Up in the morning and off to see the Santa Cruz sights. We were the only ones on the board walk which was weird you could walk around the whole thing, right up to all the rides etc but not a soul around. They have set up a history walk complete with billboards of information and photos of the history of the board walk so that was great....
Off in the car heading for our next stop to Monteray, to the aquarium and cannery row.
Well we once again scene hopped our way there as it was just so beautiful. We saw whale spouts and so had to keep stopping to try to get photos of all the whales. We were following the same migration path as the grey whales so it was awesome to watch them move along the coast with us. We had to keep stopping to see the sea colonies as well as the amazing beaches and views dotted along a sometimes rugged coast.
We had a hilarious moment where we came across some road works that had caused one lane to close. They put a pilot vehicle in front of you that you have to follow if you are the lead vehicle. We were second in line so followed a car full of foreigners of Asian origin behind the vehicle with a sign on it that read.... please follow me.... (Honestly you are not allowed to think for yourself), well we clearly got to the other side of the road works and the pilot vehicle turned off to the left to turn around to lead the opposite line of traffic.... Well the car in front of us followed the lead vehicle off the road into the turn around area... It was hilarious, the stop go lady was wetting herself laughing.... We drove on but didn't get to see how they sorted that one as it woud have taken a few manouveres to sort this out.
Anyway, onwards to Monteray to the aquarium which was great. It was really well done and the jellyfish display was my favorite. It was a really interactive experience and the kids loved being able to touch and experience things.
Off down cannery row which was really interesting and we found another bubba gump shrimp company so decided to have lunch there.... (As it was so good in San Fran) .... We ate some very yummy seafood before heading off toward Cambria.
Once again we vista stopped our way there and had to stop to take photos of the sunset...just so different to a sunrise! Then into Cambria in the dark.... Thank goodness for GPS.
Cambria was a small little sea town with a boardwalk running along the cliff top overlooking the beach. Our hotel was cute and quite quaint with a fireplace in the room. We had a swimming pool and spa so had a swim then some gourmet pizza for tea.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Rock
The Rock
We were up and packed then a massive trolley load of bags stuffed into storage for the day while we ventured off to Alcatraz. The kids loved the saying "if you break the rules you go to jail, if you break the jail rules you go to Alcatraz" and kept repeating that for days. The tour was amazing and it is such beautiful Island with such a chequered history. The Audio tour was absolutely amazing and it makes for a pretty quiet and eerie experience as no one is really talking they are all listening intently to their head sets. We are so glad we came over and did this and the views from the island were incredible.
Upon return to the mainland we went to pick up our fill size vehicle from hertz only to have to grade to an SUV as our bags didn't fit. Yikes! Thank goodness for Koru club and their bag allowance!
We excited the city on the coast road headed for Santa Cruz for our first stop. What an amazing trip, very beautiful coast road, very similar to home and so amazing to follow the sea. We had to stop at so many vista points along the way .... Which is hilarious as just about everyone on that stretch of road will be driving along then just zip off when they see a great view.
We got into Santa Cruz just after dark and found our hotel which is perched on the cliff top above the sea with an awesome view of the bay, board walk and the famous pier. We dumped the bags in the room and went downstairs to enjoy wine and cheese and meet some people.....we found out that shock, horror the board walk is closed at this time of the year and only opens on weekends.... I was gutted! I was so looking forward to this famous board walk where they filmed lost boys etc.
We walked around a bit that night then played pirate mini golf which was fab .... Love how they theme everything here....cannons were going off, pirates popping up out of no where, talking monkey's, waterfalls, ships and pirate paraphanalia everywhere... off to bed with the sound of the sea .... Magic. A great day.
We were up and packed then a massive trolley load of bags stuffed into storage for the day while we ventured off to Alcatraz. The kids loved the saying "if you break the rules you go to jail, if you break the jail rules you go to Alcatraz" and kept repeating that for days. The tour was amazing and it is such beautiful Island with such a chequered history. The Audio tour was absolutely amazing and it makes for a pretty quiet and eerie experience as no one is really talking they are all listening intently to their head sets. We are so glad we came over and did this and the views from the island were incredible.
