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Published: August 23rd 2006
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Target Shooting
A little pistol to get me started Greetings one and all!
Sorry it has taken a while to email, but what can i say... time flies when you are having fun.
Where do i start? Well lets see,
Towoomba - The first leg of our journey consisted of visiting some friends/relos in QLD. The majority of the time there (4 days) was spent drinking XXXX and Bundy + Cola, (not ideal, but when in Rome...), nibbling on Macadamia nuts and mangos, pig shooting and driving around in big ar$e utes. This was kind of a pre holiday adventure. All in all it was alot of fun.
After being on planes/in airport lounges for close to 40 hours straight (Bris-Syd-Auckland-LA-Vancouver) it was good to get to a hotel and get a couple of hours sleep. We spent 2 days snowboarding in Whistler, Canada. I now know, what they mean by 'powder' snow. It sure $hits all over Mt. Buller! That was absolutely awesome, Whistler village was unbelieveable especially at night time with all the christmas lights and snow on the trees and buildings. From there we travelled back to Vancouver where we hired some mountain bikes and rode around Stanley Park and other parts of
The Big Guns
Now give me the real deal the city before we took off for Los Angeles the next morning.
We hired a car and (Baz) drove down to Anaheim which was about an hour and a half away (in peak hour). I navigated the journey. Great team effort considering LA has 26 freeways! It was up there with the winning combination of Maverick and Goose! haha. There were however some minor hiccups which resulted in a lot of horns beeping at us. For example, when we got to Anaheim and had to make a right hand turn, which should have been on the right side of the road, but given there was no one else to follow, and as a habit, we went on the left side. We only realised we were on the wrong side when a couple of cars started flashing their lights at us from a distance. We laughted about it later that night, but it was quite a frightening experience.
The next day we went to Disneyland, which is an amazing place, and the rides were absolutely awesome. After lunch we ventured off to California Adventure Park where the rides were 10 times better. 'The Hollywood Tower' and 'California Screaming' were
Where's the Pigs?
Pup looks keener than us to hunt some pig the highlights... gut wrenching stuff!
The next day we drove to Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and other nearby attractions. This section is amazing, however there is an abundance of homeless people on the sidewalks begging for money. Had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp on Santa Monica Pier. Wow! One of the best meals i've had for a while (until i got to San Fran).
The next day was spent at Universal Studios which was once again a fun filled day of rides and shows. Great stuff also. After that we drove around and saw Mullholland Drive, The 'Hollywood' sign, Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard. Went to this classy restaurant for dinner called 'Hooters' (haha). The food was very appetising, as were the waitresses! Drove along Rodeo Drive and back through Santa Monica where we eventually headed up the west coast of the states. We made it to Santa Barbara that night and crashed at some cheap hotel. Most of the hotels are pretty stock standard (2 beds, a bathroom, tv and coffee facilities).
Got up the next morning and made our way up the coast again on route to San Francisco. We stopped at Santa Cruz this time. This place is amazing. We dumped our gear at another hotel and went out for dinner at an Irish Pub. Two hours later, and half a dozen pints of the local, we decided that we should kick on. We tried a few different pubs/clubs but eventually found something to our liking. Anyone ever head an Irish Car Bomb? Try one next time you are at an Irish pub... It's lethal. Baz was toasted, and displaying, for the attentive audience, some of the dance moves that resembled an aerobics Oz style class. He was doing push ups and star jumps on stage (by himself), while that remainder of the room just watched in amazement. (You could hear them say - 'who are these two clowns'). Apparently I wasn't much better, but this is my version of events. I also managed to split my arm open on the way home, after tripping over and hitting a brick wall. All in all it was a classic night, one to remeber, but did end up costing us US$150. Ouch!
After we had breakfast (we took full advantage of the continental breakfast) we had a look around Santa Cruz. They were hosting some coldwater surfing event which was quite interesting and the waves were huge. Most rides would last for 20 -30 seconds. CT you would have had a ball with the long board! Further up the coast we stopped at Mavericks (Big Wave Beach), but it was quite messy and rough. The west coast is a very scenic drive and the 9 or so hours that it took us to get from LA to San Fran seemed like about an hour drive. It is similar to the Great Ocean Road (albeit a lot more spectacular). On one side there are huge cliffs and the other, is the Ocean with huge swells. I would highly recomend this to anyone.
Eventually got to San Fran later that day where we have had a look at the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, the cable cars, Fishermans Wharf etc. When down at Fishermans Wharf, there are heaps of fresh fish stalls. People just buy whole crabs for lunch/dinner as often as Gav would buy a coffee from Westfield. We thought we would sample the goods, and i'd have to say that was possibly one of the best meals i have ever had! It cost $US11 for a whole crab - and they were pretty big!
Just kicking back for the next couple of days before we head off to Vegas.
Anyway i hope the Xmas party went well and that everyone had a good time. Nicole, I'm sorry i couldn't answer your 4.30am phone call.
Would love to hear from you all.
Nick
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