Sue - rewind - back to Naples, Florida

The time has come for me to stop posting things on our travel blog! We have been home for almost 2 months, and I have gone from feeling that we had been away for years, to now wondering whether we imagined the whole trip! 

Writing on the blog at home has been a way of keeping our adventure alive.

As I close off the blog, I realise that I didn't write much about our time in Florida; our time with Paul and Sue plus our mini trips. So here it is......................

Flying in to Florida was incredible. We flew over the Mississippi Delta and over the very flat land that is Florida - the beach landscape dotted with high rise condos! I am incredibly excited, but a bit nervous too...thinking 'I hope that they are OK with having a family of 5 on and off for 3 weeks whilst they go about their busy day to day lives.' We are so looking forward to seeing them, but I hope we don't drive them mad! 

At the airport, I go to hop into Sue's car, thinking it's the passenger side, but of course it's the driver's side. Yes, I managed to do that a number of times during our holiday!

Paul and Sue, thank you so much for having us! We so loved spending time with you just hanging out and being part of your everyday activity. Not long enough though! Now that we are gone, I am sure that your house is much quieter and tidier and you have your laundry, kitchen and computer to yourself again! I have told Jim that he needs to get a job in Florida for a few years so that we can see each other more often! 

FLORIDA. I am amazed at how flat it is. Even though I was expecting it, it's a stark contrast to Queenstown. I can see why they don't suggest we come it summer, as it's certainly hot enough for us now and it's only spring. Some days when we are out and about, I find it almost unbearable; my summer clothes are not nearly summery enough for this climate. 

Naples is such a lovely city. It's a planned, spacious, manicured city that has a huge influx of population in winter, where lots of people come to play golf and relax in the warm Florida winter climate and to escape the harsh winters from elsewhere in America. Sue says Naples is not the 'real world' and I can relate to that in a way, because Queenstown is a bit like that too. 

Being a touristy place, it creates it's own different vibe. Naples though, seems to attract people with plenty of money who can afford to spend the winter months in a different location. Golfers and 'ladies who lunch', whereas Queenstown definitely attracts a wide variety of tourists. Sure, we get our fair share of wealthy tourists, but they are entwined with the backpacker market and everything in between. 

We hire a car and buy a GPS, which gives us plenty of flexibility, and saves any transport complications with there being a total of 9 of us. We settle into a routine of doing stuff during the day, whilst Paul and Sue are working and Grace and Brandon are at school.  Even though we had a few days in LA, I was surprisingly jet lagged, so it took a few days for the 'fog' to clear. Jim was OK. I was the 'foggy' one. Some days, our kids just wanted to swim in the pool, and we are not the speediest at getting moving in the mornings (well, we ARE on holiday) so the days went by pretty quickly. 

It does take a while for everything not to feel so 'foreign', therefore absolutely everything is an experience. Going to the supermarket is an experience all of it's own. The kids were fascinated by going to a pet shop, where you could buy a snake or a tarantula for your next pet! Everything was new and exciting - a world away from kiwi life. It gave me an insight to how Sue must have felt when her and Paul came to Auckland to live and how Paul must have felt when he first moved to America.

It took a while to start to feel even remotely familiar with American life, but now that I'm back home I really want to go back and experience it all over again.

• Naples Beach and Pier
• This was so much fun! There were loads of people on the pier catching all sorts of interesting fish, with turtles and dolphins in the water and Pelicans swooping for fish nearby
• Corkscrew Swamp
• We see all sorts of different wildlife, including snakes, racoons, alligators, tree frogs, lizards and lots of different bird species.
• A day to the outskirts of Fort Lauderdale to visit Jim's cousins son. Josh and Nikki take us to a Cuban Restaurant for lunch.
• Naples Zoo
• Matthew really wanted to go to the zoo. Living in Queenstown, it's not something he does often, so Naples Zoo was a day for him. It was so incredibly hot!
• A day at the outskirts of the Everglades, having an Airboat ride in search of Alligators Sadly didn't see too many but saw a few more on a walk that we did. Also had a chance to hold a baby Alligator!
  
• Went to Grace's track meet to watch her pole vault. 
• Went to 2 of Brandon's baseball games.
• During Easter, we had an early start and a BIG day Paul and Sue hired a pontoon and took us all out of the water for half a day.  We loved this day. We stopped at a picture perfect island with pristine white beaches and amazingly very few people. The shells we found on the beach were amazing! The day was topped off with lunch at Snooks on Marco Island, where we tried Alligator Nuggets and Conch (pronounced 'conk') Fritters. 
• Baseball
  Paul took us to a Baseball game which was fun. It wasn't major league, as their season hadn't started yet, but they were super skilled. Free 'dogs' for those who were brave enough to eat them!  Anna and Holly spent the whole time trying to teach Grace how to speak in a 'kiwi' accent!
• Met Chris, Grace's boyfriend
• Enjoyed Sue's divine prawn curry and other delicious dishes...thank you Sue for feeding us!
• Was treated to Paul's lamb lunch...yummm
• Met some of Paul and Sue's friends - Fred and Kate and their extended family, John and Merryn plus some others!
  
