Final few days

Day 19 Thursday 15^th December

Today was our first day at Disneyland. We had a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel before walking over for an early start. We went straight to Adventureland where we went on the Jungle Cruise, climbed up Tarzan’s treehouse and joined Indiana Jones on a wild adventure ride. Dad, Matthew and I then went on Splash Mountain (twice for me and Matthew), so you can bet we got wet!! Mum was too worried to go on it (lol). We paddled a canoe around Tom Sawyer Island, which was fun. We went on the Matterhorn Bobsleds which were really fast – even Mum went on it. For lunch we had corn dogs, chips and a drink. We seen a really neat robot called Asimo, and seen projected future photos of ourselves in the Innoventions building in Tomorrowland. It rained and turned really cold just on dark, and we all got wet waiting in line for the Autopia Cars. We went to go on the Space Mountain rollercoaster ride however it was closed down due to the rain, so instead we seen the 3D Captain EO presentation featuring Michael Jackson. Afterwards we then waited in line for ages to finally go on the Space Mountain ride. Mum was worrying the entire wait as to whether or not it was going to be a fast ride, and as it turned out, it was! It was really pretty seeing all of the lights on the buildings and trees including the Sleeping Beauty Castle. We left around 8pm and had pizza again for tea.

Day 20 Friday 16^th December

We arrived at Disneyland about 8:55am. We first went on the merry-go-round and then on the teacups which were really fun! And then we went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Rollercoaster. Then went on the Mark Twain Riverboat which was a steam paddle boat. And then we went on the barge onto Tom Sawyer Island. Matthew and I went on the Space Mountain rollercoaster ride to have a more prepared photo of us taken during the duration of the ride. We then went on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. We had corn dogs and chips again for lunch. We then walked across to the Disneyland California Adventure Park for a look. Matthew, Dad and I went straight to the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride which Mum was too scared to go on. We then went on a white water raft ride and we all got very wet. Dad and Matthew went on the California Screamin’ rollercoaster while Mum and I took photos and filmed them. We all then went on the swinging gondola ride (which is called Mickey’s Fun Wheel) which Mum got scared on as it was really windy and swinging around. We then went back to Disneyland and waited in line for about 40 minutes to go back on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride again. Then Matthew and I went back on the Matterhorn Bobsleds and then we all bought some souvenirs. We then stopped to see the Great Moments with Mr Lincoln presentation which featured a robot of Mr Lincoln, on the way out. We had IHop for tea. 

Day 21 Saturday 17^th December

Today we visited the Queen Mary ship and went on the ghost tour and WW2 tour which were very interesting. We had lunch at the Promenade Cafe on the ship. We then went to see the Scorpion Russian Submarine next to the Queen Mary. We then had McDonald’s for tea.

Day 22 Sunday 18^th December

Our last full day of our holiday. We went to the Anaheim Walk Complex next to our hotel and watched the second Sherlock Holmes movie in the morning. We had popcorn, nachos and a huge pretzel with drinks which was lunch. In the afternoon Mum and Dad went shopping at Walmart. We then went back to the Anaheim Walk and went Ten Pin Bowling and had pizza again for tea. Mum and I videotaped the Disneyland fireworks display in front of our hotel which started at 8:45pm every night.

another update

Day 12 Thursday 8^th December

Mum and I walked to Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile Shops, we went to an Italian cafe and I had a hot chocolate and chocolate chip muffin while Mum had a cuppacino and banana muffin. Mum said it was her best cup of coffee since arriving in America. We then caught the monorail back.  Dad and Matthew did the Sky Jump off the Stratosphere tower. We had the buffet for dinner at Circus Circus after getting Western themed photos at Buffalo Old Time Photographs. Mum and I dressed up like saloon girls, while Dad and Matthew dressed up as cowboys with guns.

Day 13 Friday 9^th December

We left Circus Circus after breakfast and stopped to get a last photo op at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. We drove past Area 51 and then stopped for lunch at Rachel at the Little A’Le’Inn for a tasty toasted cheese sandwich. We drove to Beatty, and stayed the night at the Stage Coach Casino Hotel. We had dinner at Denny’s.

