OH YEAH BABY... THIS IS HOLLYWOOD!! At least that's what they tell us...

We made it to Hollywood and really, not as pretty as everywhere else we have been, but still, now we can say we have been here... will we rush back?  Probably not.

We think we saw someone famous - David Spade... from Rules of Engagement... cant say 100% sure, but it really looked like him!! 

Went on yet another tour, saw some famous houses, I took photos of them but cant remember who they all belong to haha!

Here are some photos from the day!

A cool race car - the most expensive in the world!  Just one of the many fancy cars on Rodeo Drive.  Ben would like one of these for his birthday...  hmmmm...

the Beverly Hilton - where they hold the Golden Globes

the Hollywood sign

boys in front of the Hollywood sign

Kodak Theatre - where they hold the Academy Awards (the Oscars)

Jack EXTREMELY excited - he found Harry Potter hands and feet!

Me EXTREMELY excited - I found Victoria's Secret and Steven and the boys waited outside while I perused and shopped!

the Beverly Hills sign, unfortunately I had the camera on the wrong setting!!! Looks kind of arty don't you think!

JACK:
I FOUND THE CONCRETE SQUARE THAT DANIEL RADCLIFFE(harry potter) RUPERT GRINT(Ron Wesley) AND EMMA WATSON'S(Hermione Granger) PUT THEIR HAND AND FOOT PRINTS ON!!!!!!!!!

By the way, we are currently in HOLLYWOOD, city of celebrities. we went on a tour around the city, and saw the houses of Brittney Spears, Miely Cyrus(yes, Lani, if nan shows you, MIELY CYRUS), Madonna, George Clooney, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley's last houses before they died, Drew Barrymore's house and the Playboy mansion.

I also spotted someone off the T.V. show, RULE'S OF ENGAGEMENT! That's the only celebrity I am going to see:-(

That's all I am going to write today, so GOOOODBYE FELLOW FOLLOWERS.  

BEN:
We are going to fly to Disneyland and first we are going to see the rockets at the space centre.  Then we are going to go to America - Disneyland and we are going to see Cars 2 at the movies.  Then we are going home at Australia.

See you soon I am going to bed now.  I miss you so much.

LUKE:
Tomorrow we are going to the Nickelodeon resort, I am SOOOO EXCITED!!!  Dad said we would be going down water slides with slime instead of water and landing into a slime pool.  I don't think that's true, I think it is water with green food colouring.

Today we went to IHOP, it was a really good restaurant.  I had the Silver 5 which was 5 pancakes, a piece of bacon and scrambled eggs and it was only 360 calories!  Jack had something that was like 550 calories or maybe more!  Mummy let us have most of her hot chocolate.

For tea we went to this place called Mal's Diner.  Ben and I with our tea got cardboard cars with flames on them.  I am using my car as Angel's car - my favourite teddy.  Ben is using his car as Fluffy and Puppy's car. 

I am really missing everyone and I just cant wait to see everyone again.

Well I have to go to bed now so goodbye!  Have a nice time in Australia!

Santa Cruz to Pismo Beach!!

Hi there everyone,

We are on our way back to LA to drop of the RV.  I am kind of sad that we have to give it up, it really has been such a great adventure!! Here are some photos over the past day... not in order - that requires time and patience!!



Pismo Beach sunset, Steven and all 3 boys are there!

More Pismo Beach sunset

The river at Felton (Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Park)

The view from our bedroom window at Felton (Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Park)

The setting at Felton - so beautiful! (Thats our van)

Clearly the sign leading us into the park!  At least Ben is bigger then the Bear!

The way down to the river.

The boys posing for one of the many photos!

So tomorrow we will be heading to Malibu - the last night in our van!  We will keep an eye out for Charlie Sheen but not sure we will have any luck seeing him!! hahaha!!

After that a couple of days in Hollywood.  Only a small blog I know but we the boys will add their piece tomorrow!

See you all!!

xxoo



Bye Bye San Francisco... Hello beautiful Felton!!

The kids like the combined blog, so here is another!

FROM LUKE:

Yesterday we went to Pier 39.  We also went on a carousel - it was 2 stories!  There wasn't just horses, there were dolphins as well.  We also saw Sea Lions and they were cute... but they stank!!!

We also went on a tour.  We saw houses of rich movie stars and we also saw the house of Mrs Doubtfire, the one they did the movie in.  We also went near the Golden Gate Bridge, it was seriously busy!

