Blogs from Pacific, Oceans and Seas - page 36

Across the street from the hotel is a McDonald's and most of them in Sydney have free WiFi. So we managed to conveniently connect to their network and used it to bring our blog up to date. Thank you McDonald's. We checked out at noon and then hopped on the train to Circular Quay where we found the impressive Celebrity Millennium cruise ship waiting for us in Sydney Harbour. We turned our bags over to Celebrity, checked in, went through customs, boarded the ship and were in our cabin (#9173) enjoying a complimentary glass of champagne by 2pm. This will be our home for the next 9 days and a comfy room it is. We disembarked to go enjoy our last few remaining hours in Sydney. At the time we purchased our Bridge Climb tickets we ... read more

Sun,beachlife,snorkeling and holiday in the holiday,after the holiday,before the holiday is the best way to describe our time here in the tropical islands of the Pacific ocean. After 5000km of extreme-travelling in New Zealand, we really looked forward to relaxing in the tropical paradise islands of the Pacific. Our first stop got to be Vanuatu and the beautiful island of Efate, which is the main island in this tine little country. After a warm welcome at the airport, with traditional music and singing, we found a place to stay just 5 min from Port Vila, the capital. A great resort called Coconut Palm Resort, where we got a nice room for practically nothing...We just had to book through a “last minute booking” number to get the half price,ha ha..We never thought we could afford to stay ... read more

Tonga Nuku'Alofa Well after a year plus of juggling plans and destinations we finally headed for Heathrow on September 2nd 2008 for our flight to L.A. then Tonga Nuku'Alofa. The trip with New Zealand airlines was, well, boring but the food and service was excellent. My sinuses exploded due to cabin pressure midway across the Atlantic. I wasn't alone with this problem but a few free beers and a little medication put me in a warm fuzzy place, although a little sweaty, but I settled in for a couple of movies to help pass the time. 1st stop L.A. airport…….LAX is a dump!!!!! Nuff said (I owe you one Paul, no hassles). After catching our connecting flight things went a little easier apart from an initial mix up with Pilar's seat number. After our meal Pilar ... read more

September 21-27 The days at sea pretty much go by as a blur. Same thing every day. Up around 8:30, head to the Lido for breakfast then hang around reading or such for the rest of the day. Yes Marc, I can just hear you now although we aren't lolling by the pool with margaritas. It's freezing on this ship! We try to find a place to keep warm and with little to no sun it's difficult to say the least. They do have some interesting seminars on digital photography that I have been going to. But for the most part, it's just hanging around. We were so desparate for something to do the other day that we actually went to see the movie that was playing, Speed Racer. Oh man, that was one bad movie, ... read more

What a trip its been... Yesterday- great fun at the Gondola ride up a mountain then down on luge, a simple plastic cart with wheels that let us zip our way down at the speed we chose, whipping our way down the cement road, racing or just enj;oying the trip. FANTASTIC, Hayden and I did it twice. Then hayden did this cool extremem free fall, where she wore this parachute type close and leeped into the strong propelling air jet and let her feel like she was falling out of the sky, and the two guys would spin her and she was having a great time. Then she went on a jet speed boat ride with Cortney and that was a blast too. That adventure was across the Agridome. cool stuff. We also experienced the Hobbiton, ... read more