Endless conversation

Quick break in the Cruiseapalooza chronicling to report on today's ride home with Amalia:

Amalia: I need to do Dora's house.

Me: You need to do Dora's house?

Amalia: Yes, I need to do Dora's house.

Me: What do you need to do?

Amalia: I need to work.

Me: What do you need in order to work?

Amalia: I need stuff.

Me: What kind of stuff?

Amalia: Some things.

Seriously, the conversation could have gone on forever without any resolution. And then, a little while later:

Amalia: Are we going on the boat?

Me: No, we already went on the boat.

Amalia: Oh man! I want to go on the boat again.

Me: Me, too, Amalia. Me, too.

Cruiseapalooza: Tuesday

On Tuesday we had our first port of call: Costa Maya, Mexico. 

Here we are in our spacious cabin before heading out for the day. I believe Amalia is reaching to take a picture. In the background are the world-famous bunk beds. 

We eschewed the expensive excursions in favor of a taxi to a nearby beach. 

Poser.

 Beach bum. 

 Andy got a workout swinging the girls around. 

 

 Amalia collecting coconuts for one of Gilligan's wacky schemes. 

OK, so the guy on the far right is Ed Robertson, lead singer of BNL, who coincidentally was at the same beach taking a break from the first dive of a SCUBA excursion. Not long after we arrived I ran into him as we were both coming out of the restroom (I was changing the girls into their swimsuits). I took the opportunity to thank him for hosting the Ships and Dip cruise, telling him that it was nice to have a vacation that forced me to disconnect from my BlackBerry, to which he replied, "And what is it that you do that makes you so connected to your Blackberry?" Nothing like a complete stranger--and a celebrity at that--to shine a light on my pathetic addiction to technology.

It started to rain in the early afternoon so we cabbed it back into town, where the girls found this lovely skeleton pony wearing boots. I think Lily approved--of the footwear, at least.

 A much less fashionable burro.

Cruiseapalooza: Monday

Our first full day at sea and the girls hit the ground strumming. Amalia complained that the guitar was too heavy, but I told her to suck it up and play.

Lily's wearing one of her long-awaited tank tops, so all is well. 

The Guster guys hanging out before their Q&A session (where fans could ask them anything). Ryan's  doing double-duty as baby wearer. (Also, rumor has it that a massage took priority for Adam, so he missed the Q&A--something Ed from BNL saw fit to mention in one of their shows a couple of nights later, to much amusement.)

Baby Dash wakes up to help Dad answer a question, "What's your favorite allusion from one of your songs?" Ryan: What's an allusion?

Amalia fell asleep during the Guster Q&A and remained asleep for the entire BNL kids show afterward. The guys played songs from Snacktime, their children's album. 

Kevin Hearn singing Vegetable Town. It's always so good to see him looking healthy (he was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 1998 and eventually received a bone marrow transplant from his brother; many years later Kev was gracious enough to sing a few songs at a celebration for cancer survivors at USC's cancer center when my mother was COO there). 

 Jim Creeggan on bass (aka Grandma). 

 Back in the kiddie pool. 

I've no idea what made this pattern in the sky, but it was very cool. It might have shown up better if I'd gotten a new camera as I requested for my birthday, instead of a wooden rolling pin. Not bitter. 

Guster's newest member, Luke, had a show in the Atrium, perhaps the least desirable performance location on the ship. I unfortunately had to leave part way through to tend to my 2-year-old who decided to take off her own diaper in kids camp. Apparently she decided a concert cruise in the middle of the Caribbean was the perfect time to toilet train herself. 

 BNL Show #1. Andy scored us "premium seats" at a Reverb raffle because we'd donated money to offset our carbon footprint. See, helping the earth can be fun!

Ed and Kev. 

 A du wop version of "Sound of Your Voice," with Kev as the lead and the other guys singing back-up. 

 

OK, I know the sound and video are pretty cruddy (rolling pin), but I thought this finale from the first show would give some sense of what the experience is like.

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? 

Cruiseapalooza

We just got back home from our fourth annual concert cruise. I'm much too tired at the moment to post much of anything worthwhile (had some toddler TSA issues today), so here's a sneak peek for now.

So this pic is from our first night on the boat. The first of three Guster shows--this one on the pool deck--competed with the Super Bowl and Great Big Sea for an audience, but I didn't regret my choice for a second. Here the guys are enjoying a moment with Barenaked Ladies front man, Ed Robertson (far right), who joined them for Either Way.

Fair warning: I have a feeling the cruise will hijack Lilypalooza for the next several entries. 

And now, to bed.



Best laid plans

 

Like Isaac Mizrahi before a runway show, Lily is carefully planning her outfits for our concert cruise this week.

 

 The entire collection, minus the essential swimwear and footwear accessories. 

And because no preparations would be complete without some sort of curveball, here's Lily talking about her trip to urgent care last night.

The royal runway

Princesses, puffy dresses, girlie speech patterns...sometimes I wonder where my DNA went. Thank heavens for Amalia's comic relief.