• Went to Moe's for dinner in Naples. This was early on in our holiday, where I was a bit overwhelmed with everything American. Took me a while to fathom the menu! 
• Had a girls mini shopping trip with Sue and Grace in Naples. South Beach will be on the agenda for next trip!
• Went to Sunday Easter service at their church.
• Easter.The yard was riddled with Easter eggs and the kids had fun collecting them all up. Sue had organised Easter baskets for the kids when they can downstairs in the morning and they were absolutely filled with goodies. Lucky children!
• Celebrated Matt's birthday with Paul, Sue, Grace and Brandon (the day before his actual birthday since we were heading to Orlando early on the 25th). Pressies and 'Cookies and Cream' ice cream cake!
• $5 instant take out pizza - handy when you need food in a hurry!
• ICE - CUSTARD - HAPPINESS. Rita's was sooooooo good!

We had a total of 22 nights in Florida and by the time we did our side trips to Orlando and The Keys, we had a 15 nights with Paul and Sue. It was, to say the least, extremely difficult to say goodbye......... 

Sue - goodbye America!

No traffic jams for us. We had a pretty straight run to LA on the freeway. 

Jim driving and me navigating, we decided to have a look around LA. We passed through lots of fancy houses in Beverly Hills and drove around and around in circles trying to find Rodeo Drive. We knew where it was (sort of) but frustratingly couldn't find it. Road works were confusing 'Doris' (our GPS) and so she kept sending us a way where the road was closed! How was she to know!

So we drove around lots of posh areas surrounding Rodeo Drive, but didn't manage Rodeo Drive itself! Was hoping that we may have spotted someone famous......

We still had time to fill so we headed to Santa Monica for a last bit of shopping...could have spent all day there (it's shopping paradise) but we only had a few hours to spare before we needed to drop off the rental car and head to the airport.  

GOODBYE AMERICA!

We have had such an amazing time! We loved our time with Paul, Sue, Grace and Brandon and could easily have spent a few more weeks there. Please can we go back soon?! We also loved our road trip in California - so many great memories.

ON arriving home, it was actually a bit weird seeing green paddocks next to the runway at Auckland Airport! The airport is soooo quiet! Arriving back in Queenstown, it felt like we had been away for years! 

I saw some people on the plane poring over their NZ guidebook. I watch them with interest, and wonder what excitement they are feeling as they are about to embark on their Kiwi adventure. I hope that they have an amazing holiday in our beautiful country and leave with as many good memories as we have of America.  

Matthew goofs around with our mascot 'Kissimmee Kiwi"

    

Sue - Palm Springs - a place of contrasts

Palm Springs - a fascinating place! Only a few hours (all freeway) from LA and quite clearly a popular getaway from the LA scene. A place with a Rat Pack history - when you are there you can really feel what those times were like. Interesting architecture.(Desert Modernism is the name - you can spot it as soon as you enter town) Palm Springs has something for everyone, an escape from day to day life and a recreational oasis: great hiking and outdoor activities, spa resorts, golf resorts, casinos, a conference escape, an obvious gay scene...it really has its own vibe, and walking down the main street at night, I got the feeling that Palm Springs had a seedy aside too. We didn't have any accommodation booked, but the first place we stopped at was good enough for us.....a 2 bedroom apartment style motel complex......a hint of desert modernism architecture, a pool outside our door and at a great price too. Unbelievably cheap, being their off season and mid week. I was a little wary though.....it didn't seem like a family style accommodation option, and with the 'anything goes' impression I have acquired of Palm Springs I was wondering if we were at an appropriate complex for children  - was half expecting a raucous adult pool party outside our door in the early hours of the morning! Perhaps I have been watching too many American movies...

Where we stayed in Palm Springs

Our day of exploration began with an offer of a 'Bloody Mary' at the breakfast cafe! Then we were off for an adventure on the Aerial Tramway, the largest rotating tramway in the world. It takes you from the desert valley floor (806 metres) to the San Jacinto Mountains, 2596 metres above sea level in about 10 minutes. This gondola (they call it a tramway - the difference being, these can take a whole stack of people and there are only 2 - one going up and one going down, compared to the gondolas we know where they are much smaller and there are loads of them)  takes you so high, it makes the Skyline Gondola in Queenstown look like a baby! The temperature change is huge - a warm climate on the desert floor and 6 degrees celsius at the top with the threat of a snow storm! They say it's like a climate change equivalent to the difference between Mexico and the Canadian Mountains. It was late spring (in winter, it's thick with snow at the top) and we knew it was going to be cold, so brought our jackets etc, but I forgot to bring long trousers, so has walking around in 6 degrees in shorts...eeeek...a little chilly!

