The plane flight turned out to be the easy part. We had soon got all the bags, kids, nappies and so forth securely on the plane, and were encamped in the bassinet row (the one up the very front under the movie screen). This was surprisingly roomy, which meant that the kids, particularly Timothy, could scrabble around on the floor when it suited them. However that would be later, as Timothy fell asleep soon after take-off, and Joshua was happy to sit and eat the meal that was soon served. Emily was quite happy in her bassinet, and so the fligt to Auckland passed fairly smoothly. We had a couple of hours there, and so we were soon wandering around the transit lounge looking at shops. Things took a rather dramatic turn when we found that Timothy had wandered off while we weren't looking, and wasn't to be seen anywhere. After a moment or two of panic, we found him in the arms of a security officer, as he had attempted to go through Customs and enter New Zealand. Naturally he wasn't too unhappy about it all, and so we were soon happily settled in the Qantas lounge for a little while. This is quite a nice lounge, and one in which the assembled business types didn't seem to mind a few quiet kids. Then it was back on the plane, and once more Timothy fell asleep soon after take-off. We had thought that as it was now rather late in the day, there was a good chance that the kids would settle down, but Joshua sat up and enjoyed the movie that was being shown, and showed no obvious sign of slowing down. Eventually he nodded off, but it had taken some time.
After what had seemed too long a time but too little sleep, we finally landed at Los Angeles. Hence we packed up the kids and bags and all the other clobber, and waddled off towards the terminal. Soon we were reunited with our enormous pile of luggage, and headed out into the heat. We found a taxi (just) big enough for us and our luggage, and were soon speeding down a freeway towards our hotel. This was about an hour's drive, which meant that the kids slept a lot of the way. The heat was not extreme by Australian standards, but coming out of the Melbourne winter via the plane trip made it a bit of a shock. When we arrived at the hotel, it turned out that our room wasn't ready, when all we wanted to do was to have a rest! In the end it turned out that we went for a swim in the pool, which was almost as good. Soon enough we were in our room, and able to relax. It didn't take Joshua very long to find the Disney channel on the TV! After some food and a chance to wind down, we settled in for what was a very settled night's sleep, despite the noise of the fireworks from Disneyland just over the road ....
The next morning was a bit of a wake-up call. We had all had a good sleep, and it was another sunny day. We headed downstairs to breakfast full of ideas about what to do at Disneyland, only to find both Joshua and Timothy throwing up at the breakfast table. There wasn't much for it but to return upstairs and to see what would happen over the course of the day. They both were soon asleep, which was probably the best thing for them, after the flight and excitement of the previous day (and, for that matter, the previous couple of weeks). Hence we soon had a couple of boys sound asleep, and so James went out in search of some fruit, bread and soft drink, a staple diet for those whose innards are awry. It was soon clear that Anaheim is an outer suburb of Los Angeles with a theme park or two thrown in. There were plenty of convenience stores, hotels, restaurants and the like, as well as more than its share of hotels. After finding a a farm selling fresh fruit, and making several other discoveries on foot, it was clear that pedestrians were not exactly in the majority, except perhaps for those walking from the hotel to Disneyland. The boys were asleep for most of the morning, but were seemingly a lot better for th rest. Given that we were not far away (the Matterhorn ride peeps over the fence just over the road from our hotel), and that they would have to get up and do something at some point, we decided to head off to the land of Mickey Mouse, and see how things went. Once the boys were up and dressed, they were hardly in a mood to disagree ...
