Jim_Iain

Just about ready to depart. Showered and shaved. Luggage stacked up. Just wasting time until I summon Uber. This morning got an alert from them - We miss you and applying a $10 for your next 4 rides. I wonder if I triggered it by checking prices yesterday and not booking. I usually compare Uber and Lyft but the bonus gives Uber a win.

Bit of excitement on my walk today. About 10 engine were dispatched for a Tesla that caught fire 🔥

LOL -- that voice was my Twin Brother Troy --- My nickname is Troy from College. It started as a joke that I always talked about Troy my Bad Twin... he was always blamed for things that went wrong. Some still believe I have a twin brother. Actually my Starbucks Name is Troy...LOL Actually I was really running short of time to post that one quickly so I used the AI Script and Speech generator. I chose "Sexy Man" ----- LOL. It is really fun how they are integrating AI into everything. Hang in there and you can be disappointed in the REAL Me.

Our last flight home from Amsterdam was a real mess. We had a mechanical - the cargo door would not seal. We were so late they were about to cancel because the crew would not be legal. Instead the re-routed us to Washington, Dulles for a crew change. When we got to Dulles... we all just sat there and one crew left and another came aboard to finish off the flight to SFO. Added about 5 hours putting us in about 8 hours late.

Thanks... just added to my Wish List.

Haven't yet....I just put it on my list.

Come along on my daily walk --

I think there will plenty of room. The Vista Suite - next smaller suite has a glassed in TV Room / Pull out Bed. I think it is more like a man cave.

Abbey -- Been watching your progress on Cruise Mapper as you make your way to Sydney. Enjoyed the photos of Murano. We have already booked it for the first night. I've always found the first night in all the main menus a mess so usually try to get Specialty for the First Night. Curious --- how would you say the food has been in Luminae? Been getting a number of positive reports.

Wow... not sure how I missed your excellent Live Post until this morning. Really enjoying your report and the stunning pictures.

Still enjoying all the memories your photos bring back. Loved the Fjords and had an equally nice day.

The unlimited dining could be fun. We once - LONG time before dining packages decided to eat every night in Olympic - It was great. After the fist night the MD who we still stay in contact with said - you will not get a menu for the remainder of the cruise. I will have the Chef surprise you every night. Even the wait staff didn't know what silver to lay out as they didn't know until it was ready to serve. Only problem.... I put on Weight...

Definitely not. Will try to edit it down to stay under 2 minutes.... Silicon Valley is different than many people believe. There's lots of incredible routes and lots of preserved green spaces.

April 4 Departure Day The day has finally arrived. I'm up early and starting to kick into gear. Luggage Packed and Next to Front Door Passport Checked and Iain has taken custody of them Checked in on United and printed Boarding Passes Checked Weather in Sydney Checked our Flight on Flight Aware --- On Time aircraft inbound from Frankfurt I really don't like late flights... feel like I'm sitting around doing nothing.

I also got Corsages for Aunt Isa, My Sister and Daughter. You have me chuckling. While we were waiting for our turn to be married --- they were scheduling them at 4 per 15 minute slot. Isa and Carol (my sister) were sitting on a bench, the Mayor walked by and greeted them and then said -- Congratulations... We all broke up laughing... Hay -- It's my day.

Techno Nerd time. I do need a lot of disk space. Those little black dongles are 500Gb solid state drives. And they are Cheap.

Stay tuned... I'm going to do a quick one today ----- Since we have 12 hours before we leave for the airport, I'm going to take you along with me on my Walk today. I was playing with my GoPro yesterday, I wanted to give it a try today after spending days of learning all the features. Geez you need a masters degree to fully take advantage of all of it's features.

The E-Class has many really nice aspect. In my humble opinion the food suffers in Luminae due to it being cooked more diner style (due to Suite Passenger Load) in lieu of cooked to order. Our favorite ship is Millennium - Our first Cruise in 2000 when she was brand new. Like an old girlfriend - special place in my heart.

It was really very uncomfortable picking up Luke. They had a police officer escort me on the surrender. I put Luke in the back of my car with the seats put down so he would be comfortable. He looked terrible - He was down to 50 Pounds with a normal weight of 75 pounds and due to being kept outside in a hot climate hair had shed and was only about 1/2 inch long. We got him up to his perfect weight and kept him there his whole life. His hair was beautiful once grown in. Looked like he had had it frosted --- blonde undercoat with a red overcoat. Woman would stop me when walking saying what they would pay for hair that beautiful. Never thought about it but he had never been permitted in the house so was not house broken. When he got home he peed on the floor .... I told him NO... you do that outside and took him out. He said Oh... I didn't know that ---OK That was total training. He also hopped on the sofa and told him that also wasn't allowed. Never would get on furniture again. Iain would try to tempt him to hop in bed, but he would just hang his head over and so... nope.... dad doesn't allow that. I sure miss him.

We are booked on Vista from Istanbul to Barcelona in 2025. It was our first booking with Oceania. We couldn't get over the Owner's Suite and had to book it. Value is subjective but we were amazed that we were able to book it for less than the price of a Royal Suite.

It wasn't an easy trek. We had been Legal Domestic Partner --- you file with Secretary of State like a corporation... very personal experience...LOL. We got married a couple days after the State Supreme Court over ruled the restrictions on Gay Marriage in California. 5 Months later you will remember Prop 8, where the conservatives put up an initiate to make Ban Gay Marriage. When Prop 8 passed we were lucky and the State Supreme Court Grandfathered our Marriage and we were among only 2,000 legal gay marriage in California for 7 years.

I'm sure she will love retirement. Maybe you can sail Cunard. They have a Kennel on board.

I find the coffee is really good at Al Bacio. The stuff they have for free in OVC is like drinking battery acid. I often bring a travel french press and my own coffee.

I have that one down pretty good. While living in Ireland I had to commute back to Headquarters in California once a month -- We alternated our European Staff Meetings between Munich, Paris, London, Dublin and Rome. Sounds amazing but I had been in Paris 10 times before I ever saw the Eiffel Tower from the ground. Basically arrive - jump in a waiting car to the office -- meet for two days hop in a car and back to the airport. At least whichever office was hosted would arrange an night out.

I have met so many Celebrity Alums over on the Oceania thread. They have really made us feel welcome.