So - where are we??

It is May 29, 2013 - my sister Ingrid's birthday - though it will be over for her in Australia. We are 16 hours behind Queensland.

We are now in Colorado Springs in southern Colorado. Since the kids went home at the end of April we have travelled about 2,000 miles (approx. 3,300 kms).

We have our sights on Denver. On Tuesday 4 June we will fly to New York from Denver International Airport to spend a week with Kerry and Jo, from Perth. We travelled with them to San Francisco in 2011 when Kerry and Trevor did the Alcatraz swims. We are looking forward to catching up again.

On our last day in LA we drive out to Huntington Beach. It is sunny and mild. On the way to the coast we call into an enormous flea market spread over a vast area; we take ages to find a car park there are so many people. We buy a bottle of Awesome window cleaner and a set of potscourers!! Last of the big spenders!

We wander the Huntington Beach Pier. It is a popular place on a Sunday! There are even a few people swimming although it is not quite beach weather. Trevor says "how would you know"! Nice.




















And then we are leaving LA. We travel first to Tollhouse, located in the Sierra Nevadas. We are going to visit Dan and Ellen. (refer post dated 8 May 2013)

We turn off Hwy 99 at Fresno. Almost immediately we are in the country as we head for the mountains. It is a beautiful day with scenery to match. Farming country. Just fabulous!

We turn onto a small country  road -I remember it well!  This time another challenge ... just as we are driving up a steep, narrow and windy part of the road, the GPS states "Make a u-turn".  W h a a t!!  Well of course we tell her what we think about that instruction ... it doesn't help! We have to look for a place wide enough to turn around, while watching out for anything coming the other way.

Not a 'u turn' kind of road!

Needless to say we make it to Dan and Ellen's home. What a lovely welcome they give us! It is good to see them again. They have two of their grandchildren staying with them - Isabel and Violet - 4 and 2 years old.




We stay for 2 nights at Dan and Ellen's, parked in their drive. Afternoons go gently by whilst sitting on their verandah. We wake each morning to the sound of chooks, roosters, birds and dogs. It is great to be away from the city sounds for a while.

Dan and Ellen take us driving into the hills and mountains northeast of them; to Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake. Dan's Toyota holds us all perfectly. Isabel and Violet are in their safe car seats in the back. They have a bag of snacks and headphones so they can watch dvd's without the rest of us being troubled by the noise!

Shaver Lake is a man-made lake on the Stevenson Creek in the Sierra National Forest. The lake was formed in the construction of the Shaver Lake Dam. We go looking for Mushroom Rock.
The road gets narrower as we go higher and higher. Where is the rock? Are we on the right road?

Then it is right in front of us. What a beauty!!

Where are we going??

Sometimes Violet likes to drive.

We have a wonderful morning driving through such beauty with breathtaking views.
The girls are very good. What a great way to keep them occupied with their own  movies.

Dan and Ellen - Tollhouse

We leave Tollhouse in the early morning. It is going to be windy today. We take the back roads that Dan suggests and miss a lot of peak hour and busy traffic. At Kingsburg we get back on Hwy 99S to Bakersfield where we stop for lunch.

We plan to get fuel at Costco - $3.71 a gallon - but there is such a line of cars that we drive on to ARCO down the road where it is $3.75 a gall.

How do they get them to grow so well!!

Then we are off east on Highway 58. It is now very windy and we are getting blown around a bit. High, long hills take us out of Bakersfield through massive agriculture; grape vines, fruit trees and crops all the way to the high desert - the Mojave Desert.  It is warm -  in the 90's.

Right about now I lose 2 pages of notes out of my window as I  open it wide to take photos. Buggar and double buggar!!
Approximately 15 miles west of Barstow,  Hwy 58 becomes a 2way due to road works. 'No Passing' signs everywhere.

No Passing - hard for some!

Branching out!

I have rung ahead and secured a site at the Barstow/Calico KOA. We arrive there just after 3pm. It has been a long day - more than 300 miles.

We get set up - it's just about warm enough for a beer!!

We are approximately 3 miles from Calico, a ghost town in the Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert. Calico was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town. Today it is a county park with many of its buildings 'architecturally restored'. Giant letters spelling CALICO can be seen on the Calico Peaks behind the ghost town from the I-15.