Soon we were in the hotel shuttle bus, and lining up in the ticket queue. This latter experience was hardly likely to be the last such one today! Once in, our first venture was to hop on the train which runs around the place, just to get a bit of a view of what was available. Timothy, the train fanatic of the family, was very happy with this of course, but a little less so when we hopped off at Mickey's Toon Town (which was also the bit closest to our hotel!). Joshua was quite happy with this, though, and was charging around Goofy's house, and the Chip 'n' Dale's house and various other such establishments. There soon followed a ride on Its a Small World, and some other bits of Fantasyland. It was a warm and sunny day, and there were lots and lots of people there, which made it a little difficult to contemplate the most popular rides. That still left plenty of other options, though, and there was hardly a bad choice to be made. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was worth the queue, and just the sight of the pirate ship and the paddlesteamer was something to behold. The re-creation of a New Orleans street was also a pleasant sight, although we had a bit of a struggle on our hands to persuade the kids that eating at the restaurants was not a good idea after the episode that morning. On James's advice (who had had a brief visit here eight years previously), Linda and Joshua eventually decided to queue up for Splash Mountain, which by this time was about 80 minutes long. It was certainly a long wait, but the look on their faces in the photo just as the car goes whooshing down the final slope certainly showed that it was worth it. After lingering in the area for dinner, and being captivated by a gorgeous summer evening, we headed off to the main parade. This was composed of characters from Mulan, which Joshua had seen, and hence he was able to identify all the characters. Even if that wasn't the case, the spectacle was well worth it, with lots of light, colour and dragons. There was still plenty to see, and we wandered off to Tomorrowland, which seemed to be the busiest place once the sun went down. The display on future technology was quite interesting, although Joshua and Timothy only seemed interested in playing games. We wandered down to Main Street, which was still very busy, and got hold of a few bits and pieces, including a light-sabre for Joshua, who proceeded to have a mock swordfight with some total stranger. We didn't have the heart to tell him that it was just torch with som coloured plastic on top. Disneyland is certainly over the top, and anyone who hasn't been there would probably find it hard to believe, but it does have a certain magic, supported by a very efficient support team and a seemingly endless eye for detail and energy for doing things on a large scale. We went home tired, but somewhat surprised at the boys' energy level after what had happened in the morning. Somehow, we felt we would be back ...
The next day we headed off to Universal Studios. This was a little more complicated, as it involved a bus trip to the other side of LA, and hence it would be more difficult to back out if there was any problem with the kids. However, both seemed fine, and so we headed off on the bus. This was another rather LA experience, spending about an hour on freeways, whilst listening to a bizarre commentary from the driver, who pointed out the casinos and racetracks on the way, as well as places where gangs would fight and what the names of the local high-rise buildings. He was only trying to be helpful, but it was something we could have done without. Once there, on another beautiful day, we were soon zipping around the place. It had a different feel to Disneyland, not the least because it was situated on a hill overlooking the San Fernando Valley, rather than the pancake-like topography of Anaheim. One thing that the bus driver had said was to base our visit around the shows that we could see, rather than the rides, and this turned out to be true. The kids had a special set of stickers to collect, in order to get a prize, which meant that we had to sort out the places where they could be obtained before doing much else. We had also been lucky enough to do a survey as we went in which meant that we got to jump the queue for the trolley studio tour. This was quite a lot of fun, especially as Joshua ended up being face-to-face with King Kong! There were lots of things to see, both for the cleverness of the effects involved, and for the snippers of the stories portrayed. Once that was done, we made our way around the various shows, including a very clever one with trained animals. The boys had a great time at the Aqua Zone, which was an incredible collection of fountains and water spouts, which was just perfect on a warm day. We continued on this way, having a wow of a time, taking in the various shows, and finally ended up with the Waterworld show. This turned out to be a spectucular display, with special effects (and water!) galore: underwater jet-skis, big flames on the water, a plane crashing over the walls, people diving 30-40 feet and disappearing, etc. It had a great effect on Joshua, who still talks about it, and it really did feel like bein an extra in a high-tech movie. It was also the last act of our day before re-boarding the bus, and having a (thankfully quiet) drive back to the hotel, and a very good night's sleep.
It had been quite a beginning, and so the next day, a Sunday, seemed like a good day to take things easy. We had told Joshua that he could choose between another day at Universal Studios and another day at Disneyland, but that today would not be the day to go to either! Hence, we felt that having a day by the pool was the thing to do, and so we didn't do too much other than swim and sunbathe. As it happens, this turned out to be the calm before the storm ...
After a relaxing day, we settled in for the night. However, in the middle of it, Timothy awoke, and was quite sick and upset. He was also quite warm, which wasn't a good sign. Then, in the morning, Joshua was sick as well, which was hardly welcome. Hence, it seemed that we had to get the kids to a doctor, which was complicated by the fact that James was due to drive up to Claremont for a couple of days worth of academic visiting. Hence, we got the kids settled, and sorted out what we could do about doctors and so forth. In the end, James drove off up to Harvey Mudd College for the day, while Linda and the kids had a tour of the local medical centre. It turned out that Timothy had a middle-ear infection (caused, perhaps, by falling into the spa at one point), whilst Joshua had a virus. This took a fair amount of red tape, waiting and general messing around, but eventually it was all sorted out. Naturally that was more than enough on the agenda for one day, and so all were eventually back in our room and settling down again.
