all good things must come to an end.

Our last day at Maui has been a pretty relaxed one, beach > sun lounge > pool > sun lounge - repeat.
We are both ready to return home and reaquiant ourselves with the hounds, we are sure they will go mental at about 10pm tomorrow night.  They have been spoilt rotten by Therese no doubt so may be in for a shock when the permanent carers return.

We have had a great 4 weeks away and seen some amazing sights and ate some brilliant food. Was great to share the USA with the fam too. New Orleans, the North Shore and Maui have been our fav spots, suffice to say we will be returning to the deep south and Hawaii again.

Before we sign off, here are a few more shots from this brilliant island.
Catch up with you all soon.

PS.  The golf courses are insane over here, a def must do next trip !

Fleetwood Mac for lunch

The weather turned a little squirrelly around lunch so we headed into Lahaina town for a look see.
Well worth the effort, a very old school village hosting a huge range of galleries, eateries and shops. Not to mention the largest banyan tree in the USA, it covers an acre and has 16 stumps.

We had a top time and indulged in some Hawaiian shaved ice ( basically the very best slushie you can imagine) & stumbled upon a restaurant owned by Mick Fleetwood and run by a chef off Hells kitchen, the food and drinks were brilliant. Mel being a huge fan was very much in her zone. They had a great organic German beer called Pinkus that has stayed true to a receipe from 1832, so I was catered for as well.

Unfortunately our volcano bike ride has been impacted by the the us gov shutdown, so we will just have to make do here. Will be tough.

maui

First off, Maui is magnificent, such a relaxed and beautiful place. Our hotel is on the beach and our balcony is about 10 metres to the sand.

We have only been here half a day but we feel well settled in. This blog is being dated on a sun lounge under a frangipani tree looking across the the ocean at the neighboring islands (see above). Its a tough gig but someone has to do it.

Plans for today are to rotate between the pool , bar, and beach at regular intervals.  Will touch base again when we get sick of that.

aloha !!!!!

Well, its been two days since we arrived in Hawaii, we have been pretty busy to be honest and looking fwd to lying on the beach tomorrow.

We landed on Thursday and settled in pretty quickly at the Waikiki Hilton. Very nice place and view from the 32 floor is pretty special.

We have managed to visit a few of the famous eateries so far including the yard house, the cheesecake factory and the California pizza kitchen.  Food has been great and I have grown quite partial to Hawaiian beer, not only do they taste brilliant,  they also come in 600 ml bottles.

Yesterday was spent at the shops, yes I do mean the whole day, mel bought about 30 kilos of clothes and shoes, I know it was that heavy as I carried it all over Hawaii from 11am to 6pm.

Today we went to the north shore, it was pretty cool.  I'll hand over to mel for this update as we have received a complaint that she is not posting enough.

It was an awesome day on the north shore! Those of you who know me well know my love of the beach, it had always been on my list to go to the north shore.  More so when I was younger and a bit of a surfer chick. It did not disappoint but more appropriate for me at this time of year, no swell to speak of. which suits me fine now days!!

We started out with a spot of snorkling at a little place between waimea bay and sunset. It was breathtaking such a gorgeous spot and sooooo many fish.  After about an hour and a half we came in as the swell that the locals had been expecting started to come in.  Not before I had a little incident with some rocks and suffered some superficial grazes to the thigh region.

By this stage we had worked up an appetite so it was of to the shops to pick up lunch, we bought an enormous salad sandwich and some salads and had picnic in a little spot on the way to the famous waimea bay. After lunch we headed down to swim at waimea and whilst there was barely a wave you could feel the shorebreak pull you out only meters from the shoreline. I have to say I was pretty impressed. I have watched the north shore surfing movie hundreds of times and still can't believe they get waves of up to 40ft in winter.

The bus stopped at turtle bay and we were lucky enough to see 4 turtles catching some rays on the beach. Such cool customers laying in the sun letting the water wash over them. (The turtle is the second photo).

We followed up with kayaking (Jas) and stand up paddle boarding (Mel). I have to say it was so much fun I was pretty good at it and I now want one ( birthday coming up Jas when you are at the track).  Lots of turtles in the river too!!

It was a great day we are really enjoying Hawaii the place is gorgeous the people are friendly and it is really relaxing. .

A day in Hollywood

Mel and Jas arrived changed and went to meet Lisa and her family. It was a lovely night and so nice to meet them all. Maddy kept us all entertained she is adorable and full of energy (a great playmate for Dallas). Thanks to Keith he treated us to dinner and drinks (some tasty Mexican).

Early start today we decided it was such a big city the best way to see it was on a hop on hop off bus trip ( not before a long walk through Beverley Hills) where we stumbled upon a stop finally!! 

First stop was LACMA and the tar pits, sadly LACMA is closed on Wednesday's.  We have put it on the list for next time that said had it have been open we probably would have wandered around and not made it anywhere else.

Next stop was Petersen's Car Museum, which was the proud owner of 140 cars including zz tops stretched and lowered Cadillac, the actual batmobile and bat bike, several of James Bond`s cars, some cool motorbikes and too many others to mention. Some amazing photos but none on the phone we are afraid.

