Did some Tiki touring around the countryside of Sedona this morning before hitching up with our pre-booked Pink Jeep Tour - an off road 4X4 trip on the Broken Arrow Trail into the heart of the red rocks. Apparently this is the "must do" activity in Sedona. We had a really exhilarating, bumpy ride up and down some pretty steep bits of rock and dirt roads for about two hours, which was really, really cool fun. The kids got to sit right at the back of our chauffer driven Pink Jeep, so they got the best rollercoaster ride of all. Our [View Full Entry]

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Alarm woke us up at 5.45am this morning so that we could get to the Grand Canyon rim early enough to see the sunrise. Great plan, except that the clouds were pretty thick on the horizon and the view again wasn't at it's best. We were however extaordinarily lucky to see what we did tho' because upon returning after breakfast the clouds had dropped lower and we had our first real rain on our holiday - excellent timing (not!). We wandered thru the various musuems and viewpoints as well as the historic Bright Angel Lodge built in the late 1800's but [View Full Entry]

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Left Las Vegas late this morning and headed thru the desert again towards the Grand Canyon, approx 4.5 hrs driving time. Stopped along the way at the majestic Hoover Dam for a guided tour thru the power plant which was really worthwhile. This took us way down deep into the area where the huge water intake tunnels were and then to see some of the 17 turbines in action. Having seen a tv documentary a few years ago on the construction of the dam, it was even more interesting. Carried on along the 4 lane highway at an average of 80 [View Full Entry]

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Another morning by the pool watching the helicopters buzz past every minute or so on their standard tour of the strip. There must be thousands of these trips per week!! Decided to spend the day shopping at one of the Outlet Malls and hopefully find a sporting shop somewhere. Found one thanks to the directions given by hotel staff and had a great day out. I don't know how much cheaper some of the stuff was, but we managed to bag a few bargains and now have enough shoes for two caterpillars... Ate a home cooked dinner in our apartment for [View Full Entry]

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Had a lovely relaxing morning beside the pool to wind down and catch some UV's. Kid's really enjoyed themselves and it was well earned. Later we headed out to explore the rest of the hotels on the Strip and what they each had to offer. First one, Excalhibur (A Medieval theme). Ashleigh & Jordan wanted to do the Spongebob 4D ride that is advertised everywhere. As it cost $10 each, Steve and I sat outside and held our breathes until they emerged - both were very disappointed and said, "it sucked". Oh well, win some, lose some... Next New York New [View Full Entry]

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Sadly it's time to leave and continue our journey on towards Las Vegas today. Loaded the car to the max (thank goodness we got a big one!) and hit the highways again. Tried to locate the Ontario Mills Outlet Mall which should have been on our way but somehow missed it (bugger) and before long we're out in the desolate, barren countryside that is inland California. Drove on a 6 lane plus highway an average of 80 miles per hour all the way - plenty of cops out and about and generally the drivers are good. Tons and tons and tons [View Full Entry]

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Our last day at "The Happiest Place on Earth". Gates opened at 10am today thank goodness so we could sleep in a bit. Had assumed that because it was Monday, the crowds would be less than the weekend, and it would be a good day to go - but I think everyone else had the same idea 'cos man, it was BUSY!!! And it was drizzling slightly - I thought people stayed away in the rain (Nope!). Had a plan to revist all the favourites at least once then do some shopping, so we headed straight for Space Mountain - ooops, [View Full Entry]

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Far out - we’ve been away two weeks already!!!!! Today we’ve decided to tackle the LA Highways again and head to Universal Studios which is approx one hour north in moderate traffic or three hours when it’s busy. Turned out to be a wise decision to go today as the traffic on a Sunday morning wasn’t too bad and we made it without any stops or dramas. At one point we counted 7 lanes per direction and some of the spaghetti junctions are phenomenal!!!! Steve's really getting the hang of this and absolutely loves his car - pity we can't bring [View Full Entry]

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Started the day with a Character Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. This treat was an unexpected bonus with our Qantas package, otherwise we would not have bothered. The Disneyland Hotel has the reputation as being THE place to stay, and the price reflects this. As far as I could tell from our very brief look around, the only benefit would be it’s proximity to Disneyland - it appeared neither opulent nor overly special to us. But the breakfast selection was extensive & yummy - you name it, they had it - even Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. It was [View Full Entry]

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Headed straight to California Adventure today - the newest of the Disney Theme Parks. First “ride” - Soaring over California; a very unique ride which has you belted into seats which raises you off the ground and tips you over a giant screen as if you are on a hang glider whizzing over the beautiful spots in California - very cool! Made our way around the park in a more orderly fashion this time to save the feet - and before long we reach the ride from hell (in my opinion). One of those ones that you sit down and get [View Full Entry]

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