It is beautiful up there and we did a short hike in the wilderness - not particularly well signposted though and Jim and I have a few 'which way?' discussions, being very aware that we had no cell phone coverage, no-one knew we were there and the weather was closing in...being lost in the 'wilderness' in shorts was not a desirable prospect! On a clear day, the view over the valley and desert is amazing apparently - we caught parts of it but the weather was not in our favour today. (the weather was clear at the top, but we couldn't see down into the valley - only an occasional glimpse when some of the cloud cleared)

From there we headed to the Indian Canyons, (such an amazing contrast compared to the San Jacinto Mountains) land belonging to the Agua Callente Cahuilla (kah-we-ah) Indians. The desert lands were their home and in 1876 the U.S Federal Government allocated 32,000 acres in trust to them, 6,700 acres of that land in the Palm Springs area. The canyons are an oasis in the desert, with streams, waterfalls and ancient palm groves.Check it out on http://indian-canyons.com It was really beautiful and peaceful - with limited time, (if you are there after 4pm, the gates are locked and you can't get your car out!) we only did a few of the walks. With more time, you could happily explore for days. Saw a snake slithering across the road in front of our car, and saw a very large lizard. (about 30cm plus long) Have read on websites that rattlesnakes are quite common in the canyons - would love to have seen one but wasn't keen on having a scary snake encounter!

A trip to the supermarket to stock up on Jelly Bellies to take home, and also get some Bagels for our breakfast, then we were off to dinner at Ruby's Diner. Had a great soft taco (one of many on our holiday.. they are very delicious) and some 'all american home made apple pie' which came with caramel sauce and ice cream. Now that was pretty damn good!

Ruby's Diner, Palm Springs

Next day, we said goodbye to Palm Springs, drove past the wind turbines (the biggest wind farm I have ever seen), a quick shopping stop at Premium Outlets (outlet shopping mall - they have them all over America) on the outskirts of town, then we hit the freeway for the drive back to LA. Apparently the freeway can get pretty clogged and you can get stuck in traffic for hours! Not wanting to miss our flight (with the unknowns of having to tackle the traffic in LA and find where we had to drop off our rental car etc) we left with plenty of time to spare. Joshua Tree Narional Park is only an hour away - somewhere I really wanted to go, but we need a few more days to be able to do that. We are soooooo not ready to go home - we have truly gotten into the 'road trip' mode!

Sue - Carlsbad, Legoland and the desert beyond

Matt has been desperate to go to Legoland, but all website information indicates that it's for younger kids, so Holly and Anna are not too keen. So Matt and Jim have a 'daddy date' and off they go. Matt has an awesome day! For the girls, "what is there actually to do in Carlsbad?" We discuss heading to San Diego for the day, but decided there isn't really enough time to do any of the main attractions and it's raining, so hanging at the beach isn't much of an option either. We decide to take it easy and explore the shops in Carlsbad - not too much to choose from, but manage to fill in our day happily at the Premium Outlets. Have a great dinner at BJ's, and experience their trademark dessert, Pizookies. (Soft cookie cooked in a small pizza pan, topped with ice cream)  Mmmmmmm delicious!
Next day, we head on our road trip inland towards the desert. We stop in a little town, where they say has heavy snowfalls in winter, then we wind down way to the desert floor. The cooler climate that is being experienced all over California has been felt here too, and in Anza Borrego Desert State Park (the largest state park in California. Named Anza, after a Spanish explorer and Borrego which is the Spanish name for the Big Horn Sheep that live in the desert) it is much cooler than normal. Not the desert temperatures that we expected, but pleasant summer heat. We go for a short desert exploration, and I see a 'red racer' snake just off the path. I was so excited - later I think that I should have been a little scared, but it happened so quickly and it was an exciting sight. It was moving VERY fast....but thankfully not into our path. This is a huge desert park, with 500 miles of desert road - you could spend alot of time exploring here - the few hours that we spent were fun, but we must hit the road. Have a reasonable drive ahead of us to reach Palm Springs - our last stop before our holiday comes to an end :-(

Ouch - a bit prickly! 

Sue - a day of cruising from north of LA to south of LA

Don't really have time to explore Ventura but it looks like a cute town...it doesn't look flashy or sleek, but the village looked worth a meander. Instead we head to the Ventura library, where we have free use of computer terminals. Handy when we want to update our blog plus book some accommodation in advance for our next destination. Our initial plans were to skirt around the outside of LA and then head inland to Palm Springs, but we have worked out that this route will put us in Carlsbad for Matthew's day trip to Legoland, on a day that Legoland happens to be closed! So we decide to head south, driving right through greater LA - Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach etc. After buying a few cheap second hand novels books at the library and a smoothie stop at 'Tom and Jerrys', we are on our way. Lots of swanky homes in Malibu, many behind big gates so we don't really get to see much. We stop for an explore and goof around at Huntington Beach -a bit hard to feel the whole SoCal surfie vibe when it's chilly spring but it seems like a pretty relaxed sort of place.