By this stage we were ravenous luckily the next stop was the Grove and the farmers markets. Wow it was foodie heaven!! Jas said don't grab the first thing you see as he knows what a manic I am when hungry. Turned out to be good advice. We started out with a cup of pomegranate seeds which exploded in your mouth nice and tart and very refreshing. It was great to have such a range of fresh food. Lunch was a plate of beef shish kabob, fatoush, baba ganoush and flat bread - absolutely delicious. This was washed down with chocolate brownie (mel) and salted caramel and pistachio ice cream (Jas).  We rolled to the bustop after a peek at the shops bound for Melrose Ave.

A few purchases later in Melrose and we headed for Pink's hotdogs. Pinks are a hollywood legend and have been in the same shop since the 1930s. We thought it would be rude not to try one and settled on a spicy polish dog, a bit like a kransky with mustard onion and chilli mince. What a winner it was wild a bit hot but tasted pretty good.

We headed up to Hollywood Blvd and felt much like a refreshment. We found a groovy place called 33 taps (much to Jason`s delight.  It had 33 taps of beer not many of which he had not tried before. He settled on a perm pils and a red mermaid whilst I sipped on a French Collins.  We walked the walk of fame to the Chinese Theatre.

We popped into the Roosevelt for a look (That had been Mel`s pick for our stay and judging by the inside we will stay there next time).

Finally it was time to head to the strip (Sunset). We hoped off and walked the strip great views of the basin. We stopped off at a place next to the Whiskey a go go (the Whiskey was closed sadly). whilst walking back along the strip Jas saw Vin Diesel in a red Lamborghini. We walked home only (10 mins away). We are pretty tired but will head out for some Vietnamese a few doors  away. We don't have too many pictures as they are off the phone we can't download them from camera until we get home.

Next stop Hawaii, we are excited!! Until then au revoir

LA

Greetings from LA. We arrived in yesterday evening, Jas and Mel are staying in West Hollywood with the other crew taking a laid back option staying at Hermosa beach.

Not much to report but should be a big day with lots to see and only 24hrs in which to see.  With that I will move on and will catch you tonight with some photos. 

Hi everyone!

We apologise for the interrupted transmission but, as Jas mentioned, we didn't really have internet while we were on our cruise unless we wanted to take out a second mortgage. But now we are connected, there will be updates coming your way. LOTS and LOTS of photos to upload, all complete with wonderfully witty comments ;) But right now I have to go as we need to pack for checkout, then we are all headed to the Hurricane Katrina museum before catching our flight back to LA. That, and I'm hungry. The American bagel with cream cheese is calling me to breakfast. Pretty sure it's whispering in Mel's ear too.

cruisin the Caribbean....:-)

Apols for the break in transmission. WiFi on the cruise was almost a dollar minute so we decided that was money best spent on refreshments.

The cruise was great, far too much eating and drinking tho, we have probably quite easily gained 10 kg across the 6 of us.

Not many photos to add as they are all on the big camera. Below is a quick shot prior to the elegant night on the ship.

And here is mel enjoying a beer in mexico. Yes it was so hot even mel was drinking beer.

Honduras was great, had the most amazing chicken and rice there.  The Mayan ruins in Belize were unbelizeable !!!! But cozumel was probably the place we are most likely to return too.  The food and the culture there were brilliant, fair to say we do not eat real Mexican in oz.

We are loving New Orleans and are heading out on a ghost tour tonight.

More photos to come.

poker, shopping, health spa and de pool.

Unbelievable but true today was the first day Jas has been to play poker. He was very excited as for an hour they were given access to some special room to (Bobby's room) t o play so they could take photos for Delta airlines' magazine. The moment was lost on me I just took the photos but most of the yanks were in a lather with all the excitement. Apparently they have never been in before and probably will never have the chance again!

The other Kallus's went to the outlets today I gave it a miss and instead spend two hours at the Bellagio spa which was lovely.

Jas and I had an hour by the pool this afternoon and it was 

beautiful. We had a nice cocktail and a swim. Kept my eyes peeled for Katy Perry apparently she is staying here for some big concert this weekend. The sad part is I probably would not recognise her!! JT is here too I think I could pick him out!! 

We are off to explore some more off the strip tonight and hit up m and m world.  We will chat to you when we arrive in New Orleans. X 

The grand canyon and the Beatles......

Well five of us rose early prior to sparrows for a visit to the grand canyon. Mel (soft) slept in and went shopping.
We traveled by a variety of methods in this order. Bus > plane > bus > helicopter > foot > boat > foot > helicopter > bus > plane > bus. It was a very very big day but absolutely brilliant and something we won't soon forget.

Our helicopter

View of the Colorado river from the helicopter.

Three of the helicopter passengers at the grand canyon.

Some strange girl that photo bombed us.

View of the Colorado river from our plane.