Day 14 Saturday 10^th December

We had Subway for breakfast. We stopped at Rhyolite Ghost Town just out of town for a look. There were rattlesnake signs everywhere along the road there. We stopped at Death Valley National Park at the Mesquite Dunes which were really fine white sand dunes. We were below sea level in some places in Death Valley. We had Burger King for lunch in Ridgecrest. We drove through a very windy mountainous road on Highway 155 from Lake Isabella to Woody which Mum didn’t like much. We arrived at Tulare Just on dark about 5pm. We stayed at the Charter Inn and Suites and had dinner at IHop.

Day 15 Sunday 11^th December

We had a really nice breakfast at the hotel then stopped at Atwater and did some shopping at Target and Walmart, we had Pizza Express for lunch at Target! We arrived at the Buena Vista Hotel at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco about 4:45pm. We had dinner at Mel’s Drive-in cafe.

Day 16 Monday 12^th December

We had an early start and walked to Pier 33 at Fisherman’s Wharf to catch the ferry to Alcatraz. It was a freezing cold day. We had Burger King for lunch and then went to the Mechanical Museum after we had been on the Pampinto WW2 submarine. We then went back to Mel’s for dinner.

Day 17 Tuesday 13^th December

We had McDonald’s for breakfast at Fisherman’s Wharf. Then caught the 9:15 ferry to Alameda. We then had to walk a long way to and from the USS Hornet which was an aircraft carrier that was active in WW2 and the Vietnam War. We then caught the 2:20 ferry back to Pier 41. We seen the sea lions which live on the pier. We then hired bikes as soon as we got off the ferry at 3pm and rode them across for 8 miles along the Golden Gate Bridge and surrounding tracks to Sausalito. We got there after dark around 5:25pm and the next ferry was not until 6:10. It was absolutely freezing. We had to take the bikes back on the ferry then walked them to the afterhours drop off place which was quite a walk uphill in the city. We had KFC for tea and they have no chips there, only wedges!! We had very tired legs....

Day 18 Wednesday 14^th December

We left the hotel at 7:15am to drive to Los Angeles. We got a flat tyre along the way, and dad had to put on the emergency spare tire on. We stopped at Paso Robles to get the tyre fixed. We then had McDonald’s for lunch. We got caught up in a lot of traffic going through Los Angeles to Anaheim due to one of the freeways being closed following an accident. It took us almost 3 hours after an already long day of driving. We got to the Anaheim Plaza Hotel at 7:45pm. We had pizza for tea.

more days

Day 6 Friday 2^nd December

Had Maccas for breakfast. We went to The Gun Store at 10:30am and I had a go with a Glock pistol and an AK47 semi-automatic rifle which was fun. Then we had pizza for lunch (at about 4pm) at the Stratosphere. Dad and Matthew went on the Insanity and eXtreme (?) rides which are at the top of the Stratosphere and go over the edge. I joined them on the Big Shot which pulls a force of 4Gs up and down on the tower at the very top (one of the tallest if not the tallest ride in the world) the photo of us as we shot up was truly shocking (mostly by the look on my face). And we had McDonalds in Circus Circus for dinner.

Day 7 Saturday 3^rd December

Caught the monorail to Bally’s and had McDonald’s for lunch. Went to the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor which was very interesting. We caught the monorail back to the station at the Hilton and walked back to Circus Circus, we had the buffet for dinner, desert was very nice. Afterwards we went to the Adventuredome where Dad and Matthew went on some rollercoaster rides. I went on the Disko.

Day 8 Sunday 4^th December

An early start, leaving at 7:15 for the Grand Canyon. We arrived about 2pm and there was snow everywhere. We had McDonald’s for lunch. We went to Mather Point on the south rim and walked around the track there for 1.2km to the Geology Museum. It was -2degrees!!! We left the Grand Canyon at 4pm where we went to the National Geographic Visitors Centre and watched an Omnimax film about the canyon. We had Pizza Hut Express for tea there before booking in at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel. The top temp today was -2 degrees  and -10 degrees outside when we went to bed.

