Ken and I traveled a great deal when we were somewhat younger. One of our most interesting adventures was a cruise through the Panama Canal on the cruise ship 'Oriana'.
When we left Vancouver, all was fine: fond farewells, laughter, streamers and whistles. However, the passage to San Francisco was rough and I awoke feeling nauseated. I approached the dining room with trepidation, only to be greeted by the Captain, smacking his lips over a large plate of kippers! (For some reason we were chosen to sit at the Captain's table, along with Googie Withers, a well-known old time British movie star, who usually floated in at the last minute, draped in a voluminous caftan). Well, I caught one whiff of those kippers and made a hasty exit. A conveniently placed large potted plant received some extra 'nourishment' that morning.
We had delightful waiters (from Goa) and our particular waiter insisted on spooning brown sugar onto Ken's porridge each morning, a service that made Ken feel so uncomfortable that he finally explained to the fellow that he would rather do it himself.
We spent three weeks on the Oriana, waited upon as though we were all movie stars. We didn't have to worry about where we were going to sleep, what we were going to eat, transportation or luggage. Each morning a cup of tea and the ship's newspaper (complete with Canadian hockey scores as requested by Ken) were delivered to our stateroom.
This was our first experience with cruising, but not our last!
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