Upon return to the mainland we went to pick up our fill size vehicle from hertz only to have to grade to an SUV as our bags didn't fit. Yikes! Thank goodness for Koru club and their bag allowance!
We excited the city on the coast road headed for Santa Cruz for our first stop. What an amazing trip, very beautiful coast road, very similar to home and so amazing to follow the sea. We had to stop at so many vista points along the way .... Which is hilarious as just about everyone on that stretch of road will be driving along then just zip off when they see a great view.
We got into Santa Cruz just after dark and found our hotel which is perched on the cliff top above the sea with an awesome view of the bay, board walk and the famous pier. We dumped the bags in the room and went downstairs to enjoy wine and cheese and meet some people.....we found out that shock, horror the board walk is closed at this time of the year and only opens on weekends.... I was gutted! I was so looking forward to this famous board walk where they filmed lost boys etc.
We walked around a bit that night then played pirate mini golf which was fab .... Love how they theme everything here....cannons were going off, pirates popping up out of no where, talking monkey's, waterfalls, ships and pirate paraphanalia everywhere... off to bed with the sound of the sea .... Magic. A great day.
Monday, January 3, 2011
San Fran
San Francisco here we come
Well after getting up and digging Lisas car out (Sophs was the best digger) then trying to pack all our Xmas pressies etc it was in to the car and off we go to San Fran. It was snowing quite hard when we left and there was quite a deep layer of snow to get through so it was a bit of a slow climb up and out of the Sierras then down into the flats of Sacramento. As soon as we started descending the snow disappeared from the surroundings quite abruptly which was odd. It was hilarious to watch the cars going by with a foot of snow on the roof of their cars and seeing how long the could travel for before the snow fell off....... We saw cars with snow on right through to Sacramento. Once we hit Sac we stopped for some TacoBell. We are giving many of the fast food restaurants we have heard of a bit of a try.... There is no way we will be going back to taco bell.it was pretty bland Mexican and not worth the stop. Bring on another whole foods I say!!!! We decided we needed to rest to give the kids a bit of a break and knew we were in the vicinity of the jelly belly factory so we decided to detour to see this.
OMG so did the rest of the country... We lined up for over an hour to go on the tour..... (Once we were there, there was a bit of umming and ahhing (by Aaron and I) as to wether we should wait but the kids were determined .... so we did).... The line was longer than any at Disneyland!
The tour was awesome we got to see how jelly beans were made and got to sample a fair share of them too.... The tour was free which was probably why there was such a queue and Sophs was adamant afterwards that it was well worth the wait so yip we are glad we did it.... (Aaron officially doesn't like jelly belly's and would prefer a nz jelly bean anyday. They do have some crazy flavones though.... Even peas and carrots... Yip! (I didn't try the dog food flavored one as I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not!.... Because peas and carrots tasted strangely like peas and carrots... Just sweeter).
We finally arrived in San Fran... Too late to drop the rental off out by where we were staying so had to negotiate a trip into town which was interesting although we Happened to run into an awesome Indian restaurant which ended up being buffet and obviously a local favorite and a very lucky find... So we ate that (it was delicious and really authentic), then negotiated the bus system to get back to Fishermans wharf where we were staying.
Day One- Over the golden gate bridge on a bicycle built for two
The weather was perfect today so after a stroll down to Fishermans wharf and then the most delicious breakfast at the Boudin sourdough factory (which smells divine) it was off over the golden gate bridge on bicycles for us. Aaron and Sophs rode a tandem bike (which according to Aaron had its pros and cons!!!.... Big cons on hills!). It was great to get out in the open spaces where they had grass!!!! First grass we had seen for weeks! It was an awesome ride.... The bridge was hard to negotiate as it was crowded with people from one end to the other ... But awesome views etc. Once across we biked down some big hills to Salsilito a quaint little fishing village and the end point for the hundreds of bike tourists like ourselves....the bike company give you a return ferry ticket (just in case you decide to ferry back), which I would say 95 percent of the hirees utilize to get home....it was hilarious they cram about 150 bikes into the bottom floor of the ferry the. The passengers up top. It was a great ferry trip back past Alcatraz and views across the Bay and of the bridge so really glad we ferried back (as over my dead body was I planning to bike back up the hills we came down!)