Today we went to Ripley's Believe it or Not Odditorium.  It was amazing!  We also got a bag of candy and we went in the maze of mirrors. 

We went to the Rain forest Cafe, I mean restaurant.  It was cool AS!  It looked like a real rain forest.  The middle floor I couldn't believe my eyes!!  They also sometimes have fake thunderstorms which makes the pretend animals move and make noises!!

The RV park is amazing, I want to stay here longer and longer and longer because it is in a forest.  We crossed a freezing cold river and Jack was the last one in.  I also made really good friends and my friend Emma (she is one of them), she's like me, absolutely loving Pokemon!

Well I guess I can't think of anything else, I guess this is goodbye, have a nice time everybody!

FROM BEN:

I miss you so much Nanny, we went on an aeroplane to get to America.  We went past the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was really cold on the bus.  Then we goed to this Caravan Park.  It is nice with big trees. 

I love Mum, I love Dad, I love myself and I love Jack and Luke.  I love this movie we are watching too - Open Season 2.

We went to the caravan park with a beach, and a pool and a playground.  We went to the Las Vegas caravan park as well.

Speak to you next time.

FROM JACK:

Hulloo everyone!

We went to Pier 39 yesterday, it was crowded and we went on a 2 story merry-go-round and it looked like it went fast, but when you went on it, it didn't go as fast as it looked. 

We went around the pier as well, we walked to one side and saw one sea lion, and then we walked to another and saw a whole pontoon (or at least alot!) of sea lions!

IT STANK!! (not in the bad way - I mean the smell)

After the sea lions we went on a tour around San Francisco, we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw Lombard St, a street in the shape of a zig zag (literally a zig zag).  (Herbie drove down this street in one of his movies). 

Today we went to a museum that was based on Ripley's Believe it or not books.  That was awesome, (strange but awesome!).  They had the worlds smallest man, there was a robot made to look like a naked lady (and right next to the display there was a button that caused an alarm!)

It also had a wedding dress made of toilet paper.  I measured myself against the tallest man - I am
5ft 6!  They also had an art museum that had portraits of people made out of strange things and they had modern songs playing to sound like classical music.  My favourite one was when they played Pokerface with the violin.

There was a  tunnel where the walls rotated with a path in the middle.  I could not walk in a straight line because when you went in the tunnel it felt like you were the one turning - not the walls!  After crashing into the side bars so many times, I finally made it out the door!

We walked down even though we were in a dark room, then we found the exit, but then another maze started which was a mirror maze.  Before we entered the maze, they put gloves on us so we didn't mark the glass.  I thought it was fun, because every time I went around another corner I went to say "Hi!" then realised it was me I was looking at!

Annoyingly they had revolving mirror doors which made it that little bit more tricky to hop out meaning I got lost a couple of times.  When we finally found the exit, we were told to go back through the maze to find the entrance.

When we finally got out of the mirror maze we went into a lolly shop and bought about 4 bags (not full though).

When we finished we got back in the RV and travelled to Santa Cruz Redwoods RV resort.  When we got to the resort, the first thing we did was walk down and look at the river.  Then we went to the club house which has a pool table, Foosball table and ping pong table.

After that we walked down to the river at a shallow part and then walked across what felt like minus 1 degree water.  I eventually made it through and then when I got back through we had to get back through to the caravan.

That's basically what has happened over the past 2 days, so talk to you again another time.

BYYYEEE!

FROM SIMONE

Yep, it has been a couple of busy days!  San Francisco was great - it was Mothers Day for me yesterday, the boys got me a card each and made me breakfast in bed.  It was very yummy!  We went for a swim in the morning - we looked a little crazy swimming at 9:30 in the morning, but the sun was out.  Unfortunately the pool had not yet heated up so it was a great heart starter!!  Lucky they had a hot tub that really was HOT!



Luke really wanted to go Ripley's Odditorium but we ran out of time on Sunday, so we packed up the van and drove the RV right into San Francisco and took the kids today on our way (or rather out of our way) to the next RV park.  The drive was less scary then I thought, and the kids loved Ripley's.  They also loved the Rain forest restaurant.  It was pretty spectacular!

The trip to Felton (5 miles from Santa Cruz) was (I think I might need a thesaurus), beautiful.  We drove around the coast and the shoreline was spectacular, we drove through Venice Beach, (the houses here looked a little out of our price range), and through some other coastal towns, then it was time to get to Felton. 

