Today we had two tours booked that I have been looking forward to the most on this trip. In the morning we visited the Boeing Factory for a tour. Unfortunately they didn’t allow any cameras on the tour so we don’t have any photos of the actual workshop. The factory/assembly line floor is the largest single building in the world. Once inside you can see … Continue reading High Above and Down Below
We had organised a private walking tour of Seattle and met our guide at 9 in the morning. Right next to our hotel is the first train station built in Seattle and it was reminiscent of an old colonial library or bank. Seattle has a complex history which includes a gold rush in the 19th century, native american settlements, Spanish and British influence as well … Continue reading Walking around Seattle
The one place Matthew really wanted to visit was IHOP for pancakes. There was one close to our hotel in San Francisco so we decided to go there for breakfast today. They had pancakes served every which way with multiple toppings and additions. Emily and Thomas got chocolate pancakes while the boys and I both had buttermilk pancakes with eggs and sausages. It was an … Continue reading Hello Seattle
We try and do a walking food tour in most places and had one booked to cover Chinatown and Little Italy. We took a couple of Waymos to get us to our destination, mainly because we wanted to experience a driverless car. Matthew, Thomas and I took one Waymo which dropped us off directly where we wanted to go. The other car, with Bron, Ben … Continue reading Food Tour
I had bought tickets for a half day San Francisco group tour which departed from Fishermans Wharf, quite close to our hotel. The tour took us to some of the notable landmarks, however it was incredibly foggy today which limited our views. We started with a visit to the Palace of Fine Arts which was only built a 100 years ago but made to look … Continue reading San Francisco tour
We all had a bit of a sleep in today as we didn’t need to leave till 9.30. It was a short 20 minute walk to Pier 33 where we were to board a ferry to Alcatraz. There was a queue to get the tickets and then a queue to board the ferry and then another queue to disembark. By the end of these holidays … Continue reading The Rock
We took off from San Luis Obispo today for the rest of the drive to San Francisco. Along the way we say quite a change in the vegetation. This reached from green vines and plantations to mines and oil drilling through to stark arid landscapes. We stopped at Monterey Bay for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We are getting to realise that due to a … Continue reading More driving
We check out of LA today and Ben and I went up to Avis this morning to rent a car. While we were away Bron and the kids went down for a couple of games of bowling. Emily got her stride and was leading till the last frame when Matthew got 3 strikes in a row to just pip her to the post. We are … Continue reading Happy July 4th
For once we didn’t have an early start and everyone slept in. I went to a local shop to get more milk for breakfast and even snuck in a gym session. Ben and I then had a cup of coffee at the hotel foyer while the rest of the family roused. It’s the first time this holiday that Emily and Thomas have had time to … Continue reading Down in the Pits
It was another early start today as we headed out to Universal Studios. There was a severe heat warning as well from the National Weather Service so we packed up on water and sun screen. We had booked the VIP experience as and the day progressed we are very glad that we did. To start the day we got a behind the scenes tour of … Continue reading Universally Enjoyable Day
We had a private tour booked for today and we were collected by our guide at 9 in the morning. The guide was Monty is an actor and comedian and runs tours during his spare time. We started with a visit of celebrity homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Air. There were too many to mention but they included Jeff Bezos, Beyonce, Elvis, Michael Jackson … Continue reading City of Angels
It was a rushed start again today, but mainly because we needed to check out and be at breakfast by 9 am. It’s hard to describe how hot and humid it gets in LA by 9 in the morning and we had to run across from the Disneyland hotel to the Grand Californian Disney Hotel for a special princess breakfast. We got to meet Jasmine, … Continue reading Princesses, Piers and Old Friends
We were out the door even earlier today at 6.45, ready for a day at Disneyland. Things didn’t start well when we got stopped by security for having a selfie stick, which wasn’t allowed in the park. I needed to make a mad dash back to our room and then run back to the park to join the others. I made good time and didn’t … Continue reading Happiest Place on Earth
It was an early start for us as we wanted to be at the California Adventure Park by 7.30 in the morning for early entry. The last time we visited a Disney Park – DisneyWorld in Orlando – Bron had used an app called RideMax which scheduled our day to help ensure we got to visit all the attractions. It was such a success that … Continue reading California Adventure Park
After weeks and months of planning we finally took off from home today for our holiday to the US. It was a day full of final packing, cleaning and getting the house ready to leave. Finally after school we were on the road to Sydney. We are staying at a hotel near the international airport and we arrived just in time for dinner at a … Continue reading And the Journey Begins
A trip 5 years in the making, the Guha Family is off to the West Coast of the US and Canada for 3 weeks. Continue reading 3 weeks of bliss
And just like, after months of preparation and planning, the two odd weeks of holiday have come to an end. The kids had a restless night and we were up a bit later than normal. Bron and Ben have made it back to Sydney and were checked into the hotel by the time we woke. Bron wrote copious amounts of notes about how to transfer … Continue reading Final Day
Given Bron and Ben’s flight had been delayed we got to sleep in a bit more and got up at around 5. However it had been quite a disrupted night as we both kept getting up to make sure we hadn’t overslept. The drive to the airport was quite quick as there was hardly any traffic at 6 in the morning on a Saturday. Once … Continue reading Old Friends and New Experiences
blackCarrot 