Last post

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

Grand Canyon

Today we started with a lovely breakfast at Bright Angel Restaurant. We all ate grandly - but not expensively - which gave us the energy that we needed to have for our day.

As a family we took two fairly leisurely walks (although one was very uphill!) and used the free shuttle to get from one lookout point to another. After that the boys decided they wanted to tackle a more difficult walk - the Bright Angel trail (which is listed a being a 2 - 3 hour walk to the one and a half mile rest point and back) which they slammed out in one hour and twenty minutes. I stayed back on the rim walking along taking photos at various lookouts and having a sticky beak into El Tovar (which is the really expensive hotel here).

After an ice cream we headed down to the airport at Tusayan for our scenic flight over the Grand Canyon. The views were amazing - although Han had a bit of a doze and poor Ian got airsick. Meanwhile Kim and I took lots of photos and enjoyed the experience.

We then headed back to the IMAX theatre to watch the film about the discovery of the grand Canyon before heading back for another yummy tea and then back to the room to do a preliminary pack for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Ian's birthday and we are celebrating with a pink jeep tour in Sedona before doing the long trek to Gila Bend (the second last of our long drives).

PS- we met a couple today who kept watching us and talking about us. We weren't too fussed - we are used to it. They finally came over and told us they had been watching the boys because they have two children adopted from Seoul aged 28 and 25! Made us all feel happy! The mother was missing her kids when she saw our boys.

Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon

Sunrise at Monument Valley - awesome. The kids were fast asleep so Ian and I crept out onto the balcony of our hotel room to watch the sun come up. It was well worth the effort!

Once we were all up we went for a really lovely breakfast - with the best coffee of the whole trip - before heading off on our bone shuddering car ride around the valley floor. The road took you up close to the actual the mesa and buttes so I was able to get some great photos.

After our tour of the valley we hit the road for the Grand Canyon. It was a long drive but the boys were in the back watching episodes of The Simpsons - so i passed without too much fuss.

The Canyon is huge - but very crowded! At this stage it is not my favourite but tomorrow brings another day and the chance to see more of it. The highlight so far has been walking back from tea along the rim and discovering a large elk on the front lawn of our lodge!

Another day planned for tomorrow - some walks, a plane flight over the canyon and the IMAX theatre. Must get SLEEP. May not be able to post much in the next few days as the Internet at the canyon is very slow.

Rainbow Bridge, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley

A super early start today - up at 6 and on the road by 6.45 to get to the marina in time to catch our boat cruise out to Rainbow Bridge. It was a 2 hr trip out on Glen Canyon dam to reach the Bridge but beautiful scenery all along the way. The walk to the Bridge itself was an easy half mile amble and was well worth it. We spent about 45 minutes at the actual bridge before heading back for our return trip to the marina.

Then off to Antelope Canyon where we joined a Navajo led tour out to the slot canyon. Our guide Shannon was fantastic and told the boys about when she was a young girl - playing hide and seek inside the canyon and scaring the tourists! Whilst we didn't get the best light of the day (that happens at about 12 ish) we were still able to get a sense of the beauty of the canyon and snag some amazing photos (the best ones of mine were actually taken by Shannon using my camera!). The ride out to the canyon was on an open sided jeep/4wd which the boys really enjoyed.

Then on to Monument Valley where we managed to arrive just in time to watch the sunset over the valley floor. Whilst Ian and I have both seen the valley in old westerns nothing really relates you for the sheer size of the rocky outcrops (called buttes or mesas). We haven't had the chance to really explore the valley yet - that is for tomorrow. Our hotel is the newly opened Navajo run establishment called The View - every room overlooks the valley - stunning views. I hope to wake up for sunrise tomorrow if I can.

Bryce Canyon

A lazier start to the day - as we were already in Bryce Canyon city we didn't need to get on the road other than a leisurely drive into the National Park.

It is hard to describe Bryce Canyon - one minute you are driving through a pine forest and then the next you are amongst the strange rock formations that make up the canyon - they are called Hoodoos.

We took the time to stop at a couple of lookouts/scenic viewpoints before heading to Sunset Point to begin our walk for the day. We walked down through the Navajo Loop into the canyon floor and then over to Sunrise Point. The walk took you down winding switchbacks through the Hoodoos and then along a pine forest at the bottom before beginning the trek back up out of the canyon. It was hard going at the end (for me at least) but worth every bit of the hard work. The view was spectacular - and so different to yesterday.

