This is the last post that I will be adding to the blog from the USA. We are heading home tonight - flying home at about 11.30 pm.
We have had a lovely couple of days in Los Angeles - taking in the fun of Disneyland and California Adventure Park. We have been on lots of rides (although I have stayed away from the scary ones). We have all enjoyed the parks and will head over this morning for our last chance to play.
Yesterday we went to Warner Brothers studio for a VIP tour. It was fantastic. We went on a large golf cart and were part of a group of 12 with our tour guide. He took us to the back lots, to the sound stage where they film The Big Bang Theory, the museum which had an entire floor on Harry Potter (Kim was delighted) and to the car museum where we got to see the Batmobile. It was a great tour and we all really enjoyed it.
Then some final shopping at factory outlets for Han before back to California Adventure Park and our final evening meal at Millie's. Another great day.
We are all packed and will be loading up the car soon - then off to Disneyland.
We will see you all soon. Sorry no photos today - we will bore you with them all when we see you!
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Sunday, 14 October 2012
The Fantastic Amazing LA Race
Our day today involved our long awaited race around LA. Ian and I had seen this on Tripadvisor and being big Amazing Race fans wanted to do it. Let me tell you - it did not disappoint. (Before the race began we had a chance to wander the sidewalk along Hollywood Blvd and checked out the stars on the pavement, Graumanns Theatre and the Dolby Theatre - where the Oscars are held).
The race started at the Lucky Strike bowling alley in Hollywood where we met Larry the event organizer and the other team competing today - 2 young lads from Kuwait. The race began with the boys participating in a bowl off with the guys to see who got to leave first and then we were off - racing to downtown LA via the subway.
The race took us to some interesting places we would not normally have seen whilst in LA and required us to answer some complex puzzles to find clues to the next stop on our journey. The boys did a great job helping to solve the puzzles. Some were really hard. The race ended at Hooters Restaurant - however all waitresses were fully clothed!
We took 3 hrs and 11 minutes to finish the race - in first place - without needing to phone Larry for help at all.
The record for the race is about 2 hrs and 45 mins - so we thought we did really well given it was 32 degrees and we were not locals. The guys from Kuwait gave the race a valiant effort but struggled to solve the more complex clues and needed help from Larry to get them to the finish. You can check out our photo on the winners board on the race website!
It was a great day - ending with a swim for all three boys and a lazy 'iPad' session before we head out to tea.
Tomorrow - California World and Disneyland!
The race started at the Lucky Strike bowling alley in Hollywood where we met Larry the event organizer and the other team competing today - 2 young lads from Kuwait. The race began with the boys participating in a bowl off with the guys to see who got to leave first and then we were off - racing to downtown LA via the subway.
The race took us to some interesting places we would not normally have seen whilst in LA and required us to answer some complex puzzles to find clues to the next stop on our journey. The boys did a great job helping to solve the puzzles. Some were really hard. The race ended at Hooters Restaurant - however all waitresses were fully clothed!
We took 3 hrs and 11 minutes to finish the race - in first place - without needing to phone Larry for help at all.
The record for the race is about 2 hrs and 45 mins - so we thought we did really well given it was 32 degrees and we were not locals. The guys from Kuwait gave the race a valiant effort but struggled to solve the more complex clues and needed help from Larry to get them to the finish. You can check out our photo on the winners board on the race website!
It was a great day - ending with a swim for all three boys and a lazy 'iPad' session before we head out to tea.
Tomorrow - California World and Disneyland!
Goodbye San Diego and hello LA
We spent our last day in San Diego with a little shopping trip - nothing purchased by me or Han but Kim picked up a cool iPod cover and a watch band for his iPod nano.
Then on to La Jolla beach for some sun, tricking, the beach and some seals before a delicious lunch of Korean. We didn't anticipate eating Korean in the US but came across a small Korean restaurant at La Jolla and couldn't resist. It was scrummy and we were delighted to have been able to add this memory to our trip.
Then on to LA - not the easiest of drives - really busy traffic and spaghetti roads everywhere - but we managed and made it to our last hotel of the trip. After checking in we headed over to Disneyland - wow is that place amazing. I am still pinching myself that I am here. Having grown up on the Wonderful World of Disney on a Sunday night seeing the magic castle made my heart sing. We spent about 3 hours there and managed to go on four rides and were able to get a feel for the place. We also got a button from City Hall to say we were on our first visit to Disneyland. So cool. We watched the fireworks over Disneyland from our hotel before hitting beds for a well deserved sleep.
Today we are off to do the Amazing Race LA - a puzzle based activity around Hollywood (a bit like the Amazing Race on TV or the Melbourne ROMP). The weather in LA is hot for the next three days - so we will be wilted by the end!
