Cruise explores science, reason
Don’t you just hate it when you’re relaxing at the rail of your cruise ship, contemplating the vast mysteries of the ocean, and someone sidles up beside you to say: “You know, the earth is only 6,000 years old?”
Doesn’t that ruin everything?
Put it all behind you with the Center for Inquiry’s Alaskan Explorer for, according to their news release, “skeptics and secular humanists.”
This sounds like the perfect vacation for my friend Chris, whose system of belief involves replacing any expression of the deity’s name with the word “unicorn.”
The theme for the May 28 to June 4 cruise on Holland America’s Westerdam trips right off the tongue. “Planetary Ethics: Realizing Personal Enrichment & Saving Our Earthly Habitat” sounds fun, don’t you think? You’re giddy with anticipation, aren’t you?
Still, the center’s goals seem laudable: to promote and define reason, science and freedom of inquiry in all areas of human endeavor.
In 2004, the Amherst, N.Y.-based organization launched CFI Travel to unite like-minded people in exploring the “grand diversity within our global community, stimulating our minds with thought-provoking presentations, building lasting friendships and sharing in the future of our movement.”
That’s from their Web site, which you’ll find at www.cfitravel.org.
If the cruise sounds like your cup of tea, here’s a rundown for your further edification:
You’ll sail from Seattle – the largest city in the least-churched state in the union, natch – bound for Juneau; Sitka; Prince Rupert, British Columbia; Victoria; and back to Seattle.
Along the way, according to the center’s description, you should “expect the unexpected – fully explicable by science, of course.”
Turns out, the religious aren’t the only ones who take themselves a little too seriously.
At any rate, you’re likely to see bald eagles, diving humpback whales, the calving tidewaters around the Johns Hopkins glacier, and the wall of ice formed by the near merging of the Grand Pacific and Margerie glaciers.
The center of all this excitement, Glacier Bay, has been named a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
(We’ve discussed that before, of course. Just look through your Here & There archives – you do save every edition of the column, don’t you? – for Dec. 4, 2005.)
But if all you wanted to do was look at the pretty scenery, you could take any old cruise. And this is clearly not any old cruise.
A series of talks really brings the theme home.
Barbara Forrest, professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University and author of “Creationism’s Trojan Horse,” offers these lighthearted presentations: “What is Intelligent Design? Why Should We Care?,” “Slam Dunk for Science and the Constitution: The Dover Intelligent Design Trial” and an informal talk on Hurricane Katrina.
Science writer, photographer and holder of a Ph.D. in physics Mark Bowen will also be on hand, along with Joe Nickell, an investigative columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine and author of such books as “Secrets of the Supernatural” and “Crime Science.”
And of course, Dr. Paul Kurtz, founder of the Center for Inquiry, the Council for Secular Humanism and the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, will take time out of his busy schedule of forming organizations to speak as well.
He’s professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, so presumably, he knows how to hold forth.
Prices for the ice-and-earnestness extravaganza run from $1,981.28 to $8,024.28, depending upon how fancy you are and how many are in your room. See the previous-referenced Web site for further information, or call (800) 398-7571
Traveler’s best friend
AAA has been out sprinkling diamond dust around the region.
Beverly’s restaurant and two local hotels – the Davenport and Coeur d’Alene Resort – earned Four Diamond designations, as did another 21 spots in Washington and North Idaho, including the Sun Mountain Lodge dining room in Winthrop, Seattle’s Hotel Vintage Park and Sorrento Hotel, and Salish Lodge & Spa in Snoqualmie.
The 2006 Five Diamond Award went to two regional places: Herbfarm Restaurant in Woodinville and the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. (Yours truly used to wait tables and bartend at the latter, so I take some responsibility for their honor – although I have yet to receive my thank-you note.)
Have a look at the entire list of winners at www.aaawa.com. Click on “News & Safety.”
Cupid, stupid
We’ve been over and over this, guys. The ladies like Valentine’s Day.
And it’s coming.
So think about this: Skamania Lodge, near Portland, will do most of the work for you with “Cupid’s Delight Getaway,” available Feb. 11.
They’ll present you with overnight accommodations in a forest-view room and dinner in the Cascade Dining Room accompanied by Craig Marquardo’s jazz. (I don’t know who he is, either. Just be grateful.)
After dinner, you’ll find rose petals in your bed, along with a “romantic in-room amenity.”
Use your imagination about that.
All you have to do is turn over at least $299, sit back and take the credit for being Mr. Romance.
They’ll handle your reservation at www.skamanialodge.com or (509) 427-7700.
Regional events
“Romance at the Moss Mansion, Feb. 14, Billings. For a mere $35, you’ll enjoy a carriage ride, keepsake photo, music, dessert and roses. (www.visitmt.com, 406-256-5100)
“Montana Snowkite Rodeo, Feb. 17-19, Anaconda, Mont. According to organizers, this is the Northwest’s premier snowkiting competition. attracting competitors from Norway, Canada, Sweden and the United States for freestyle and racing events. (www.visitmt.com, 406-442-8009)
“Evergreen RV Show, Feb. 17-19, Monroe, Wash. More than 400 RVs from 15 different Puget Sound dealerships are presented for your perusal. (www.westlakepromo.com/monroe/evergreen-rv.html, 206-783-5957)