NBA GAME #1 - LAKERS V CLIPPERS

Ok now these tickets were not fun to try and get.  It took me ages and when I eventually did find the tickets I was a little disappointed cause they were way up in the nose bleed section.  As luck would have it it turns out that this was an awesome to watch the game from.  

For a chick that's not really a fan of the game I'm surprisingly a little excited to be here, the atmosphere is massive but I think the mist exciting part is looking at the smiles on the boys faces, looking at them just revel in the moment, amazed that they are actually at a REAL NBA Game.  That is a priceless mum moment.  Knowing what Basketball actually means to them and being able to have given them firstly the holiday to the states but to then throw in an NBA game as well, we'll that was a crazy emotion for me.  

Watching this game was awesome, I actually can say it was a pretty cool highlight for me to in the end, admittedly I did spend a lot  of the game watching my kids and my dads faces.  It wasn't do much a game if ball but a show. The Americans sure know how to get into the spirit of the game.  The cheer leaders, the players, the showmanship, the half time entertainment  - it was all just crazy.  Now I did make it clear in the beginning that I was a newborn Clippers fan so they were gonna be the team to beat.  Caelans team is the Lakers of course but that didn't sway me in anyway.  Turns out that dad and Kenyon were Clippers fans to.  Well after a adrenalin pumping 2 hours of watching and experiencing our very first NBA game it was over long before any of us were ready for but in true rookie style Donna had picked a winner with the FINAL SCORE - LAKERS 91 v CLIPPERS 97 - YES ;) I was the champion not only as the victorious team but also a mumma, my boys had had the best night. One that they will never ever forget. 

HOLLYWOOD HYPE!!!!

OK let's see what this place is all about? Will it live up to the whole Hollywood Hype? 

WalkedHollywood  Blvd checking out all the stars, that was pretty cool, looking around the Chinese Theatre good to but really Hollywood is nothing much at all.  Best part I would say was the people watching and the tattoo shops :). Got done J Walking by 2 cops! Lights and sirens, the whole kit n kaboodle!  Talk about overkill. Kids were freaking out but I plead the ignorant Aussie and smile along, yes sir, no sir, sorry sir ;) Had one like putty in my hands but the other one was such a knob, I'm sure he had a god complex!!! But all good in the end.  No tickets lol

Went for a drive down Rodeo Drive, whoa the money down this street is insane!!!! Just the cars alone parked on the street would sell for enough to feed a 100 African villages. It was ridiculous!  One car dad said was apparently worth about $800k. I mean seriously who drives that sort of car????  Apparently people in Hollywood! 

Did the drive to the Hollywood sign and that to was a let down, you can't get close at all.  But we got out pix, the Griffith Observatory is pretty spectacular though. The views overlooking LA simply stunning.  Puts into perspective just how massive LA is.   

Hollywood was a let down really but hey we did it and that's all that matters ;)  Another one ticked off the list. 

MONTEREY

Well this is 1 place I had never heard of, never thought I would go but hey why not and it was a good place to stop to break up the drive back to LA.  Boy was I glad we made that call.  Monterey is this stunning little small town right on the coast of California. It was late when we got in so didnt do too much but first impressions were enough to make us change from a 1 night stay to 2 nights.  It was so pretty.  It's situated right on the water and this water was full of sea life.  There were otters everywhere.  These guys are the cutest things you will ever see. I fell in love with them.  Also there were so many seals and all so close to town.  Even though it was such a pretty town there really wasnt alot to do but we were going to stop at the Monterey Aquarium.  This is a must see, it's the most spectacular aquarium I have ever been to.  This place didnt look like much  but you walk in and you are confronted by a massive 3 level, 10m high tank set up to look like the Kelp Forrest's just off the coast.  It was spectacular. We wondered the aquarium for a few hours, the boys were playing in the ponds where u were allowed to touch the sea life.  They were touching rays, fish, shellfish - they were having a ball.  It's so good to see them being kids and having fun.  Their faces told the story.  Really loving Monterey.  

We get out and go for a drive down the coast a bit and it just gets better and better.  Everywhere we stop there's creatures. In the water there are 100's of seals and in land there are 100's of squirrels. These guys are so cool.  They are so tame thru come right up to you and eat out of your hands.  However the very first ones we did see the boys spun around screaming and running towards me yelling rats. They were freaking out, it was hilarious.  Everybody was looking at these 3 crazy screaming kids.  But by the end of it they were ready to try steal them and take at least 1 home in their suitcase. They too were in love with the little guys.  Monterey did impress very much. 

ALCATRAZ

Today is the day we visit Alcatraz.  Pretty excited to get out there. The boys can't wait.  It's bloody cold though and we were warned to make sure we rugged up cause it's icy out on the bay and the wind on Alcatraz is enough to chill you to the bone.  I'm actually thankful that we have sun cause god knows without that we would have frozen to death on the ferry trip out there.  

