we were all hungry for which turned out to be our last dinner, too bad as our waiter was entertaining Nina (and everyone else) with his magic tricks.
The next morning I went to the band question and answer session, then watched the ship dock in Ketchikan while Nina and Jill went to breakfast. Nina had been stuffy the night before, and after breakfast announced she was going back to sleep, which is extremely unusual for her. Jill had planned to check out a yarn shop, so left the ship and had started walking when Nina woke up and was burning hot. I called Jill and had her pick up Tylenol, a thermometer, and a Covid test. Sure enough, after managing to avoid it for 2 ½ years, she finally caught it, even though we’d been masking everywhere inside the ship except in the restaurants. We called the ship and they had us come down to the medical area, where they tested her again with the same result. They escorted us back to our room and told us to isolate there. They gave us Wi-Fi and we started looking up what to do next. Jill and I both tested negative, and they offered us the chance for one of us to move to another room and not isolate and we both declined. They started by offering us room service and no alcohol off our beverage plans, and we got that changed to the regular menu. I was very glad we had a balcony and spent almost all my time for the remaining two days there.
Saturday we were at sea all day and in our room. Jill and I both tested negative again. The Wi-Fi worked well enough for Nina to watch YouTube, but was more intermittent for Jill and I. I mostly read digital comics outside on the balcony, plus Bob and Susan brought us drinks. The food was good – weird to eat lobster in your room, though. It was interesting to be forced to just look at the scenery, as we’d passed into Canada and I hadn’t seen it on the way out. We missed the last concert of course, but so did singer Robbie.
Sunday it was time to disembark. We had a choice of staying on the ship until quarantine was over (5 days) or getting off in Canada and quarantining (10 days, but the Celebrity cruise line would cover $350USD/day). After 2 days, we already knew we could not continue on the ship (although Robbie did and got off in Juneau and flew home from there). We asked them to book us a room at the Century Plaza hotel. We left our room and went up to the Sky lounge to join the other outcasts (including 2 other Edhead families) and wait for them to take us to a bus. We did a lot of waiting (close to 2 hours), but finally we got on a bus and they dropped us at the Century Plaza hotel. That’s when we found out we didn’t have a reservation. After being on hold with Celebrity for over an hour, apparently when we had no cell service we were supposed to book a room and they just wanted to know the address to drop us off. Happily the Century Plaza hotel offered us a suite even though they didn’t have any online. It had an actual kitchen where the other hotel we looked at didn’t, and some serious space – we agreed as soon as the manager showed it to us. Once we were in the room and everyone had Wi-Fi, I placed another Amazon.ca order – most important was another Fire stick. That night I had to get some takeout. Nina wanted Chipotle, but Jill and I got food from The Basil Box (spiciest meal in a week). We also ordered groceries from Fresh St. Market and beer and wine from Darby’s Liquor Store.
Monday the 15th I found getmaple.ca and got a telehealth appointment quickly and was able to get refills on my blood pressure medicine (because I was the only one who’d only packed a week’s medication). I went to Pharmasave and picked it up, then Jill went to IGA for more groceries. I made the ribs we’d bought for dinner (“Maui”, half the size of the box they came in). Jill and I felt we both had Covid, but due to Canada’s strict laws, didn’t test (it also required us to essentially isolate with Nina, which we did except for picking up stuff, and we were always masked). That Fire stick arrived, so that night I stayed up late and started watching the final season of The Expanse (since I had Prime again).
Tuesday I’d also ordered some graphic novels for Nina from Amazon.ca with the hope she wouldn’t use her devices as much. She did like them, and tore through them in 2 hours, then it was back to devices. I picked up Jollibee and Pacific Pizzeria & Ristorante for dinner (the spicy chicken from Jollibee is very good). Wednesday I went to IGA for more groceries and Freshii to pick up salads. I got some drinks at the bar at the steak restaurant in the hotel because I wanted a break from beer. I had run out of digital comics, so I pulled down the ComiXology app (Amazon has ruined the web version, but the app still works ok) to pull down a bunch of the comics I’ve bought or gotten for free, including most of Marvel’s Black Panther runs.
