Life on the Edge (literally)!

Set off on our 170 mile journey to Pismo Beach today.

Decided that wasn't quite enough mileage and did the 17-mile Drive in Carmel as well. Basically a very nice road with multi-million pound mansions and golf courses; great if you like golf! Saw sea-lions basking in the sun and lots of houses that we'd like to live in.

Took the coast road ( Highway 1), for the rest of our journey. Now Ash is still struggling with the width of our hire car, so I endured 3 hours of peering over cliff edges doing 50mph! Okay thats not so bad when there's a barrier, but quite often there is no barrier and that coupled with hairpin bends made it a very unrelaxing journey. When I did take my eye off the road the scenery was stunning, with moun

tains shrouded in mist and lush green forests to deep blue ocean and even bluer sky.

The hotel is right on the beach and we're just a hop from the pool so the boys will enjoy the next couple of days. Spotted a large Outlet Retail park so I think some shopping is required, Ash won't mind there are massive discounts to be had!!

Santa Cruz

Great day in Santa Cruz today. I dragged Lynda and the boys around the various SCO offices that I have worked in over the years, before parking up behind Pacific Avenue and showing them the Lutris office, in the main street. Boring bit over, we allowed Lynda to walk up and down taking in all the different shops and boutiques SC has to offer. She commented several times what a lovely little town it is and how we should have stayed longer as it is so nice. I'm a bit concerned that she might like Toronto and California more than Melbourne, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

After lunch, we strolled along to the beach and I pointed out "The Dream Inn". My old hotel of choice when staying here. The boys then spent an hour in the arcades before sitting on the beach for 2 hours in the late afternoon sunshine.

We were on strict instructions to get back by 8 as all three boys wanted to watch the new I-Carly special on Nick. Ellison & Matthew think it is really funny, but I suspect Dan watches it for entirely different reasons.

Monterey Aquarium

Slight change of plan today as the weather channel said tomorrow will be better beach weather. We decided to hit Monterey Bay Aquarium today. Its a great place and even on my third visit I still thoroughly enjoyed my day. The boys  had a good time too, marvelling at the massive tanks filled with the kelp forest and sharks, tuna and all manner of other fish swimming by.

We caught a few live shows there too; first we were introduced to a rescued baby albatross that could not fly due to damaged wings. Then we watched the penguins being fed and finally the boys "petted" a ray.




For me, apart from the huge tanks, the best exhibits were the jellyfish which are so beautifully lit in their tanks.

Moving South

Next stop Marina, just north of Monterey. We picked up another ridiculously size hire car, this time a Chevrolet Suburban, which easily swallowed up the family and all of our luggage and headed south via Highway 1, the coast road that I used to drive all the time to get to the office in Santa Cruz.

As soon as we where over the a few miles south of San Francisco the temperature began to climb and it wasn't long before we were stripping off and the air conditioning was going on. The scenery was great, with blue skies and the Pacific ocean although it was wasted on the boys as they had the heads in either DS consoles or books!

We checked into two large rooms in our hotel and Lynda spied a laundromat opposite so caught up on all the  washing.

Tomorrow, we hit Santa Cruz, the beach and the Boardwalk

Thoughts on San Francisco

What a great city! Small enough to hike or bike round, and feels safe to walk round with the kids or on your own. We could have spent longer here, there's loads to see and do, restaurants are plentiful, varied and reasonably priced ( didn't see a curry house mind!). Public transport was cheap and frequent - a city pass is a must for anyone staying here for longer than a day.

The one thing Matthew was troubled by was the homeless people begging on the streets. Having come from a small town with only Steve the Tramp to seeing homeless on practically every street corner was a shock for him. Apparently the City looks after them well in shelters and soup kitchens but we had to keep stopping him putting money in every pot. I have to say that none of them were abusive or threatening, and some of their cardboard signs were amusing - " money wanted for beer research"!

A Great few days!!!!

San Francisco - Day 4

Took the bus down to The Exploratorium today ( a hands-on science museum). We watched a cows eye being dissected which was very interesting - kids weren't squeamish at all - I was waiting for yuks and eeuugghhs but got sensible questions instead. Spent about 3 hours trying out all manner of experiments.

