Fishy tales

We have had a lovely few days driving down highway 1 from San Francisco to LA. The first day we visited the Napa Valley, and you will be surprised to hear, did not buy a single bottle of wine (though we sampled a few). Unfortunately there was just not enough room in the backpacks. We stayed in a little hotel in Calistoga, that had a very cool blues/ funk band playing in the bar downstairs. Our next drive was to Monterey, where we visited the famous Aquarium. It was massive, and a great experience. Highlights included a blue fin tuna feeding viewed from under the surface (an amazing feeding frenzy), tanks and tanks of different species of beautiful jellyfish, a 2 storey high kelp forest with its own wave machine to simulate the motion of the sea, and some cute sea otters. Last night was in Santa Barbara. The drive down through the Big Sur National Park was very picturesque, though unfortunately a lot of the coast was shrouded in fog. We checked into our LA Hotel today. We are right around the corner from Hollywood Boulevard, and had lunch at a diner that has been here since 1947. It is like a set from Happy Days, and the cheeseburger and chocolate shake were great! Pretty warm here, so have already tried out the pool. How's the weather in Melbourne? xx

Hawaii photos now available!

Click on the link in the right hand column...

Dinner and a Show

The charm of San Francisco is not wearing off. We are still having a great time. On the theory that we should experience everything the town has to offer, we had a very interesting dinner at an Asian fusion food restaurant. The main drawcard is that all the waitresses are transvestites, and during the meal the music starts pumping and they each get up on the bar and perform their best drag routine. To quote the ladies themselves, they are truly miracles of modern science!

Yesterday we caught the bus down to the Golden Gate Bridge for the obligatory pics, and then headed into town to have lunch at Francis Ford Coppola's Italian restaurant. We realised half way through lunch that the man himself was sitting 2 tables down, holding court, but Adam declined the waiter's offer of an introduction.

Today is our last one here, and we pick up the hire car to head over to the Napa Valley tomorrow. Miss you all! Photos hopefully in the next 24 hours.

Hookahs on the Haight

We are now settled in San Francisco, in a funky renovated hotel called the Red Victorian. It is owned by a lady named Sami Sunchild, and we are a little disappointed that we have yet to meet her! There are paintings all over the hotel and cafe which she has made, with messages of peace and love for the world. If you haven't guessed yet, we are staying in Haight Ashbury. It is a great area, with heaps of eclectic little shops and cafes. Maddi is loving this city so much she tried to convince Adam to move here last night. We have both agreed that we would not want to work in the health care system though. Yesterday we wandered around Chinatown and the Italian area, and generally just enjoyed the vibe of the city. After shredding the sides of her shoes while walking over the lava rocks in Hawaii, Maddi had the most impressive shoe shine on the street, by a guy listening to loud blues music while he applied a total of 5 lotions and potions. We found a Middle Eastern bar/ cafe near us, with great food. More interesting though is the hookahs you can have them bring to your table. Great big brass and glass implements, through which you can smoke your flavoured tobacco of choice. It made for a very interesting evening! Unfortunately the downside of this town is the multitude of homeless people on the streets. It says a lot about the social services in the US, that there are so many of them, a lot in wheelchairs. Here for a few more days, and then we are driving down to LA.

Stone temple tourists

We decided that it couldn't all be about pools and lava, so we took a drive north to visit an old Hawaiian temple. It was relatively new compared to some of the Japanese ones we visited, as it was built in the late 1700s. According to historians, the guys who built it formed a human chain 30 miles long to pass the rocks from the lava flow inland, to the beachside temple site. It all came to nothing though, as in the end the poor royals were overthrown, and the rest is history as they say.

Now we are in Waikiki for the next two nights. There are slightly fewer Japanese here than in Tokyo, but the weather is better and we can get Japanese bento(box lunches)again. Our $55 per night hotel is a real find, and about the only one that has so far come in under our initial planned accommodation budget. Oh well. Off to Pearl Harbour tomorrow, and then San Francisco the next.