The following day proved to be a bit of a challenge. Linda and the kids were due to go to SeaWorld down in San Diego on the Monday, which we postponed for obvious reasons. The boys seemed to be a lot better after their day of rest, and hence the trip was on, although with the obvious caveat that if something happened, then it would be hard to back out. However, all seemed to go smoothly, and so James once more headed off on the freeways up to Claremont while Linda, Joshua, Timothy and Emily headed off on a bus in the opposite direction. The day turned out to be profitably spent by all, which was a lot better than the projection had been about 24 hours previously!
After all that, Joshua was then left with the choice of which place to re-visit. He choose Disneyland without much hesitation, which did seem to be the right choice. Hence, after having a good rest, we were once again heading off to the Magic Kingdom. Our previous experience was re-inforced on this visit, particularly as we once again went on Its a Small World, by special request, and then proceeded to explore several other options in Fantasyland. The same crowded carnival atmostphere prevailed, although it was very tempting to say that if there was ever to be a next time, then maybe a winter visit would be more tolerable! Joshua seemed to have a better idea of what he wanted, which included a ride on a rocket ship or two, and a boat trip which went around the models used in various movies, such as Aladdin and Mulan. Timothy was really excited about Casey Junior's Circus Train, and just about anything resembling something similar! We all scrambled up into Tarzan's Treehouse (which used to belong to the Swiss Family Robinson, but that is showbiz), which was quite enjoyable. The boys also had a great time on Tom Sawyer's Island, which is a place reached by a raft on which there is a treehouse, climbing trails, a pontoon bridge and plenty of caves. It is the kind of artless place that is far removed from Splash Mountain or Star Tours, but it seemed clear tha this would remain in the memory for longer. It was again warm, and it was again easy to feel that sense of escape into a place of enjoyment. We lingered at a restaurant for dinner, but afterwards Linda wasn't feeling too well, and hence headed back to the hotel with Emily. This meant that the boys and James had some extra time to wander around Tomorrowland, and then somehow find a place in the enormous crowd lined up to watch the sound and light show. This was an extraordinary production, which included images projected onto water sprays, fireworks, fires, bits of old movies, a pirate ship fully laden with lost boys, pirates, Peter Pan and Captain Hook, and a paddlesteamer with a cast of thousands. Naturally one Michael J. Mouse was in the centre of things, but it seemed to sum up what Disneyland was all about: special effects, expensive reproductions, imaginative displays and an enormous number of people in costumes. Timothy had fallen asleep, and hence missed it all, but Joshua was riveted. Afterwards, as we were once more strolling around, we found a few more nice little corners, and managed to find some appropriate postcards before we too headed back to the hotel and got ready for the next little phase of the trip.
This next phase was to head northwards to the San Francisco Bay area. The plan was to drive up via the coast road, and to take in the sights. Hence after some fiddling around to find a car able to take Emily's seat (we jumped at the chance of getting a Toyota Camry because it was a car model that we actually recognised!), we packed up our stuff, but had to leave two suitcases behind! Then it was off and out of the LA smog and traffic, and up to Santa Barbara. LA is not small, but it is hard to appreciate exactly how big until you have to drive across it! The drive itself was pleasant enough, with plenty of hills right on the coast and lots of beaches. Before too long we had found our way to Lawrence Cavedon's place, where we had a good long chat. Lawrence has been away from RMIT for almost a year now, and was able to tell us lots about Californian life. It was pretty clear that Santa Barbara is a very nice place if what you are after is the Californian dream, with accessible beaches, a nice-sized town and plenty of money in the area. We chatted for a while and then went for a walk along the pier, where the boys had some fun zipping around in their usual crazy way. After the size of LA, this was a pleasant encounter with life on a more human scale.
