This part of our Excellent Adventure is being written three months after the event. Therefore, we have very strong memories of all of the good things – and some of the bad – that happened during our holiday.

We have developed all of our photos – numbering 937 – and have cut these down to a manageable 600. The best of these  – 100 – we have placed into a photo frame booklet that Carla found at Rabbit Photo. All of these have been collated into date order and have explanations on the reverse side.

We have been in touch with Ray Margaret via post card and Christmas card, and will be seeing Julie, Alannah and Hayden tomorrow night for coffee in Melbourne.  We have also sent Christmas cards to some of those we became close to during the trip.

A special thanks to Karen at Traveland in Southland, whose expertise and experience helped to make out trip so memorable.

After timely consideration our highlights were:

Russ- Rocky Mountaineer Train Experience, Butchart Gardens, Banff, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon Helicopter Ride, Star Trek Experience at Las Vegas, and Waimea Canyon at Kauai.

Carla- Butchart Gardens, Banff, Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience at Las Vegas, Universal Studios Tour in Los Angeles, and just being in Hawaii.

Whilst we were in the International Waiting Lounge we were called up and advised that our seat allocation had been changed to 48 D E. Thank you to James.

Soon after we took off we crossed the International Date Line, which in effect meant that our Sunday was three hours long.  We slept a majority of the time in the air in the plane which had a full complement of people – luckily, the ride was smooth. We were very impressed with Qantas staff in comparison with other airlines we had traveled with.

Our plane arrived on time in Sydney, and the transfer went smoothly. Our plane for the Melbourne leg was on its first leg of its journey to England, via Africa. We cleared customs in Melbourne without any hassles, and boy! Were we glad to be home.

After we picked up the car at Delta, we came straight home to Bentleigh East and arrived at 11.30am.

We woke up very leisurely, and then decided it was time to get up. Russ bought me breakfast in bed as I had done the same for him yesterday.  We repacked our bags very neatly, then went to refill the car with petrol before returning it to Alamo. Every man and his dog had the same idea and on the way back to the airport, all spent time rubber-necking at the accident – slight – outside the Coco Palms Hotel. We all waited for our turn to get the car into the return side at the Alamo, then had to wait for the second shuttle back to the airport, as the first one was promptly filled.

We managed to change our evening ticket for late morning, and the plane to Honolulu was chockers. Honolulu was in sunshine, and the day was beautiful. It was a shame we had to spend it at the airports.

When we realized that Canadian Airlines would not open until late afternoon/early evening, we decided to put the big luggage into storage. We paid $1.50 US to lock it, and thought that was reasonable. However, when we went to retrieve it at 5.30pm, we had to pay another $4.50. What a rip-off!!!!!!

We thought we had seats 48 B C for Russ’ legs but the guy at the counter, James, said we didn’t.  He did try to change our seats but Qantas wasn’t open either, so he managed 58 B K, which means we will be separated in the plane. At least Russ will have leg room. Nearly home, but what a long, boring day it has been. I ache!

I am amazed at the chooks that just walk around everywhere – roosters, and chicks as well. The traffic even stops just so they can safely cross the road.

Russ is driving very well and has got the hang of the left hand drive on the right hand side of the road. He has only turned the wipers on 6 times instead of the blinkers, which are on the left hand side of the steering wheel.

We took our time getting up this morning, and then went to Hilo Hattie’s Store, which is genuine Hawaiian, and the best we have seen. I bought my dress – long, cotton, printed – and we got a canvas tote bag for free, as well as being greeted as we entered the shop, by Rosie, who presented us with a lei of shells each.

We then went back to Kapaa to the Coconut Market place, and Russ bought his shirt. He also found some Kauai Rain perfume which is exquisite, and I bought some. You could say it is a bonus souvenir. We tried a pina colada smoothie each, and Russ got a small pizza for lunch. Australians could earn a small fortune making pizza in Hawaii – there’s leaves a lot to be desired.

This afternoon we intend to vege out completely in preparation for our flight home tomorrow night, and this evening we are going to watch Lethal Weapon 4.  Lethal Weapon 4 was great fun and very entertaining.

