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 !