The drive was amazing, at least I think it was because I had to close my eyes to save myself from having a heart attack!!  We were in a 31 foot RV travelling around windy, forested roads, kind of what you might find around the Great Ocean Road, only narrower.  I had never been so happy to see a caravan park in my life!!!

It was all worth it though, it was one of the most beautiful parks I have ever stayed in. I am hoping the photos do it justice, but I am not sure they will.

It's getting late now, so will sign off.  We are heading to Pismo Beach then Malibu and need to have the van back to the rental mob on Thursday.  I am hoping we will get to Santa Monica pier, but so much to do, so little time.

I know the next half of the holiday is going to be awesome, but am a little sad to be giving back the RV, this really is the life!  We have met some wonderful people and seen some amazing countryside. 

I think we need to start planning the next trip and we haven't even finished this one!

Love and kisses to everyone

mwah mwah!! xxoo

Santa Cruz RV Park - the trees here are huge!

Luke sitting on one of the tree stumps

The river at the park

The boys in one of the hollow tree stumps (Jack pretending he has a chainsaw)  (Luke pretending - I hope - to choke Ben)

Ben on one of the other RV kids scooters - Ben loves it! Especially free rolling down the hills!

It's kind of windy in San Francisco

The sea lions Luke and Jack were talking about.  They came to live there after the '89 earthquake

The whole restaurant is decked out like this!  (Minus the kids!)

Maze of mirrors - not good for someone who doesn't have a sense of direction! (That's me I am talking about!)

More maze of mirrors - boys loved it - I was scared we were going to lose one of them!

We are at San Francisco

Hi everyone,

We thought we would do a combined blog tonight!  Things have been going great, the weather at San Francisco is not as warm as what we have become accustomed to (even though Steven does look like he is suffering 3rd degree burns on his head from today!)

FROM LUKE:

Today we went to Alcatraz.  We want a Ferry and we got there pretty quick!  When we got to Alcatraz there was this girl talking and she repeated everything she said!  My favourite part was when we went on the audio tour around parts of the prison. 

I did morse code today and I did my name and the guy who mainly does it, does it like a speeding rocket.  The guy said I got my own job on morse coding at Alcatraz prison and I was going to get paid $10 a month which is pretty bad!!!

I got a harmonica as a souvenir so I will be able to show you when I get back.  I had a great time!

Bye everybody.


FROM BEN:

We had fish and chips for tea in an English fish and chip shop and Dad had beer from there and it tasted good too, I only had a Pepsi and Mum had a Pear cider and mega onion rings that Dad really loved!

We went to Alcatraz, we went on a ferry and we went on a tour that made my legs tired, then we goed back to our RV and we ummm, we, I don't really remember! 

Mum was doing some laundry, I got Mum a card for Mothers Day.  Happy Mothers Day Nanny and Grandy.

Bye Bye, that's all my stories from Muscle Man and Puppy.


FROM JACK:

Hulloo everybody!

Yesterday we went swimming - sure it was cold, but the pool was warm and the spa was hot... DAMN HOT!!!

The temperatures in San Francisco felt like arctic temperatures, yet as I said the pool was warm.  We went to Alcatraz today, I enjoyed the boat ride over.  A little rough, but okay. The jail was really, really, really amazing.  We went on an audio tour around the jail and I decided that one of the escapes was quite brutal.  1 guard and 3 prisoners were fatally shot during the incident that went for 2 DAYS!!! Mum took photos of where the grenades were dropped on the floor.

On a less interesting topic I have learnt what I like on my subways now.  I like swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese on meatballs covered in lettuce.

Thanks for reading this blog and hope I didn't bore you to sleep.

Love Jack

PS:  We saw a couple of whales in the ocean out in front of our van at the RV Park.  We couldn't really see them but it was pretty amazing!

FROM MUM:

It really has been an amazing trip, the boys have behaved themselves (for the most part) but I think that is because both Steven and I are that little bit more relaxed.

The drive has been great! I am so glad we decided to see California this way.. the scenery has been so varying and for the most part very pretty.. I already have a heap of photos, but for those of you who know me, this wouldn't surprise you!!

I would love to post more on the site, however the internet connections dictate how many can be loaded at any one time!!

Alcatraz was well worth the trip - it was very interesting, the audio tour is spoken by ex prison guards and prisoners, giving their commentary on various incidents in the prison. It makes it that bit more real!