Up before the alarm (we are still on LA time) and had a leisurely preparation for our bus tour. Caught the coach in front of the Outrigger Hotel (next to us) after a wonderful breakfast of toast and coffee – 8am. We went to the Opaekaa Falls first for a photo shoot. Part of this area was used in the ranch scene and bush/meadowland for Jurassic Park.  The little village down on the river was used as the African one in “Breakout” (Dustin Hoffman).

Went past the hotel used in “Blue Hawaii” called Coco Palms, which is now closed and privately owned and falling into disrepair – was badly hit by Hurricane Iniki. Also the pond/river area where the marriage barge went.

After the photo shoot we went down the river for our river cruise to see Fern Grotto. Whilst on board the boat we were serenaded by a singing group and two hula girls. Some of their songs sound like serenading coyotes and other are quite beautiful. Nothing special to see along the way, but Fern Grotto was lovely. This is the spot where a lot of people choose to marry. It is a natural amphitheatre and seats for viewing have been built of stone on one side. Very pretty! There are lots of Japanese tourists, who waste time whilst every one gets every one else to take their photos.

We lost two ladies from our party when they went walk about with another group. They rejoined us at lunchtime. After the river cruise we hopped back on the bus and headed to Poipu for lunch at a Chinese restaurant, which did great linguine and seafood. This restaurant is part of the Golf Course where the Hawaiian PGA is staged each year, and the walls are hung with many an autographed photo of the golfers.

We recommenced out tour after lunch and we passed a tunnel of trees which was badly hit by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. We went through the town, which is where most Portuguese people live. The Hawaiians were forced to give up land so that housing could be provided to the first sugar cane workers. However, they named the streets themselves and therefore, you have such names as ‘Two Left Feet Street’, Cross-eyes Street, and Pakalini Road which means “large manhood”. Hawaiians still find this incredibly amusing.

Next we had a quick photo shoot of the Canyon before the Canyon. This is the site of the shortest battle in Hawaiian history – 20 minutes. Most of the army being overwhelmed chose to jump into the Canyon rather than be defeated by a superior force. Over 3000 men were killed in this time frame.

Hanapepe is the town where the majority of people are Japanese, or have Japanese decent. Then at Kekaha we watched as the sugar trucks unloaded into the first stage of the process to make raw sugar. All raw sugar is then shipped to California for refining. The sugar industry in Hawaii is very expensive to run (35 cents a pound in comparison to 4-5 cents from elsewhere in the world). This comes about because the sugar workers here are part of a union – say no more – therefore aren’t exploited like in the third world countries. Most sugar operations have closed down and the few still operating are also in danger of this. The same thing has already happened to the Pineapple industry in Hawaii.

Waimea Canyon was a glimpse to whet the appetite on our way to Kalaheo Lookout. This looks down onto the coastline on the north west side of the island, and we were lucky enough to see it in sunshine and with a rainbow.

Next we stopped at Waimea Canyon. This is very similar in structure to the Grand Canyon, but on a scale where you are able to appreciate the size without being completely overwhelmed. Back in the bus and we headed to the Spouting Horn, which is a lava tube under water, with the opening (landward) side on the rocky foreshore, and is very impressive. The noise reminded us of Old Faithful. Here was also where the market place for jewelry was held, and we picked up a lovely bracelet for Shelley.

It is in this area that the rich and famous live or stay. The beach sand is about 10 feet wide and is in pockets about 30 feet long. A small block of land (not even a quarter acre) on the foreshore costs $400,000 US last week, and the block that sold for $2 million US barely made the quarter acre size. Arnold Schwartsnegger has a holiday house on the west coast of the island, and so does Charro, but she lives in hers.

Back in the bus and we started dropping people off at their pick up points. We detoured to miss the traffic through Lahue and Hanamaululu, and this took us around Nawiliwili Harbour. The sea wall here was featured in the storm scene of Jurassic Park which was actually real footage of Hurricane Iniki in the early stages.

