Witmer Wedding

Congratulations to the Happy Family!

Elvis' Birthday Cruise

On January 9th the Lantern Queen celebrated Elvis' Birthday.

Local Elvis impersonator, Ted Tharp kept the boat rockin' and the gals squealin'!

Ho Ho Ho!

Santa on the Bay was a wonderful event for the kiddies and adults alike.  Mix Santa, crafts that involve glitter, great food, and Christmas music and you've got Santa on the Bay! Here's a link to the photos I took that day. Parents, feel free to download and enjoy these priceless memories! 

http://public.fotki.com/BeckyFitz/lantern-queen/santaonthebay200801/

Bald Eagles!

From the decks of the Lantern Queen we've watched several nests of ospreys hatch and grow this spring and summer. And we regularly watch bald eagles soar from the cliffs on either side of the river, occasionally swooping down to catch a fish, more often just content to look majestic. But recently a very peculiar thing has happened. The ospreys have grown up and left the nest, and of course the osprey parents have no need of the nest until next spring. Guess who moved in? The Bald Eagles! The photo above shows a bald eagle at home in the osprey nest high atop a power pole on the Amtrak railroad bridge. If you've a good set of binoculars check it out - the very top of the northen pole, just to the right of the swing bridge. To the naked eye it looks like a tiny ball stuck on the top of the pole. But there's a steel nesting box there that the ospreys occupied until late in the summer. 

Bon Voyage Jen!

After filling her up with chocolate and good wishes, we said a fond farewell to deckhand, Jen Taylor last night. Jen is relocating to Santa Clara, California to be near another of our favorite people, Jason Powers! It's fitting that they met on the Lantern Queen! (It's becoming quite the Love Boat!) 

It's safe to say that Jen is one of those folks we're really glad crossed our path. She brought a lot of skills to the Lantern Queen and left with even more. Whether it was cleaning the paddlewheels, caulking the windows, or dealing with waste tank issues, Jen jumped right in.  It was fun to watch Jen's excitement when the old vacuum cleaner died and we purchased a new Dyson. 

And of course, only Jen could find a way to upstage Elvis! At the end of an Elvis cruise Jen fell overboard off the gunnells, much to the amusement and enjoyment of the nearby fishermen! (They continue to tease her - hoping for a repeat performance perhaps!)

But the part of Jen that's most precious to me is when she's "Jenny" as granddaughter Katherine dubbed her. (See photo above.) Jen often tells people that she really doesn't like kids much - yet she's great with them, and they all seem to adore her.  (I think the truth is that Jen doesn't like brats much - and neither do we!) 

We can't wait to hear about the next chapter in Jen's life - with her can-do attitude and wonderful personality you can bet it will be interesting. 

MAN OVERBOARD! (Drills)

Periodically the Lantern Queen crew conducts man overboard drills. Besides the fact that they make a lot of sense, they're also required by the U.S. Coast Guard. But when the Lantern Queen crew is faced with a tedious task, they do their best to turn it into a party! So just in case you need to know how to rescue a man overboard, here goes:


Oh no! Capt. Fred didn't throw the seat cushion overboard as planned - he jumped in with it!!!

It's OK! (From r. to l.) Lantern Queen crew members Kristin, Erin, and little Katherine spot Capt. Fred and yell "MAN OVERBOARD" and continue to keep contact by pointing to him.

The captain starts manuevering the Lantern Queen so that the gangway points toward the victim. (Uh, I didn't want to choose between which captain to use for this photo, and Katherine's cuter anyway!)


While the captain's swinging the boat around, other crew members are lowering the gangway to about 18" above the water. One crew member, armed with a boat hook, takes up a station on the end of the gangway, while another acts as safety behind him.

As the Lantern Queen approaches the victim the gangway is finally lowered into the water in order to drag the victim aboard. Saved! Saved! Capt. Fred is saved- much to the relief of little Katherine, who took this drill VERY seriously!
And so it continued, until every one of the seven captains took his turn rescuing the poor, soggy seat cushion! And at sunset I was able to snap a great photo of bartender, Kristin.

Ospreys & Eagles

Here's a photo of the baby Osprey nesting under the Rt. 40 bridge.

Throughout the spring and summer, Carroll has pointed out the Osprey nest under the Hatem (U.S. Rt. 40) Bridge to our passengers. We've watched as the little chicks grew and grew. They seem to have left the nest now, but we're already eager to greet next years' babies.

Osprey are also called "Fish Hawk" and are in the same bird of prey family as the eagles. In fact, the slightly smaller Osprey often lose their prey to their larger Bald Eagle cousins.

We also see a number of bald eagles on Lantern Queen cruises too, and make ever effort to point them out to our passengers. Both Osprey and Eagles are truly majestic birds!