Topic starter
14/08/2007 1:39 am
Hi! We just returned from our 35th cruise on the AQ from St. Louis to Cincinnati. Whew!! A hot time was had by all. Temps reached 100 degrees at every port! Some new additions were the return of lobster and crab legs. Hmmm Good! We had prime rib for the Captains dinner. My husband had an end cut to die for!!!
Also the Social Hosts have returned. Two were on board to dance with the ladies. The Senior Host offered basic dance instruction between dance sets.
Again Phill Westbrook (his music library is endless), Traci Vaughn & Jim Braet (awesome entertainers), Bob Schad (plays a mean banjo), and Steve Spracklen (Master of Ragtime) had toes tappen all week throughout the boat. Great entertainment!
What a joy to see and hear Bobby Durham and His American Queen Quartet. Bobby has put together an easy listening blend of all types of music with his quartet. They make a great sound. He was heading for the DQ from Cincinnati.
Another wonderful surprise for us was spending an evening with Mark Twain, Lewis Hankins! Glad he is back. His show was awesome. During the show he asked if anyone had any questions. That man truly has the spirit of Mark Twain in him. He could answer all the questions with such conviction you would think Mark Twain was there answering them. Lewis Hankins is a keeper!
We were sadden to see in Steamboats.org that the MQ will not be out yet next year. While they got her down, might as well fix her up top to bottom. We are now anticipating our maybe final (we hope not) cruise on the Delta Queen next year.
Ray & Marian Nusekabel
14/08/2007 2:19 pm
Thanks for the report Marian. Just reading the names of ALL those fine entertainers brings back a lot of memories. I had the extreme pleasure of working aboard with all of them. Even after hearing and seeing them for two years, I never tired of their performances.
15/08/2007 9:47 am
So glad that you're still having fun on our boats Marian. It's John the Photographer! I got the job as cruise photog. a few days ago. Rachel found a position in Colorado and I've been hired on for good.
Thanks again for the letter you sent, my parents loved it. I hope to see you both again sometime soon. I'm leaving in 20 minutes to go back to the AQ from Cleveland so if anyone responds to this I won't see it for 8 weeks or so. Anyways, glad you two had fun again I know I am going to.
Cya on the Sippi'
John
The Photographer
18/08/2007 8:06 pm
So good to see that Bobby Durham is still with the company. In my opinion the AQ has a wonderful staff all the way from the room stewards to the entertainers. I just hope MAL realizes what they have. I have made so many friends on the boats. Some that I haven't met in person yet. Phil Westbrook is not only a great singer and musician----
He is just a GREAT GUY. He always treats us like we are his long lost cousins who just got released from the sanitarium. He has a heart as big as texas or he would'nt put up with 4 ole ladies from Texas who give him grief from the time we set foot on the Queen. Then there's Paul Penta another great guy who just happens to live in Texas. I know he misses the MQ. I could name names all day but the reason "THe Texas Happy Ladies" travel on the river apart from the ambiance is the PEOPLE. Long may the Queens {all 3}
roll on the river