Special Cuisine

Now I know it is the height of "tourist" to photograph cruise ship food, but this cannelloni was made just for Laurie from her raw cookbook. It is stuffed with nut cheese and was delicious, even to me. Laurie couldn't finish it last night because they also made her a big bowl of soup. She expects to see the leftover portion at lunch today. Their specialty restaurant chef is making her special dishes every night. This cuisine is better than what you could get at Pure Food & Wine in NYC. All this after they refused every one of her special requests by email before the cruise. Now, it's not organic, but it is raw and this dish had to take at least an hour to prepare. We're trying to meet the chef today to thank HIM for his exceptional effort. Last year, Regent cruises would not deviate from the menu at all.

I signed up for the "Ultimate Ships Tour" which filters out the riff-raff with a $150 fee. It does come with a chef's jacket and robe from the spa (just what I need to haul home) but may (I say may) include the engine room. It is a four hour experience with admittance by lottery but only 8 people (maximum 12) have signed up so the odds are good.

Gained another hour last night. I think we pick up 7 hours along the way. We picked up 4 on our way to Anchorage. We'll really pay when we fly home.

Interesting ship tidbit. Our mileage is 90 feet per gallon.

We are past the Bering Sea.

Its''s 51 degrees 74% humidity, a little chilly to read on the balcony.

16 knot winds, seas slight, 1.5 to 4 feet.

Distance from Whittier: 1945 miles, 1220 miles to Muroran, Japan our first stop. Average almost 22 mph.

Our position at 11:55 am local time: 53 degrees 09 minutes North, 164 degrees 35 minutes East. Closest land: 11, 480 feet (ocean floor).

We're off to lunch so we can be at Duplicate bridge at 1:15. Busy busy, but I am getting some reading in. I bought Edward Kennedy's "True Compass" in Anchorage and it is a good read so far.

Regards,

Steve & Laurie