Alcatraz is an amazing freaky place. There's a feeling that comes over you as soon as you get there.  Even though the place is so run down it is also so stunning to see.  We had to wait for the "TALK" Kids weren't impressed. All they wanted was the place to pick up the headsets for the Audio Tour.  It finished and they were off n running, our exploration of Alcatraz was about to begin.  

You have no idea the feeling u get walking through the halls of this place listening to the Audio of the history of the rooms u were entering.  There were some places I had to walk straight back out of, not a comfortable feeling. I liken it to walking through the dorms and the pathology rooms at Sachenhausen Concentration Camp in Berlin.  You can just feel the emotions of the room. Very eirey!!!!  Once outside and in the Courtyard under the main office area of the prison you are confronted by the most amazing view back towards San Francisco and to the right you see the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a pretty sombre place but it was also so beautiful - if that can be!!  We spent about 3 hours just exploring and looking at everything we could possibly see.  It was definitely an experience I'm glad we had, glad I was able to take my boys to see such an historical place. 

FISHERMANS WHARF, ALCATRAZ, SEAL COLONY, GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE & THE RAINFOREST CAFE .......

San Francisco - meh what are we to expect??  I have no idea???  Just seemed like a cool place to go and we had 3 days here to see as much as we could.  Well we were not disappointed.  Its such a pretty place, everywhere you look is amazing.  You have these massive amazing 6-8 lane highways crossing over the water and 2 - 3 different levels, they are massive, you look to the right and there in all its glory is the Golden Gate Bridge poking out amongst the fog, Alcatraz in the distance to.  We get into the hustle n bustle of Fishermans Wharf, this place is pumping, such a cool atmosphere, so busy.  Didn't now where to go or what to see first so just parked the car and got out and walked and walked and walked.  The kids were getting into the shopping, were still wanting to eat everything in sight.  Came across this cool Rainforest Cafe and decided to go in there and have lunch.  The kids loved it, the food was amazing, massive and oh so tasty and yes very expensive, lunch cost $135 american and they were hungry and hour later lol.  Stumbled across Pier 39 and the resident seal colony.  These dudes were extra cool and extra stinky but very entertaining.  I could have say there got hours watching them play fighting and pushing each other off the platform.  I swear they knew they were the entertainment.
Seeing alcatraz from Fishermans Wharf was a pretty cool experience and we all couldn't wait to get to go over to the island the next day and explore it.  That was definitely going to be a highlight of San Fran for all of us.  Dad was loving it, he was just cruising through all the old shops, ploughing through all  the collectable things like signs, number plates, anything that looked old.  He was in his element, the boys just wanted NBA stores and Nike Shops, anything that sold Basketball gear was a hit for them.  Walking along one of the old piers tho Kenyon decided to go for a bit of a run on top of the gutter to chase the seagulls away and came a cropper and smacked into the ground, blood everywhere, screaming his head off, so embarassed and man was he angry, he was ready to hit me, I wasn't even allowed to look at him let alone help him. The ground was so dirty with fish guts and crap so i was freaking out about germs n stuff until a lovely lady came up to him and tried to help him but he even told her off.  Poor little fella was not happy.   Anyway he got over it and got happy again eventually.  After hours of walking and spending we jumped back in car and decided to make our way over to the Golden Gate bridge, it was easier than we thought to find.  Driving around the bay was stunning, such amazing  views.  San Francisco definitely is a very pretty city. Coming up on the bridge you get the picture just how big it is, its this massive red structure most of the time totally covered in the fog that sits in the bay.  Normally you just get to see the highest peaks poking out but today we were very lucky, it was still foggy and murky but we had amazing views of the bridge.  Went to some pretty cool vantage points and had lots of picture opportunities.  I must say that the boys were already sick of the camera lol  but tough, i'm their mum and I was the boss and I was not going to stop taking photos of these kids on American soil.  Got back to the room quite late and we were all exhausted.  The kids decided togo for a swim and me n dad just chilled.  Early night again tho let me tell you.  ALCATRAZ tomorrow.

SAN FRANCISCO BOUND

Well we were on our way to San Fran that much we knew but where we were staying well we had no idea lol,  but hey I had travelled for the last 16 weeks in pretty much the same fashion so I knew we were going to be fine.  I hope lol.  This drive was so long and so boring, just miles and miles and miles of dead straight roads with nothing to see but grass, extremely flat land and fields and fields of orange groves.  The kids were going nuts in the car, I was starting to lose it, time for music I think or it could have been murder in the the back and beyond of the american landscape. No one and I mean no one would find you out here.  The closer we got to San Francisco they more panicky I got abut where we were staying.  All I can say is thank god for the iPhone.
We found a cosy place about 20 mins from downtown San Fran complete with massive heated pool and about 2 mins drive from a WAL MART.  OMG WalMart is just as crazy as you see it portrayed on facie.   Talk about the land of the freaks.  The kids were in awe and just walking round gobsmacked lol.  They wanted to buy everything they could find that was different or things that their friends had told them about.  We came home with purple corn chips, pickle flavoured pringles, lollies upon lollies, Hershey this Hershey that, cool-aid, you name it we had it.
Cause we arrived so late we just chilled, had an early night and readied our selves for exploring san Francisco in the morning.

