Is there a more comforting word?
We've arrived in Sydney on Thursday morning, excited to see Mum and Uncle Syd at the airport waiting for us! We all came back here, excitedly chatting, sharing stories, drinking coffee! It was soooooo wonderful to see them again after 4 weeks! Patrick and Matthew went to school on Friday, anxious to see their friends. I went to bible study, anxious to see my Friday morning bible study girls! Paul enjoyed some time at home, pottering around, mowing the grass, etc.
We will do a final wrap up in the next few days once we're a bit more organised!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Miscellaneous Last Post
Well, here it is, our last post in the US. Tomorrow we will be packing in the morning, then storing our luggage until an evening shuttle to the airport. Here are some last, random thoughts -
* "Why is that man standing in a trash can?" asked Matthew, upon seeing the car park attendant, who happened to be behind a metal, 3-sided desk.
* At dinner, the boys have been drinking either milk or apple juice. One night, when we asked for more drinks for the boys, they brought Coke. We politely explained that they were drinking milk, or apple juice. The waiter looked stunned, telling us that we would have to pay for refills of milk or apple juice, but refills of soft drink (as many as your child could drink), were free. They seemed amazed that we were willing to pay for extra glasses of milk and juice, and turned down the free soft drink.
* We have seen ads in magazines telling us that a McDonald's Happy Meal is a healthier option than "most things your child would eat at home." Huh?
* Matthew has been heard to mention (at quite a few meals) "I'm really, really missing vegetables every night.", and Patrick has been heard saying "You know what? I'm actually missing fruit." Yes, it has been a bit of a struggle to find meals that have as many veggies in them as we are used to.
* The bright blue skies, palm trees and bright, bright sun you see in typical pictures of LA are accurate. The weather here has been beautiful! Warm, sunny, just lovely holiday weather!
* Many, many people have mistaken us for English, not Australian. Not sure why, but it seems to be their first guess most of the time.
* We will be posting photos from the last few days at a later stage, possibly not til we get home.
* We have had an absolute blast over the past month!!
* We are, however, really looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!
Well, this will probably be the last US post from Ryans on the Road. For those of you who have been reading, commenting, and praying for us, thank you! We hope that you have enjoyed keeping up with our adventures on the road, and we are looking forward to seeing you once we are back on Aussie soil again.
We feel so blessed to have had this time together, and to have shared such a wonderful time together seeing new places and experiencing new things together.
Thank you, and goodnight!
* "Why is that man standing in a trash can?" asked Matthew, upon seeing the car park attendant, who happened to be behind a metal, 3-sided desk.
* At dinner, the boys have been drinking either milk or apple juice. One night, when we asked for more drinks for the boys, they brought Coke. We politely explained that they were drinking milk, or apple juice. The waiter looked stunned, telling us that we would have to pay for refills of milk or apple juice, but refills of soft drink (as many as your child could drink), were free. They seemed amazed that we were willing to pay for extra glasses of milk and juice, and turned down the free soft drink.
* We have seen ads in magazines telling us that a McDonald's Happy Meal is a healthier option than "most things your child would eat at home." Huh?
* Matthew has been heard to mention (at quite a few meals) "I'm really, really missing vegetables every night.", and Patrick has been heard saying "You know what? I'm actually missing fruit." Yes, it has been a bit of a struggle to find meals that have as many veggies in them as we are used to.
* The bright blue skies, palm trees and bright, bright sun you see in typical pictures of LA are accurate. The weather here has been beautiful! Warm, sunny, just lovely holiday weather!
* Many, many people have mistaken us for English, not Australian. Not sure why, but it seems to be their first guess most of the time.
* We will be posting photos from the last few days at a later stage, possibly not til we get home.
* We have had an absolute blast over the past month!!
* We are, however, really looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!
Well, this will probably be the last US post from Ryans on the Road. For those of you who have been reading, commenting, and praying for us, thank you! We hope that you have enjoyed keeping up with our adventures on the road, and we are looking forward to seeing you once we are back on Aussie soil again.
