LISA DENTON: Ahoy, matey, and shiver me timbers. The Nina and Pinta have docked at Ross’s Landing.
I guess since these are replicas of Columbus’ ships that I should be speaking Italian, not pirate. But the only Italian phrases I know are “ciao” (hello) “arrivederci” (goodbye) and “Bertolli” (dinner’s ready).
I wish I knew the Italian phrase for “way cool” because these ships certainly fit that description.
BARRY COURTER: I know “vino” (wine), the names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and “antipasto” (appetizer).
Way cool is right. The Nina was here once before, and like everyone else, I was amazed at the smallness of it. Here we are talking about what activity excites us enough to get us off the couch and go in search of an adventure in our backyard. Ol’ Chris and his buddies climbed into a floating closet, along with a bunch of critters, and discovered a new world.
LISA: Think about that. There was a crew of 27 or so, according to The Columbus Foundation, and live animals that included horses, cows, pigs and chickens. And get this: The four-legged animals were suspended in slings because the motion of the ocean would have broken their legs.
BARRY: Horses on an ocean-crossing voyage on a boat the size of a Suburban? That has a “hey, watch this” feel to it, doesn’t it? It’s one of those things only a guy could think of. I can hear the conversation: We’ll need to take food, water, wine, weapons and something to ride around on when we get there, and since the minivan hasn’t been invented yet, we’ll hang a horse or two from the luggage rack.
Come to think of it, we haven’t changed all that much, have we?