30 July - Los Angeles

Having a quiet day today. Thought about going to Hollywood but the jetlag caught up with Paul this morning - and we get to see Hollywood tomorrow anyway. Apart from doing a load of washing (yes, exciting!) mostly we're just lazing around on the balcony reading - the photos are the view from our balcony.

29 July - Universal Studios

Woke up a bit late this morning and decided to eat at the cafe here at the hotel. Beautiful food, lousy service - we unfortunately got the bad waiter. Never mind.

The hotel has a complimentary shuttle bus service to Universal Studios, so we took advantage of it. Some things are the same as the last time we came here (back in 2002), others are new. It's still school holiday time here and so it was pretty crowded but we didn't have to wait too long anywhere except for the Studio Tour - the sign said the wait would be 60 minutes, it was only about 40 and worth every minute of it.

I didn't take many pictures - for most of the interesting things photography was banned, or alternatively, the risk of getting the camera drenched wasn't worth it. I got really wet on the Jurassic Park ride, and a little bit wet three more times!

Overall, a good day, but I think I'm still not completely over the jetlag.

Los Angeles - 28 July

We've arrived in one piece and not too tired, although 28 July is definitely dragging along - 34 hours and counting so far.

Left Sydney pretty much on time, quite heavy rain so we didn't get much of a view from the windows. But, the A380 has a really cool 'Skycam' - a webcam right up on the tail of the plane so you can get a spectacular view of take-offs and landings on the in-seat entertainment screen.

The entertainment system is astounding too - last time we flew to LA I was stuck behind a really tall person and couldn't see the TV screen, which as it turned out didn't matter because I didn't care much for the movie that was on anyway. This time - each seat has its own personal 10inch screen entertainment system. Dozens of movies and TV shows - your choice about what you watch and when - hundreds of albums if you just want music, and stacks of games as well.

The flight was actually as comfortable as you could expect to be, given that we were in economy class and it's a 13 hour flight. The seats were much more comfortable than I remember them being on the 747 for our last trip. Also, Paul and I had three seats to share between us, which allowed a tiny bit more room.

Arrived in LA on time with only a minor delay because someone was taken ill during the night - we had the classic "is there a doctor on board" broadcast from the pilot - and they had to be taken off the plane first.

Got through immigration and customs really quickly - so much for all the hoopla about not carrying liquids or gels etc. We were quite worried because Paul has to carry quite a large parcel containing packets of this magic gel stuff that keeps his insulin cool, and although it's supposed to be exempt from the limits, you just never know what will happen in reality. As it turns out, no-one even questioned it in the US (when we were leaving Australia they just asked what it was, didn't look). On the other hand, I have now had my fingerprints taken for the first time ever - in the land of the free they take digital fingerprints and a digital photo of everyone who comes into the country. I suppose it's only free for actual Americans!

Took ages to get to the hotel - the shuttle didn't show up for a long time and then when it did we were treated to a classic LA Freeway traffic jam - a truck had tipped over and lost a load of timber all over the road. Finally got here though. It's all very nice, and we went for a long walk to get the muscles moving again (and to pick up a couple of cell-phones to use while we're here). We've picked up some brochures to see if anything excites us for tomorrow - otherwise it'll be Universal Studios which is just down the road. However, I think once we've done that, it'll be room service dinner and then crash!

Sydney 28 July

Well, I've been awake with excitement since 3am :-)
Today is our really long day - 10 hours here in Sydney until we get on the plane, 13 hours or so on the plane, and then we arrive in Los Angeles and it's still going to be 28 July - around 10am in the morning with another 14 hours of 28 July still to go....
Needless to say, the feeling at the moment is the thrill that the holiday is about to start combined with trepidation at going through that really long flight again. It'll all be worth it though - let the fun begin!

Sydney 27 July

First step on the way - today we drove to Sydney and are staying at one of the many Meritons in the city before flying out tomorrow. If not for the big PriceWaterhouseCoopers building in the way, we'd be almost overlooking Wharf8 which is where we'll disembark on 3 September!

No real dramas or excitement along the way, although there are actually a few puddles of water in Lake George - the first time we've seen water in the so-called lake for years.