We walk to Peggy Sue's Diner for dinner. It is a retro fifties diner in the middle of the desert, built in 1954 and revamped in 1987 by Peggy Sue and her husband Champ. Peggy Sue was a celebrity featured in over 100 films and commercials; she even had a song written about her. ('Peggy Sue' by Buddy Holly and The Crickets). The Diner serves food named after famous stars of the 50's such as The Patty Page patty melt and the James Dean fries. There are also various themed burgers named after John Wayne, La Bamba, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and Chubby Checker!!!

Down to the pointy end??

The last few days of the kids' trip are spent around Los Angeles. Trevor drives us everywhere - he is a star!

Mind you we are exhausted after our day at Disney's California Adventure... and we only went one day! The kids were there for 2 days. The next day we visit Disneyland Downtown looking for souvenirs and purchases for the kids. We then go to Walmart and have some success in their Disney section!!

Kim and Finlay are still eager to shop for clothes so we find a couple of large shopping malls. Kim also finds a great book store where we could both have spent much longer! And a boot store!! What is it about boots and the Pedler kids??? We decide not to visit Universal Studios - I think they are 'theme parked out'; but we will drive to Beverly Hills and Hollywood.
We know their time with us in US is almost over. This is not one of those 'good to see them come; good to see them go' visits. We won't see them for another 6 months!

We have a moment of panic on Thursday. One of Mace's 'to do's' is to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour which is now retired and on display at the California Science Centre. How could we have forgotten? I think that Kim remembered at the same time. Plans for Friday are quickly expanded to include a tour of the Shuttle.



The exhibit at the California Science Centre opened on 30 October 2012.

Kim, Finlay and I visit Hollywood Boulevard.

Trevor drops us off mid morning; he and Mace look for the shuttle. I don't think it is an easy exercise for them. The first Science Centre they find is not the one that houses the shuttle. It takes them more than an hour to find the right place. From all accounts it is well worth the visit.


At the same time the 'gals' are having a good time exploring Hollywood Boulevard, one of the most famous streets in the world with its glamorous history.
The Walk of Fame is set with more than 2,500 polished marble stars; it is said to be cleaned 6 times a week.
The famed Grauman's Chinese Theatre (now the TCL Chinese Theatre) which opened in 1927; the Clarion Hotel Hollywood Roosevelt; the restored El Capitan Theatre; they are all here.

We find an Amoeba Music store on Sunset Boulevard. It is a Hollywood landmark and one of several  stores in an independent music chain in California. I find 2 CD's of Furry Lewis and 2 of YoYoMa.

Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, Hollywood Boulevard and, after some more exploring, a drink at the Hard Rock Cafe.
It is fun!!

Trevor is a bit harrassed when he picks us up! Friday afternoon peak hour traffic in Los Angeles is not his idea of fun.

We take the kids out for dinner to the Outback Steakhouse in Anaheim - just to get them in the frame of mind of going home.

Then it is The Day!! As their flight doesn't leave until 10.30pm we plan to spend most of the day at Venice Beach. The Venice Boardwalk is said to be an essential LA experience - it is on Kim's list anyway.

There are some luggage issues!! Kim and Finlay can't fit everything back into their bags. We give them one of our larger bags to take home. Then we can't get all the bags into the rental car with 5 people!  After some reorganisation it all fits and so do we!

We reach Venice Beach in the early afternoon.

If there's a beach in LA where it's as much about the spectacle as it is the surf and sand, Venice would be it. In fact the Venice Boardwalk upstages the scene on the sand. We are prepared to see the rubber-snake wrangler; the metal-ball-rolling, Speedo-wearing bodybuilder; the chainsaw juggler and a raft of palm readers, folk artists and other colourful characters.

Numerous dogs dressed and colour coded with their owners wander the boardwalk; people looking at other people; many stalls selling souvenirs for tourists and of course food.

We do last minute shopping for presents for them to take home.

We end up the afternoon with icecreams while we watch several games of high level streetball being played on the basketball courts.

Great entertainment!











And then it's time to go ... to LAX.

We continue spotting number plates as we drive the last few miles to the airport.
We wait while they check their bags. Last goodbyes - and then up the escalator they go.

We don't talk much on the way back to Anaheim and the motorhome.

If I didn't say it while you kids were here, we had the best time and enjoyed showing you some of the US.

