Clare Daily Report from Slayer Cruise - 6/15/05
FROM:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/Clare-Emilie-Michelle/

Aboard the MS Zuiderdam
6/15/05

-Just docked this morning
at St.Thomas, US Virgin Islands

-And now are back at sea.

In the Internet room
- hotspot Deck 3

More text and images from a much larger selection.

May get a chance later on the cruise to add some of
this to Clare's 2005 Schedule as links from the event.
http://www.gloryisagod.com/clare_events_2005.html

HEADLINES

-Touring and eating on Tortola
-Slayer Gong Show
-Alex wins the Gong Show contest
-Taking care of Jessica
-Natalie (Jessica's older sister) wins the karaoke contest
-Clare sings "Chantilly Lace" after it's over (dedicated to Brian)
-Clare's Pajama Party cancelled again - no rescheduling this time

TOURING TORTOLA

We didn't leave the ship until lunch time after catching
uo on yesterday's report.

Met Clare and Brian coming back on the long dock
(no tenders this time). Took a photo of them - but discovered
later that there was condensation on the outside of the lens
until it all warmed up.

Sort of a foggy image, even after enhancement.

Later, at evening dinner, Clare said they
rented what Brian called a dune buggy, sort of,
and drove around the whole island near the beach.

Clare said that they stopped sometimes to pick
up shells on beaches.

Tortola Photos Sample:
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1223_dock.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1229_dock_back.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1238_Tortula.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1239_Caffe_Capriccio.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1239_heaven_Hell.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1240_capriccio_chickens.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1244_high_is_better.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1253_Zuiderdam_next_dock_over.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1261_school_choir.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1265_pussers_store.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1274_old_Main_Street.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1279_Elvis_White_poster.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1283_more_main_street.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1288_Latitude_18_degrees.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1291_New_England_baking.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1293_goodfellas.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1307_British.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1309_Natures_little_secrets.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1316_clothing_sales_tents.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1317_red_chicken.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1319_back_to_Zuiderdam.jpg

BRIAN AND THE CHICKENS

We had noted to Clare that there were these small
reddish-brown chickens running around Tortola.
Including at a little rustic outdoor Italian
restaurant we ate at called Capriccio di Mare.

We said that they'd run thru the table area looking
for food. There was a sign that
said "Don't Feed the Chickens".

And that one chicken was one-legged.
Clare said "Ewww".

Brian said chicken were frequent on the roads.

But sometimes just a ball of feathers where they
weren't fast enough (proverbally) crossing the road.

CLARE AND THE GOAT

Once a goat wouldn't get out of the road.
So Brian asked Clare to get out and shoo it away.

But first he wanted to take a photo of Clare beside the
goat. The usually photo-friendly Clare quickly put an
end to that idea, she told us.

'Not with a goat' she said emphatically.

RIDING THE DOLPHINS

After returning to the ship to get their tour vouchers,
they left again to a bay with tame dolphins. Where both swam
with them.

Clare said she rode some dolphins also.

ALMOST LEFT BEHIND

Clare told us at dinner that the dolphin tour boat was late
and they ran from the dock onto the gangway as it was being
pulled up at 5:05 PM.

Like we told Brian more than once, from prior experience,
we always assume that Clare will be late to every event.
So we can be surprised when she isn't.

We are rarely surprised.
It's just the way Clare is.

TIRAMISU

We'd written down the name of the dessert we'd raved over at the
little Capriccio di Mare. It was a layered cheesecake confection
called tiramisu, per the menu.

The bottom seemed to be a crumbled base, followed by a layer of
cheesecake, then layers of sweetbread, topping and, finally,
shaved chocolate.

Knowing Clare's culinary knowledge, we described it and the name to
her after dinner. Asking her if it was an authentic Italian dish.

Clare immediately said, "Oh, yes, it's a real Italian dessert.
"In fact," she smiled at the coincidence, "I just made tiramisu
for Brian last week."

PRODIGY?

This is from a few days ago.
And includes us thinking about it a bit.
And following up.

Clare was talking to us about how in high school she was being
pressed by her physics teacher to pay attention in class.

