The flight from LA to Auckland was really very good, comfy, excellent food; premium economy is well worth the extra you pay. We were upstairs in the jumbo again, took a couple of Maria's magic sleeping pills and slept till they woke us for breakfast 2 hours out of Auckland.
The final flight to Sydney was a great feeling, knowing we were almost home, but it seemed to be the longest. I got so bored, didn't feel like reading, so I watched "The Other Boleyn Girl" - good movie about Henry VIII, Ann and Mary - and played some of those silly computer games.
Nic, our housesitter met us and drove us home where we were reunited with Happy and Alaska. All was well with our house and pets, thanks to Nic and Jo.
To all of you, thanks for following our wanderings - it's been fun writing the blog. Thanks for your prayers while we were away. It's so good to be home!
Over and out.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Last Post!
We're in a little place called Manhatten, 30 mins from LAX. Very pretty beach; nice drive along the coastal area. Right now we're in Starbucks for free internet.
The flight yesterday wasn't too bad at all; we got the exit row again, praise God! They even feed you a basic meal on this trip, and basic drinks and a snack. We're going back to the hotel shortly to head for our Auckland flight; this will be comfy in the 747 upstairs; we fully intend to take a couple of little pills after our late night dinner and hopefully sleep for 8 hours on the way home.
See you all back in Oz!
The flight yesterday wasn't too bad at all; we got the exit row again, praise God! They even feed you a basic meal on this trip, and basic drinks and a snack. We're going back to the hotel shortly to head for our Auckland flight; this will be comfy in the 747 upstairs; we fully intend to take a couple of little pills after our late night dinner and hopefully sleep for 8 hours on the way home.
See you all back in Oz!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Last Blog from Waikiki
Sunday Night
The luau was lots of fun, right from when we got on the bus; the hostess had us all talking to each other, lots of laughter and gave us some really good ideas for bus wars. We were the good lookin' bus and we were all her cousins. The organisation was very good at Paradise Cove, lots of fun activities for about an hour before we actually got to sit down and eat, so the time went very quickly. The show was very entertaining, lots of hula, of course, and audience participation. We were home about 10pm.
Monday
Packing again! Nice surprise when we got the bill - the room cost was about half the regular rate, thanks to our friends, Ann and Carl, who own the timeshare! Hawaii is a must do if you haven't been there! Some day we'll spend a bit more time here if we can. We're about to go for a last walk on the beach, then off to LA.
The luau was lots of fun, right from when we got on the bus; the hostess had us all talking to each other, lots of laughter and gave us some really good ideas for bus wars. We were the good lookin' bus and we were all her cousins. The organisation was very good at Paradise Cove, lots of fun activities for about an hour before we actually got to sit down and eat, so the time went very quickly. The show was very entertaining, lots of hula, of course, and audience participation. We were home about 10pm.
Monday
Packing again! Nice surprise when we got the bill - the room cost was about half the regular rate, thanks to our friends, Ann and Carl, who own the timeshare! Hawaii is a must do if you haven't been there! Some day we'll spend a bit more time here if we can. We're about to go for a last walk on the beach, then off to LA.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday night and Sunday morning, Waikiki
Saturday night
We decided to go out and have a nice meal at a beach restaurant. We chose the one we wanted (with a discount voucher, of course!) at the Outrigger Reef Hotel; we could get a beach table but there was at least 1.5 hours wait, inside was noisy, so off we went walking to the Cheesecake Factory (Eleish's recommendation). When we got there, there were people waiting all over the courtyard entry with their little beepers – so … again we went walking and ended up at Atlantis Seafood and Steak. Very nice, posh restaurant and no wait! On the way up the stairs, the doorman gave us a voucher which saved us $10 each off our meal (even though we were just past the time when they applied) – good one for King's Kids! Delicious meal, sitting just inside from the balcony, overlooking the Ferrari shop. This is the long street where all the designers are: you name it, they're there.
Sunday morning
We'd noticed a chapel service mentioned in a tourist brochure: 8.30 on Sundays at the Outrigger Reef Hotel. There was a little area set up in the lobby, just inside from the beach restaurant but still with the beach views (gorgeous!). It turned out we were the only ones there, plus one other guy; the preacher and his wife were delighted to meet us Aussies; we had a good chat before it was time to start. They had a guitar and sang a couple of songs, then he gave his testimony, then we finished with Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone. It wasn't quite what we were expecting but it was nice to be able get a bit of God stuff. They have a beach ministry and do another service somewhere on the beach later in the morniong.