We had yummy dinner on Fishermans Wharf at a crab bar where the seafood was divine and I ate a famous sourdough bread bowl filled with chowder. we also heard San Fran will be hosting the next Americas Cup which is pretty exciting as if it is held in the Bay the viewing would be fantastic from so many vantage points.
Day Two - New Years Eve
We planned to go to Alcatraz today but it was already booked up until Sunday .... (Who would have thought prison would be so popular!). The day was a bit overcast and cooler so we decided to head into golden gate park to have a look around and go to the famous science and discovery centre. We discovered how spoilt we are in NZ with our parks and museums and places like Kelly Taltons, Butterfly Creek and The Auckland Museum as this was a little bit of each of these places all pulled together in one venue. It was well done and well presented but just not on the scale we are used to. They had a bit of a focus/theme around the environment and sustainability but they feel like they are years behind where we are. The kids got to see an albino alligator, an anaconda, a black widow and some sea dragons which they wouldn't see at home so that was cool. On our way home we stopped at a great pub on the beach that looked over Alcatraz and had some lunch before going to Ghirardelli square and the famous chocolate shop. We meandered back through the cannery which is not much and very different to what I remembered. We wandered down Fishermans Wharf for New Years Eve but didn't last long past 11.00 (and only one cocktail......unheard of!!!!). We heard the fire works from our room which would have been amazing as they went on for about 15 Loud minutes.... The ball dropping on Times Square in New York was great to watch live.... And without crowds!!!!
Day Three - New years day and a day of rest .....for some!!!!
Today was a designated shopping day so after a quick whizz through China Town (just to say we had done it).... (Sophs wanted to know why they had a China town and no NZ town....) oh the explaining one needs to do! We then started shopping and it became apparent very early on that the kids weren't up to it and that they wanted/needed a day to vege out.... This suited Aaron and I perfectly, so I spent the day shopping (the time just flew...I needed more!!!!), while the kids relaxed and did washing, reading and hanging out.
Day Fore - The 49 ers
Today was game day so we sussed out a plan of how to get to the game and headed off via tram, train and bus to watch a live San Fransisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick Park. I still have absolutely no idea what happened... why or how but it was fascinating to watch and fun to eat the typical game good on offer. The food and drinks are really expensive at the game a slice of pizza $7.25 USD and beer $9.00 which was really surprising but maybe a great initiative to counteract obesity! who knows.... We got out of there pretty quickly and easily and managed to get an express bus home with no stops (so it was fast too). We went to a famous diner from the 50's for dinner in downtown SF which was pretty cool as we had all been dying to go to a Happy Days diner for a wee while..... It was a massive big salad each for Aaron and I as we have been craving some greenery for a few days as we are yet to find a whole foods here or even a supermarket..... Rather strange really. we got to pick songs from our table on the Juke Box which was fun and the kids got to try a root beer float (very Archie and Veronica or Joanie and Cachi, or the Fonz if you prefer....)
Tomorrow is Alcatraz and then off to Santz Cruz, we are very excited about Santa Cruz. The cheap and cheerful motel I booked the other day on the Internet sent an email to say they would be closed tomorrow night but they would put us up for the same price in what I have since discovered is a much flasher hotel right on the seaside.... With wine and cheese complimentary from 5 pm...... Woot woot..... Bring it on!!!!
Well after getting up and digging Lisas car out (Sophs was the best digger) then trying to pack all our Xmas pressies etc it was in to the car and off we go to San Fran. It was snowing quite hard when we left and there was quite a deep layer of snow to get through so it was a bit of a slow climb up and out of the Sierras then down into the flats of Sacramento. As soon as we started descending the snow disappeared from the surroundings quite abruptly which was odd. It was hilarious to watch the cars going by with a foot of snow on the roof of their cars and seeing how long the could travel for before the snow fell off....... We saw cars with snow on right through to Sacramento. Once we hit Sac we stopped for some TacoBell. We are giving many of the fast food restaurants we have heard of a bit of a try.... There is no way we will be going back to taco bell.it was pretty bland Mexican and not worth the stop. Bring on another whole foods I say!!!! We decided we needed to rest to give the kids a bit of a break and knew we were in the vicinity of the jelly belly factory so we decided to detour to see this.