By the time we were dropped off at the Outrigger it was 6pm. As we had had a thorough lunch we didn’t feel like tea straight away. I read my thriller and Russ watched TV. I did eat one of my slip stone peaches.

We ended up eating about 8pm and by 9pm Russ couldn’t stay awake any longer. He went to bed and I waited for the dishwasher to finish its cycle, and I finished my book. Then, I too, went off to La La Land.

I had re-confirmed our flights from Honolulu and Sydney, and we were lucky enough to get our seats – back at 48 B C. Thank God!!  Russ will be able to stretch his legs during our 9 hour flight back to Sydney.  This wonderful holiday is almost over.

We awoke before the alarm next morning and rapidly decided to get up and go. We caught the 7.30 am shuttle back to Honolulu airport and the lady at the desk offered us an earlier flight which we took.

We grabbed a croissant each and a cuppa for breakfast, then headed for the Departure Gate to wait the hour before we left. It was a short 30-minute flight – up then down – but when we got to Lihue airport we found out our luggage would be on the next flight in 30 minutes.

We decided to go pick up our hire car from Alamo and discovered their idea of a compact was our idea of a medium, so we have a really nice 2-door car. We followed directions and went back for our luggage, then headed off to find the Aston Kauai Beach Villas. Their idea of a map doesn’t help much when you don’t know anything. The Aston Kauai Beach Villas are fairly old but the maintenance has been kept up to them and we are beside the beach. The grounds are manicured and look inviting.

We headed off to the shopping village for groceries after we investigated our apartment and dropped off our luggage. We are up a short flight of stairs and have our own balcony. We shopped at Safeway, then made our appointments for 2.00 pm to see the Chiropractor. He is Polynesian and his wife, also a chiropractor, is Danish.

We had lunch and a wonderful cup of our own coffee before heading back to our Chiropractic adjustments. Russ has already confirmed our river trip and canyon trip for tomorrow, and they pick us up at the front office at 8:15 am. After our adjustments we headed for the Drug Store to check out the magnifying glasses for Helen and Libby (only 3.25), then to the Coconut Market to look for souvenirs.

We then headed back to the apartment and while Russ veged out, I did the washing (three loads), put the bought lasagna in the oven, and am writing up this diary then intend to vege out myself. Forgot to mention two things. We were pulled up by the security team on the scanners before we caught the flight to Kauai, for the first time. It was the pewter bear we bought for Dad which had offended the two ladies. Thank heavens we packed the souvenirs into the small bag to carry with us. The second thing worthy of mention, from Russ’ point of view, is the bed. In his opinion it is an emperor’s bed – king size in other words. There is enough space for two more people when we are in it.

Millies for breakfast! I had the pancake sandwich again, but Russ decided to end his stay at Anaheim with French toast.

We collected all our baggage, checked our room for the last time, then headed down stairs to wait for the Super shuttle at 9.25am.  We had a lady driver this time and she was 100% improvement on the last driver. We picked up more Aussies (2 adults, 2 kids) from one of the Disneyland hotels, then a local on her way to Alburqueque. There can’t be many Aussies left at home because they were all in the USA (three more busloads had arrived at our hotel yesterday).

I don’t know if I have previously mentioned the fact that behind the front desk on the wall are four clocks. One of those keeps Sydney time.  Therefore, an awful lot of Aussies use this hotel.

We got to LAX with plenty of time to spare, and ended up chatting with a little boy and his Dad who were on their way home to Victoria, Canada, and had been to Universal Studio Tours. This lad was about six to seven years old, and he did the Jurassic Park ride seven times. Russ and I decided he was our hero!

Next were the Aussies (more of them) – 2 adults, 3 kids – who were on their way home to McKay, Queensland, after a 12 months stint in Canada. Noel is a fireman, and he swapped with a family from Saskatchewan who went to Queensland and stayed at their place for the duration. Each was supported during their stay, by the other’s family.

During the 12 months they flitted to England, USA, and to many other parts of Canada. However, they were ready to go home. The two older girls had picked up Canadian accents and were horrified to find out.

