Day 5 – Anaheim, California – 2nd March 2016

P.S. For the 4th:
Didn’t get home until 9.30. We left the hotel about 5 and headed for the Angels Stadium. (Lots of munzees there) It is a very large place, and car parking for the zillions, lol, we drove around and around and around. Concrete blocks and fencing separated out different parking areas and it got darker and darker until it was full night and we were still cruising the car parks. There was only one with vehicles in so it was easy as I didn’t have to stress about where to stop and park when we got to a new area of virtuals. From there we drove off to another couple of smaller virtual gardens and Maria finally got the 2 munzee badges she was chasing!

Okay, now back to today. Woke late again, and after some fiddling around we left 9.30 to go and visit Elliot, the local munzee reseller. He also sells coins and stamps and such stuff, very interesting shop. Did a little buying and then we capped the munzees around the shop and headed back to the hotel. Actually managed lunch at 12, and then we walked over to Disneyland again but this time to do tourist stuff! First off Pirates of the Caribbean, then on to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which was a roller coaster, but only a small one, lol. From there it was the Haunted Mansion and then Splash Mountain with it’s 50 ft drop and lots and lots of water! We came out dripping, LOL. We headed over to Tomorrowland, but there was a 65 minute wait for the ride there, so we gave it a miss and did the submarine Finding Nemo ride, it was very well done, but then they all are well done. But we must have spent about 3 hours in queues for about 20 minutes of rides! We found a seat and waited for the Paint the Night evening parade. Wow, lots and lots of coloured lights on floats and dancers. That was followed by Disneyland Forever Fireworks Spectacular which included the projection of images and lights onto the Castle.  BTW the fireworks can be seen and heard every night all around this area, we even saw them last night when driving around after the virtual munzees. No good having a nervous dog in these environs. LOL. Another amazing feat of entertainment. However getting out was a feat in itself with thousands of people all exiting out of one area!! Walked home and had a very late dinner! Now 10.30 in the evening, so finishing this off with a few photos and bed!

IMG_1369IMG_1374Spot the bird! IMG_1364
We don’t care that thousands walk past we are going to sleep!

IMG_1377
Maria’s hat queuing for Pirates …IMG_1383
Now about that 50 ft drop and I had to be in the front!
IMG_1405IMG_1448
   IMG_1466

Day 4 – Anaheim, California – 1st March 2016

Woke at 2 and couldn’t go back to sleep, lol. There is an early morning experience in Disneyland on Tuesday mornings, an hour before opening time, so 9 am which we thugh we would try. Walked around the far side of the block to the far entrance and stood in queue for the bag search. Memo to self: find out what is banned in a theme park before getting there!!! We both had selfie sticks which are banned and no lockers to put them in, so Maria went in and I took them back to the hotel. Better that way, as Maria is aiming for a couple of munzee achievements today and therefore she needed them more than I did, LOL. Anyway 2kms later we met up again on the other side of the nearer entrance, got our tickets and entered the park. Sadly the railway was being refurbished, so no train ride around the grounds, but we did catch the omnibus up Main Street. From there we walked through Tomorrowland and caught the monorail and went twice around the park in that. More wandering and we hopped on to the paddle steamer for a trip around Tom Sawyer’s Island, only it wasn’t going anywhere, LOL. Off that and more wandering, we did watch the Enchanted Tiki show, which is fun! Then headed back to the hotel for our 4 o’clock lunch. Writing this now as we are going out to the Angels Stadium for lots more munzees and hopefully Maria’s goal.

Sightings of mallards and a Canada goose on the lagoon. There were mallards in Disney World Florida as well, wonder if they are cast members, LOL.

Time to go out again, catch you tomorrow xoxo

IMG_1368 IMG_1359 IMG_1357

 

Day 3 – Anaheim, California – 29th February 2016

Well on this Leap Day I slept in, waking up at 0740!!!!! And felt yuck for doing so, lol. We therefore didn’t leave until 0830ish and headed for a little park with streets of frogs around it. Normal munzees have become frogs for this special day so we did a lot of walking for few points but it was still fun looking at gardens around the route we took. Some topiary in a garden here, lovely design there, collections of pot plants and lovely roses. Saw another couple of hummingbirds and took a photo or 2 of them in the tops of trees, but I reckon it’s going to be a case of spot the bird, so see if you can see it in the picture below, LOL.