OMG so did the rest of the country... We lined up for over an hour to go on the tour..... (Once we were there, there was a bit of umming and ahhing (by Aaron and I) as to wether we should wait but the kids were determined .... so we did).... The line was longer than any at Disneyland!
The tour was awesome we got to see how jelly beans were made and got to sample a fair share of them too.... The tour was free which was probably why there was such a queue and Sophs was adamant afterwards that it was well worth the wait so yip we are glad we did it.... (Aaron officially doesn't like jelly belly's and would prefer a nz jelly bean anyday. They do have some crazy flavones though.... Even peas and carrots... Yip! (I didn't try the dog food flavored one as I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not!.... Because peas and carrots tasted strangely like peas and carrots... Just sweeter).
We finally arrived in San Fran... Too late to drop the rental off out by where we were staying so had to negotiate a trip into town which was interesting although we Happened to run into an awesome Indian restaurant which ended up being buffet and obviously a local favorite and a very lucky find... So we ate that (it was delicious and really authentic), then negotiated the bus system to get back to Fishermans wharf where we were staying.
Day One- Over the golden gate bridge on a bicycle built for two
The weather was perfect today so after a stroll down to Fishermans wharf and then the most delicious breakfast at the Boudin sourdough factory (which smells divine) it was off over the golden gate bridge on bicycles for us. Aaron and Sophs rode a tandem bike (which according to Aaron had its pros and cons!!!.... Big cons on hills!). It was great to get out in the open spaces where they had grass!!!! First grass we had seen for weeks! It was an awesome ride.... The bridge was hard to negotiate as it was crowded with people from one end to the other ... But awesome views etc. Once across we biked down some big hills to Salsilito a quaint little fishing village and the end point for the hundreds of bike tourists like ourselves....the bike company give you a return ferry ticket (just in case you decide to ferry back), which I would say 95 percent of the hirees utilize to get home....it was hilarious they cram about 150 bikes into the bottom floor of the ferry the. The passengers up top. It was a great ferry trip back past Alcatraz and views across the Bay and of the bridge so really glad we ferried back (as over my dead body was I planning to bike back up the hills we came down!)
We had yummy dinner on Fishermans Wharf at a crab bar where the seafood was divine and I ate a famous sourdough bread bowl filled with chowder. we also heard San Fran will be hosting the next Americas Cup which is pretty exciting as if it is held in the Bay the viewing would be fantastic from so many vantage points.
Day Two - New Years Eve
We planned to go to Alcatraz today but it was already booked up until Sunday .... (Who would have thought prison would be so popular!). The day was a bit overcast and cooler so we decided to head into golden gate park to have a look around and go to the famous science and discovery centre. We discovered how spoilt we are in NZ with our parks and museums and places like Kelly Taltons, Butterfly Creek and The Auckland Museum as this was a little bit of each of these places all pulled together in one venue. It was well done and well presented but just not on the scale we are used to. They had a bit of a focus/theme around the environment and sustainability but they feel like they are years behind where we are. The kids got to see an albino alligator, an anaconda, a black widow and some sea dragons which they wouldn't see at home so that was cool. On our way home we stopped at a great pub on the beach that looked over Alcatraz and had some lunch before going to Ghirardelli square and the famous chocolate shop. We meandered back through the cannery which is not much and very different to what I remembered. We wandered down Fishermans Wharf for New Years Eve but didn't last long past 11.00 (and only one cocktail......unheard of!!!!). We heard the fire works from our room which would have been amazing as they went on for about 15 Loud minutes.... The ball dropping on Times Square in New York was great to watch live.... And without crowds!!!!
Day Three - New years day and a day of rest .....for some!!!!
Today was a designated shopping day so after a quick whizz through China Town (just to say we had done it).... (Sophs wanted to know why they had a China town and no NZ town....) oh the explaining one needs to do! We then started shopping and it became apparent very early on that the kids weren't up to it and that they wanted/needed a day to vege out.... This suited Aaron and I perfectly, so I spent the day shopping (the time just flew...I needed more!!!!), while the kids relaxed and did washing, reading and hanging out.