When we arrived at Vancouver we had to clear Customs again (without our luggage – again). Then we wandered the corridors for a while before making our way to the Boarding Gate for the leg to Honolulu. Whilst sitting there we had heaps more conversation with Noel, Sue and the girls, and at 7pm we grabbed some Chinese for tea. Actually tasted nice. The girls loved Emma’ dinosaur.

We were called onto the plane at 7.45pm and left at 8.15pm. We immediately turned our clocks back to 5.15pm Honolulu time, and took a Temazapan so we could sleep. Russ had an aisle seat which helped him as it was on the left hand side of the plane.

We ignored the meal, which was passed around (airplane food can be as tasty as cardboard most times, unless you are in first or business class) and slept for a while. We arrived at Honolulu at 11pm and had to hurry up and wait as we went through USA customs. Lucky we already had our green card from the bus trip, and we passed straight through.

We grabbed a taxi and only said the name of the hotel. The taxi driver, instead of double-checking with us, headed off and we ended up (after 30 minutes) in Waikiki at the Pacific Monarch. We told him it was the wrong place and he checked our booking voucher and took us back (another 25 minutes) to the Pacific Mariner.

Instead of the $5 that Karen had said we would pay, the fare came to $35. Russ asked the driver how he wanted to handle the situation and he said he would take whatever we were prepared to pay. We settled on $20 and by this time we were dying to go to sleep. The Pacific Mariner is the pits, but at least we could sleep in the horizontal position.

Russ was so tired he slept through the noise of the kids crying in the night.  Must be a first for him.  He confirmed our Super shuttle ride for tomorrow.  We had breakfast at Millies.  The Santa Ana winds are blowing this morning and it is somewhat rough and gritty out there.  Breakfast was delicious; we met Ray and Margaret in the lobby at 8.30am and set off for our early morning pass at Disneyland (along with 1500 others). We discovered that this meant that the park opens with the exception of Adventureland and Frontierland and a few of the shops (mostly cateries)

Forced to the sections we were leaving for last we ended up going to see ‘’ Honey I Shrunk The Audience in 3D.  It was well done and I spent most of the time with my legs draped over Russell’s legs after the mice got loose.  I didn’t even watch whilst the snake was checking out the audience as his next meal, but the enlarged dog sneezing on the audience was hilarious all in all a great time had by all.

Ray and Margaret went to do Star tour, which we had already done, so we went to do Indiana Jones, which they had already done.  However, Adventureland and Frontierland didn’t open until 10am and the park was open to all by this time.  Queues were backed up for ages so we decided we didn’t need to hassle ourselves.  Instead, we went to purchase stamps and post our postcards at Disneyland.  We also bought Sun Hats with their names for William and Alyshia.  Met up again with Ray and Margaret who had enjoyed Star tours and we took our time wandering in Adventureland. The queue for Indiana still stretched to far so we all decided to do “The Pirates of the Caribbean”. Great fun and heaps better than we had anticipated. This was a trip through underground caves (a couple of rapids) with pirate fights.

Next we decided to do the ride through Thunder Mountain because the haunted mansion didn’t open until 12.00 noon. We had got half way through the waiting lines after 20 minutes, when they announced an unexpected breakdown in the ride with unknown delays. Most of us chose to leave.

The park must have had Mondayitis because then the paddleboat (Mark Twain) also was not working. Taking a set in the shade we rested for a while then at 11.40 am we walked slowly to wait in line for the Haunted Mansion. We were in the second group to get into the house and we expected a walk with weird happenings.

Instead of which the room we entered was then sealed and became a lift, with Vincent Prices’ voice doing the introduction and narration. We ended up sitting in moving chairs two at a time, and they kept turning around and then leaning back. The holographics were superb especially the ghost that appears in the mirrors sitting between each couple just before the end of the ride.

We headed back to the Mad Hatters store so that Marg could get her grandchildren at hat each, and Russ and I had decided that it was also what we should get for Jacquab. Next we went to the Emporium and collected Stefanie’s Angles, Gary’s back-scratcher, Fiona’s message pad, and Alyshia’s locket. Russ hasn’t found what he wants because he can’t remember what shop it was in.