Day 9 Monday 5^th December

It had snowed during the night on the car. We had breakfast at the hotel then left at 8:45am. We went to the Meteor Crater on the other side of Flagstaff. Had Subway there for lunch and then left at 11:50am to return to Las Vegas. Mum drove from Williams to Kingman on a 75mph highway (her first time driving in America). We stopped at the Hoover Dam just on dark. We then had a buffet dinner again at Circus Circus.

Day 10 Tuesday 6^th December

8 degrees Celsius top expected in Las Vegas today. We were picked up for our ATV Tour at 9am at the Wynn Hotel and Casino in a minibus with our ATV’S on a trailer behind. We drove out into the Nevada desert. Then rode our ATV bikes to Primm where we had a drink at the shops for lunch. Our hands were frozen as it was really cold on the bikes. I kept up with the tour leader but Mum was “a bit” slow. We were dropped back at Circus Circus, and Mum and Dad went out in the car to find a Laundromat to do some shopping. That night we went to the Fremont Street experience, we had Maccas for tea. There was lots of Christmas activities going on. And even girls dancing on bar tops. Dad and Matthew did the flying fox ride.

Day 11 Wednesday 7^th December

In the morning we went to do the indoor skydiving, which was great fun. Tony was our instructor (and was hot). We then went to the Venetian Hotel and Casino and had a Gondola ride. We went to Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar” at Harrah’s Hotel and Casino for lunch. We then went to Madame Tusssard’s Wax Museum but we did not think it was as good as the one in Hollywood. We took the monorail back to Circus Circus and had a rest before catching the monorail again to MGM station to go the Tournament of Kings dinner show at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. The show was very good, we were in the King of Norway’s gallery. We were all given tomato soup and a full small chicken for dinner. Merlin called Mum a beautiful lady and asked if he could sit next to her.

continued...

Day 2 – Monday 28th November

Went to Page Museum at La Brea Tar pits which was great, after lunch we went on a Starline 2 hour open top bus tour of Hollywood and stars homes. After that, we went to Madame Tussards Wax Museum in Hollywood. I got my photo taken with George Clooney!!!!!!!!!! (amongst others lol) Then we went to Hooters for dinner!

Day 3 – Tuesday 29th November

Today we went to Universal Studios were we had front of the line tickets which meant we got in without waiting to all of the rides and attractions. We went on the Studio tour, Simpsons ride, House of Horrors, Shrek 4D, Terminator 2 in 3D, Water World show, Jurassic Park the ride (twice) and the Revenge of the Mummy ride. Mum complained afterwards about the scariness of the Mummy ride as it is a rollercoaster which goes backwards in the dark, and she has a strong dislike for anything fast and scary. We had lunch at Mel’s Diner which is a 50s themed diner.

Day 4 – Wednesday 30th November

Today we left Los Angeles to travel to Las Vegas. We did some shopping at the Barstow Outlets, and visited the Calico Ghost Town and Primm Outlets on the way. We walked out of the shops at Primm into a raging dust storm which accompanied us into Las Vegas. I got to sit in the passenger side front seat (which is our driver’s seat) and filmed driving into the Strip at night with all of the lights. Booked into Circus Circus Casino Hotel.

Day 5 – Thursday 1st December

We had breakfast at Denny’s before we walked the Strip (6km long!!!!) Dad and Matthew went on the rollercoaster at the New York New York Casino Hotel (which goes upside down) while Mum and I made a music video with our heads to the Macarena. We then caught the monorail back to Circus Circus and had pizza for tea.

to date...

Today is the 10th day of our USA holiday.  Thought I should create a blog about our experiences.

Day 1 - Sunday 27th November

This was an extremely long day.  We left home at 2:15am to drive to Sydney so I didn't get much sleep that night.  We arrived at Sydney airport at 6:55am. We flew Delta airlines and our plane left at 12:20pm.  I watched some movies on the way including The Hangover 2 and Black Swan. We arrived at LAX Airport at 6:15am on the same day we left Australia.  We picked up our car which was a 2011 Toyota Camry and went to Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier and then the Griffith Observatory to see the Hollywood Sign.   We had trouble getting to our hotel as a lot of the streets were closed off around Hollywood for their annual Christmas parade.  Finally booked in to the Hollywood Orchid Suites about 7pm.