The ultimate day on the farm

Amy & I donned our jeans, boots & cowboy hats as we were treated to life on the farm in Montana. Continuing our recent interest in rodeos, Amy & I attended the local rodeo in Dillon (a small town of approximately 3,500 people).

The next day we travelled in the Chevrolet Suburban (i.e. an American truck) to Tyler's parents' house near the town Twin Bridges. Overlooking the Big Hole River, the property has a glorious outlook. Our activities for the day included: horseriding, pellet shooting, goat feeding, 4 wheel motorbike riding, fence fixing and fly fishing! The only thing I managed to catch was the bush behind me. Learning the art of fly fishing is certainly harder than one may first think. Needless to say, we had pork & ribs for dinner that night!

City of Lights

Although you can read about places around the world and hear about other people's adventures, it always seems different when you do it for yourself. Well, Amy, Tyler & I drove from LA to Las Vegas and were met with 40 degree ++ temperatures. We arrived at our castle (Excalibur Hotel), located on "the Strip", making it very easy to see many things that Las Vegas has to offer. Highlights from our two days in Las Vegas included:

* Entertainment: On our first night, we were entertained by the illusionist, who has won 21 Emmy awards among his many achievements, David Copperfield. It was a great show including many opportunities for audience participation.

On our second night, while Amy was enjoying the voice and performance of Celine Dion, Tyler & I watched the Cirque du Soleil performance "LOVE", which celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles. It was a fantastic performance that left me speechless!

* Friends: We caught up with our friends from sunny Queensland, Nick & Em. We'll be seeing them again in New York.

* Grand Canyon: Well, Amy & I took to the skies again as we boarded a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon. We were treated in style with a limo pick up from our hotel and a champagne picnic lunch on the floor of the Grand Canyon. What a brilliant way to see the canyon!!

The Happiest Place in the World

Our LA experience did not stop at visiting the Hollywood stars along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, or driving along Rodeo Drive... we spent a day at the happiest place in the world - Disneyland!!!





It was a fantastic day as we, the four big kids, zipped around the rides and the crowds to check out the many entertainment options that Disneyland has to offer. Among my favourites were splash mountain, space mountain & buzz light year which reminded me of the old days running around lazer zone!

Alison, Amy, Mike & Tyler

The Great Outdoors - San Diego Edition

Two main adventure sports for San Diego include hiking and kayaking, both of which we experienced yesterday.

On our first adventure, we hiked (or as Mike has learn't to call it - "bush walked") through a local valley. There weren't as many bushes as we are used to in Australia, rather many rocks, small shrubs and similar to a desert like terrain. We stopped at a little waterfall and waterhole before venturing back to the car.

We cooled off after our hike by heading to the beach for some sea kayaking and relaxation. On the 45 minute paddle we watched a seal colony and many other kayakers and snorklers venturing in amongst the caves along the coastline. We overcame the swell and the ever increasing size of the waves to triumph with a return to sand without capsizing as many people before us had.

Home Sweet Home

This blog is dedicated to useful hints for within your home.

Example 1: Amy advises that the average American household can hold a number of unanticipated challenges and eye openers. Mike's house in San Diego looks like any other that you would see in Aus. However, did you know that the toilets and sinks truly do send their water down the pipes in the opposite rotational direction to Aus??? It is also advisable to check walls for light switches, despite the light looking like a lamp, so that you do not have to try a number of other methods first (NB ineffective methods include: pulling the plug out of the wall, pressing the knob in - which has 'press' written next to it, twisting the knob until it falls off and the globe becomes loose).

Example 2: Today we decided to help Mike's dad for a few hours at a Habitat for Humanity project in Glendale, LA (see picture at top). Our primary task was to assist with the painting (cutting in & rolling) of some of the walls. Following our experience, my advice to all budding painters is to ensure that you know what's behind you. When I stood up after painting and took a step back to admire the artwork, I walked straight into the freshly painted wall. Ooops!!