We feel so blessed to have had this time together, and to have shared such a wonderful time together seeing new places and experiencing new things together.
Thank you, and goodnight!
I just want to see some palm trees
Yesterday Paul, Patrick, Matthew and I caught the bus down to Santa Monica Pier. Paul's dad decided to stay back and get some rest. It was a beautiful day, just perfect for strolling along the beach.
Santa Monica beach was just gorgeous. A huge expanse of sand before you got to the water, surrounded in the distance by the Santa Monica Mountains. We rolled up our jeans, and let the waves roll over our feet. We walked for a couple of km's then headed up to the path. They had two paths, one for bikes/scooters/rollerbladers etc, and one for people walking. We got some sandwiches and fruit, and sat watching the waves while we ate lunch.
We walked back to Santa Monica Pier, then wandered past some shops, watching various street performers.
After an early dinner with Paul's dad, we got the boys to bed.
Today we decided to have an easy day. We're all pretty tired, so the idea appealed to everyone. After a late breakfast, Paul's dad returned to his room to rest and read, while Paul and I took the boys to the movies. We saw WALL.E, which was pretty good. I won't say too much about it, as I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet.
The 5 of us had a wonderful dinner out at California Pizza Kitchen to celebrate our last night in California. We've had a wonderful time, but we are all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!
Santa Monica beach was just gorgeous. A huge expanse of sand before you got to the water, surrounded in the distance by the Santa Monica Mountains. We rolled up our jeans, and let the waves roll over our feet. We walked for a couple of km's then headed up to the path. They had two paths, one for bikes/scooters/rollerbladers etc, and one for people walking. We got some sandwiches and fruit, and sat watching the waves while we ate lunch.
We walked back to Santa Monica Pier, then wandered past some shops, watching various street performers.
After an early dinner with Paul's dad, we got the boys to bed.
Today we decided to have an easy day. We're all pretty tired, so the idea appealed to everyone. After a late breakfast, Paul's dad returned to his room to rest and read, while Paul and I took the boys to the movies. We saw WALL.E, which was pretty good. I won't say too much about it, as I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet.
The 5 of us had a wonderful dinner out at California Pizza Kitchen to celebrate our last night in California. We've had a wonderful time, but we are all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!
Brief Interruption
Please excuse this brief interruption in today's programming -
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Hi Mum! I've sent you an email with our flight details for Thursday morning. Thought I'd pop a post up in case you didn't check your email. Love you, see you Thursday!
************************************************************************************
And now, we will return to your regular program, the next installment of "Ryans on the Road."
***********************************************************************************
Hi Mum! I've sent you an email with our flight details for Thursday morning. Thought I'd pop a post up in case you didn't check your email. Love you, see you Thursday!
************************************************************************************
And now, we will return to your regular program, the next installment of "Ryans on the Road."
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Universal Studios
Today we visited Universal Studios, and had a wonderful time. We started off with Shrek 4D, which was lots of fun. It was a short movie, complete with 3D images, and special effects such as water being shot at us, and a breeze brushing past us.
We investigated a Curious George activity land, and had lots of fun with foam balls, climbing platforms, and various "ball projectors".
Paul, Patrick and Matthew then went on the Simpsons Ride, which they really enjoyed.
All 5 of us then went on the Studio Backlot tour, which was full of fun! We saw how they make cars "catch fire and blow up", sets that were the "main street of a western town", and "little europe", a set that could be made to look like a small european town. We also got to see "Amity Beach" where Jaws was filmed, complete with various special effects. We got to see "Mexico", complete with a rain storm and flash flooding. Also included were Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives), a "plane crash" (War of the Worlds) and the Bates Motel (Psycho). These were all outdoor settings, and so realistic! We entered one "stage area", that was set up like an underground train station, and were treated to some special effects, such as the trolley car rocking from side to side, sparks and fire, the ceiling collapsing to our left, water rushing down the steps, and a train coming towards us! The way that they can make these things seem so real is truly incredible!
We then had a quick lunch, and Paul, Patrick and Matthew went on the Jurassic Park ride, twice. They got quite wet, but loved it.
