The Show Goes On

Today the ship docked at Ketchikan for a full day's worth of activities that were rather forgettable, so let's go back to our favorite topic. Made my way to Cova Cafe and was surprised to see the pianist/singer Doug Ross entertaining the five people seated there. After the set, Doug told me that the one of them broke a violin, and that they might not be able to perform anymore for the duration of the cruise. Uh oh, no more classical music, no more Natasha :-( Decided to watch that night’s entertainment – Don Sherman’s observational comedy (ala Seinfeld). His entire act consisted of poking fun at various aspects of cruising, from the tiny, claustrophobic rooms to the “whales” lined up at the buffet to the um, lackluster ports of call (“Ketchikan is Skagway spelled backwards”, “The people in Juneau come to Ketchikan for nightlife”). Note: If those two riffs failed to amuse you, you HAD to be on the cruise. Or better yet, call your travel agent and book a cruise to Alaska. You'll see.

Went back to Cova Café, and surprise surprise - although their lead violinist broke his instrument in an accident (or temperamental fit?! wink wink) and thus was sidelined, the Vivaldi string quartet (now trio) were ready to soldier on. Natasha and I chatted briefly. The strain was evident in her face, and she worried aloud that they might not be able to put on a good performance. As always, Emma was around and actually ordered an Alaskan Amber tonight, and the audience size seemed to have increased the last two nights. Non-expert I might be, but the group played at their usual high caliber (albeit with a more limited repertoire) and Natasha handled the burden of sole violinist with much aplomb.