We thank you for your encouragement and involvement in our travels. Kim ... I don't know what we would do without your help in keeping things ticking along at home!

We love you guys!!

Just when we thought we had seen it all ....

We had  planned to take the kids to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately the road to the rim is closed until mid May. The alternative is a flight  over the Grand Canyon taking in the Hoover Dam and surrounding area.

They take a tour which includes a pick up and return to the hotel. They are impressed!!











Kim said that she hadn't considered the size of the plane - tiny - until they were walking out to it.
Of course by that time they were a captive audience!

We also manage to do some shopping at one of the outlet malls. That was a fairly lengthy exercise! Trevor went off and left us to it which was an excellent move.
I think they were all happy with the bargains they found. Mace even found sneakers to fit!

We ate well.  Las Vegas is an eating adventure albeit more expensive now than when we were here all those years ago. Most of the hotels have buffets to remember. We have dinner at the buffet in Circus Circus one evening - all you can eat; we dine at a different venue each night  and manage to fit in breakfast one morning at IHOP, a pancake house. Finlay's must do!

I can't say we spent hours in the casinos, for we didn't. We may have spent about half an hour one evening and each came away $20 lighter!  I think we were in the minority as the casinos are fairly popular places for a lot of people.


And then it is time to return to Los Angeles. We drive back on Sunday along with every one else who has visited LasVegas; well it seems as if they are all on the road!






We drop Kim and Finlay off at their motel. We move the RV from storage to a site at Anaheim Resort RV Park.
Now for the next adventure - Disneyland!!


Kim, Mace and Finlay are going for 2 days - one day to Disneyland and the second day to Disney California Adventure. Trevor and I will join them the second day. The best outcome when you are attending for 2 days only is to buy the tickets on the day- cost wise, it is also cheaper to attend at one venue one day and the other on the next day. I purchase a Park Hopper ticket for my day; I want to be able to spend some time at Disneyland and at Disney California Adventure. I particularly want to see the parade at Disneyland in the early evening.

Our friend Terry helped us out with some advice from a co-worker of his - thank you Christy!
In an email Christy explained all about Disney Fastpasses; a virtual queuing system that reduces the time you spend in line for some of the most popular attractions, allowing you to enjoy the rest of the Disneyland Resort while your place in line is saved.
It works wonderfully! After we had decided where we wanted to go, Trevor (this is the second day) went off and made the reservations.

I think she has had a great time!!

We were able to get to everything without long waits ... until we reached Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land.

We wanted to go on this ride very much but there were problems with the track. We waited in our Fastpass line for a long time, not wanting to lose our spot. Eventually we were sent away for an hour or so - with assurances that we would return to our position when we came back! This is really important stuff!!!
Anyway we returned when they suggested - the track was fixed and off we went on the ride. It was great!!!

Disneyland is Walt Disney's original theme park - a 'magical park' where children and their parents can have fun together. Disneyland opened in 1955 almost 60 years ago; today the Disneyland Resort comprises both the original park and the newer California Adventure Park. We first visited Disneyland in 1986. We later took the boys to Disneyworld in Florida. Kim didn't come with us on that trip; she has never been to Disneyland and neither has Finlay.



Disneyland is known as the Happiest Place  on Earth; a parallel world that is squeaky-clean, enchanting and whacky -  everyone needs a dose from time to time.
It is still laid out according to Walt Disney's original plans with Main Street USA  the gateway into the park. At the end of Main Street is Sleeping Beauty Castle with its blue turrets seen from most points in the park.

Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland and New Orleans Square are some of the 'worlds' that one visits; each has its own theme specific rides and attractions.

The nightly Parade of Dreams down Main Street USA combines music, lights and the most beloved Disney characters.

A ride on California Screamin'

Grandad wouldn't do it twice!

A winery ...?

World of Colour!

We stayed until the end of the World of Colour light show. It was unbelievable.

The show has nearly 1,200 fountains that can shoot water up to 200ft in the air. It includes lights, water, fire, fog and lasers with high-definition projections onto a 380ft long mist screen.

The show presents footage from the Disney library including favourites for all the audience. Music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Nashville Choir.

Finlay was reduced to tears as she saw images from the Disney movies she has loved as a child, reproduced onto the mist screen.