Jim_Iain

Ok... back to where I lived. Must have been close to you. I lived in Plainview (dab smack in the middle of the Island) --- I think I was in 6th or 7th grade.

An interesting bit of trivia about Earthquakes and Aftershocks --- there is a 10% probability that and Aftershock can be of a greater magnitude than the primary earthquake.

USGS has a website --- I Felt That https://earthquake.usgs.gov/data/dyfi/ It is fun to read the reports. People report where they are what they felt. Fun read. We have constant earthquakes ----99% less than 3.0 and one never feels them. It is interesting to understand that The Richter scale is a base-10 logarithmic scale, meaning that each order of magnitude is 10 times more intensive than the last one. In other words, a two is 10 times more intense than a one and a three is 100 times greater.

I was just watching the news.. I'm sure if your are not accustomed to them it can be very concerning. Normally you don't see damage until you hit 5, but our buildings are built to earthquake standards.

I heard about that. Also NYC had an earthquake. I talk to one of my daughter ever day and she gives me a run down of the happenings.

No - we do not board until Wednesday. Edge was in port on schedule.

There are some beautiful areas around Silicon Valley. I'm so happy they have preserved them. When I get to the trail if I were to turn to the Right instead of Left it takes me to Google and the SF Bay - Bay-Lands. They now have a trail fully around and across the bay - running over 100 miles. Most of it is reclaimed marshland. Years ago Leslie salt created huge evaporation ponds to produce salt and they are being returned to their natural habitat BTW- The train in my video was a gift from Google - They donate over 1 Million to pave it. They also have shuttle busses that they made available to all at no cost. What a great neighbor. Our temperatures are mild but do occasionally get frost. During the fall spring and Winter the temps are cool in morning 55-60. Low 70's in afternoon. Summer we stay cool due to the bay and most of the time 70-80

Yikes --- I'll have to keep that in mind. I

Fantastic meeting you also ---For the rest of you---- 81Zoomie and her husband.... I'm so bad translating CC Names to peoples real names - I bumped into yesterday at the Edge.

I just heard on the news --- (I have my Firestick up and running and with VPN watching our home news) They just started doing Driver-less Food Delivery. When you vehicle arrives you are notified and the door is unlocked and you just open the door and retrieve your delivery. To be honest in my Parents generation, the biggest angst was the possibility of loosing your driers license and loosing their independence. In the future you could either own a driver-less vehicle or just summon one and have your independence. I think I could get use to it.

Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. Really intense rain last night but suppose to be clear and about 78F (25C) today.

I'm really close to Mountain View --- The boarder is the center lane of Mary about 500 feet.

LOL.... I really don't really keep records...but a great kick off. Fun to see so many here.

They did not disappoint. I think there was 3 1/2 inches of rain - Sometimes so heavy sounded like a snare drum roll.

Kelly Can't tell you how much fun we have sharing as well as reading other Live Posts. BTW way when checking out the boarding I ran into 2 CC'ers --- They are on a B2B and tried to brave the storm but returned to the ship quickly. In Sydney all B2B's have to get off the ship and can't reboard until general boarding begins. Once on the ship you can't leave again. So keep in mind if boarding in Sydney.

You might notice we have "Slicker's" on- A Scot word for rain gear. They are fantastic and 100% waterproof. We next decided to check out Overseas Passenger Terminal. By now it is 12:00 and boarding is just beginning. Right out front and to the left is passenger drop off and Ride Share area. The Rideshare is just infront of the Big Rubber Tree. Plenty of porters available to assist with luggage. You just take your bags to the agents in Black and Red T-shirts. I heard from another CC members that they open around 9:00 AM and like the sign says. Just drop off and enjoy yourself until checkin opens.

Now we have 5 hours to kill. First of my agenda was to find a Pharmacy. My back was still dodgy but feeling better. Last time we were here our friends told us the best Chemist (Pharmacy) is Chemist Warehouse on Pitt Street - about 1/2 mile away. They did not disappoint. I found a really good back brace and got some Advil. We ripped open the box outside and I took the Advil Liquid Pills and put on the Brace. Perfect and no more pain.

Right after Sunrise - I used an app called Bounce to make a reservation for Luggage Drop off. We got in at 8:00 AM and our AirBnB was not available until 2PM Bounce offers luggage Storage Worldwide - This one is located on Circular Quay and very popular. It is located at City Extra Restaurant - There were 4 in line when we arrived. Very efficient and thank goodness we didn't have to carry our bags with us all day. Edge is in port today. Free of Luggage we walked down to the Opera House and had a Cappuccino and sweet.

ue to the huge storm approaching from the East we flew in over Brisbane. Incredible Sunrise After arrival immigration was really quick using automated passport and facial recognition Doesn't capture the intensity of the raid but we were soaked IMG_3240.mov

I usually check both Uber and Lyft for rates as they can vary quite a bit when surge pricing pops up. For this trip is was a no-brainer. Not sure if it was I had earlier checked Uber and didn't close out, but--- I got an e-mail offering 20% off my next 4 trips. Sure enough - I booked with them with a big savings. Cars were plentiful and even though they indicated wait time was 3 minutes the car pulled up before we got from our front door to the curb. We left a bit early because I wanted to have dinner at the Polaris Lounge before boarding. Nice menu Iain was going to wait and eat on board but finally agreed to have a cheese platter. The waiter was like Luminae and said I brought you a Salmon so you can nibble. It was incredible. I had a the Polaris Burger --- Yum Once on board the Flight Attendant brought us Pajamas and bed topper. - It is so much easier to relax in you Pajamas. We had pre-ordered meal - All I can say was with the exception of the Ice Cream Sunday -- I was happy I ate pre-flight. Looks good BUT... Ugh I had Seat 1A - Favorite for 2 reason --- One is you are the first to be served Since the seat is a bulkhead the foot well is 2X the width of a normal due to now head well from a seat in front of you.

Checking in--- We arrived Sydney almost safe and sound. I pulled a muscle in my bag hoisting my overweight backpack into the overhead bin. About 1/4 way through the flight I could hardly get out of my seat. Unfortunately I didn't have an Advil with me so tried the only thing I had -- Lunesta --- It's a sleeping pill but when I researched it ... it can also be used as a muscle relaxer. Seems to have done the trick. We arrived in Sydney with torrential downpours- In the pouring rain the Ride Share Lot was a total zoo. I had donned my rain gear but Iain' "didn't listen to me" and was soaked to the bone. He had to peel his Puffer off so he didn't soak the seat of the car.

Evelyn near Mary. The Tesla was gone not sure why they were so many.

You can see the Celebrity OBC but Agent OBC isn't visible until on the ship. To see it got to booked cruises and click PLAN MY CRUISE - Top right next to the circle with initials is you OBC. To see purchase history - Click you Initials and choose Order History.

Like above it depends on the server. If you frequent the bar and bartender they know you and your spouse so no problem. Others will want both cards. I guess you could order 2 singles and then tell them to pour both in the same glass...LOL Actually never had a problem ordering Doubles for Iain... I don't drink alcohol, but often pick him up a night cap when he goes for a smoke and I go up to the room.

Yes.. when the ship overnights you use it like a hotel. You can even arrive the second day. We do lots of B2B's and will be on the Solstice Sydney - HNL - Vancouver. We actually have 2 overnights in HNL.