Eventually we took our leave of Lawrence, and headed further up the coast. After quite a bit of driving, we ended up in a place known as San Luis Obispo for the night. The place where we stayed was notable for being prepared to boil water in order to make a cup of tea, a rarity in the USA! Then it was on further up the coast towards our goal. It was quite a spectacular drive, with lots and lots of windy roads around hills right on the coast. We also stopped at a spot to view some sea lions, who were sunning themselves on a beach. In some ways the drive resembled the Great Ocean Road, but the hills were rougher and higher, and the road itself is significantly longer. We stopped for a break in a little place cut out of the side of a hill, and while we were there, a couple of sweaty-looking cyclists came in. Talk about game! It was great to see some of the Calfornian countryside, and there was a lot of awe-inspiring scenery. After quite a drive, we eventually made our way to Sunnyvale, and after a couple of wrong turns, we found ourselves at Mark & Juliet Davoren's place. Their son, Ian, is now 18 months old, and hence the boys soon had made a new friends. Naturally there was a lot to catch up on, and we spent a lot of the time catching up on news. Eventually we all headed off to bed, feeling quite relaxed. Timothy gave us a bit of a scare by being sick in the middle of the night, but he soon settled down again, and seemed to show no ill effects afterwards.
That weekend was one that was quite refreshing. On the Saturday, Mark and Juliet had to go to a wedding, and hence Ian had a morning running around with his new playmates (who were more than happy to instruct him in the finer points of getting the most out of his toy collection) before having a sleep and heading over to a neighbour's place. The only problem was that he slept a lot longer than anticipated for some reason! Soon he was over there, as arranged, and we quite enjoyed being in a real house and not in a car. Ian came home and was soon settled in his bed, despite the attention of his new playmates. On the Sunday, after all had had a relaxing morning (or, at least as relaxing as it can be with three young enthusiastic boys zipping around), we headed off to the aquarium at Monterey. This is a favourite spot of Mark and Juliet's and they were quite happy to show us around. There was a lot to see, and it seemed that an afternoon would not be enough to do it justice. Tinothy was fascinated by the handling pool, where it was possible to touch various sea creatures, particularly as it was just the right height for him. Joshua was more keen on the individual exhibits of varieties of fish and coral and the like, and was always telling us about something new that he had discovered. There were some questions to answer at various points, and, true to form, he was happy to run around and find answers for them. Eventually we had our fill of the museum, and decamped to a nearby park via a delicatessen, and were soon having a picnic tea in a park not far from a playground. All three boys had fun on that, but it seemed that our two were fascinated by the old steam engine the most --- Timothy just to stand on it and say "Train!" to all and sundry, while Joshua hooked up with some older boys who were keen on circumnavigating the engine without setting foot on the ground. All he has to do now is eat a few more bananas, and ...
The next few days were a little more prosaic. Mark and Juliet were off to work, of course, and James went off for a couple of days at SRI International, followed by some time at Stanford. Linda and the children had a relaxing day at home on the Monday, but then proceeded to head off to San Francisco on the Tuesday, and in particular to the zoo. It was notable for some things which were not at the Melbourne Zoo, such as rhinos, although the significance of this was probably lost on Emily! The kids were getting on really well by now, and it was notbable how different it was to be staying with some old friends in a place where there was another child, compared to the relative sterility of a hotel room. One of the best examples of this was on Wednesday, when Juliet, Ian, Linda, James, Joshua, Timothy and Emily trooped off to the Exploratorium in San Jose. James headed off to Stanford shortly afterwards, but the others enjoyed a great day of climbing on fire engines, doing all sorts of things with bubbles, pushing beads around on a board, and generally pushing, pulling and belting things. It was all really well designed, and the kids just loved it. It made a lot of their toys look unimaginative! That night, Mark & Juliet had another international visitor arriving (Charlotte from the UK), which made it a rather international household, and it no doubt seemed to be a case of "it never rains but it pours" for our hosts.
On the Thursday, perhaps because of the crowding, we all seemed to go our separate ways --- Mark & Juliet to work, of course, Charlotte to do some sightseeing and the Harland mob headed off for a day in San Francisco. This was well worth doing, if only to experience the famous fog, which was well in abundance. We had a look at Pier 39, where the most interesting thing was probably the seal colony (who moved here shortly after, and perhaps because of, the 1989 earthquake). The bay itself was well worth seeing, and Alcatraz was notable, to say the least. We also went for a drive around the city, and stumbled onto one of the more extreme streets, being one which drops away from the front of the car in so steep a manner that it disappears (briefly) below the bonnet and has the front-seat passenger loudly and energetically questioning the quality of the brakes. Joshua, of course, thought it was great fun, and Timothy made it clear what he thought with an extended "Wheee!". It would have been a little less anxious if the road didn't lead to the bay and there weren't signs instructing drivers to park with their wheels at 45 degrees to the kerb ...