Then on to La Jolla beach for some sun, tricking, the beach and some seals before a delicious lunch of Korean. We didn't anticipate eating Korean in the US but came across a small Korean restaurant at La Jolla and couldn't resist. It was scrummy and we were delighted to have been able to add this memory to our trip.
Then on to LA - not the easiest of drives - really busy traffic and spaghetti roads everywhere - but we managed and made it to our last hotel of the trip. After checking in we headed over to Disneyland - wow is that place amazing. I am still pinching myself that I am here. Having grown up on the Wonderful World of Disney on a Sunday night seeing the magic castle made my heart sing. We spent about 3 hours there and managed to go on four rides and were able to get a feel for the place. We also got a button from City Hall to say we were on our first visit to Disneyland. So cool. We watched the fireworks over Disneyland from our hotel before hitting beds for a well deserved sleep.
Today we are off to do the Amazing Race LA - a puzzle based activity around Hollywood (a bit like the Amazing Race on TV or the Melbourne ROMP). The weather in LA is hot for the next three days - so we will be wilted by the end!
Friday, 12 October 2012
San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park
Today was a lovely day in San Diego - great for our day at the zoo. San Diego zoo is meant to be one of the best zoos in the world so were looking forward to exploring it. We were not disappointed. We took the free bus tour of the zoo to begin with to get an idea of where we wanted to head on foot. We were able to see polar bears and panda bears - animals that we do not have in Melbourne as well as the regular favourites - elephants, the big cats and gorillas. We were also able to take a skyfari (think the chairlift at Arthur's Seat) from one end of the zoo to the other. It was a great visit (although I think Melbourne is actually better than San Diego!)
After the zoo we went to Balboa Park - a large park filled with Museums and Art Galleries (I think there are about 14 or so in the park). Han did some great tricking in the park and we wandered around looking at the architecture and in a free art gallery (complete with paintings by Rembrandt and Reuben). Kim and I also explored the botanical building - like a large shade house.
Then home for a rest before wandering into the city for a nice Italian meal - before home for some blogging and bed. Tomorrow we head to Anaheim and the last 4 days of our trip- sad face!
After the zoo we went to Balboa Park - a large park filled with Museums and Art Galleries (I think there are about 14 or so in the park). Han did some great tricking in the park and we wandered around looking at the architecture and in a free art gallery (complete with paintings by Rembrandt and Reuben). Kim and I also explored the botanical building - like a large shade house.
Then home for a rest before wandering into the city for a nice Italian meal - before home for some blogging and bed. Tomorrow we head to Anaheim and the last 4 days of our trip- sad face!
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Exploring San Diego
A very lazy start to the day today. Ian let us sleep in and we only had to be out the door by 8.40! We had a lovely breakfast at the cafe downstairs before heading down the Embarcadero (the waterfront) to visit the tourist information office on the way to the USS Midway (which is docked beside a visiting cruise ship). The Midway is a decommissioned aircraft carrier - we got to go on board and explore the entire ship. It was huge and they had lots of planes on the flight deck as well. We were able to go below deck to see the various quarters and how they lived on board. It got very claustrophobic after a while so fresh air was appreciated at the end.
We then headed on to explore the city which is small but quite beautiful. We got a little wet on our walk as San Diego had rain today - the first rain we have seen on the trip. We wandered the streets and ended up at a shopping mall - Han and I hit the shops whilst Kim and Ian played chess on giant chessboards in the mall. Han scored a nice shirt and an awesome pair of shoes. I scored nothing - but then I wasn't really looking very hard. The ships in the mall were not really the type of clothes I would wear and a t-shirt at Nordstroms was $349 - so I opted to pass on that one.
We ended our day with a wander through the Gaslight district (beautiful architecture), a visit to the Children's Museum (disappointing) and a trolley ride back to our hotel.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo and Balboa Park - Han is hoping for some nice flat grass for a bit of tricking. He has really missed it. Kim has been playing his ukelele ever since we got back from our day out - a sure sign that he is missing his piano and keyboard.
We then headed on to explore the city which is small but quite beautiful. We got a little wet on our walk as San Diego had rain today - the first rain we have seen on the trip. We wandered the streets and ended up at a shopping mall - Han and I hit the shops whilst Kim and Ian played chess on giant chessboards in the mall. Han scored a nice shirt and an awesome pair of shoes. I scored nothing - but then I wasn't really looking very hard. The ships in the mall were not really the type of clothes I would wear and a t-shirt at Nordstroms was $349 - so I opted to pass on that one.