And he called in her Dad to say that he couldn't understand how
'just a girl' like Clare was able to never miss a question
('NEVER', Clare emphasized) on any of her physics tests.

In spite of never paying attention in class.
She doodled and drew, and otherwise occupied her time.

Clare's Dad (remember our on-line 2004 Columbus interview with him)
really wanted Clare to go into a scientific field like himself
(geology), but Clare had by then decided she wanted to be in acting.

Anyway, her Dad simply told the teacher:

'You don't understand, Clare is not 'just a girl', 'she's my
daughter' and she's a prodigy. Meaning, we interpret, whatever
she wants to do, she can do.

This discussion tied into our many hours of observation of Clare
at the ship's blackjack tables. And her level of play in Vegas after
only 6 months of learning Texas Hold'em.

Finally, we asked Clare if she maybe had some pre-cognative
abilities.

"Nope," she said. "But I can remember every card."

"All 4 or 5 decks?" we responded doubtfully.
"Al six decks," Clare corrected.

"You see what, like a list?" we asked.
"Yes, like a list," Clare agreed.

Chelsea's (& Alyssa & Elana's) Dad at our dinner table
was skeptical.

He said he's seen card counters at work before.
And others that play more than one hand at a time,
like Clare does.

He'd also watched Clare play in the casino one evening.

He suggested that if she could remember ALL the cards,
why did she have streaks of bad luck at all?

We mentioned that on one occasion in question, with Clare
winning almost every deal, they'd switched dealers twice
and Clare quit on the third dealer right after we left to
go to bed.

Hmmm.
Double hmmm.

Oh, well.

It's either prodigy or pre-cog or ...
Any way works, we presume.

SLAYER GONG SHOW

The judges for the Gong show were James, Clare & Andy.
They rated each performance not gonged on a 1 to 10
scale on cards.

James commented that they'd managed to loose their tiny sound
system (which caused the first Clare Pajama Party to be
rescheduled for after the Karaoke contest) yet managed to
NOT lose the much larger (oriental-looking)
suspended gong and the thing to hit it with.

James was the most prolific, and vocal, gonger.

He even gonged Vulkon's Dizzy while he was explaining
things. He also managed to hit Clare in the back of her
head once (she was in the center of the table - closest
to the gong).

Clare's one gong was an almost apologetic faint one.

The victims ... uh, volunteeer contestants... performed
various things.

Some with ability, others not.

From a boy (Alex ?) telling a long joke that ended with an
uexpected pun, to someone doing a reverse striptease that
was gonged quickly.

Alex's joke eventually won First Place when the scoring was
tabulated.

Chelsea's Dad mortified her by unexpectedly inducing her to
hold the mike while he sang his humorous 'song'. Afterward,
she ran back down the aisle to rejoin her sister Elana.

Her Dad's singing was rated a 6 overall, but Andy gave Chelsea
herself a 10.

It was a topic of discussion at the evening dining table. But
Chelsea was out with some other teens from the earlier teen
Vegas night.

TAKING CARE OF JESSICA

After dinner, and with our tablemate family gone, we did the
usual and went over to banter with Clare and Brian.

Little Jessica (see the photo of her giving a gift to Clare
on the first report - from the Westin Hotel) came over and calmly
began telling Clare that she had some problems and needed help.

Jessica, who's about nine, talks like an adult.

She never got excited as she told us that her Mom, who has a
terminal disease, was unable to sleep due to the irritation
of the bed covering.

Plus her older sister (Natalie) and herself were badly sunburned
from way back on Half Moon Cay. They, she said, to our collective
horror, had even ventured out two(!) days later on Tortola,
covered up with shawls/ponchos and such

"But," she said, "It was too hot, so we had to uncover."

Jessica pulled back her shawl/poncho and we could see her arms
and back.

"My sister is much worse," she said calmly. "We'd never heard of
sunscreen before. In England we don't see the sun like it is here.
We only get a little brown, ever."

Someone had given her aloe.
But her sunburn needed far more than that.

After a few minutes of discussion, Brian and Clare decided to
take charge and headed for the Front Office to get
Jessica and Natalie immediate help from the infirmary.

And someting softer for their Mom's bed.
Brian knew exactly what was needed.
The comforter covers from the upper deck staterooms.