Oakhurst was pretty, and given the time I would have liked to visit Yosemite. After speaking to a fellow Aussie in the laundry last night, I found out that Yosemite was never going to be a possibility in the RV given the 30 - 40ft snow!!!!

I was taking some photos today of the sun on the ocean at that RV park... They were really pretty - then the couple next door pointed out the whales - you couldn't see them clearly - but you could seem them come out of the water every now and then!! It was spectacular!!

Hey Mum and Dad - there is a ball game on tonight here in San Francisco - the San Francisco Giants were last years World Series winners... The kids weren't so interested and probably would have played up... besides that, they were lining up for tickets at about 4:00pm today, so the chances of getting in I think were pretty slim!!!  The game is on cable though, so all is not lost.


Here are some photos (obviously not the ball game because we are not there!) there aren't many, (look out for the slide show when I get home!)

love and kisses from all of us!!

Simone
xxoo

The beach - very pretty

Whales in the Pacific Ocean behind our RV!! (estimating 40 metres off shore)

Luke learning his name in Morse Code at Alcatraz

The view from our bedroom window - tough huh?!



The sunset tonight - very beautiful!

From desert to forest

Hello everyone!

I forgot to mention in my last blog that we saw this most AMAZING water show.  It wasn't even that loud it sometimes sounded like it had gunshots in the middle of it.  Mum tried to upload video but it didn't work.

From desert to trees!  Lots of trees!  At the moment we are at Oakhurst and they have a large river with many waterfalls and you are able to swim in it although it is FREEZING!!

Even Dad thinks it's cold.  Its because the water is coming down from the snow capped mountains.  Things have not been as exciting as Las Vegas so I haven't got much to say. 

Bye from Jack.

The right side of the RV - the slide out is the bedroom - note the extra large can of Bud... Steven loves them!

The left hand side of the RV - slide out is the dining area

The swimming hole at Oakhurst RV Park - very pretty!

The swimming beach at the High Sierra RV and Mobile Park

The Drive from Las Vegas to Bakersfield

Today all we did was drive in the RV from Las Vegas to Bakersfield.  For lunch we had Subway.  I tried a sub and it was delicious!

Before we went on the drive we got a photo at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.  This made Mum pretty happy because she LOVES taking photos!

It was a pretty long drive and there was nothing to do because my iPod Nano was up in the bed and drawing while we were driving was pretty hard because every time I went to draw the RV made the paper move.

On Monday we went to see the Las Vegas lights and it was amazing.  They also had a show up on the roof and the way they made it was lights on the roof.

We walked a really long way and we had Hooters for tea and Mum and Dad, Jack and Ben didnt like Hooters but I loved it, it was the most delicious food.  I ate most of Mums tea, I ate all of my tea and we practically swapped everything around for 2 days trying each others food.

On Tuesday we went to the Grand Canyon on a helicopter flight and I found out I am air sick!  It was AMAZING!

Today at the Camper Van Park we went in the pool and it was real fun. 

Well since I cant think of anything else I think this is the end.  Next time I talk to you will be from San Francisco.

Signed Luke

PS.  I am missing my friends at school sooooooooooooooo much.

Leaving Las Vegas

This is how we talked to each other on the helicopter

Just one of the photos Mum took of the Grand Canyon

DAY 4, LAST DAY IN LAS VEGAS

HELLO (please read in American accent, and now back to Australian) from Vegas  and what a HOT day it is. and alot more comfortable to walk down the Vegas strip thanks to new sets of shoes (reason being that the shoes we bought were about $50-60 here, and $119 in Australia which means we got a good bargain).

Today we went up in a helicopter over Grand Canyon which was great!  Except for the fear of heights making me feel a little bit sick!!  It was fun using the headsets on the helicopters, even though they didn't work amazingly well.  Before we went up on a helicopter we had a photo taken of us so after the helicopter ride we could collect it. 

Nan if you are reading this we got you a shot glass from Grand Canyon... we might be able to get you one from Las Vegas if we have time.

If you would like to hear my opinion about what Lion King was like I think it was AWESOME!!  I think my favourite characters were Rafiki (the monkey) and Zazu (the bird).  Me, Luke and Mum went to see Lion King, Ben and Dad went to hop on the Go Carts but poor Ben was too small and there were no double carts :-(

That's all for now, I will write to you all in a couple of days.

Thanks!  Bye from Jack