All 5 of us then decided to go on the Simpson's Ride, and spent 40 minutes lining up for it! It was so much fun, I'm really glad I went on it! It was a simulator, so it didn't move around that much - it was mainly the pictures on the screen moving. It felt very real though, and lots of fun.
After looking around a bit more, we made our way back to base, and arrived at about 6.30pm, just in time to go out for dinner.
All in all, a really fun, but quite tiring day!
Slight change in itinerary: We have decided against the day trip to Mexico, based on travel advice from the Australian government smart traveller website, and various news articles over the past week. We will take advantage of a "free day" to relax before the long flight home on Tuesday.
We investigated a Curious George activity land, and had lots of fun with foam balls, climbing platforms, and various "ball projectors".
Paul, Patrick and Matthew then went on the Simpsons Ride, which they really enjoyed.
All 5 of us then went on the Studio Backlot tour, which was full of fun! We saw how they make cars "catch fire and blow up", sets that were the "main street of a western town", and "little europe", a set that could be made to look like a small european town. We also got to see "Amity Beach" where Jaws was filmed, complete with various special effects. We got to see "Mexico", complete with a rain storm and flash flooding. Also included were Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives), a "plane crash" (War of the Worlds) and the Bates Motel (Psycho). These were all outdoor settings, and so realistic! We entered one "stage area", that was set up like an underground train station, and were treated to some special effects, such as the trolley car rocking from side to side, sparks and fire, the ceiling collapsing to our left, water rushing down the steps, and a train coming towards us! The way that they can make these things seem so real is truly incredible!
We then had a quick lunch, and Paul, Patrick and Matthew went on the Jurassic Park ride, twice. They got quite wet, but loved it.
All 5 of us then decided to go on the Simpson's Ride, and spent 40 minutes lining up for it! It was so much fun, I'm really glad I went on it! It was a simulator, so it didn't move around that much - it was mainly the pictures on the screen moving. It felt very real though, and lots of fun.
After looking around a bit more, we made our way back to base, and arrived at about 6.30pm, just in time to go out for dinner.
All in all, a really fun, but quite tiring day!
Slight change in itinerary: We have decided against the day trip to Mexico, based on travel advice from the Australian government smart traveller website, and various news articles over the past week. We will take advantage of a "free day" to relax before the long flight home on Tuesday.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Disneyland, the details
I think I can safely say that Disneyland exceeded all of our expectations. We had such a wonderful time that we extended our 4 day pass to a 5 day pass, and enjoyed every minute of it.
We were in a family suite, comprising a lounge room, bedroom, and 2 bathrooms. The space seemed like such a luxury after 2 weeks of standard hotel rooms! The boys were given balloons and gift bags on arrival, and we were off to a flying start.
Our first morning we went to a "character breakfast". It was in the restaurant of our hotel (Paradise Pier Hotel, Disneyland), so nice and easy to get to bright and early. It was a Lilo and Stitch breakfast, which was a hit, as Stitch has long been one of the boys' favourite characters. There were also other characters wandering around, who went from table to table posing for photos, ruffling the boys' hair, etc. It was a buffet breakfast - always a hit with the kids, as they love to check out all the options available.
When we got to Disneyland, Patrick and Matthew were wide-eyed with excitement. It truly is a magical place. Characters wandering around, an old world feel to Main Street, staff that are so polite, and only to willing to help you, bands playing, and smiling faces everywhere (especially from the people selling the balloons that every child wants!).
We had planned to hit the popular rides early, before the crowds. However, we found we got sidetracked very easily, whenever we saw a fun looking ride and one of us exclaimed "Look, no line!!". Over the five days, it was very rare that we had to stand in line for very long. Part of this was due to our early starts, partly due to our willingness to use a "FastPass". FastPasses are available for the really popular rides. You insert your disney pass, and you are issued a ticket, giving you a time to come back, kind of like making a reservation. When you come back, you skip most of the line, and so cut your waiting time.
