Recently we spent a fabulous staycation aboard the Queen Mary, a floating hotel sitting alive with the history of the past.
I've never had the best relationships with boats. Small boats make me throw up, big cruise ships make me gain an unconscionable amount of weight, and I was once abandoned on a kayak in the middle of the Atlantic ocean for an hour. #titanicmoment. So although I've not a seaman, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stay aboard an ocean liner that was once the most luxurious and is known today as the most haunted ship in the world, forever docked in Long Beach.
Even though I'm an LA native, I never even knew that the Queen Mary was an floating hotel complete with restaurants, tours, bars, a fabulous Sunday seafood brunch, and even a Starbucks. It's basically a cruise ship but spookier as all the rooms live and breathe the ship's history (and original fixtures). We started the staycation with brunch in the main ballroom feasting on mounds of shrimp, crab legs, and prime rib while a harpist strummed away. We walked off the brunch by checking out the Princess Diana exhibit and the ship's engine room followed by the ghost tour. I'd hoped to see my own Casper during the tour but no such luck. I contemplated going back to the stateroom to chant Bloody Mary in the bathroom just to see what would happen but timing just didn't work out as we wanted to catch the sunset on the bow of the boat. It was beautiful seeing the port and surrounding marina catch the very last golden glow of the sun. In that moment, I caught a glimpse of what those who had boarded the ship during its maiden voyage in 1936 saw and felt-the start of an adventure afloat with beauty, luxury, and glowing sunsets.