Thursday Nina’s isolation was over, and we were all feeling better. We walked over to Fresh St. Market, then Jill took the groceries back and Nina and I went over to Emery Barnes Park. We noticed that although the symptoms were gone, no one was 100%, so we didn’t push it. Jill was feeling good enough to stay up late, so we started watching The Sandman. Friday we went to Good Co. Granville in the afternoon and played pinball and Mario Kart, then went to The Templeton and got takeout – burgers, fish & chips, and shakes.
Saturday we wandered down to Granville to check out the Promenade but didn’t stay long as the sun was hot. Jill and Nina liked the look of Babylon Café and picked some lunch up there. I went the to the Spirit of Howe liquor store and got more beer, plus I verified I couldn’t pick up the official Rush beer (they don’t sell beer across provinces). Sunday Jill went to IGA for groceries.
Monday the 22nd Jill and I were feeling good enough to travel. She took a bus to Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store, then we all went together to Golden Age Collectables where Nina got a book, then I took the SkyTrain and a good walk to get to Red Cat Records (got a couple CDs). Meanwhile Jill and Nina went to the Indigo bookstore. We had a very early morning on Tuesday (I got 3 hours of sleep) as we got a Lyft to the airport. We went straight to security, then we discovered we were going through customs there (we must have done it in when we went to Montreal) and made it to our gate only minutes before they started boarding. That flight was fine, and we had a little time in San Francisco to get food. We got back at sundown and had a whirlwind of getting ready for the next day.
Wednesday the 24th was a very busy day. It was Nina’s first day of school, as well as the first day of work in a while for Jill and I. I was supposed to do a VIP visit with the The Decemberists (soundcheck + q & a) at Wolf Trap, but I barely made it to the merch booth before they packed up to get my stuff and see the show (and it was a great show – I even stayed through the encore). Saturday some folks on the lake host a cover band on their floating docks. We didn’t get too close, but we did tie up some of our boats so the kids could swim (and the adults could talk).
Sunday I’d seen that The John Popper Project was playing at The Bullpen after an afternoon Nationals game. I drove in around the time they were estimated to go on (it was a 4 band show), only to find the 3rd band still hadn’t gone one. So I headed down to the nearby Atlas Brewing and had a beer, a salad, and a couple slices of pizza. I still saw most of The Last Real Circus, but not many people were left by 8:45 when The John Popper Project, but the people there got something special. They put an album in 2006, and I didn’t know they toured. After some research, I found they performed songs from the album, some covers, and occasionally a Blues Traveler song. This show happened to be the 21nd birthday of John’s second cousin, so in addition to their songs, threw in her requests of Blues Traveler classics. Listen here: https://archive.org/details/jpdt2022-08-28
Wednesday the 31st Sue and Dave came to visit. I’ve long been an admirer of José Andrés’ restaurants, and we’ve been to several, from Jaleo to barmini. But minibar was always a goal of mine, and when we were talking about long term planning, I decided I wanted to go to minibar for my 50th birthday. Which was in 2020. So after they finally reopened in fall 2021, I put it back on my bucket list. After Jill said her mom was coming to visit for a week around Nina’s birthday starting on the 31st, when reservations for minibar on the 31st were available at the beginning of July, I snapped them up. Jill’s mom and Dave got down in plenty of time, and Jill and I arrived right on time. We were soon seated at the chef’s table for 12, and had to wait as the last couple was nearly 30 minutes late. They had some concern that they wouldn’t able to give me a low sodium meal, until the maître’d compared their seasoning to Jaleo, where we’d just eaten. Jill choose two of the additions to the menu, truffles added to three dishes and the non-alcoholic drink pairing, which was extremely inventive. The fancy cocktail I got was the bespoke coctail D.O.C., with pear vodka, truffle honey and Dom Perignon. Minibar is essentially a very long tasting menu, with very small bites for each course. My favorite was “Toad in the Hole”, where a tofu patty stood in for egg white. The frozen salad was very cool, and reminded me of the frozen Cheetos in Montreal – when I mentioned that, one of the chefs mentioned that they did that first. A couple of dishes were too salty for me to eat, but I just abstained from them. To recognize my birthday, as well as our anniversary, they brought us some special cocktails to wrap things up.