I think I can say, without a doubt, that the boys' favourite ride was Splash Mountain. They (and Paul) went on it 7 times, 8 if you count the time it broke down while they were on it! Thankfully, they hadn't gone too far into the ride when it broke down.
Paul and Patrick also braved California Screamin' twice - a rollercoaster that goes for more than 3 minutes, including an upside-down loop through Mickey's head. Matthew and I stuck to the flying swings instead.
Jack delayed his starts at Disneyland most days (we start too early) and found himself getting on Indiana Jones when he thought he was getting on the jungle cruise. On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being sitting drinking tea and 10 being thrown around in the mouth of a bear), the Indiana Jones ride would be a solid 8. He did not enjoy this. We on the other hand thought it was great (Paul and Patrick rode twice). Best line on the ride "Tourists! Why did it have to be toursists?".
We also gave several other rides multiple visits - Pirates of the Caribean, Big Thunder Railroad, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Star Tours.
2008 is Disney's "Year of a million dreams", and they had set up a Jedi Training Academy and a Princess Fantasy Faire to cater to those dreams. The boys were chosen to become Jedi Younglings, and were trained by masters to use a training lightsaber. Darth Vader and Darth Maul appeared after the training and the students were able to use their new skills in controlled battles - "right shoulder, left shoulder, right leg, duck, left leg, chop to the head". All shots were blocked (unless one of the students did not stick to the script) by the baddies, but it was still a lot of fun. The boys were re-graded as padawan learners and walked out with a certificate. The master also had a great banter going "the skills we learn are for defense, never for attack. If this rule I forget, to the audience I will go back." and when Vader gave his "I find your lack of faith disturbing" he shot back with "I find your breathing disturbing".
We saw most of the Parade of Dreams in Disneyland and all of the Pixar Play Parade in DCA.
The heat did get to us on a couple of days, with temps getting into the mid 30's. Rides where you get wet had really long lines, and the fastpass wait was sometimes up to 4 hours. We tried to get into climate controlled rides or break for lunch during these times, and found some good attractions in DCA to beat the heat. We saw Muppet Vision 3D and a Monsters Inc ride, which were really fun. Turtle talk with Crush was also great. Crush (the 150 year old sea turtle from Finding Nemo) swims in and talks with the crowd. Matthew had a chat with Crush (Do you and Squirt like playing together?) There is a guy who can see and hear the audience controlling Crush's movements and voice and it was great. BTW, Crush has 65 children. He also had some great one liners. When talking to the "parental units" of one child (and discovering they had 2 kids) - "stopping at 2 means more food for you!"
Patrick got hooked on pin trading on our second last day. Pins (badges) are sold in the stores in the hotels and the parks and can be traded with staff for pins that are not for sale elsewhere. You can tell the difference as the staff only pins have "hidden Mickey's" on them. Patrick now wants to keep expanding his collection using his pocket money via online purchases when we get home.
The hotel staff were particularly helpful. We had to check out by 11am, but our shuttle to LA was not coming for us until 1pm. We had them store our luggage while we went for an early lunch, and retrieved it at 12:50 so we were ready. Our shuttle had not arrived at 1:20, and when the bellman saw us waiting outside offered to chase down the company to see where they were. Keep in mind that they could have turned off the niceness at 11 when they had our money, but they (Jerry) seemed genuinely concerned that we were waiting.
Overall it was a great time.
We were in a family suite, comprising a lounge room, bedroom, and 2 bathrooms. The space seemed like such a luxury after 2 weeks of standard hotel rooms! The boys were given balloons and gift bags on arrival, and we were off to a flying start.
Our first morning we went to a "character breakfast". It was in the restaurant of our hotel (Paradise Pier Hotel, Disneyland), so nice and easy to get to bright and early. It was a Lilo and Stitch breakfast, which was a hit, as Stitch has long been one of the boys' favourite characters. There were also other characters wandering around, who went from table to table posing for photos, ruffling the boys' hair, etc. It was a buffet breakfast - always a hit with the kids, as they love to check out all the options available.