The agony and the ecstasy

For those of you who know Adam and his love of music, you may be aware of his passion for an obscure band called Redd Kross. It was with a sense of fate taking a hand that he realised the band were going to be playing for the first time in 9 years, in LA, the weekend we are there. His sources sent him all the info, but the tickets were not yet on sale and he had to wait anxiously. Finally he logged on yesterday to discover the tickets were on sale! A rapid trawl through the website, we clicked on the "Buy now" and...aaaargh...all sold out. The depths of despair. This morning, on the off chance, he called the box office directly, only to find they had been keeping a few to sell direct over the phone. In the words of the nice lady on the other end, "if you'd called 5 minutes later, they would have been sold out". He is now the very excited owner of 2 of the 125 tickets released. Maddi plans to listen to much Redd Kross on the iPod in the next couple of weeks, so she can sing along and look like she deserves to be at this elite event.

Madam vs the Volcano

The Big Island has proven to be not as sunny as Maui, but still lovely and warm. Who can complain when the pool is 30m from your door!

One of the challenges for both of us has been driving on the "wrong" side of the road. "If you're not on the right, you're wrong" has become a bit of a mantra. No incidents so far (at least none that were our fault). The Jeep Wrangler we have at the moment looked the part for an adventure and that's exactly what we had yesterday.

Setting out first thing in the morning (11am), we set off on the 90 odd mile drive. This took about 3hrs as the roads are quite narrow and twisty, but we eventually reached the Volcanoes National Park. Our main aim was to see some lava. Having consulted "the guru" and others in the know, we must thank the guru in partiular for his sage advice. "Ignore the warning signs and keep walking". Well, we did just that for nearly 2 hours across the lava flow that has set hard since 1982. We timed our visit to coincide with sunset and when we finally saw the lava hitting the sea and exploding into the air, of course we got closer! About 400m was as game as we were happy to get. The rangers stories of the flow collapsing into the sea had gotten to us. Besides, its always the foreign tourists that get into trouble! The return trip was aided by a full moon, but was no easier in the dark. Maddi nearly face planted on the lava flow but in the end, superficial abrasions and exhaustion were the only repercussions for our adventure.

For now, its back to the pool!

Where's my maitai?

Cruising on Maui

As we have too much self respect, we have not asked a passer by to take a photo of us sitting in our Chrysler convertible with the top down, so you will just have to believe us...we look really cool and not AT ALL like tourists. It has been 30 degrees every day, and it is lovely and cool in the evenings up where we are staying. Last night we drove to the top of Mt Haleakala, which is the highest peak in Maui. It is renowned for its beautiful sunrises, but the sunsets are just as good and at a much more humane time. The drive up was a little scary, as the clouds were so low we drove through them, and it was like incredibly thick fog. At the top, you emerge into shining sun, and it is like being in a plane. It was amazing. Heading off to the Big Island tomorrow for a week in a condo...no Hawaiian shirts purchased as yet, but Adam has acquired a local politician's campaign t shirt which he wears with pride. Joe Pontanilla for Maui County Council!

Feast at Lele

The weather remains divine - a perfect 29degrees C (84F for those from stateside). Plenty of snorkelling and fun in the sun. Thanks very much to Tommy and the Four Winds II crew for a delightful trip out to Molikini. Crystal clear water and and abundance of marine life including giant turtles on the way home.

We are currently up in Kula; halfway up Mt Haleakala. Amazing how much the temperature drops with a bit of altitude. Lots of eucalypts in places, so at times its easy to think we're back home.

Last night we attended a luau of sorts. Delightful food from polynesia and traditional dances including the haka (go figure!).

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Hawaiian Paradise

After a gruelling 26 hour journey from Tokyo to LA to Honolulu to Maui, we made it at last! Yes, we know you can get here more quickly and directly but the flights were cheap. Thanks to Tommy and Marilyn for extending their hospitality in their lovely home. At last we have some glorious sunshine and a view to match, looking down into town and across and up to Mount Pu'u Ulaula (10,023ft).

Whilst we haven't checked out the north shore just yet, we have put snorkel and flippers on to have a look at the local fish population on the south side. We really feel like we are on holiday now!! Surf reports to follow.....