California Adventure Park

Today was another fun filled day. I was up at 7am to do a load of laudry before everyone else got up, then we headed up the road. It was great, the first ride we went on was a round raft that went on the rapids, the sign said you could get wet or soaked, we were the unlucky ones as we got soaked. It took several hours for to dry out but it was fun. Several rides later and sore feet we head back to the hotel for a 3/4hr rest then back again for another ride and the night "World of Color" show. It was well worth it but now we are all pooped and ready for bed.

Disneyland

We arrived at our Hotel which is along a strip of hotels opposite Disneyland. We are within a short walk to the entrance.Again the place is huge, there is so much to see. Lots of things bring back childhood memories especially the castle. Gemma and I stood in line for ages to get a photo of Mickey and Minnie. Here we didn't have a front of line pass so we did have to have to wait in line.

Santa Monica

Today was a sleep in day with a late start. Headed down to third promenade, which is the shopping district and everyone spent up. Dane and Alyce went to Hollywood and then came back and also had a shopping spree. I am the only one that has bought very little. Even Danny the non shopper has bought several items. Gemma & I went down to the beach late afternoon but by then the wind had picked up so it was not very pleasant. Tonight we repack all our luggage because tomorrow morning we leave early for Anaheim. Three days of Disneyland.

Universal Studios, Hollywood

Well after another harrowing drive navigating US roads and freeways, we arrived at Universal Studios. The place is massive. First we took a studio tour and we visited Wisteria Lane and the Bates Motel where they filmed Physco. We saw our first squirrel travelling through the lot. Now it was time to face the park itself. We had purchased a front of line pass which enabled us to skip queues everywhere and stay behind at some of the shows to see what happens backstage and meet some of the actors. This is definitely worthwhile. Meet several characters around the park including Dracula, Lucy Arnez, Blues Bros etc.

After a long day we headed to the city walk at the Studios where we went to the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood to have dinner. The meal sizes are enormous.

On return to our hotel we went for an evening walk along the Santa Monica Pier.

USA

We finally left Melbourne after fog delays that put behind several planes. This meant that we had to go from one gate to the other in Sydney without a loo stop or anything as the plane had already boarded. After a very long uncomfortable flight we arrived at LAX. We got our second wind, picked up a hire car struggled a bit with driving on the left hand side but made it to our hotel. We are opposite the beach in Santa Monica. What a beautiful day it is. Unpacked and headed off to the outlet stores for sale day. The place is huge, we didn't even see it all. But that didn't even stop Jessie & Gemma. Had a late tea at 9pm and went back to the hotal to finally get some sleep.

4 Sleeps

We are down to the last few days, bags are getting packed, plans are being made and the excitement is sky high. Weather report for Santa Monica is approx. 2o deg and sunshine. No rain in sight. Excellent travelling weather. I think the 4 sleeps should read 3 because I don't think we will be sleeping much on Sunday night, too excited. Will keep you posted.

TEN DAYS TO GO

We are all getting very excited, tomorrow we do a trial run with the luggage to make sure that they fit in the car. Have prepared a packing list so hopefully we won't forget anything. Plan to pack light and do a litlle bit of shopping in the US. I am looking forward to getting a bit of sun as we didn't get much here this summer.