Back on the bus we headed to Ghiradelli Square which used to house a chocolate factory. Indulged in ice-creams and milkshakes, chocolate of course, and then headed on up the steepest streets ever to walk down the crookedest street, Lombard Street.
Legs now giving way ( mine were shaking!) we staggered on to yet another bus and vegged out at the hotel until tummies told us it was tea-time!

All packed yet again and ready to head off to Monteray tomorrow

San Francisco - Day 3

Shopping day for Lynda today although I was the only person to spend any money when I was dragged into Abercrombie & Fitch for a mini makeover. 1 top and $70 later I will admit it looks a little smarter than my Matalan fleece.

The shopping center has a 3D cinema in it, so we packed the boys off to watch "The Last Airbender" which gave Lynda and I a chance to shop alone.

San Francisco - Day 2

Today we took an open top tour bus trip around downtown and across the Golden Gate bridge. The tour started in Union Square just opposite the hotel entrance and took us through Chinatown, the Financial district, the Italian quarter, the end of Lombard Street - "the crookedest street in the world", then on to Fisherman's Wharf.

At Fisherman's Wharf we got off the bus to do all the stuff we didn't have time for yesterday. We watched the Sea Lions and Pier 39, then took in some of the live entertainment which the boys liked, then ate at the Rainforest Cafe which everybody liked, especially during the thunder and lightening storms when all the animals came alive. After dinner we hopped back onto the bus and continued the tour.

Sitting on the top deck of an open top tour bus going over the Golden Gate Bridge was excellent from a sight seeing perspective, but awful from a temperature perspective, it was FREEZING! We got off on the Oakland side of the bay and looked at the little plaque that shows all the fault lines in the area then hopped back onto the bus and home. It was a long but enjoyable day.

San Francisco - Day 1

We are staying at the Westin St. Francis on union square in San Francisco. Union Square has been described as the "epicenter of shopping" in the city so Lynda is in her element.

The hotel itself is lovely. Our room is on the 21st floor and the lifts are glass and run on the outside of the building. They move so fast they make your stomach lurch as the accelerate and decelerate. The view of the city from the lift is magnificent.

On our first day we decided for a slow walk through Chinatown. The shops were packed with little souvenirs which Ellison and Matthew liked, everything was really cheap, which I quite liked. We also stumbled upon some Banksey street art which excited Ellison.

After lunch, we hit the Cable Cars. They run right outside our hotel, all the way to Fisherman's Wharf. They were so crowded that Daniel and Lynda had to hang onto the outside like proper locals.

Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 has tons to do, look at, and buy, and we spent quite a bit of time there. It eventually got so late and cold that we decided to take the cable car back and end our first full day in San Francisco

Travel

So onto the USA... We left David & Neva's house just after lunch to make our way back to Toronto Pearson Airport. Although I had mastered luggage / Jeep bootspace issues, Ellison decided to travel in David's car. This would have been fine had we not got separated in the airport and lost them both for an hour!

Reunited - via an airport wide announcement - Ellison and David met up with a slightly cross and relieved Lynda and the rest of us by the check in desk. Because we go through US immigration and customs in Toronto, the desk clerk handed Lynda 6 forms to fill in, 1 customs declaration and 5 green visa-waiver forms. After much form filling and moaning, Lynda and the rest of us were ready to say googdbye and thanks to David and go through passport control.

US immigration required Dan and Lynda's fingerprints and photos, but as I was in San Diego only a few months back my details were already on record so I was fast-tracked.

On to the gate where Lynda came face to face with the tiny little jet that was going to be taking us to Chicago. Much "Rescue Remedy" was consumed. For such a small plane, the flight was suprisingly smooth, but as we had been delayed prior to take off, we did not have much time to get to out connecting gate in Chicago airport. Chicago O'Hare is not the smallest of airports either.

As we had missed lunch while looking for David and Ellison, and beacuse we weren't going to be fed on the Chicago - San Francisco flight, I grabbed a couple of pizzas and cokes at the handily placed Food Court next to the gate and we ate quickly with 3 minutes until boarding.