Once we got home and re-adjusted we had a great meal at a Brazilian restaurant in the mirage casino. Fiona thought it was the best steak she had ever had.  Nod had the brazilian banquet, in related news nod has advised everyone the he has not had a sit down visit to the loo since leaving oz.  The local authorities have a monitor any movements alert out on him.  More to come in this 'hopefully' soon to be emerging story - at least for MA's sake.
On a 'much lighter note we then went to see love - by cirque de Soleil. It was an amazing show. No photos were allowed so u just have to take our word for it.
Was a great night finished off with some fishing via a pokie machine. Top fun and another am finish in Vegas.

Road trip !!!

Been a few days between updates, but tbh time runs at a very different pace in Vegas. We have been living on about 3 hours sleep a night and been on the go all day.
Trip from LA LA land was great, amazing scenary, a good driver, (Dom) and even had traditional Greek lunch in Baker - a town seriously in the middle on nowhere.

The beast - a Cadillac Escalade. Very nice leather clad v8. There was about 3 meters between the front and rear pews.

The mad Greek diner - brilliant food in the middle of the desert.

 We eventually made it to Vegas - the Casio's are so flash. This is the foyer of the Venetian were the guys pulled up stumps for 3 days.

 This is the view from our room at the bellagio.

We had dinner at a spot called Ferraro's . Food was ridiculously good. I had lobster and scallop pasta in truffle oil, difficult to put into print how good it was. MA nearly left Nod to shack up with her raspberry cheesecake.

We then went to the tallest building in town and I went for a ride on the tallest ride in the world. Imagine dreamworlds tower of terror on top of a 112 storey building. It was pretty much up there with bungy jumping for me. The other guys went looking for a cafe selling concrete by the cup.

Was a great first day in Vegas.

food and bevies.....

Been a good day on the tooth and several refreshers. Here are the photo's FI and Dom refer to below.

Santa Monica Pier is the end of route 66 but the beginning of our travels. Off to Vegas today in the biggest SUV you have seen !!!

All together in LA!!!

Well, we are all finally here together in LA! Our flight over wasn't too bad, at least we didn't end up with the 'engineering difficulties' that Jas and Mel did. Had a great afternoon catching up with Jas and Mel, with a bit of shopping and a fantastic lunch at a little cafe along the mall that helped us fight through the jetlag highs and lows. No pics yet, our phones hadn't charged up by then, but I think Jas got one or two. The boys tried a few different beers, which then continued on at the Santa Monica Pier, AND then onto the hotel. A good time was had by all, including Gazza, the hotel barman and the boys new best friend. But we are all pretty much saving ourselves for Vegas. Which is where we are headed tomorrow, so best go and get some sleep, before the jetlag hits again. Night all, talk soon :)

Dom & Fiona

Cycling in Santa Monica

It was an early start for some - Jas was up at 4am after falling asleep at 8pm last night!

We went and hired a couple of bikes and rode along the promenade to Venice beach before breakfast. Turns out we rode 22 miles. It was fantastic, a lovely flat ride taking in the sights! Jas got a bit carried away taking in the sights and even ended up riding into the sand at one point. Venice beach was just how everybody had described full of characters and lots of homeless people. 

We had some breakfast at mid city a place called MK's that had been recommended to us - it didn't disappoint it was fantastic really fresh ingredients and quite funky cakes etc.

Back at the hotel now waiting for the other folks to arrive. Half ten and Jas is back on the bed snoring his head off!! 

My plan for this afternoon is to finish off at the shops after catching up with the family. I had to pull up stumps early yesterday as my feet couldn't take any more!! 

city of angel's

If our first day was a sign of things to come, I think we are going to enjoy ourselves.  We had a bit of a stroll around the local area before meeting Linda for lunch. It was about 27deg and perfect blue skies. Its a really nice area, beautiful gardens, no trash and no graffiti.  People are really friendly too.  We had lunch at the old library ale house. They have 29 craft beers on tap. I got through 3 of them. All brilliant, especially the sour one, very much like kriek. May take the boys back today when they arrive to tackle the other 26.

We then went for a wander down main street. Mel did some shopping and I managed to find myself in a tequila bar with over 500 different varieties.  I thought it would be rude not to try one seeing we were here. 

It had been stored on oak and cellared for 8 years, bloody beautiful, by far the best tequila I had ever tasted.  BTW, for those yet to travel here, everywhere u sit down, they put corn chips and homemade salsa in front of you.  If this keeps up, we will need to reconsider the need of 3 main meals a day.

Also came across a very cool ute and Mel found the local sheriff as well.

The rest of the Family arrive about noon today, so I am sure there will be more tales to tell then and some new authors to tell them.

lax arrivals

Well, we made it. 12.5 hours was a bit of a stretch, we were both very happy to get off the plane.  Customs was pretty ABC, we expected a bit more, but they took no real interest in us.  The ride to the hotel was uneventful, hotel is nice, big rooms and we got in at 9.30 when we arrived. We are both pretty shagged as we only got an hour or so sleep on the plane. Off to meet Mel's old exchange student and her family soon for a tour of Santa Monica.  I'm sure a beer will freshen me up some.

not the best start....

After a hot breakie in the qantas club, we have been brought to a halt at the gate.  Apparently the plane has an "engineering fault". Hopefully that just means the windscreen wiper bottle needs refilling !