We collected some McDonalds for Lunch and then the idea was to rest. However, after speaking to Amazon.com and having them confirm the arrival of our books, I spent over an hour riding the elevators and speaking with the lobby staff. According to them they didn’t get our fax asking them to hold the books for us, so sent they sent them back to Amazon.com. United Parcel Service had them signed in for here but a tracer was needed to be put on the parcel from Amazon. Amazon are happy to wait for the parcel to get back to them, but in the mean time they will ship replacement books to us in Australia.

The plan now is to meet up with Ray and Marg at 6.30 in front of the Mad Hatters store and watch the night parade, and then have tea at Millies. Our Super Shuttle has been booked for 9.25 am in the morning.

Back from Disneyland again! Ray and Margaret slept the late afternoon away and finally arrived in front of the Mad Hatters store at 6.28 pm. We got into conversation with one of the girls who works at Disneyland and was on crowd control. She has been working at Disneyland for three years since graduated from College, and described the Disneyland executives as good people to work for.

The night parade was from the movie “Mulan” as was exquisite. The costumes were colourful and superb and the dragons, acrobats and dancers were wonderful. Russ and Ray spent the entire clicking away happily. Just before the parade began Russ had picked up his souvenir of Disneyland, so was quite happy to leave when the parade had finished.

We went straight to Millies for Tea. Russ had Steak and Shrimp (Prawns to us) and I had Mushroom and Chicken Fettuccini. We finished up with Apple pie for Russ and I was more than happy to have the Junior Goblet again. Russ tried Budweiser.

We readied everything the bags and backpacks, put all souvenirs in the new bag and fell into bed.

Had to be up at 7am this morning in order to be ready to catch the bus to Universal Studios. Breakfasted again at Millies and enjoyed it as much as yesterday.  We were down in the lobby at 8.15 and decided that the stamp machines are a rip off.

Got the same coach as Louella and Sylvan and another half a dozen assorted Aussies. We found out that Howard was re-elected with a very narrow margin, and that One Nation had not polled well.

The trip to Universal Studios was a bit longer than usual because of road work on the Freeway. Our driver, Karl, who was an absolute mine of information, got us there by a series of minor roads and extended our pick up time to cover the extra.

Karl took the trouble to point out to us the best way to view the major attractions at Universal Studios, and that we should begin at the bottom level (just like Ray and Margaret had advised)  which most people hadn’t even realized was there. In order to get there we had to rake the escalator down. This escalator is the longest one in the world and is in five stages, and goes down a small mountain or very large hill.

The first ride was Jurassic Park where the signs kept warning “You WILL get Wet”.  Well, we did!! But what a great ride it was. When we started free-falling down the rapids I thought I would be flying head first through the air. That’s when they take your picture, as you’re screaming. Never again!!!!

However, we did pick up Emma’s dinosaur here and I really think she will like it.

Next we were supposed to go to the lot for Backdraft, and dry off, but it was closed for the day. So, wet, we went to the lot of E.T.  In this lot we had to ride bikes in the air and our adventure was to save E.T.’s planet – which of course, we did. Steven Spielberg does the intro for this with E.T. and it is charming.

After E.T. we went Back to the Future. Biff had stolen the new De Lorean and the Doc was locked into his office. Therefore, we needed to ride the experimental De Lorean after Biff, which Doc could pilot from the remote pick up in his office. We had to ram Biff in order to get him home. Much more happened during the ride, and it was almost as good as Star Trek in Las Vegas.

Next came the ride around the back lots and studios on the Tram. This is a guided tour with lots of interest and we were shown how some of the stunts work, and how disasters are stage managed.

It was incredible to see how tiny the shore and the anchorage was in McHale’s Navy, and how the scaled models of the boats were painted in American colours one side and Japanese on the other. Saves money.

We had dried off by this time and as it was after 1pm it was time to eat. We took Karl’s advice and went to the Country Star, and although the food wasn’t bad, it took a long time arriving, and we were not terribly impressed.  We lunched with Louella and Sylvan.

