8/30 MY BIRTHDAY

 This was another travel day, so they fill it up with talks and film and other good stuff.  I now know a lot about polar bears and animal senses.

We were given a tour of the kitchen.  First my old friend, Nuno explained about the logistics of supplying ships  in the Arctic and Anarctica.  You can’t just run to the corner Costco.  Menus are created a year in advance.  Another problem is the ship can only hold so much at a time.  Very very complex. They actually have a computer program that keeps track of what everyone orders at dinner and your gender and age, so they can calculate how much of each type of food they need.

We had snacks and champagne and then met the baker who was making Bao for tonight’s dinner.

I think everyone had the Bao as an appetizer.  It was good but not as fluffy as the ones I’m used to.

The kitchen is down a flight of stairs from the dining room.  Nuno held my arm so I wouldn’t fall Then put me in a corner so I could brace easily.  I told him that I was very  happy with my new room.

Tonight was my birthday dinner.  The dining crew gathered round and sang Happy Birthday.  There was special champagne.

This was a chocolate mousse cake.  We asked for extra plates and shared it out to tables around us.  The problem was that there were 3 birthdays and 2 anniversaries in our immediate area, so Larry was going quite far to give it away.

I wore Chuck’s UCLA sweater for warmth on this trip.  It was large but cozy.  A happy memory of him. (For those who don’t know - this is a cashmere sweater that we had custom made for him in Shanghai. He loved it and wore it almost 24/7. )