Bulkhead

10/18

“Head on down to the fantail, grab the Ospho and a doodle bug then meet me on the aft 200 to give a quick pass over the scuppers…” Yeah, that’s how I felt too the first day aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird listening to commands in what seemed a foreign language. Two minutes after boarding the vessel at the Riverplace Marina making it 8:32am, I was put to work and told my shift lasted until 7:00pm. Given that I was pretty tired from my final evening on land, I started to evaluate my decision committing myself to a six month contract in a position in which I know absolutely nothing about. But, after a good meal, some friendly faces and a real tour of the ship I soon knew that only good times lay ahead. Having completed a good 5 hours of monotonous tasks, cartloads of luggage began to line the dock to be loaded into the corresponding rooms written on the yellow luggage tags. Fifty-five senior citizens do not pack lightly for a 6 day excursion up the Columbia and Snake rivers in pursuit of historical Lewis and Clark landmarks… Prescription meds, history books, excursion outfits, booze, and binoculars tend to weigh down a suitcase! At 1800 my first voyage aboard the Sea Bird commenced.