On Thursday, 2nd January, we started Teacher Exchange Year to Ontario in Canada. We caught our flight from Perth to Singapore, then Tokyo and finally Los Angeles. It took a little over 26 hours but it all went well, with Liam thoroughly enjoying the flight. He got several hours sleep during the flight which was good for him but very tiring for Rosie and I.
Getting from LAX to the hotel was easy since the Hertz airport bus took us most of the way. Bruce then kept everyone moving around until a respectable time. Off to sleep at 7pm and none of us woke up until 9am the next morning.
On Friday we followed our Google map directions to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and followed the stars along Vine and Hollywood. We then followed the directions to a viewing point to see the HOLLYWOOD sign. This was really interesting as it took us on a very narrow (1 lane) winding road to the top of a hill through some very presteges houses. Great views when we got there though. We then decided to follow our own directions and try to find Beverley Hills, which we did very successfully. A nice drive down Rodeo Drive and a bit of stroll to do our clothes shopping (unfortunately they had nothing in our size so couldn’t buy anything)
Rosie wanted to take a photo(on the left) that Barbara would appreciate, the boys didn’t really understand it though.
We went out to dinner in a really nice Italian Pizza and Persian restaurant, we have decided to try to go to restaurants as much as possible so that we enjoy our eating experiences. We went back to this place a couple of time since we liked it so much.
On Sunday (4th Jan) we went to our first theme park, visiting Universal Studios. This was part of our California Experience ticket into 4 theme parks. Liam was extremely excited about today and planned out his day, starting with the Simpson ride.
We all went on this ride, much to Bruce’s regret. He sat there for the whole ride with his eyes closed so that he wouldn’t throw up. Liam and Rosie loved it and we returned to this ride on several occasions over the next two days, Bruce never went on it again.
Since Bruce visited 18 years ago, they have built a huge shopping theme area outside the park, which incorporates all the parking areas. This is obviously a major entertainment area in its own right and Liam loved the Alien themed shop and of course the Video games store, where we took this photo of him with Master Chief from Halo.
We also visiting the Jurassic Park ride, the Shrek 4-D experience and finished off with the Terminator 3D experience. The crowds weren’t too bad so we could get into most things straight away. It was a bit dark when we left and we got our first real feel of heavy traffic since everyone slowed down in the dark and we came to a complete halt on the 6 lane freeway.
On Monday we left a bit later to avoid the morning commuters and the trip still took twice as long but wasn’t too bad. On Monday we went to all the attractions that we didn’t see the first day. Really enjoyed the Water World show and the Backdraft experience.
The Universal Studios tour is always good fun and Liam particularly liked the plane crash scene from “War of the Worlds”. I liked the Wisteria Lane section since it was interesting to see how they make such a small area look so large. It was also interesting to hear how each of the houses had been used on so many different occasions in other TV shows.
We left early so that we wouldn’t get stuck in the traffic in the evening, but as you can see from the photo, the cars still filled all the lanes, but by now we are getting used to it and managed to negotiate it quite well.
We have quite liked the Howard Johnson, not the cleanest or best hotel but it is very convenient to the airport and has good access to the freeways to take us where we want to go. Rosie loves watching the hundreds of planes fly past our window, though the double glazing means we don’t hear them at all. There is a nice Italian restaurant that we have walked to each night and have had some good meals. Tonight Liam and Bruce went swimming in the outdoor pool, it was about 10°C outside but the pool was warm enough to enjoy our swim and this kept Liam happy. We will book this again for our last night in LA. We are off to Anaheim tomorrow.
January 6th
The drive to Disneyland was pretty easy, though once we were here it was all changed so much that Bruce couldn’t find the cheap hotel strip. We found a cheap hotel after a couple of wrong turns and then took a walk around to orientate ourselves and to find out the procedure for the next day. Managed to tire out Rosie and Liam with my walk, but Bruce enjoyed it.
All the time leading up to our trip Bruce kept telling Liam to look for the castle, it was the first thing we saw when we walked in, which was great.
The plan was to start in Adventure World and do every ride and attraction as we walked around. The first we came to was the Indiana Jones ride, which is new and very enjoyable. It is a roller coaster in a jeep. We then did Tarzan’s Tree house, which surprised us in that Liam loved walking around and playing with all the hands on materials in the area.
A quick trip around Tom Sawyers Island on the sailing ship Columbus then a raft ride across to the island gave Liam another chance to climb trees and play with things.
Bruce loves the Pirates of the Carabean ride and this came up next. This was a more traditional Disney ride and Rosie and Liam enjoyed the experience. Bruce made a commitment to Liam that he would go on every ride in this park and this meant we had to go on Thunder Railway next, again a ride that Bruce loves and Rosie and Liam thought was fantastic. Splash Mountain came next, which is a great ride through Briar Rabbits home ending with a large drop off the top of the mountain and a good soaking at the bottom, another great ride for the family. The tea cups came next, which Bruce hated, all the spinning made him ill (this was a trip back in time reminding Bruce of his trip with Mark and Glynis in 1991)
A ride on the Autobahn and then over to Toon Town for a couple more rides followed by a final ride on the Matterhorn Bobsled. We nearly completed the whole site on the first day, but had missed most of the displays and features, just did lots of rides.