Then down to Ruby's to snag some lunch at the general store before we hit the road for Page. Kim and Ian are in the pool at the moment, Han and I are kicking back in the room. I have washing on already and it is only 5.

Bye bye Vegas - hello canyons

So we left Vegas this morning - another early morning. Good job the boys are early risers. We hit the road for the trek to Zion Canyon stopping along the way for some breakfast - nachos for Kim and breakfast burritos for Han and Ian.

We got to Zion and immediately fell in love with it. It reminded me a lot of arts of western Australia. The bright red rock faces, green trees and blue sky made taking photos easy. We went on the shuttle to the very end and hopped off to do part of the river walk, then headed back down on the shuttle to pick up he Weeping Rock walk and the Emerald Pools walk. The boys left me at the Emerald Pools to tackle the Kayenta trail - before we met back up at the lodge. We were able to spend 5 hours at the canyon before once again hitting the road to get us to Bryce Canyon. The drive out of Zion through the winding roads and the 1 mile tunnel was a great way to end our time at Zion.

So now we are at Bryce Canyon - we have had a lovely dinner at Ruby's restaurant and are now back at our hotel winding down for the day.

Hoover Dam and Beatlemania

We headed down to Hoover Dam yesterday - an early start to the day but we were really glad to get down there early as it meant we got onto the first tour. The tour went for about an hour and took us down to the Power Plant and then to some of the deeper areas of the dam wall. We were amazed at the whole construction - which included terrazzo tiles in the viewing area above the turbines. We had a great guide who told the kids lots about the dam, how it was built and how it operates. We we're really pleased we went and did the tour.

After the dam we went shopping - well Han went shopping. He loved GAP and H and M. The worst part is standing around waiting for him to spruce himself up in the change room before he comes out to show you the outfit. Ian and Kim had a pleasant time sitting outside waiting (well - maybe not that pleasant - it was over 34 degrees).

Another lazy afternoon by the pool before we headed out to the Beatles tribute show. It was amazing - Ian, Kim and I sang our hearts out (Han enjoyed it but is not a big Beatles fan). Kim was invited up on stage to play a tambourine which he got to keep and the guys signed after the show. It was a great way to end our time in Vegas with a lovely dinner in Paris the grand finale.

From one extreme to another

Firstly I must apologize for the delay in writing on our blog. We did not get lost in Death Valley - nor did we suffer any major disaster there. We are currently in Las Vegas and the Internet is not free in the rooms and is very expensive so we only have access on one device - which happens to be Kim's. He is sleeping at the moment so I have borrowed his device to get a post out.

Vegas has been amazing - especially coming on the back of Death Valley. After leaving Bishop two days ago we headed into what I have to describe as the most bizarre and surreal landscape I have ever seen. We drove down into the valley floor through barren mountains, dropping to below sea level. The valley floor is a mix of sand dunes and salt flats. We stopped to walk on the Mesquite Sand Dunes, visit the Furnace Creek Visitor centre, walk out to the Badwater Salt Flats and drive through two scenic drives - Artists Palette and 20 Mule Canyon Drive. As it was over 44 degrees on the valley floor we didn't stay out of the car for very long - just enough to soak up the emptiness of the area and the bizarre landscape. I cannot post any photos today as they are all on my iPad - but will do so as soon as I can so you can see how strange it was. For those of you who are Star Wars fans - think Tuscan raiders and you have a bit if an idea.

Having managed to survive Death Valley we drove on to reach the California - Nevada state border where we stopped to do the obligatory photos and jumping from one state to the next before we headed on to Las Vegas.

Lights, lights, lights - and people everywhere. It is full of life (such a contrast to Death Valley). We have been here now for two nights and have managed to explore The Strip - taking the time to wander into as many Casinos as we can to check out which one we think is the nicest (for me The Bellagio wins hands down). The boys have loved Las Vegas - such a contrast to the 'scenery' of the last few days. The temperature here has been in the high 30s - so yesterday we were out and about until about 2 before heading back to the hotel for a dip in the pool before heading out again last night for more exploring and watching the free entertainment - love, love, love the Bellagio fountain.

Today we are off to Hoover Dam and then back later today for the Beatles tribute show at Planet Hollywood. We are all doing really well and have worked out how to travel together and share the space of one hotel room. The boys have just woken up - so need to go. We will be in touch again soon.