LA: 1/9 - 1/10

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Good. Huh? And here you thought I never showed up for English class. Well I do remember showing up for a few. I thought a book written by a guy named Spear, Shaker, or something like that must be exciting. What a bummer. Just another lousy trick to try to get me to do stuff I don’t like. Turns out this is just some sucker that can’t even talk right let alone write about good stuff. Soon as I found out it was just a cruel trick to try to suck me in I quit showing up.

Back to the day in California. First off, there was this huge brunch at Signatures just for the passengers that were on from Port Everglades and are continuing on for the world cruise. Lobster, caviar, foix grau, scrambled eggs topped with caviar and put into half a vulture egg shell, shrimp, and on and on. From there it was all down hill.

While in the middle of brunch we had to go and leave our overnight bags, filled with jewels and medicines, and go to immigration on the ship. That was pretty quick and just a minor annoyance. After brunch it was out to the Limos.

We had a walk to the terminal building and just outside were the waiting limos, NOT. Not limos, that is. Just mostly black town cars of various vintage and condition. One by one they were bringing up the cars and loading us one couple to a car. When my turn came a pretty well battered one showed up. Being the general pain in the rear that I usually am, I said, NO WAY! I’m not getting in that death trap. It worked. To get me to stop encouraging a mutiny, the starter said, okay, pick out any one you like. Just as he said that a new looking Mercedes drives in. Naturally I said, that one, thinking it was really someone’s private car. He said okay and that was what we got. It was a nice fairly new one but no bargain. I forgot how rough they ride. Nothing like the BMW.

After about a 3 hour freeway ride we got to Beverly Hills and in about 20 minutes we arrived a t the Beverly Hilshire Hotel. The driver informs us that this is the most famous hotel in town. As we get out and retrieve our overnight bag we notice that famous hotel has not so famous mile long line to register. Being not real good at lines I start to get a little noisy. It’s just one of my better personality traits. I complain often and loudly. It works again. To shut me up a young lady comes from behind the desk and ushers us to another desk in the lobby of another building and signs us right in. Now things start to get really crummy.

Our room is very clean and in very good shape and about the size of my closet on the ship. It is so small only one of us can breathe at a time. It’s so small that I have to open the window if I want to bend over. It’s so small we can’t tell which one of us fart. I have lots more. If you need them just write. I guess you get the idea. We are not happy campers. And then to add insult to injury, the people that did not do the first two weeks and got to the hotel later, got large suites. There was one couple that we talked to that didn’t get a room until after 6: PM. The excuse was a basketball team had left late and trashed a lot of the rooms. I guess the hotel screwed up a bunch of stuff as the CEO of Radisson had a few words for them later at the ball.

At 5:45 we got a message that the drinks and party would start at 6:00 instead of 6:30 as previously advised. No problem. Bobbi likes it when she had less then 15 minutes to get dressed in the interior of a room smaller then a sleeping bag. I may have even heard her mumble a dirty word under her breath. Muriel Kapel had no problem. She showed up promptly at 7:30.

It was hard to get a drink and then they brought the wrong thing. Appetizers were little pieces of hard toast with chopped tomato and some kind of old dead dried up bird on a stick that was uneatable. We did find a lot of nice people to talk to. One couple lived about a mile away and returned home to sleep when they saw the room and they got a mini suite.

Next was the dinner, speeches, dancing, and entertainment in the grand ballroom. The orchestra was the Nelson Riddle and was terrific. They had a very good singer doing Sinatra type songs. The CEO of Radisson talked a little as did several others but none too long or too serious.

The food was served typical banquet style. The Salmon was said to be pretty good. We tried to get rare fillets and after two tries gave up and ate potatoes, veggies and dessert. After dinner there was music, at least they call it music. None from close to this century. All of it was for people that were so old they couldn’t hear any longer let alone get up to dance. No boogieing so it was back to our closet. We had cable available if we wanted to pay $5.95 per hour or $14 for an old movie. I watched Letterman while Bobbi snored. If I wanted some bottled water they had some for only$8 for a pint or pop for $6 a 10 ounce bottle.

This morning they had a buffet breakfast in the same Grand Ballroom. Radisson Voyager this was not. It was okay though.

At 10:30 AM the people that had come from San Diego were to board cars for the trip to the dock at San Pedro. Naturally there was perfect organization again. They were giving cars to people one at a time from a line. Trouble was no one could find a line or anyone taking names off a list. Of course being loud got me out of their quickly and her we are back on the ship typing away.

When we got to our suite there was a gift of a nice log book and a world clock. At the hotel they had delivered two very nice, Timberland, red and blue, water proof jackets with hoods and removable linings.

I know it has to be time for some meal or another and it’s been at least an hour or two since I’ve eaten so off I go.

It all starts at about 5:00 PM this evening. Six days straight south with no stops unless we hit something or blow up. That ought to get enough of them sick enough to keep out of our way.

(Posted on behalf of Sherman Rootberg)