When we got to Disneyland, Patrick and Matthew were wide-eyed with excitement. It truly is a magical place. Characters wandering around, an old world feel to Main Street, staff that are so polite, and only to willing to help you, bands playing, and smiling faces everywhere (especially from the people selling the balloons that every child wants!).
We had planned to hit the popular rides early, before the crowds. However, we found we got sidetracked very easily, whenever we saw a fun looking ride and one of us exclaimed "Look, no line!!". Over the five days, it was very rare that we had to stand in line for very long. Part of this was due to our early starts, partly due to our willingness to use a "FastPass". FastPasses are available for the really popular rides. You insert your disney pass, and you are issued a ticket, giving you a time to come back, kind of like making a reservation. When you come back, you skip most of the line, and so cut your waiting time.
I think I can say, without a doubt, that the boys' favourite ride was Splash Mountain. They (and Paul) went on it 7 times, 8 if you count the time it broke down while they were on it! Thankfully, they hadn't gone too far into the ride when it broke down.
Paul and Patrick also braved California Screamin' twice - a rollercoaster that goes for more than 3 minutes, including an upside-down loop through Mickey's head. Matthew and I stuck to the flying swings instead.
Jack delayed his starts at Disneyland most days (we start too early) and found himself getting on Indiana Jones when he thought he was getting on the jungle cruise. On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being sitting drinking tea and 10 being thrown around in the mouth of a bear), the Indiana Jones ride would be a solid 8. He did not enjoy this. We on the other hand thought it was great (Paul and Patrick rode twice). Best line on the ride "Tourists! Why did it have to be toursists?".
We also gave several other rides multiple visits - Pirates of the Caribean, Big Thunder Railroad, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Star Tours.
2008 is Disney's "Year of a million dreams", and they had set up a Jedi Training Academy and a Princess Fantasy Faire to cater to those dreams. The boys were chosen to become Jedi Younglings, and were trained by masters to use a training lightsaber. Darth Vader and Darth Maul appeared after the training and the students were able to use their new skills in controlled battles - "right shoulder, left shoulder, right leg, duck, left leg, chop to the head". All shots were blocked (unless one of the students did not stick to the script) by the baddies, but it was still a lot of fun. The boys were re-graded as padawan learners and walked out with a certificate. The master also had a great banter going "the skills we learn are for defense, never for attack. If this rule I forget, to the audience I will go back." and when Vader gave his "I find your lack of faith disturbing" he shot back with "I find your breathing disturbing".
We saw most of the Parade of Dreams in Disneyland and all of the Pixar Play Parade in DCA.
The heat did get to us on a couple of days, with temps getting into the mid 30's. Rides where you get wet had really long lines, and the fastpass wait was sometimes up to 4 hours. We tried to get into climate controlled rides or break for lunch during these times, and found some good attractions in DCA to beat the heat. We saw Muppet Vision 3D and a Monsters Inc ride, which were really fun. Turtle talk with Crush was also great. Crush (the 150 year old sea turtle from Finding Nemo) swims in and talks with the crowd. Matthew had a chat with Crush (Do you and Squirt like playing together?) There is a guy who can see and hear the audience controlling Crush's movements and voice and it was great. BTW, Crush has 65 children. He also had some great one liners. When talking to the "parental units" of one child (and discovering they had 2 kids) - "stopping at 2 means more food for you!"
Patrick got hooked on pin trading on our second last day. Pins (badges) are sold in the stores in the hotels and the parks and can be traded with staff for pins that are not for sale elsewhere. You can tell the difference as the staff only pins have "hidden Mickey's" on them. Patrick now wants to keep expanding his collection using his pocket money via online purchases when we get home.
The hotel staff were particularly helpful. We had to check out by 11am, but our shuttle to LA was not coming for us until 1pm. We had them store our luggage while we went for an early lunch, and retrieved it at 12:50 so we were ready. Our shuttle had not arrived at 1:20, and when the bellman saw us waiting outside offered to chase down the company to see where they were. Keep in mind that they could have turned off the niceness at 11 when they had our money, but they (Jerry) seemed genuinely concerned that we were waiting.
Overall it was a great time.
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