We sat on-board and on the tarmac for an hour and watched passengers come and go at their own lesiurly pace, trying to fit the largest pieces of "hand luggage" I have ever seen into the already full overhead lockers. The cabin crew the ask the guy who had no ticket or boaring pass to get off the plane and we were finally on our way.

Things were pretty smooth after that, but Ellison was not impressed with the plane as it had shared video and only one movie. Still it delivered us safely to San Francisco, where we caught our waiting shuttle bus to the Hotel; "Hotel Le-Posh" as the boys call it.

Niagara

Had a fantastic day at Niagara Falls. It was quite a long drive from David's house, but well worth it.

We parked at the car park and walked along the edge of Lake Erie towards the visitors centre.  170 million litres of water plummet from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario every minute creating a roar like thunder and endless mist. Standing up the top on a hot and sunny day, we were all quickly soaked by the cloud of spray generated. It was very refreshing!

After standing at the top for a while we decided to go for the boat ride at the bottom of the falls. The Maid of the Mist tours take tourists up the river past the smaller American Falls and right into the base of the main horseshoe falls. Everybody is provided with a fashionable blue plastic bag wear to try and keep a little bit dry, but I think they are mostly there to make you look stupid.

We also visited "Niagara on the Lake", which has been named "Canada's Prettiest Town". It is beautiful, but not really suitable for three tired children so we drove slowly up and down the main street to try and soak up some of the atmosphere.

Theme Parks

Today we all went to a proper North American theme park Canada's Wonderland. This park has about 15 roller coasters and plenty of other rides, but we chose to spend most of our time Splashworks, a water park in the middle of the theme park. Ellison and Matthew enjoyed the Lazy River, and the Super Soaker the most.

After a few hours, we moved on to do a few rides in the main park. We hit the "White Water Canyon" which is a bit like the Viking river ride at LegoLand, except here the public can fire massive water bombs at the poor people on the ride. I got soaked, everybody else seemed to be OK.

The boys were also keen to try out a real roller coaster, something a bit bigger than "The Dragon" in Legoland. Lynda, David and Ellison choose the biggest coaster in the park - Behemoth. Matthew and I were a little more sensible and chose "The Dragon Fire" which is a copy of the corkscrew from Alton Towers. Matthew thinks he enjoyed turning upside down 4 times, but we both decided that one ride was quite enough for both of us!

Matthew also really enjoyed the high diving show and even got his picture taken with the divers.

Haircuts, Toe Nails and Great Lakes

A varied day today. Lynda and Neva treated themselves to manicures and pedicures, the boys were treated to haircuts and then we visited a Great Lake. We spent the afternoon on a beach at the edge of Lake Huron. This lake is 4 times the size of Wales.

Ellison decided that he fancied a dip, so jumped straight in, clothes and all!

BBQ

David treated us to his BBQ skills this evening. We purchased some kebabs (kebobs in Canada), sausages, corn on the cob and salad. Matthew and Neva shuck the corn, covered them in butter and salt then wrapped them in tinfoil before throwing them on the grill.

Canada!

Touched down in Canada about 30 minutes late at 19:30, but the temperature was still in the 80s. David, (my brother) was waiting in the arrivals lounge for us and helped us with our many bags.

First stop was the National car rentals office to find our hire car. Its massive! The car is a Jeep Commander 4X4. Even though it is so big, getting the cases to fit was still a bit of a struggle.

David programmed his TomTom for home, then gave it to us to direct us home. We then drove in convoy to Aurora, about 1 hour away.

By now the kids were exhausted, and ready for bed, although Dan perked up when he saw that David had rigged up a X-Box 360 in his room! Their body clocks were telling them it was 2am. Everybody was soon settled, ready for the first day of our holiday tomorrow.

No doubt with the jet lag effect, it will be an early start.....

Last day in UK

Very emotional day today, lots of goodbyes. The boys walked up to school with Sharon, Tom and James and said their last farewells to teachers and friends. Then Lynda had to say goodbye to Sharon and finally to Jill who drove us to Heathrow. Much crying and hugging.