Day Fore - The 49 ers
Today was game day so we sussed out a plan of how to get to the game and headed off via tram, train and bus to watch a live San Fransisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick Park. I still have absolutely no idea what happened... why or how but it was fascinating to watch and fun to eat the typical game good on offer. The food and drinks are really expensive at the game a slice of pizza $7.25 USD and beer $9.00 which was really surprising but maybe a great initiative to counteract obesity! who knows.... We got out of there pretty quickly and easily and managed to get an express bus home with no stops (so it was fast too). We went to a famous diner from the 50's for dinner in downtown SF which was pretty cool as we had all been dying to go to a Happy Days diner for a wee while..... It was a massive big salad each for Aaron and I as we have been craving some greenery for a few days as we are yet to find a whole foods here or even a supermarket..... Rather strange really. we got to pick songs from our table on the Juke Box which was fun and the kids got to try a root beer float (very Archie and Veronica or Joanie and Cachi, or the Fonz if you prefer....)
Tomorrow is Alcatraz and then off to Santz Cruz, we are very excited about Santa Cruz. The cheap and cheerful motel I booked the other day on the Internet sent an email to say they would be closed tomorrow night but they would put us up for the same price in what I have since discovered is a much flasher hotel right on the seaside.... With wine and cheese complimentary from 5 pm...... Woot woot..... Bring it on!!!!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Bluebird conditions and some amazing powder
Up at the crack of dawn to follow Johns recommendation to ski Alpine ski resort.
WOW..... Unbelievable.... The day was perfect .... blue skis, no wind, sun, NO FOG, absolutely perfect. The snow was as powdery as you could ever get it due to the fresh dumping the night before. The staff were saying how busy they were and how crowded the mountain was but they obviously have never been to Ruapehu in the school holidays. The ski resort was ginormous with about 10 different lifts and too many runs to cover in one day.
Sophs signed up to an all day ski camp and was off with a GPS strapped to her leg to join the other "labradors" for her all day experience. Lisa went off on an all day learn to snowboard session and Quinlan and Aaron set off withJohn thereto soak up all the advice and learnings they could. I found a great coffee cart then decided to hit the bunny runs. Well by the end of the day we had all been all over the mountain right to the top with the most magnificent views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierras I had advanced myself to intermediate runs.... (albeit a bit slowly)but the conditions made skiing so easy compared with in NZ. The resort was so set up... No big lines for food or fights for seating there was more than enough for everyone.... The food was pretty decent the place was awesome. Sophs had lunch with her fellow ski campers (in fact we didn't see her all day). When I went to pick her up at the end of the day the instructor said she had improved so much that tomorrow she could be a "golden retriever" (intermediate skier), and that she was hilarious and entertained him all day. (So much easier than us trying to teach her as now she loves skiing).
We met in the bar at the end of the day to debrief and have a nice coldbeer. Then we made the slow crawl back to Truckee (traffic was crazy, with people coming for all the different ski resorts back to town), for another fabulous dinner cooked for us by John and everyone (but me) asleep by 7.45 pm.
So glad we came here.... and so glad we did come in winter.
I am keen to go to Royal Gorge tomorrow (where I lived and worked when I came over here) and look around Truckee as it is our last day here before we head to San Francisco....
WOW..... Unbelievable.... The day was perfect .... blue skis, no wind, sun, NO FOG, absolutely perfect. The snow was as powdery as you could ever get it due to the fresh dumping the night before. The staff were saying how busy they were and how crowded the mountain was but they obviously have never been to Ruapehu in the school holidays. The ski resort was ginormous with about 10 different lifts and too many runs to cover in one day.
