American Cruise Lines - Day 9 - Beaufort, S.C. (Part 4)

When I see potato soup I think of a nice creamy soup that warms your insides. This Loaded Potato Soup appetizer though seemed to have everything but the potato.

Pot roast with whipped mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots. The pot roast was good and tender but I would have preferred that my meat portion be at least as big as these carrots. A big hello to our other new friends Jack and "Mama" Libbie who we enjoyed chatting and dining with many days. I jokingly called Libbie "Mom" when she chastised me for only eating a few bites from these carrots tonight. Don't worry Mom, I ate healthy when it came to dessert tonight. There was milk in the ice cream so it counts right? Here's hoping you haven't lost anymore hearing aids in your popcorn!

Tonight's evening entertainment was a little break from the usual singing acts with an interactive presentation by a local Gullah culture re-enactor named Evelene Stevenson. This is the woman who served as the guide on the morning tour and I heard from a lot of passengers that she left them with a story cliffhanger that she promised to complete during the evening presentation. Fear not, it was recapped for those of us who didn't go on the morning tour.

But first, ice cream sundaes and popcorn. I finally decided to try the popcorn and was surprised to find the bags only about 1/8th full. However, I'd had my fill before ever finishing the bag so maybe there's some thought to the strict rationing.

The presentation was a good mix of storytelling, history, songs, and involvement by the audience though several felt that it ran a little too long. It certainly was the longest nightly entertainment we'd had thus far. I decided to volunteer with a handful of other women to use her colorful fans to demonstrate how Gullah woman would use the fans to signal to the men at parties. That included a much more sinister movement directed at the other women who might be waving their fans at your intended suitor. 

Evelene next tried to use the women who volunteered to serve as group dance demonstrators encouraging the respective husbands to join them. 

Having no such husband to entice, I quickly bowed out and two solo cruisers stepped up in my place to be the final couple. After all, someone had to capture the moment on video:

Once back in our cabin for the night, we discovered the latest Eagle Society special gift, a wooden picture frame with a photo of the Independence. Ours was engraved with the start date of the first week's cruise and it made me wonder whether the people only on this second week's cruise got one and if it still said the same date. Still a very nice photo and frame and I now have it displayed on our coffee table.