We tagged along to give additional encouragement to Jessica.
And also to photographically document what was happening.

Jessica clung to Clare repeatedly, while Brian worked with the
office people at the counter to get all of them to the infirmary
and to get the comforter cover.

After some explanations by Brian, they agreed and began making
calls.

Jessica calmly volunteered to go get her Mom and sister down to
Clare and Brian. Vulkon's Dizzy happened came by and joined the
concerned group.

Soon all three in the family were painfully rejoined (Natalie
could hardly come down the stairs).

At the elevators, Clare said Brian would handle the rest.
We could go on to the Karaoke contest, where she also had
to be after changing.

Clare & Jessica Photos:
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1491_Clare_comforts_Jessica.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1493_Brians_back_Jessica_Clare.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1494_Jessica_Clare_waiting.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1497_Clare_progress.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1497_Jessica_Clare.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1501_Clare_Jessica_sitting.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1502_Clare_waiting_for_Jessica.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1510_Clare_talks_to_fan_Egypt.jpg

Later in the evening, a painfully slow-moving Natalie would win the
karaoke contest, singing a love song to her boyfriend back in England.

"I've never won anything before," she said as she received the trophy.

And a smiling Jessica would join in the limbo contest another day on
the Kon-Tiki "raft" tour in St. Thomas. Even though she could walk
standing under the limbo bar until it was lowered twice.

These are the some of the things that make this cruise different.
And memorable.

KARAOKE CONTEST

As noted above, Natalie won the judges over with her singing.

James Leary did passable job of imitating James Leary singing.
Froggy sang, sort of. Many of the performances were spectacular.
Including Natalie's.

Chelsea was chosen randomly to sing first.

Again she was surprised, thinking that they'd never get to her
in a first come, first on stage list. Besides, she'd told her Dad,
she'd checked out the songs and only knew some of the lyrics to one.

But she set the tone of the event by going on stage first,
a real trouper. And did well versus her challenges.

That's the way she looked at it, as a positive experience,
her Dad said at the next evening dinner. Sort of a make-up
comeback from her Gong Show reaction.

Iyari expended more of her boundless energy dsncing
in front at times.

Some flash-from-a-distance Karaoke photos:
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1512_Chelsea_starts_first.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1516_Chelsea_at_a_pause.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1520_James_Leary1.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1520_James_Leary2.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1532_Froggy1.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1532_Froggy2.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1537_Iyari_Jonathan.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1539_Iyari_dancing.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1547_Dizzy_Andy_duo.jpg

CLARE SINGS

Clare sang as a special treat before the prizes were awarded.

She sang and bantered her way through a very professional
and rousng "Chantilly Lace". Which she dedicated to the
love of her life, Brian.

Some flash photos from far away:
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1551_Clare_and_Dizzy.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1552_Clare_ready_to_sing.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1553_Clare_and_Dizzy2.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1557_Clares_Chantilly_Lace.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1558_Clare_dedicates_to_BK.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1562_Clare_looks_at_Brian.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1563_Clare_sings_her_heart.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1566_Clare_looks_toward_Brian.jpg
http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1568_Clare_continues.jpg

Since there were several Slayer Cruise documentary cameras rolling
during the karoke contest, when we get the Slayer Cruise DVDs, the
first thing we want to see and hear will be Clare's wonderfully
rendered performance.

After she finished and went back to rejoin Brian, we went over and
told her how good we thought the song had been. And lingered there
talking until Clare and Brian left.

Clare went out again so she and James could improv while
stalling for the judges to return.

http://gloryisagod.net/Dscf1581_Clare_James_stall.jpg

And, as we noted, Natalie won first place.

Clare could leave because the post-karaoke rescheduled Clare Pajama
Party was cancelled, for good. The karaoke contest had run long and
the Queens Room had to be closed in a few minutes at 1:30 AM.

Our observation of the day.

Looks like Clare's Dad was right, so many years ago - whatever
Clare wants to do, she can.

NEXT

The ship left for a full night & day at sea from St. Thomas,
US Virgin Islands at 5:30 PM. This is the long run
back north to Nassau, Bermuda.

Next report will be on today's activities.

-Gloriana