We ended our day with a wander through the Gaslight district (beautiful architecture), a visit to the Children's Museum (disappointing) and a trolley ride back to our hotel.
Tomorrow we are going to the zoo and Balboa Park - Han is hoping for some nice flat grass for a bit of tricking. He has really missed it. Kim has been playing his ukelele ever since we got back from our day out - a sure sign that he is missing his piano and keyboard.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Leaving the USA for a day!
Today we travelled from Gila Bend to Tijuana, Mexico. The drive was long but interesting - from desert to sand dunes to massive mountains made of rocks. Along the way we also passed wind farms and solar farms.
The drive took us about 4 hours but the boys were happy watching a movie and a few episodes of The Simpsons (downloaded from the iTunes store onto their iPads).
We reached the border of the US and Mexico at about 1.15 and entered Mexico through a turnstile - no passport required - just wander in!! We headed into Tijuana on foot - having negotiated the multitude of taxi drivers trying to get our business. We found a great street side 'restaurant' to have some authentic Mexican. It was delicious - although ordering was a bit funny given we couldn't speak Mexican and they couldn't speak English. Having negotiated the food order we then attempted to locate the toilets and thanks to a lovely American lady sitting at the next table we were able to communicate with the restaurant staff.
Then we wandered into Tijuana and had a lovely time negotiating the keen sellers of mexican souvenirs (mainly junk) to wander through the streets. We got to see some really interesting things - some which required delicate explanation to the boys! Then we headed back to the border to negotiate re-entering the US. As we were crossing by foot we had to join a line that slowly made its way to the US immigration centre. It took us about an hour to get back into the US but the entire afternoon was a blast.
We are now settled in our hotel in San Diego and we are here for the next three nights. Tomorrow we are going to explore the city and hit the shops (yes - Ian is going to let me go shopping!), as well as visiting the USS Midway - a decommissioned aircraft carrier docked here. More fun to come - yeah.
The drive took us about 4 hours but the boys were happy watching a movie and a few episodes of The Simpsons (downloaded from the iTunes store onto their iPads).
We reached the border of the US and Mexico at about 1.15 and entered Mexico through a turnstile - no passport required - just wander in!! We headed into Tijuana on foot - having negotiated the multitude of taxi drivers trying to get our business. We found a great street side 'restaurant' to have some authentic Mexican. It was delicious - although ordering was a bit funny given we couldn't speak Mexican and they couldn't speak English. Having negotiated the food order we then attempted to locate the toilets and thanks to a lovely American lady sitting at the next table we were able to communicate with the restaurant staff.
Then we wandered into Tijuana and had a lovely time negotiating the keen sellers of mexican souvenirs (mainly junk) to wander through the streets. We got to see some really interesting things - some which required delicate explanation to the boys! Then we headed back to the border to negotiate re-entering the US. As we were crossing by foot we had to join a line that slowly made its way to the US immigration centre. It took us about an hour to get back into the US but the entire afternoon was a blast.
We are now settled in our hotel in San Diego and we are here for the next three nights. Tomorrow we are going to explore the city and hit the shops (yes - Ian is going to let me go shopping!), as well as visiting the USS Midway - a decommissioned aircraft carrier docked here. More fun to come - yeah.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Happy Birthday Ian
Today is Ian's birthday and we celebrated by traveling to Sedona to take a Pink Jeep tour through the Oak Creek Canyon. The country in that part of the world is red rocky outcrops and mountains. The jeep tour was 2 hours long and took us off road to some very rough places. By the time we got back to Sedona I had white knuckles, had screamed a lot and gained a few years of grey hair! The boys loved it. Our driver Dan was fantastic - laughing, telling jokes, getting the boys to join in and telling us heaps about the canyon itself. The pictures I have posted are of the roads we went down - scary huh.
After the tour we had a yummy lunch - massive sandwiches at a local bakery before hitting the road to Gila Bend. It was a long drive - the longest of our entire trip. The boys were great - kicking back listening to music, playing on the iPads and looking out the window when we pointed out something they should see. Tonight we are staying at the Best Western Space age Lodge - a little kooky - but it is clean and we are all tired! (google it for a laugh).
Tomorrow we are off to Mexico for tacos before hitting San Diego for the next three nights.
After the tour we had a yummy lunch - massive sandwiches at a local bakery before hitting the road to Gila Bend. It was a long drive - the longest of our entire trip. The boys were great - kicking back listening to music, playing on the iPads and looking out the window when we pointed out something they should see. Tonight we are staying at the Best Western Space age Lodge - a little kooky - but it is clean and we are all tired! (google it for a laugh).
Tomorrow we are off to Mexico for tacos before hitting San Diego for the next three nights.
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