Dinner today is chicken, salad and rolls from the supermarket, eaten in the car! We arrive in Carlsbad in time for the kids to enjoy a swim in the hotel pool. Have been surprised how cold it has been in California so far - apparently usually much warmer this time of year.

Sue - a coastal cruise down Hwy1 plus an unexepected diversion!

They say that no trip to California is 'worth its salt' without a jaunt along the scenic central coast. Well it sure is beautiful in a very untouched raw way. It's a far cry from what I have seen of the Californian beaches 25 years ago - the commercial surfy beaches of SoCal (Southern California). As we drive along the high cliffs, we spot a few pods of dolphins along the coastline.

We were heading south but this photo is taken looking north 

We see some signs, that alert us to road closure - oh no - our scenic coastal drive is going to be cut in half by a non avoidable detour inland. This is a wild inland road, winding and winding and winding and more winding as we steeply climb inland - this is a huge detour and takes us to who knows where!!!! Again, it's surprising how the landscape changes so dramatically - once we are back inland and pass over the coastal mountains we are back in dry, hot climate. We are getting low on petrol, but civalisation is not particularly evident anywhere! YES, we see a small local store that sells gas....at HUGE prices. We aren't travelling with a physical road map and at times like this when we have no idea where we are going, relying on 'Doris' our GPS is a bit hair raising. I think that we should have just put more trust in her, because she was right most of the time! My recommendation for anyone doing a road trip though, is don't leave home without your GPS and your map! Eventually we link back to the highway and back on the road to Santa Barbara.
Due to our unexpected detour, we arrive later than expected  - early evening - it's Friday night and we cannot find accommodation anywhere that fits our budget. Later we read in the guide book, to be prepared for a price shock. Places are either too expensive or full. Oh dear! After no success, we head further south, try another town and then another - stop at Carls Jnr for an American fast food dinner experience (green burritos - uuuugh no!) and eventually find some accomodation (by this time it's well after 10pm) in Ventura. Yes, we are ready for sleep!

Sue - Monterey, it's all about the sea

The bay itself looks abundant with sea life, (it is apparently - Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary) the coastline is rugged and jagged and there's kelp and seaweed everywhere! Not so inviting for swimming (far too cold this time of year anyway) but would make a great kayaking adventure. We have one full day and some time the next morning to soak up as much as we can, but the kayaking will have to be on hold until another holiday! Our agenda for this trip is to visit the aquarium and possibly do a whale watching boat excursion.
Historically Monterey was well known for it's sardine canning industry, today it's well known worldwide for its Aquarium so we thought we had better check it out. A great educational experience for the kids. Lots of stuff happening there to increase enviromental awareness. Loved the sea horses!
The '17 Mile Coastal Drive' is well talked about as another must, so we head off on an afternoon jaunt.

Clambering over the rocks at Lover's Point in Monterey.  

Amazing coastline! The pay-to-view drive winds its way through flash golf courses, extremely expensive homes and most impressively, stunning, spectacular coastline. Cruised past Pebble Beach Golf Course, and saw a wild deer. It was just hanging out just near the side of the road near some people's homes. It looked so tame, I wondered if it was someones pet! They are such gentle, graceful looking creatures. Stopped off at Carmel by the Sea (Clint Eastwood was once Mayor here) which is a gorgeous little coastal town south of Monterey. It's like a manicured 'text book' town (the shops gave me the impression that the people were of a twinset and pearls type) ...the town is very cute though ...lots of 'gingerbread type' houses. I was so excited looking at them all, ("look at this one, look here, oh look over there, look, look, look!") that I didn't think to take any photos....
Day 2 in Monterey, the whale watching boat trip was fun.....but not so much fun for Holly. She managed to give the fish a change to their diet..mind you she wasn't the only person being sick over the side of the boat. The only one in our family though.The sea had big swells and because of this, it was difficult for the crew to spot the whales. We did see 2 Humpback though and we followed them for ages. It was exciting, and pretty impressive especially when their head came out of the water enough to see the texture of their skin.(Humpbacks have knobbly bits on their face) They flicked their tails at us, and even though they are known for breaching, they weren't interested in breaching today. Also saw quite a few dolphins plus stacks of sea lions resting close to shore. We buy some fresh hot smoked salmon and some sourdough bread from the fisherman's wharf, then it's time to hit the road south, an epic California drive ahead of us through Ben Sur and down the Coastal  Highway...........