Off we went to Starbucks and took our coffee round the corner to the beach. We could have sat there all day, but alas, we have to get ready to go to the luau shortly! It's really tough being on holidays in Hawaii!
We decided to go out and have a nice meal at a beach restaurant. We chose the one we wanted (with a discount voucher, of course!) at the Outrigger Reef Hotel; we could get a beach table but there was at least 1.5 hours wait, inside was noisy, so off we went walking to the Cheesecake Factory (Eleish's recommendation). When we got there, there were people waiting all over the courtyard entry with their little beepers – so … again we went walking and ended up at Atlantis Seafood and Steak. Very nice, posh restaurant and no wait! On the way up the stairs, the doorman gave us a voucher which saved us $10 each off our meal (even though we were just past the time when they applied) – good one for King's Kids! Delicious meal, sitting just inside from the balcony, overlooking the Ferrari shop. This is the long street where all the designers are: you name it, they're there.
Sunday morning
We'd noticed a chapel service mentioned in a tourist brochure: 8.30 on Sundays at the Outrigger Reef Hotel. There was a little area set up in the lobby, just inside from the beach restaurant but still with the beach views (gorgeous!). It turned out we were the only ones there, plus one other guy; the preacher and his wife were delighted to meet us Aussies; we had a good chat before it was time to start. They had a guitar and sang a couple of songs, then he gave his testimony, then we finished with Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone. It wasn't quite what we were expecting but it was nice to be able get a bit of God stuff. They have a beach ministry and do another service somewhere on the beach later in the morniong.
Off we went to Starbucks and took our coffee round the corner to the beach. We could have sat there all day, but alas, we have to get ready to go to the luau shortly! It's really tough being on holidays in Hawaii!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Saturday, Pearl Harbour
Early shuttle this morning and we were at the Navy base around 8.00am, with a 9.00am ticket to the memorial. The tickets are each inscribed on the back with the name and record of a seaman lost in the battle. We had time to look in the souvenir shop (I bought a book about Father Damien and Molokai and the author signed it for me), walk around the grounds and read the many markers telling the story of the attack. Then we lined up to go into the theatre to see a 20 minute collection of actual footage; this was very moving.
We took a short boat ride across the harbour to the USS Arizona memorial; it is a large "room" built over the spot where the ship still lies, the last resting place of over 1100 men. This was a very moving experience; as we had lined up earlier, we were each given one tuber rose blossom that we could take and drop into the water at the memorial, which we did. Then we moved into the room where the names of the dead are listed on the wall facing the entrance. About 20 of us were standing around the back wall reading the names, when an elderly man with a stick, a survivor of the attack, walked in through the group and up to the front; he stood up tall and saluted the names - that really got to us! Then he walked to some names on one side and read those for a minute or two, then to the other side, then he walked out again.
We walked across the bridge to the stadium and "flea market"; lots of cheap stuff but we're already chockers, so didn't buy much. We had to wait ages for the shuttle to come back and pick us up and it was very hot; I couldn't do this in summer! On the way back to the hotel, the shuttle developed engine trouble so we had to wait while another one came to pick us up. Back at the hotel, the streets were much busier than yesterday, possibly because of the parade.
We took a short boat ride across the harbour to the USS Arizona memorial; it is a large "room" built over the spot where the ship still lies, the last resting place of over 1100 men. This was a very moving experience; as we had lined up earlier, we were each given one tuber rose blossom that we could take and drop into the water at the memorial, which we did. Then we moved into the room where the names of the dead are listed on the wall facing the entrance. About 20 of us were standing around the back wall reading the names, when an elderly man with a stick, a survivor of the attack, walked in through the group and up to the front; he stood up tall and saluted the names - that really got to us! Then he walked to some names on one side and read those for a minute or two, then to the other side, then he walked out again.
We walked across the bridge to the stadium and "flea market"; lots of cheap stuff but we're already chockers, so didn't buy much. We had to wait ages for the shuttle to come back and pick us up and it was very hot; I couldn't do this in summer! On the way back to the hotel, the shuttle developed engine trouble so we had to wait while another one came to pick us up. Back at the hotel, the streets were much busier than yesterday, possibly because of the parade.
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