We started day 2 at Disneyland by doing Space Mountain, another ride that Bruce hated and Liam loved. Then onto the more sedate rocket ride before going over to California Adventure.
California Screaming is the big high speed roller coaster here.
After much coaxing, Liam convinced Rosie to go on this with him, Bruce assured Rosie there was no upside down part. Unfortunately Bruce was wrong but it was too late to realise this. Rosie and Liam loved this ride (Bruce didn’t even attempt it). They went back and did it again later and will do it again when we come back next week. Most of the attractions over here are high speed and not to Bruce’s liking at all. The Paradise Pier was another one that he just sat back and watched, along with the Bumble Bee below.
Liam was in his element and just loved it all. It is good to see that he still enjoys the hands on attractions just as much. He played in the fire tug for ages.
The only ride we managed to get Bruce onto was the Mullholland Drive experience, it was quite sedate compared to everything else.
At the end of the night we went back to Disneyland and did Pirates of the Carabean again, it was very good in the dark, more atmosphere. We also did the Thunder Railway again and finally went home, very tired but really thrilled with a couple of great days.
One thing we have noticed so far is the obesity levels of many of the people we have seen, it is no wonder given the size of all the meals that they serve. The concept here is large servings at a high price. It has so horrified Rosie that she has vowed to monitor her eating more closely, with the aim of loosing weight while we are on holidays.
On Friday, 9th Jan, we drove down to San Diego and happily found another bargain hotel. Internet, breakfast, heated swimming pool and spa all for under $AU90. If it only had beds we would have it made. It may not be the most modern room, but it serves our purposes, especially since we spend most of our time out touring.
Once we settled in, we took a drive to the harbour area to visit the USS Midway museum. We thought this would appeal to Liam and were not mistaken. We went on the whole tour, aided with audio equipment that told us what we were looking at and a few stories about the sailors who worked on the ship. It was all very interesting and gave a really good insight into the conditions that each class of seaman lived under. The sleeping quarters for the bottom level sailors were very cramped whereas the higher level officers had quite large rooms, leading up to the captain and admiral who both had rooms larger than the one we are staying in, with their own chef and dining area.
Liam got into all the plane seats and tried out all the controls, imagining he was shooting down the enemy. It was really very interesting to see how confined the pilot was and the number of instruments that they had to deal with.
This was another great tour and a wonderful way to start our time in San Diego.
On Saturday we decided to go and visit Old Town San Diego, which turned out to be a very good idea. We got free parking at the adjacent transit station and then went through all the exhibits on this National Heritage Park. They were very informative and answered many questions about California.
Bruce was very interested to know how California became part of the USA when it really should be part of Mexico. Everywhere we go, you hear Spanish being spoken as a first language and all signage and recordings are in both English and Spanish.
Although the area is full of shops, everything is theme based in the 1800’s and the displays are excellent. Rosie particularly liked the first public school building, the desks aren’t much different to what I had as a child, very sad.
The displays talked about the history of the first settlement and the methods of transportation that was used to get people and materials from the established East to the new West. It also discussed the part played by the Indian tribes and the Mexican people.
The main reason Bruce wanted to start here was so that we could catch the Trolley into the Gaslamp District. Again this was an interesting experience and the Gaslamp District was rich in restaurants and dining experiences.
We are enjoying our meals here when we can get Liam to sit and join us. Today we had a good meal in a Mexican restaurant. As usual the serves are far too large and Rosie and Bruce usually share a meal and a salad. Liam is given some colouring materials to keep him happy and the kids meals are usually very good value. Another great day.
On Sunday, we drove out to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, on our ticket we had a choice between the Zoo and the Park. Bruce decided to go to the Park since the zoo is not a lot different to many other zoos. The Wild Animal Park is on a much larger scale with the aim of allowing endangered animals to breed in a more natural environment and then get reintroduced into their normal environment.
They have been very successful with these programs and as can be seen from the picture on the right, the area is enormous and the animals are breeding prolifically. Ironically they have been very successful with some species they are almost extinct, but still can not put them back in the wild since other animals have now taken over their territory and this would upset the new balance.
The tour around the park is very good, though we found it a bit quick, we would have liked more time to sit and look at the giraffes for instance, but the tour kept moving on.
The rhinos really blended in with their surroundings and at times you had difficulty in seeing them.
When we were on our ski trip last year, David McInerney made up nicknames for everyone. Rosie particularly liked her nickname of “Meerkat” and couldn’t resist getting her photo taken in front on the little buggers. They even sat up in the traditional pose for the photo.
Not only were there African animals, but there were also many different birds, including the weaver bird. They made some very nice nests in the trees. Liam look so snug in this nest.
Liam loved the Lorakeets and we had to get him some nector so that they would sit on him. As you can see one of them quite liked his ear, and gave him a little nip.
The Elephants are always a favorite and it was pleasing to see them with such a large enclosure.
The Park is a great experience and we would highly recommend it to anyone, it is very relaxing and educational.
When we got back to the car, it was 86°F which is ridiculous for the middle of winter. We went back to the hotel for a swim in the pool and then a relaxing hot spa. After this we were able to watch Geoff Ogilvey win the Mercedes Open in Hawaii on the Golf Channel. Rosie is loving this channel, when we can drag Liam away from the Cartoon Network.