We parked the car in another large shopping centre at lunchtime, had orange chicken & noodles in the food hall, and then went frog hunting again. Our aim was 229 of them and we managed 239 so that was good! After we left the centre we drove to Rainbow St which had a collection of virtuals making up a rainbow, and then home feeling rather weary. We only managed 13 kms today, we did 15 yesterday LOL. Had dinner so now time for bed. We are going to see if we get in to the early opening at Disneyland tomorrow. Catch you tomorrow, xoxo

IMG_1342
These tree roots looked melted into the concrete!!IMG_1343 IMG_1345 IMG_1347 IMG_1356

Day 2 – Anaheim, California – 28th February 2016

Woke up 5ish and we headed out about 6.30 for the emerald munzee garden in La Habra. It was very foggy and cold!!! Nice thing about early Sunday morning is not too much traffic, lol as I had to get onto the freeway for part of the way.

We had found a nice little park at the end of the GPS directions, but not being able to see much, we wandered around and munzeed for a while. Then headed for a field of mystery’s which proved to be at a shopping centre. Not quite like ours, this ‘centre’ took up all four sides of a large intersection, and was absolutely enormous!!!!!

Highlights included hearing and briefly seeing a hummingbird, the bit longer appearance of a lizard, a nice pair of mallard ducks near the concrete canal and several garden beds of lovely poppies! Stopped just after 10 for coffee & juice (we had yoghurt for brekky) and then stopped for the day about 5! As we had seen the local Vons supermarket on our walk we drove over to the opposite quadrant and did some grocery shopping. We have a little fridge and microwave so can be more self sufficient meal wise. Home again and tried to organise a timetable for the rest of the week. Will see how accurate it is as we go along!

Anyway now just about ready for bed so be good and catch you later!!!

IMG_1333 IMG_1334 IMG_1335 IMG_1341IMG_1340

Day 1-2 (Day 1 twice) – Brisbane – Anaheim, California – 27th February

Well it was a day+ of delays lol.
Had a very pleasant stay in the domestic business lounge, food was very nice. However the flight was delayed so instead of departing at 2305 it was 2350 before takeoff. Flight however was quite quick only 3 hrs 45 mins. Well that’s what my logbook had written in it.
Caught the airport shuttle at Brisbane to the International terminal and settled down to wait for Maria. Ron, Anna & Anna’s boyfriend Keegan came along to farewell us off.  Checked Maria in, quick coffee stop and we headed into the depths of Brisbane Airport!!!

Departure was supposed to be 1100, but apparently a baffle was not working in one of the engines and had to be removed so we were 2 hrs late leaving. However, the Captain said they loaded extra fuel and the flight was going to be 12 hrs rather than 13. Anyway it was a very bumpy flight, lots of turbulence!!! Got to LA and had to circle for about 45 minutes as the airport was closed because of low cloud (looked a bit smoggy to us lol) But it was still the 27th so it has been an exceedingly long day!

Got through immigration without to much time spent queuing and then had to wait about 30 minutes for the luggage to come out, so we reckoned they were scanning it all first. Then the queue through customs and we were out! Eventually found the shuttle stand and waited for that to arrive. We had an Indonesian driver and 3 other passengers to chat with in the 40 minute drive, freeway speed of 75 miles per hour was a bit fast lol.

Arrived at our hotel about 11 but as check in was at 2 they stored our luggage and we walked down to the hire car place and picked up our Too early to go back to the hotel we headed off to the AT&T store to get our sim cards. All installed, we had lunch at Subways and then found a grocery store for a few supplies.  We couldn’t find any fruit loaf (no toaster anyway lol) or muesli bars. When we asked the man working in an aisle he asked us to speak English!!!!! And we thought he was Mexican.

We did find some munzees along the way never fear, lol.