Sophs signed up to an all day ski camp and was off with a GPS strapped to her leg to join the other "labradors" for her all day experience. Lisa went off on an all day learn to snowboard session and Quinlan and Aaron set off withJohn thereto soak up all the advice and learnings they could. I found a great coffee cart then decided to hit the bunny runs. Well by the end of the day we had all been all over the mountain right to the top with the most magnificent views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierras I had advanced myself to intermediate runs.... (albeit a bit slowly)but the conditions made skiing so easy compared with in NZ. The resort was so set up... No big lines for food or fights for seating there was more than enough for everyone.... The food was pretty decent the place was awesome. Sophs had lunch with her fellow ski campers (in fact we didn't see her all day). When I went to pick her up at the end of the day the instructor said she had improved so much that tomorrow she could be a "golden retriever" (intermediate skier), and that she was hilarious and entertained him all day. (So much easier than us trying to teach her as now she loves skiing).
We met in the bar at the end of the day to debrief and have a nice coldbeer. Then we made the slow crawl back to Truckee (traffic was crazy, with people coming for all the different ski resorts back to town), for another fabulous dinner cooked for us by John and everyone (but me) asleep by 7.45 pm.
So glad we came here.... and so glad we did come in winter.
I am keen to go to Royal Gorge tomorrow (where I lived and worked when I came over here) and look around Truckee as it is our last day here before we head to San Francisco....
More fog! I mean really?????
We woke up and waited round for our friend Lisa and her partner John to arrive from Tuscon in Arizona. It was so great to see Lisa again and meet John and introduce him to the Knapgoes circus!
John and Lisa wanted to cook some dinner for us and as it was snowing we decided to for go a ski and go sightseeing around the Lake and have some lunch on the lakefront! then brave the supermarket again.
What is it with us and fog!!!! Once again we couldn't see the Lake with all the fog but we found a great place to eat and then went down to the lake front to "dip our fingers in". A small snow fight ensued and then we were off to do more sightseeing at some of the great ski resorts. John (we found out) had local knowledge as an ex pro skier so.... Wow.... we had some great experience/knowledge at our finger tips.
After another nightmare attempt at the supermarket.... Thank goodness they have star bucks in them.... We came home to a delicious meal, some yummy vino and beer and a planning session for the next day skiing.
John and Lisa wanted to cook some dinner for us and as it was snowing we decided to for go a ski and go sightseeing around the Lake and have some lunch on the lakefront! then brave the supermarket again.
What is it with us and fog!!!! Once again we couldn't see the Lake with all the fog but we found a great place to eat and then went down to the lake front to "dip our fingers in". A small snow fight ensued and then we were off to do more sightseeing at some of the great ski resorts. John (we found out) had local knowledge as an ex pro skier so.... Wow.... we had some great experience/knowledge at our finger tips.
After another nightmare attempt at the supermarket.... Thank goodness they have star bucks in them.... We came home to a delicious meal, some yummy vino and beer and a planning session for the next day skiing.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Dreaming of a White Xmas
Well the airport was uneventful.... Not long delays that we were warned to expect... Although the security was very tight.... Shoes off.... Anything that could beep off, scarves, bags etc...even Manky cat all through the scanner and once again I get my bag taken away because I had something suspicious/not permitted in it..... This time it was the hairspray... I guess that's pretty lethal.... It certainly can hurt when you spray it in your eyes so fair call on that one..... Still can't get over the danger posed by sunscreen though I mean how suspicious is sunscreen on a trip to Fiji!!!!
Anyway, we arrived and were pleasantly surprised at how mild it is. We had layers of jackets etc ready To go as they had 15 feet of snow dumped over the last week but it is such a crisp cold that it's not damp and chilly so you feel quite warm.
Thankfully the mid sized SUV (don't ask what it stands for.... Sophs did and we don't know!) is huge with 3 rows of seats so one row was put down to make room for the baggage and away we went heading to Truckee.
It is as cute and quaint as I remember and the condo we have is awesome.... Very cute and woodsy.... Very ski chalet like with amazing heating... We had to keep opening the doors as it got too hot last night and we couldn't turn the heater down (until we worked out the batteries had died in the control box) ....
The kids played in the snow and then we made a very weird looking snow angel that sort of looks like a budha crossed with the fairy godmother.... very artsy really.... Grapes for eyes and a dried apricot for a mouth.
We braved the local supermarket (Xmas eve madness)and then called home (NZ) as it was Xmas day.
The kids excitedly put out stockings (they don't do Santa sacks here) a Reeses peanut buttercup and some milk for the man the red suit then went to bed.