Wandered around the city, bought a couple of last-minute things and we're now about to catch up on a couple of True Blood episodes before trying to get some sleep. Given the amount of excitement, not sure how well that will go!

3 sleeps until we leave Canberra

As the title says - three sleeps to go now :-) I've been scraping ice off the car every morning for the last month, but in a few days we'll be sweltering in Los Angeles. Right now as I type this it's 4:20 AM in Los Angeles and 16 degrees - that's warmer than it has been here any time for weeks!

Finished up work yesterday - although I must admit I spent some time this morning sending off an eMail about some stuff I meant to cover off in a meeting yesterday, and didn't. Hopeless, I know. I did promise them I'd try to stop thinking about work!

Today we bought the last few little bits and pieces - tomorrow we have to make everything fit into our bags - that'll be the fun bit! We also need to take the Falcon to a friend's place - we thought it was safer to loan it out to someone while we're away rather than just leave it parked in the back yard. The Lancer though is being locked away in the garage.

We went out tonight for a farewell dinner with Adam - his choice of restaurant so we went to the Shogun Teppanyaki in the city. They serve eel which is one of Adam's favourites - he also had a big serve of sushi. This time last year he was in China on his big adventure, now it's Paul and I going away.

Now I'm really getting stressed

Five more days at work, 10 days altogether until we leave Canberra.
This is the point where Paul starts to get excited and I start to get uber-stressed.
I know that as long as we remember our passports, tickets and glasses, and Paul's medication, that anything else can be replaced, but I still manage to get completely stressed out anyway.
Apart from increasing stress and excitement levels though, nothing much has changed since the last post. We've bought everything we needed to buy, packed everything we can - the rest has to wait because they're clothes we wear all the time! - planned everything we feel like planning. Now we just have to get through the last week of work.

Of course, it now looks like there's one more thing to stress about. If they announce the election this weekend - as it seems they will - it's going to be on either 21/8 or 28/8. On both those days we're on the Dawn Princess, sailing the Pacific. Postal vote seems to be the option, but our last chance to organise anything like that in Australia would be 27/7 - no way are all the voting papers going to be ready by then. We might be able to vote in Los Angeles or San Francisco, but I'm completely unthrilled about the idea of spending $$$ on taxis, and losing sight-seeing time, to hunt down a place to vote. But if we don't vote, then we get to pay $$$ in fines instead. I'll have to sort this out sometime soon - the AEC will be getting a call from me next week, I reckon. Not that my vote will make the slightest bit of difference, Canberra people are grossly underrepresented in Parliament per capita. And, the Labor party could nominate a dead person for our electorate and they'd be voted in, they don't need my help. Still, it's my right and I want to vote!
On the subject of planning though, I read a fair few travel blogs and other websites, and there's this constant message that you must research every place you're going to go, and be aware of all the things you could see and do there so that you don't waste a single minute (or dollar). Gotta say, I can't see the point. It's a holiday. Almost everywhere we're going, it's the first time we've been there. They're all places that you could spend 6 months in and not come close to seeing everything, and we'll be in most of them for a day or two. By definition we're not going to see it all, and I'm happy to let the tour bus take me wherever and show me whatever. I'm pretty sure whatever I see will be interesting anyway.

Two weeks to go

Two more weeks at work that is - in theory 10 working days but it'll be more than that - today's Sunday and I expect to spend most of today 'working from home'. Pity there's no actual overtime pay attached to it, but the work just has to get done.
Anyway, the holiday - which, btw, I know I need to practice saying vacation while in the USA :-)
We've already packed a lot of our clothes - mostly we're taking summertime clothes and of course those sorts of clothes aren't all that high on the 'to wear' list in Canberra in July. Pretty sure I can fit everything I want into the suitcase, although there's still an outstanding question about whether the carry-on backpack will weigh less than seven kilos!
Adam and I will be going out shopping next weekend to stock up on food for him while we're away, although it's not really that big of a drama now. Even though he doesn't drive, both Woolies and Coles Online Shopping delivery services cover our place and he'll also have the little trailer to hook onto the trike if he needs to go out and buy stuff. So, if he starves while we're away, it'll be his own choice! Don't think that's really likely, but as I've said before, I'll be amazed if a single vegetable deliberately enters his mouth during that time!!