Checked in and unpacked, fiddled about a bit then went out for a walk up Disneyland Drive for the munzees of course. Getting dark we headed back and indulged in a very nice ice cream each, Maria had butter pecan and I had chocolate peanut butter!!! Now having 2 minute noodles for dinner!! Shower and bed, catch you tomorrow!

IMG_1323 IMG_1329IMG_1330

Day 0.5 – Perth-Brisbane

OK, closed the zip on the suitcase at 16.15 and did a few other household chores, sigh, so just about ready to go. Dad’s picking me up in 40 minutes. He was already going to the airport to pick up Grandma Janice, so I’m tagging along. Will catch the shuttle from the international to the domestic and be there with lots of time to spare, my flights at 23.05, LOL. However, I used my frequent flyer points to go business class, so can have a look at the business lounge whilst I wait! Meeting Maria at Brisbane and then a 13 hour flight to Los Angeles, so won’t blog again until we get there. Take care and do something fun  Lisa 🙂 xo

Day 17 – October 13 – Singapore day 3

Took it even easier today, lol. We had breakfast at the cafe again, I actually had chicken porridge as well as scrambled eggs, it was very nice indeed. Back to our room until about 10ish so that the peak hour traffic had dissipated and caught a taxi to the Gardens and the Cloud Forest Dome. Well, it was amazing, this huge indoor waterfall and the living mountain around it. So many orchids, bromeliads, ferns, begonias, and almost everything else. There were displays of stalags again and lots of art pieces scattered around the gardens. One just kept walking up, catch the elevator to the next floor and then around another loop of walkway, 5 floors in all from the base of the waterfall and then 2 more floors below it. Once out again we took the shuttle ride around the garden and saw the topiary and the floating baby! I left Mum for a short time whilst I dashed through the gardens to grab a munzee and then we caught a taxi back to the hotel. The first taxi we asked didn’t have any idea where the Singapore Recreation Club was located, even when I showed him it on a map, lol.
Relaxed a bit whilst I sorted out photos. Mum had taken a few on her tablet, so included them in our collection. Had dinner, which was very nice I had another local noodle dish, and we shared a plate of rojak, a Singaporean salad which was very tasty indeed. Back in our room we wandered out to the beer garden once the nights lights came on and took some great photos. I must say I am very impressed with the quality of the photos my new phone takes as well as the new camera. Check out tomorrow is at noon, so will leave then for the airport,and spend some time wandering around looking at the gardens inside the airport, especially the butterflies. We should be landing just before midnight, so this will be the final blog! So catch you sometime soon!

2015Singapore129    2015Singapore197 2015Singapore184 2015Singapore177 2015Singapore170 2015Singapore163 2015Singapore134

2015Singapore254
2015Singapore247
2015Singapore236

IMG_1034IMG_1035

Day 16 – October 12 – Singapore day 2

We tried to take things a little easier today, still a bit tired from yesterday, it was a far to late night for me, nearly 11 before the lights went out.
Had breakfast in the Poolside Cafe, which was basement level 1. Yes, an underground swimming pool and gym and others things as well as the cafe. Very nice breakfast, freshly cooked scrambled eggs! From there we went out into the warmth of the day and caught the hop on hop off bus to the Merlion Park, as Mum did have to see Singapore’s symbol. Hopped on the bus again and headed for the Gardens and the Flower Dome. We had quite a long walk to get to the Dome, and it was the only one open today. (It will be closed tomorrow for maintenance) They had a special chrysanthemum display as well as the usual gardens in the Dome. It was amazing, so many plants, lots of fully mature trees and palms, in fact I would say nearly every plant was a mature specimen of its type. Several different specialty gardens, South African, Australian, Mediterranean, baobab, olive grove, etc. and ‘mums everywhere. Lots of sculptures, and little niceties amongst the plants, so well designed and displayed. The Domes are cooled, so it was very pleasant to walk around. You could tell the locals though, they were wearing coats as it was too cold for them, lol.
Did the walk back to the bus and a long ride home again. As it was 3 by the time we got back we had our cheese, pate & crackers as a late lunch and a relax (in fact a little snooze) and then we had dinner here in the Poolside Cafe, which was delicious. Mum had pork ribs and I had a local noodle dish and it was an inexpensive meal, especially when compared to the kebabs we had for lunch yesterday. Last full day here tomorrow, so a visit to the Cloud Forest Dome is planned.