Having survived such a gravity-inspired test of nerves, we then headed across the Golden Gate and, after admiring the views of the bay, headed out into the hills on the north side. It was surprising to find that there was such an expanse of unspoiled countryside so close to such a major city, with rolling hills and some very dense forests. We had a wonderful tour around a few such places, including one with an array of letterboxes that had to be seen to be believed. It was clear that there was a lot more to see around here, and that this was only a sample. Then we headed back along the peninsula to Sunnyvale, having had quite a day.
We were soon coming to the end of our stay in this part of the world, and it was hard to believe that a week had passed by. There would be plenty of memories, including Ian, Joshua and Timothy playing basketball (with the first two attempting three-point shots from "way downtown" while Timothy decided just to slam dunk), Juliet reading a Katie Morag story to Joshua in a genuine Highlands accent and Mark and Emily eyeing each other off. Naturally the house would be a lot more quiet once we left! (and it seems that is not an uncommon phenomenon). On the morning we were due to leave, Juliet, Ian, Charlotte, Linda, James, Joshua, Timothy and Emily set off for a round of putt-putt, or mini-golf. Whatever it is called, it was very amusing, and all seemed to enjoy it, although the youngest three would be hard-pressed to get an invitation to the Royal and Ancient. This, with its international cast (not an American in sight!), seemed to be an appropriate way to conclude our visit, and soon afterwards we were packed up in the car and heading south again. There is much to like in this part of the world, and we couldn't have had better hosts. This would take some topping ...
Hence we commenced our journey back to southern California. Our main constraint was to get a flight from LA on the Saturday, and so we would have to stay overnight on the way somewhere, having decided that it was too far to drive in one day. We also went inland, having already driven up the coast road and having an interest in getting there quickly. It was soon apparent that there is a vast variety of landscape in California, and that the coast is a lot different to the inland part. Here it was flat and dusty, and with a lot less traffic. We made fairly good time, and has zipped to Bakerfield by the time we stopped for tea. We then thought that perhaps we would aim to get a little further south before stopping for the night, and hence kept heading on. When we got towards the outskirts of LA, we then began to search for a place to stay. It only became apparent later that we had struck the area around Magic Mountain (yet another theme park) on a Friday night in August, which was presumably the reason why we were having trouble. After several fruitless attempts, we decided to keep going into LA, hoping that our prospects would improve. It was getting rather late by this time, which didn't help matters too much. Getting a little desparate, we headed for LA airport, thinking that if there was anywhere which was open and not full, it would be there. However, it seemed that just about everywhere was full. We were beginning to think that we had probably run out of moves when we happened to spot a hotel called Barnaby's, which had a vacancy, and hence we pounced. This turned out to be, of all things, an old English-style hotel, with lots of polished wood, an elegant lobby, and a garden courtyard. It was not exactly typical of California, but it was tasteful, and, far more importantly, we were able to get a room there. Hence, after doing a drive in one day that we thought would take two, especially as we left around lunchtime, we were eventually within striking distance of the airport. Thus we finally crawled into bed for what was a badly earned but badly needed rest.
Having thus done a midnight tour of hotels in LA, our task the following day seemed to be a lot simpler. We only had to collect the luggage we had left at the hotel in Anaheim, return the hire car and get to the airport for a flight leaving at 3.00pm. Hence, James was soon off and driving once more across freeways (a very typical LA experience, it seemed!) to collect the couple of suitcases we needed to re-unify our veritable wagonload. Once this was done, it seemed relatively simple to pack up and go, with Linda and the kids going on the hotel shuttle, and James with the remaining luggage in the car. The only snag was to find the right place to return the car, which turned out to be rather less trivial than we imagined. The car return place was not exactly at the airport, and resembled a giant processing plant. There was a huge number of cars to be returned, processed, and then their passengers and baggage disgorged into buses for the trip back to the airport itself. This process took some time, but finally we and all our baggage were re-united, and we went through the seemingly tortuous process of checking in. Eventually we were on the plane, and on our way to New York. That is quite tale in itself, and will have to wait for the next despatch.
James Harland (jah at cs dot rmit dot edu dot au)