Get Out! Travel

We are just back from a wonderful four day trip to San Diego.  We stayed in a nice hotel just outside of San Diego - the staff are so nice there and know us well so are always more than willing to help us out with any special requirements we have.  What's more is that the hotel have just had a major makeover and so everything was looking really sharp and shiny!

During the trip we were able to visit Sea World, the Wild Animal Park and Legoland!  We ate in some really nice restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory and even tried some Japanese food at Benihana's!

It was hard to decide what was the favorite place from everywhere that we went but some special moments that were mentioned were feeding the sea lions,  watching the lion cubs playing, seeing the amazing work that goes in to making the legoland buildings and characters and getting up close to the dolphins.

We have just spent a wonderful five days taking Liz home to see her family for the first time in a number of years since she moved out to Santa Barbara.

 We flew to Philadelphia and rented a wheelchair van and drove into New Jersey to a small town there that Liz used to call home.  We checked into a nice hotel which had great facilities for us.

 During the trip she got to spend a lot of time with her family and visiting some of the old places she used to go to, restaurants, library, swimming pools etc! 

We went to see a great show in Philadelphia, toured the visitors center there and saw the Liberty Bell and even took a horse and carriage ride around the old town.  We also spent a day in Atlantic City, enjoy the food in the casinos there and walking the famous Baordwalk while taking a look at the Atlantic Ocean which was much warmer than our Pacific Ocean!

We had a great meal with her wondeful family and we would like to thank them all and Liz for a great introduction to New Jersey and such a warm (if a little wet from all the rain) welcome!

Wow!  What an amazing and wonderful experience we have just had!  This trip was truly a "Bucket List" vacation!  We took the Amtrak train to Albuquerque and were pleasantly surprised with how easy it was.  We all managed to get some sleep and had a good breakfast on board in the morning!  

 Our hotel was nice and located in Downtown Albuquerque right on Route 66.  The public transportation was second to none, every single bus and train we used was accessible, including the Park and Ride shuttle buses into the balloon fiesta field.

We were plagued a little by wet and stormy weather but we found plenty of other things to interest us and keep us occupied.  The Old Town had some very interesting architecture and some wonderful art galleries, stores and restaurants.  We wandered Route 66 and shopped and shopped!  There is one of the most wonderful zoos any of us had ever visited.  All of the animals were up and playing and busy.  The Polar Bears were playing and eating and the giraffes came right over to see us, the lions were having a drink after their roaring session and the tigers were playing with balls in the water! The local people were all so nice and very helpful to us.

 Nobody seemed to mind getting up st 4:30am each day to take the ride out to the balloon field - somehow the sight of 800 balloons all taking to the air together made you forget how tired you were!

 With so many of us on the trip, it was hard to pick a favorite moment or balloon so we have included our top three photos of them and will let you decide.

Nancy and David both wanted to go to Disneyland but did not have enough funds available to go on a four day trip as is usual.  We designed a two day trip which meant leaving early on the first day and arriving home late on the second evening.  It was decided that we would try and go around Halloween as both parks are decorated and there is more activities to do at this time. 

We were able to fit in everything we wanted to and a whole lot more as well!  We met many characters, including TinkerBell and her fairy friends - on the day they all arrived in Disneyland!  We saw both parades and went on our favorite rides and some new ones.  The trip was a great success and both David and Nancy are saving hard so that they can go again next year!

Preston and Mark have both traveled with is a number of times.  We had all been to Hawaii before but Preston wanted to see Kauai.  Mark was keen to visit there also and so a vacation plan was hatched.

We left Santa Barbara very early on Sunday morning to catch the first of our two flights.  All went well and although it was a long day, we were settled in our nice beach front hotel in time to get some dinner before getting a good nights rest ready for the next day.

Our hired car meant we were able to be free agents and explore the island at our leisure instead of being on guided tours with limited time and a strict schedule.  The island is beautiful and we found many things to do and look at!  The beaches are of course beautiful, the mountain ranges spectacular and the shopping great!  We attended a really nice Luau with tasty food and a great show, set in 30 acres of botanical gardens!  We made ceramic gifts in the Gaylord Plantation and drove to the end of every road on the island!

Everybody's favorite part of the trip was the drive up to and the views of Waimea Canyon.  The waterfalls were full as there had been so much rain and as well as numerous birds, we were lucky enough to see mountain goats scrambling over the rocky canyon floor.

Our trip to Disneyland late in December was a truly magical experience!  Our group was eight in total - with only one guy amongst us!  Some had traveled with us before, some not and we had donated the total cost of the trip for one person to enable her to realize a long term dream!  The weather on the first day was not good and as we traveled down to Anaheim in convoy and with Christmas music on the radios, we were all a little worried as to how it would all turn out!  

We spent a wonderful first day in Disneyland - the weather was bright and sunny and only a little chilly.  We were able to see the Parade and the fireworks and all got a turn on the newly reopened "It's a small world".  Everyone got to go on their favorite rides and we were all pretty tired by the time we got into our beds that evening!

The next day we spent at California Adventure.  We were not so lucky with the weather, but we bundled up in raincoats and blankets and braved the storm anyway.  We managed to go on a couple of rides and visited a few of the attractions but the real highlight of the day was the lunch with the princesses in Arials Grotto.  We all had a great time in there and a few dreams came true - we have the pictures to prove it.  We must extend a huge thank you to all of the staff at the restaurant who helped us make it a memorable occasion for everyone and who even wiped away a few tears with us!