IMG_0952Singapore2015 007Singapore2015 026 IMG_0970 IMG_0958 Singapore2015 015   Singapore2015 005

Day 15 – October 11 – Singapore, day 1

Very late tonight, sorry, we’ve had a big day.
Had breakfast just after 6, then back to our room to do our packing. Relaxed a bit once finished and watched the docking at Singapore. Left the ship about 8.30 and joined the queues for immigration, security, customs and taxi. Got to The Residency at the Singapore Recreation Club before 10 and even though check in wasn’t until 2,they gave us our room. We got upgraded to their largest room, The President’s Room. Very nice it is, though not to sure about the beer garden outside the window, lol. Great views from it though, the triple tower boat topped building on one side, the city in front and city hall and cathedral on the other side.
We popped across the road to the memorial for a numzee and then over another road to Raffles City, and enormous shopping mall, which was full of Sunday shoppers. Had a wander around, a little upmarket for us, but we ended up in the basement dining area for a kebab lunch. On the way out found a supermarket for got some cheese and biscuits for dinner. Back to the SRC for a rest then we went down the street to catch one of the hop on hop off buses, however there was a lot of road works going on so the stand wasn’t there so had to continue on to the next one. One bus didn’t stop and then we missed the next one, but finally hopped on and paid for a 24 hour ticket. Had a drive round and got off at Raffles City. Once again back to the SRC for a refresh and then returned to the bus stop and caught another one headed for the Gardens by the Bay. This one dropped us off at the triple tower boat hotel which is enormous close up and had to walk past it to gt to the Gardens. Wow, they are lovely, lots of amazing things to see. Stopped at the batch of 3 supertree structures and sat for a while soaking it all in. These artiicaila trees have a myriad of plants growing all over the outside of the structures, like a living skin. There were 3 little doves all nestled together sitting on the ground. We then walked to the Supertree Grove which had 11 more of the structures, one even has a restaurant at the top of it and others support a skywalk trail. We sat and watched for the lights on the trees to come on and they slowly did, brightening as the night darkened. At 7.45 they have a light and music show and it was fantastic. Then another wait for a taxi and back for our cheese, pate and biscuit supper, lol quite different to our 3 course dinners of the last 2 weeks!

Singapore2015 012Singapore2015 009Singapore2015 004 Singapore2015 008 Singapore2015 030 Singapore2015 033Singapore2015 025  Singapore2015 016 Singapore2015 022   Singapore2015 020

Day 14 – October 10 – last day at sea

As our cultural experience tour for today was cancelled we had the pick of several, all which included shopping! Kuala Lumpur is about 1.5 hours from Port Klang where we left the ship at a very fancy docking facility. Our first stop was Independence Square, with the cricket ground in the middle, as of course it was the British who started building in this area. And, very exciting I actually scanned a real life munzee that had been sitting here since July 2014. From here we walked through back streets and alleyways to the Central Markets for half an hour of shopping and then back on the bus to be dropped off at the Chinatown. Several of us actually stayed on the bus for the half hour. Then on to The Pavilion, a very large, fancy upmarket shopping mall, with mainly brand name shops. However we found a puzzle shop on the 6th floor and indulged a little, LOL. After Subway for lunch and a little more wandering we got back on the bus for a quick photo stop at the Petronas Towers, sadly so smokey they weren’t very clear. Then back to the port and our final night on the ship. Once again the waiters put on a little show, but this time the chefs were included. They prepared 126,000 meals over the last 14 days. We have met lots of interesting people and had lots of interesting conversations. Singapore in the morning.

IMG_0904Cruise2015 002 Cruise2015 008 Cruise2015 015 Cruise2015 018 Cruise2015 025 Cruise2015 027 Cruise2015 029