adrienne's Tour Diary

Tea, toast and eggs for breakfast courtesy of Michaela, our host in Hessle. Around 11 we drove into Hull to park the van behind the Blayde House (once home to the Blayde family, who built the Bounty, on which there was the historical mutiny in Tahiti, and in the 1980s the film starring Mel Gibson) where she works. Michaela locked up the van and did some work upstairs while we walked through the cobbled streets near the docks and into the town centre, which has changed for the better since Dan and I were here last, except for the giant TV that is on, broadcasting near City Hall. It was depressing to see the giant TV for some reason, though it did give us the weather forecast.
CG, Dan and I went to The Deep, "the world's only Submarium," though it's unclear how it differs from an aquarium. I was surprised to encounter animals I have never seen before, including a shark that has a two-foot saw coming out of its face, and the Hawaiian state fish was also there, swimming around with its mouth open. We met up with CW and Mai at Ferens Art Gallery, the free gallery near the Princess Quay shopping center. When I was an exchange student at the Uni. of Hull, I came upon a century old oil painting in the Ferens Gallery of a horse going #1 in the middle of a dark marketplace while a ray from the heavens (God?) shone upon it (the piss and horse). I looked for the painting but it must have been part of a temporary exhibit.
We ate a late lunch at McCoy's, a nice cafe that serves sandwiches and coffees that are half the price of Starbucks. Hull has changed so much since I lived there, as Michaela had told me--it's much nicer, but in a way, less exotic too. There are late night supermarkets and Starbucks and marshmallows. On the way back to Michaela's we drove past the university and past my old house, 76 Cottingham Road. It looks exactly the same. I might still be inside that house.
We drove to the P&O Ferry Dock at 6:30 and (of course) were pulled over for inspection. The van doesn't have a license plate on the front (it's in the back of the van but the screws appear to have broken off), which Michaela warned could be a problem. The Hull inspectors decided to let it go. we drove the van into The Pride of Hull and took out our suitcases to head for our Family Cabin, #10343, on Deck 10. It was very nice--spacious, with a free mini bar, our own bathroom and a window too. CG and Dan played Time Crisis, I tried my hand at being an American Truck Driver (but lost control of my rig and crashed repeatedly), and CW and Mai went on the Eurodance game. Afterwards, CG, Dan and I decided to take advantage of the 3 for the price of 2 offer on giant bottles of Grolsch in the lounge. CW and Mai bought tickets to see the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. Captain Woodhouse announced that The Pride of Hull would only be able to use 3 of its 4 engines and therefore would be delayed 45 minutes in Rotterdam, but we weren't alarmed. Captain Woodhouse sounded worried though, saying, "It is my hope we will reach our ETA of 8:45, only a slight delay."
While everyone else was at the Hitchhiker film, Dan and I watched TV in the cabin, a reenactment of the Michael Jackson trial, with actors playing Macauley Culkin, M. Jackson, and the lawyers. It was very entertaining. When the moviegoers returned we went to the disco and watched people dance enthusiastically to a mixture of Eurodance music and standard wedding reception tunes. As Michaela forecast, there were many lorry drivers in attendance.