6.30am we were woken by two little monkeys who had been told they could wake us up at that time (thanks Aaron...who thought they would never wake that early)to see if Santa had been.... Well after all that excitement and kafuffle it was out in the snow to play while mum had a rest (insomnia catching up with me).... Then off to ski for the afternoon.... What fun...
We went to a smallish ski resort call Boreal which was a great starting place and everyone had turns skiing and Sophs had a lesson then it started to snow so we really did get a white Xmas... Hope we can leave the house tomorrow!!!!! it's still snowing.
Quinlan started to feel a bit sick in the afternoon (which we think was dehydration) when we got home to get ready to go out for dinner he started vomiting so we ended up tucking him up and having Thai takeaways.... and watching (would you believe it) ...... the Titanic (except the rude bits)..... so the kids had an awesome Xmas and thankfully Sophs loved skiing so wahoo we have 4 more days here and our friend Lisa and her partner arrive tomorrow to stay with us so that should be awesome.
Anyway, we arrived and were pleasantly surprised at how mild it is. We had layers of jackets etc ready To go as they had 15 feet of snow dumped over the last week but it is such a crisp cold that it's not damp and chilly so you feel quite warm.
Thankfully the mid sized SUV (don't ask what it stands for.... Sophs did and we don't know!) is huge with 3 rows of seats so one row was put down to make room for the baggage and away we went heading to Truckee.
It is as cute and quaint as I remember and the condo we have is awesome.... Very cute and woodsy.... Very ski chalet like with amazing heating... We had to keep opening the doors as it got too hot last night and we couldn't turn the heater down (until we worked out the batteries had died in the control box) ....
The kids played in the snow and then we made a very weird looking snow angel that sort of looks like a budha crossed with the fairy godmother.... very artsy really.... Grapes for eyes and a dried apricot for a mouth.
We braved the local supermarket (Xmas eve madness)and then called home (NZ) as it was Xmas day.
The kids excitedly put out stockings (they don't do Santa sacks here) a Reeses peanut buttercup and some milk for the man the red suit then went to bed.
6.30am we were woken by two little monkeys who had been told they could wake us up at that time (thanks Aaron...who thought they would never wake that early)to see if Santa had been.... Well after all that excitement and kafuffle it was out in the snow to play while mum had a rest (insomnia catching up with me).... Then off to ski for the afternoon.... What fun...
We went to a smallish ski resort call Boreal which was a great starting place and everyone had turns skiing and Sophs had a lesson then it started to snow so we really did get a white Xmas... Hope we can leave the house tomorrow!!!!! it's still snowing.
Quinlan started to feel a bit sick in the afternoon (which we think was dehydration) when we got home to get ready to go out for dinner he started vomiting so we ended up tucking him up and having Thai takeaways.... and watching (would you believe it) ...... the Titanic (except the rude bits)..... so the kids had an awesome Xmas and thankfully Sophs loved skiing so wahoo we have 4 more days here and our friend Lisa and her partner arrive tomorrow to stay with us so that should be awesome.
Viva Las Vegas
Well we came, we saw, we shopped and we still have the house!!! Being that Aaron and I are hopeless at gambling as we both hate to lose we didn't give Vegas very much of our Money through the slots or tables.... Although shopping...well that's another story.
The shops were open til midnight because of Xmas so we were totally able to take full advantage of that.... As well as that we rented a car one day to get us out to some of the stores we really wanted to go to such as REI and Bass pro.... Both fishing/outdoors type shops .. Also squeezed in some craft shops but the big winner had to be a sports store that we ended up at that kitted us all up with ski and snow gear for Tahoe. We all got snow shoes, socks then various gloves, pants, jackets.... So cheap. The shoes I wear running that I pay close to $250 at home for were on sale for $70 usd. I am considering a second pair. Baggage then became an issue as to date we had the kids wheeling a bag each and Aaron and I wheeling two but we need our extra empty one we took over so it meant a bit of juggling trying to jam everything in for our final internal flight..... At least we have a rental car from now on in so we don't need to worry about lugging to taxi's etc....had to bin a favorite pair of boots of mine ...oh dear... And a cat/pet carrier of Sophie's but we couldn't ditch any of the soft toys.... Yet! We did try to find a post shop to mail stuff home but there wasn't one on the strip.