TIME TO SEE MY BABIES :)

The day I thought would never come has come and i'm hanging for 10am to get here.  I make my way out to LAX pretty early, much earlier than I needed to be there but I couldn't wait any longer at the stupid motel room.  I get to LAX and I wait and I wait and I wait then all of a sudden I catch a glimpse of Kenyon first, he was so shy next second Kora and Caelan come into view.  OMG I can't explain the emotions. It was amazing seeing them and my dad after so long.  I couldn't stop cuddling them even just touching them.  They were so sick of me 5 minutes after arriving cause I was soo annoying, but i would catch them staring at me when I wasn't looking.  I'm guessing they found it hard to believe that they were actually seeing me to after so long.  They were also so excited to finally be in America, i'm guessing that was probably the biggest thing on their mind, not seeing me.  well after the first 5 minutes anyway.  I think one of the first questions was "Where are the basketball and Nike shops and where can we get chilli dogs, chilli fries and an upsized coke" lol, thanks boys ;)
Its a really weird feeing, hard to describe but all i can say was that i'm happy I have my babies with me now.  Off to pick up the hire car and then drop their luggage off at the hotel before taking off for Santa Monica, food, beach and shopping.  They absolutely loved the beach, they couldn't wait to get into the water. They went nuts, but i guess they had been cooped up in a place for the lat 17 hour so were in desperate need to stretch their legs.  We found our way up to the pier and then they found the Chilli fries and they were into them.  They liked but don't know if they were 100% convinced. We look around the rides and the little shops lining the Pier then make our way up to the shops and they are sniffing out the Nike Shop, I hadn't seen it but apparently it was around there somewhere.  they were right we found it and they were gone.  Lucky it wasn't that big a shop or else they would have been lost forever.  Trying to convince them to not buy anything just yet was soo hard, talk about grumpy jet lagged little boys lol.   Anyways time to get back to the hotel and workout what we were going to do for the night and plan out trip to San Francisco.  Get back and kids are hungry again and we decided to head back into Santa Monica Pier for the famous Bubba Gump's.  OMG this food is nuts.  The boys ordered buckets of shrimp.  I had no idea it was going to be so large and i had no idea they would eat it all.  These kids are in their elements and Im now thanking God that we don't live in America.     They would be in trouble - weight wise.  Waiting for our food and dad stars stressing that he's dropped his phone between where we parked the car and the Pier so me and Kenyon take off for a little phone finding expedition and low n behold the phone is found inside the car.  Never mind dad was happy and all was good.  No more stressing.  After eating my babies are exhausted, its been a pretty huge 24 hours for them so we make our way back to the car, on the way seeing a man with the biggest snake and 3 beautiful parrots, the kids couldn't even stop they just wanted bed, pillows and sleep.  We got to the car and within minutes all 3 were out of it.  Sleeping little angels, all with the remnant of Bubba Gump Shrimp sauce all over them, their clothes were a disgrace even though they were given bibs, lol.  Back i the room, sleeping arrangement were made and somehow they all wanted to sleep net to me, awwww I think they really have missed me.  Feeling blessed that night I can tell you.

IM BACK ...................

Hey its been a while since i've been on here and thought it was about time I finished my 2012 travel blog before my 2013 adventure's begins.  I left you guys as I left Madonna - WOW!!!!!  That is still a major highlight of my 2012 adventure.

But my trip was about to take on a whole new meaning.  I was on my way to LA and my babies were on their way to meet me there.  You have no idea how excited I was.  I was jumping out of my skin.  I arrive at LAX and make my way to my hotel.  Settle in then yes you know it I take off for my all important exploration of a new city.  I made my way by bus to Santa Monica Pier.  The bus ride was an experience let me tell you, a little scary at times, but all good.  I get off at what I thought was as good spot and close to the pier but as it turns out it was 15 min walk to get there but hey you know me, I was so used to walking, I mean thats all I had pretty much been doing for the last 4 months. I get to in view of the Pier and wow this place is awesome, just like in the million movies its appeared in.  The beach is massive. Takes a good 5 mins to walk from the road to the water at low tide but simply stunning and so so hot.  I couldn't wait to hit the water, It had been like 7 days since i had seen the ocean and man had I missed it.  It didn't disappoint either, so nice to be back in the ocean, to hear the waves crashing.  Bliss!!!!!  I hung around the beach walking under the Santa Monica Pier then went up top to have a look.  This place is crazy, who would have thought that you could put all this on a pier.  It was a crazy busy place to, so many people.  I had my first serve of chilli fries and yer they weren't bad.  I spend about 3 hours just walking and taking in the scenery before deciding that i better head back to my room and have an early one cause tomorrow is going to be nuts, I cant wait to hug my babies, it has been 107 days since i've hugged them , kissed them and just had them with me.  They have been the most amazing 107 days of my life but also the hardest.