Next we set off for Waterworld but the next performance wasn’t until after 3pm. So we separated from Louella and Sylvan for a while and Russ bought his Jurassic Park singlet. We then watched the Blues Brothers which was good.

We met Louella and Sylvan at Waterworld with a huge crowd waiting to gain entrance. Finally seated, and not in the wet zone, we watched the antics of some of the crew who helped some of the audience get wet before the show started.

As 3.40pm approached the show started. Loosely based on the film of the same name, the special effects and the pyrotechnics were spectacular. The stunts were just great and I am glad we weren’t sitting further around to the right when the aeroplane zoomed over the wall into the water, and directly for the audience. Exhilarating and very well done. (We discovered later that Ray and Margaret had been sitting in that part of the audience when the plane came over the wall, and Ray said he didn’t know how it managed to stop in time, and he thought they were goners.)

It was then time to have a hot fudge cup which Russ and I shared after we had kitted Sylvan out in his new Jurassic Park back pack, reduced to half price, and all his camera bag fitted into it.

Russ and I had our photo taken and fitted in (electronically) to a back drop of Jurassic Park. We had to pretend to scream. That’s my souvenir, instead of buying something from Disneyland.

Time to catch the bus back to the Hotel and to say we were both stuffed is to put it mildly. We got back to the Fairfield Inn at 7pm (long day) and had to walk across to Disneyland and enter (with ID) to validate our tickets. The shortest trip to Disneyland ever!  We had said our goodbyes to Louella and Sylvan when we got off the bus.

Back at the hotel and we met Margaret and Ray in the lobby. They went ahead to Millies and grabbed a table for four and we joined them shortly after.  The roast chicken was not up to the usual standard but the Junior Fudge Goblet and the Sundae Sundae were delicious.

Finally back in our room at 9pm and we had a cup of coffee (no milk available in the hotel shop) before falling into bed and sleeping deeply.

Finally, a real sleep in. We surfaced about 8.30am, spent some time looking up Chiropractors in the book (couldn’t get through to any of them and not worth leaving a message) and went for breakfast at 10.15 at Millies.

Three pancakes, bacon and eggs, and a hazelnut cream coffee later and we were confirming our Universal Studio Tour for next day, leaving at 8.30am in the morning. We have been told it takes 10 hours all up when you include travel to and from.

We were on our way to Disneyland by 11.15am and it was a really interesting experience. Disneyland is a must to do, once in your life time, but it would be fabulous to see it through the eyes of a child.

It is very similar in concept to the Brisbane expo, which means you stand in line and wait a lot to do the rides and entertainments.  The gift shops are very varied and the prices are fairly reasonable. Food, however, and drink, are another thing entirely.

We took our own bottles of water for which we had paid $1.25 for 1.5 litres. In Disneyland they were charging $3.50 for 500mls, and $4.00 for 1 litre.

I look forward to Monday when we will return to pick up our souvenirs and do the rides we liked. Today we did the Star Tour which was based on the Star Wars theme and was very6 similar to the Star Trek one. However, I personally didn’t think it was as good as Star Trek.

We intend to do Indiana Jones, Haunted House and Space Mountain and go for a ride on the Monorail. We were there until 3.30pm and in that time we had walked around the entire complex and taken one ride.

After we returned to our room for a coffee, we decided to rest for awhile. We have been sitting too long in the bus obviously. We read for awhile before Russ fell asleep. I woke him at 5.40pm and we then turned on the TV for the news. At 6.30 Ray rang and we organised to meet them at Millies for tea at 7pm.

Snuck up on them whilst on the way to Millies and scared the daylights out of them. We had Roast Turkey for tea and exchanged the events for the day. Ray advised us to go to the bottom tomorrow at Universal Studios and work our way up, and in this way we should beat most of the crowd.

Bought our postcards at Disneyland and are writing them out for the last time. We have also confirmed our flight out of LAX to Vancouver, then on to Honolulu for Tuesday at lunchtime.  Not much longer now and we will be home and back in the swing of things. It all seems part of a dream.