The casinos in Vegas were awesome and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around looking at all the sights... It would take up to two hours to get through one casino and there were loads of them... We didn't like the lions being kept in the MGM it just wasn't right but that was a great casino.... Famous night clubs such as (for all you Woman's Day readers) Pure (Lindsay Lohan fave), Studio 54, Rouge, Tao........ So photos out front of those .... Having children put stop to actual entry... although Sophs was keen as a bean to dance somewhere.....anywhere.
It rained almost every day while were in Vegas which was strange as they say they only get about 5 days of rain a year so they are not really set up for it... Although every casino is indoors anyway.
We didn't make it to another show even though we had the best of intentions ... The kids were too tired as the shows were mostly at night... Sophs and I really wanted to go to the nut cracker but couldn't get tickets and because of the rain tickets were selling out for all the shows.
We instead went to the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor which was amazing! Quinlan is really into the Titanic anyway but they both loved it.... You are given a boarding pass at the beginning of an actual passenger and you find out their class etc.... Then at the very end you find out the fate of that passenger.... The exhibition has heaps of recovered artifacts from the wreck as well as a huge piece of the side of the ship and a replica staircase "the staircase", as well as each of the classes cabins, promenade deck, an iceberg!!!!! Amazing!!!!!of course Soph's wanted to be Rose and Quinlan, Jack, and they kept referring to the movie throughout the exhibition .... But what could you say!
Anyway we packed up and left Vegas very happy... And not broke.... On Xmas eve
The shops were open til midnight because of Xmas so we were totally able to take full advantage of that.... As well as that we rented a car one day to get us out to some of the stores we really wanted to go to such as REI and Bass pro.... Both fishing/outdoors type shops .. Also squeezed in some craft shops but the big winner had to be a sports store that we ended up at that kitted us all up with ski and snow gear for Tahoe. We all got snow shoes, socks then various gloves, pants, jackets.... So cheap. The shoes I wear running that I pay close to $250 at home for were on sale for $70 usd. I am considering a second pair. Baggage then became an issue as to date we had the kids wheeling a bag each and Aaron and I wheeling two but we need our extra empty one we took over so it meant a bit of juggling trying to jam everything in for our final internal flight..... At least we have a rental car from now on in so we don't need to worry about lugging to taxi's etc....had to bin a favorite pair of boots of mine ...oh dear... And a cat/pet carrier of Sophie's but we couldn't ditch any of the soft toys.... Yet! We did try to find a post shop to mail stuff home but there wasn't one on the strip.
The casinos in Vegas were awesome and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around looking at all the sights... It would take up to two hours to get through one casino and there were loads of them... We didn't like the lions being kept in the MGM it just wasn't right but that was a great casino.... Famous night clubs such as (for all you Woman's Day readers) Pure (Lindsay Lohan fave), Studio 54, Rouge, Tao........ So photos out front of those .... Having children put stop to actual entry... although Sophs was keen as a bean to dance somewhere.....anywhere.
It rained almost every day while were in Vegas which was strange as they say they only get about 5 days of rain a year so they are not really set up for it... Although every casino is indoors anyway.
We didn't make it to another show even though we had the best of intentions ... The kids were too tired as the shows were mostly at night... Sophs and I really wanted to go to the nut cracker but couldn't get tickets and because of the rain tickets were selling out for all the shows.
We instead went to the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor which was amazing! Quinlan is really into the Titanic anyway but they both loved it.... You are given a boarding pass at the beginning of an actual passenger and you find out their class etc.... Then at the very end you find out the fate of that passenger.... The exhibition has heaps of recovered artifacts from the wreck as well as a huge piece of the side of the ship and a replica staircase "the staircase", as well as each of the classes cabins, promenade deck, an iceberg!!!!! Amazing!!!!!of course Soph's wanted to be Rose and Quinlan, Jack, and they kept referring to the movie throughout the exhibition .... But what could you say!
Anyway we packed up and left Vegas very happy... And not broke.... On Xmas eve
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