Cruiseapalooza: Sunday

To continue from yesterday's sneak preview, here are more pictures from Day 1 of the cruise. 

 

Of no surprise, the first thing the girls wanted to do was go to the kiddie pool. It had a spunky dinosaur theme.(Funny aside: Lily has just started to sound out words, and thought that the word on the left was "exult" instead of "exit" since the "I" looks like a lower case "l." I then tried to explain why "exult" was a totally appropriate thing to do on the cruise since it's such a joyous, happy place.)

 

Despite the dangers of facing Jurassic-era creatures, Lily didn't hesitate going down the waterslide.

Lily at sunset. 

With the girls safely deposited into "kids camp," we headed out to the pool deck to watch Guster. And now for introductions. From left to right, Adam Gardner (he and his wife co-founded Reverb, a nonprofit that connects the passion of musicians and their fans with eco-activism), Ryan Miller (the group's lead singer/songwriter and son of Cookie and Ross, whom we met after our second cruise), and Brian Rosenworcel (aka Thundergod; the group's drummer and an incredibly nice guy with an amazing capacity for remembering names and faces).

 The newest member of the group is Luke (on the left), who replaced Joe Pisapia last summer/fall. He's fantastically talented and also super nice (recurring theme).

Behind Luke in this picture is Scooter (real name Andrew; lives in San Francisco where he plays with a bunch of other bands when not touring with Guster). He's the group's drum tech; he also gets to join in some of the songs. He looks about 12 but is actually 27 or so.

 Ryan's characteristic head tilt. I think it helps him hit his high notes. 

Until a few years ago, Brian only played bongos with his hands. He's now added a regular drum kit and sticks to his repertoire--I think to preserve the lifespan of his hands.

Ryan and Ed (on the right), BNL lead singer, chatting it up. One of my favorite things about this cruise is the interplay between artists. To watch musicians interact with each other feels a bit voyeuristic--in a good way.  

The bald guy in front is Tyler Stewart, the drummer from BNL. What Ty lacks in traditional singing talent, he makes up for with enthusiasm and bawdiness.

Ryan's parents, Ross and Cookie, and his wife, Angela. She had a heck of a time getting to the cruise from Vermont due to the storms in the Northeast--and was traveling with two kids under the age of 3 to boot. Ryan said she got into the "mom zone" during all the trials and tribulations, displaying a dogged determination to make it to the ship (which she did, with about 10 minutes to spare). 

OK, so that was Day 1. See why I didn't miss watching the Super Bowl?