Queen Mary

Black And White Photography, Emilio, Photography

Bow-

Sailed this day nineteen leagues, and determined to count less than the true number, that the crew might not be dismayed if the voyage should prove long. ~Christopher Columbus

My two week self-imposed period of mourning has made me realize several things. You can read about them on my personal blog, if interested.

After the first week, I thought maybe it would be nice to get away from everything for a couple of days. And how fortuitous? Groupon had a deal on a short weekend cruise that was pretty darn cheap. I mean, I thought cruises were in the thousands of dollars. Imagine my surprise when I saw the price! That Groupon sure is good. I called on Tuesday and asked if they had any openings for Thursday, and they did. The cheapest cabin had no windows. I figured that was OK because we wouldn’t be in the room much.

So we drove down to Long Beach California. And there she was, the Queen Mary. We boarded just before 4 pm and were taken to our cabin, which was surprisingly roomy. And surprisingly dark when you turned off the lights. At 6 pm the ship’s horn blew and we were off. But I felt nothing. Such a smooth ride. Unbelievable. I commented to my wife and she started to crack up. About a half hour later she was able to gather enough breath to tell me the Queen Mary has been moored since around 1967. She’s a hotel and museum (not my wife, but the QM). And she’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Well, no wonder it was so cheap! We stayed for two days. I will come back to the boat and our experiences there in several future posts. But the one memorable moment was, the first morning I heard through the walls what I took to be a baby sniffling or crying. Then I realized it was the sound of the next door occupants enjoying each other! The walls are paper thin because the white noise of the engines when at sea would usually mask such connubial bliss!

No longer!

23 thoughts on “Queen Mary”

    1. Emilio Pasquale Photography's avatar

      Thanks, Mike. What I failed to mention is our second night we heard two men talking in a foreign language late into the night, then snoring in the middle of the night. I much preferred the first night’s diversion!

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  4. Raewyn's Photos's avatar

    Hehe. My step daughter also stayed in the Queen Mary – after they got married in Las Vegas. oh dear, I have been on a cruise, and yes the white noise and hustle and bustle of a busy ship does mask a lot of nose. Great photo.

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    1. Emilio Pasquale Photography's avatar

      Well, after touring below decks there is no way I would ever take a cruise. There is no way one person can know how to fix one of those engines, they are so huge. By the time they found out what was wrong, we’d be having hor d’ouevres with Ariel!

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    1. Emilio Pasquale Photography's avatar

      Thanks, Stacy. Have you ever been on board the Queen Mary? Beautiful art deco all around but I wonder if the people involved in preserving it are getting enough money to do so. It is badly rusted, and in desperate need of carpet repair. She is definitely showing her age but, as a hotel, there should be revenue for upkeep, you would think.

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      1. Stacy P. Fischer's avatar

        I remember going on deck, oh, over two decades ago. I don’t remember it operating as a hotel at that point. I read somewhere that Disney had a stake in it at some point. I wonder if it still does? Though the condition of it would seem out of sync with Disney’s standards.

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  8. Joe's avatar

    It’s great to have you back Emilio and you didn’t skip a beat with your witty humor 🙂 The image is outstanding, I love it. Great work.

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    1. Emilio Pasquale Photography's avatar

      Thanks, Joe. I have so many photos of our stay there you’ll be sick of them by next month. Maybe I’ll space them out through the rest of the year.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Emilio Pasquale Photography's avatar

      My wife complimented me just recently. Said I acted like a grown up when I heard them next door. When I was in college, we’d stand outside the door listening and laughing (and envious). Now it’s like mundane. I just hope no one got hurt!

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    1. Emilio Pasquale Photography's avatar

      Thanks, Frank. I’m currently playing around with adding light streaks and highlights to my images and often I’ll go too far. Glad you liked it.

      Liked by 1 person

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