There was a last minute hitch with the luggage. The cases I purchased for the boys where far too heavy, so Jill took us via Tesco's in Camberley where we found 3 for 2 rucksacks. These were much lighter, but did mean the boys had to carry rather than wheel their hand baggage.

Track Everything

Geek heaven! I can track my container here and my cargo ship here.

Last day at school

Today was Matthew and Ellison's last day at Finchampstead CofE Primary School. The boys were each presented with a lovely set of gifts and mementos including photo albums with pictures and messages from all their friends.

The boys have both really enjoyed their years at Finch, and have made some lovely friends who will be missed. Lynda and I would like to thank the staff, parents and pupils at the school for all their kind words and deeds.

Container

At 7:30 Steve and Barry turn up again and finish wrapping and boxing everything. At 8:00 a large container lorry trundles down Longwater Road trimming bits of overhanging tree as it goes. The driver managed to back the container right up to the front door and the efficient PSS guys loaded our 160 boxes in about 2 hours flat. Everything was packed really tight with the mattresses going in last to squeeze the contents together. The container was sealed, we signed the necessary customs forms and off our belongings went on the slow trip to Melbourne (via, Felixstowe and Singapore)

Packers Arrive

Steve and Barry from PSS knock on the door at a hideously early 7:30 AM and swiftly start to put anything that isn't bolted down into boxes and tape them shut. Lynda and I spent a frantic 30 minutes making sure everything that wasn't supposed to be shipped wasn't. At one point we thought Dan would have to spend the next 8 weeks in socks as we couldn't find a single pair of shoes in his luggage, worse than that, we couldn't find any pants for him either. Luckily Lynda opened up yet another suitcase and found both sets of items.

By 12:00 everything that could be wrapped and boxed had been. We were left with our beds, a kettle, 6 cups, 2 spoons, 1 knife and a small TV for the rest of the day. Not much to keep the kids entertained (especially after I confiscated the knife), so they were sent round the park until 9.

Trampoline Down

Ellison was upset today as I had to dismantle the trampoline. No more WWE smackdown training with Matthew. He cheered up a bit when I let him spray WD40 to loosen some of the tighter bolts. He said he felt like a graffiti artist with a spraycan.

I finally got around to listing my Micra on EBay. I put a starting price of £50 and a reserve of £250. There have been two bids, and the current price is now £310. 4 days to go...

TalkTalk Customer Services

Typical, customer service levels from TalkTalk today. I sent an email yesterday saying we are moving on the 14th and that the new people wish to go with BT. I got a call today from TalkTalk saying that they can deal with my query and will transfer my call to the correct department, why the "correct department" could not ring me themselves I don't know. Anyway the call was transfered, a a phone rang and rang for about 3 minutes before the call was dropped. Thanks TalkTalk for providing no customer service at all.

Jeyes Fluid

Started to disinfect everything today. Unloaded all the kids "treasure boxes" from the loft and washed all the crates with weak Jeyes fluid. I picked out what looks suspiciously like mouse poo. Probably should not have done it indoors it stinks! I have a week ahead of me going through everything in the shed, disinfecting it, then drying it and storing it somewhere.

Last day at work

Last day at work today, must remember to buy cakes. I'll try and slope off by 5 as I need to go up to Dad's this evening and install a wireless router so that he can finally play with his new laptop.

Our Ship

Got a letter from the removals firm today to tell us that our container will be on a ship called "MSC JENNY", scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on the 27th August. Hopefully, I can be geeky and track its location on the web.

The ship looks a little old, I may need to increase my insurance....

Football Stickers

Matthew is into the Panini World Cup stickers. Its the first thing that has really captured his imagination rather than being led by his brothers. Trouble is, there is no way he will finish the book before we leave...


Panini let you order stickers on-line, but they take 25 days to deliver, unless you pay £8 P+P

Trip Planned

We leave the UK on the 16th July, fly to Canada then stay with my brother for a week. Then on to San Francisco for a week, followed by a slow drive to LA over the next 6 nights. Next to Hawaii for a few days before heading to Melbourne (via Sydney).