Final Boarding Call

Well ladies and gentlemen please raise your tray tables and return your seats to the upright position, as we are about to begin the decent back to our loved ones in Australia, we hope you have enjoyed coming along for the ride as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you, to everyone who has joined in with us and left comments thankyou so much we have both felt your love and wishes cross the miles between us and they have helped us get through what has been a long enjoyable incredible adventure, we are currently at San fransisco international airport waitimng to board our plane to come home, we had a great day in the nappa Valley and the incredible Muir woods followed by a great meal at a swanky resturant in uptown San Fran with Jim nad Barbera the guys we met at Cairo, ok we have been called up cant wait to see you all very very soon, Thankyou all again with love Ralf & Sam xxx

Clang, Clang, Clang goes the Trolley!

Well with our time on the trip of a life time nearly over we did some reflecting while eating dinner last night. Top 5 memories... couldn't do it, favourite city... couldn't do that either and so it continued too many incredible experiences to choose from. Every city has provided us with memories for a life time.

Anyway it is not over until we are home with those near and dear to us in Brisbane so on with the memories...

This mornings plan was a walk down the 6 blocks to the trolley car and head into Union Square the shopping mega. We had breakfast at the famous Boudins bakery with Ralf having french onion soup in sourdough bread and I had a turkey and salad sandwich... I say breakfast but it was 10.30 by this time. The trolley was an experience lots of fun. Then it was time to hit the shops with Macy's first on the list. Didn't get to Macy's in NY so had to go before leaving the US. The plan included us separating and meeting back at 11.00, so 20mins to shop alone... a big call you may say, anyway I was up to the challenge.

First stop bag department where I was drawn by lots of orange. Saw a lovely bag kept looking but went back to it and cha ching bought it! Next shoes up two floors come on girl go!

Lots of sale shoes but they all seemed to be small sizes and then the jackpot that I didn't hit in Vegas right in front of me 5 racks of size 10 and up shoes tried on 6 pairs in 4 mins and ended up with 3 pairs for 75$ (plus tax!!!). Down 2 levels to meet Ralf who was disenchanted with Macy's. On recommendation from his bestie it was off to Old Navy, where he bought a couple of things, we then found a Westfield mall with Norstrums and Bloomingdales (where I touched a pair of Jimmy Choos). More looking a little more buying and Ralfie fading fast. We are now back at the hotel recovering before we go and suss out pier 1 where we catch the ferry to Valhaio tomorrow for our visit to Muir woods and the Napa Valley.

More tonight from the anti-shopper (he needs to shop with someone and I need to be alone- what a dilemma). Have a great Friday!

Love from the Thursdays!!!!!!!

VIP is tops!!

Howdy Guys, well what a difference a couple of great nights sleep makes, we crashed yesterady at around 7.30 exhausted from our day at Alcatraz but today we have had a fantastic day full of energy and loving San Fran!

We had our Platinum tour of the Academy of Natural Sciences and man when they say platinum they mean it, we were treated like VIP's with behind the scene access, straight to the front of the line access ( really cool as the lines were long! ) and all the staff jumping to help once they saw the VIP Pass.

We had a personal tour from the head of the Entimology department who has just returned from 3 months in China cataloging new insect species, he was fascinating and so wrapped up in his work it was a delight to listen to someone who has an obvious passion for his field of expertise.

We were then taken behind the scenes to see how the museum operates from feeding and caring for the animals to how they draw sea water into the museum around 3k by pipelines for their aquarium exhibits, it was fantastic!

We then walked over to a beautiful Japanese Tea Garden and saw some beautifully crafted gardens and temples, it was very relaxing we also had some japanese tea ( ok i may have had a hot chocolate but Sam had green tea and that counts for both of us!! )

Tonight we are off to fishermans wharf for some seafood chowder and a look at all the shops that are there, while tomorrow is finally the day Sam has been waiting for SHOPPING DAY!!

Talk to you tomorrow hopefully with some cash left!! love you all Ralf & Sam xxx

Hello San Fran!!

Hey everyone and a big hello from San Fransisco, we had a great flight to San Fran and rested up well last night, we are in a great room right on the bay around about 500m from pier 39 which is great, today we hopped on a bus and did a loop of the city prior to hopping on a boat across to Alcatraz.

It was a fantastic experience, the conditions they had to endure were dreadful and it was a sobering sight to see the City through the small windows so close but absolutely unnatainable.

We had lunch at Chowders on the pier and we had a bowl of clam chowder with fish, calamari and chips, they serve the chowder in a hollowed out sourdough roll which was delicious and very filling.

This city is amazing with a diversity of buildings and cultures unlike any other place i have seen, two major earthquakes have shaped the city into old and new sections as re building has occurred and some of the Elizabethan architecture is truly stunning.

Tomorrow we have a day at the Academy of Natural Sciences and guess what the Museum next door has a King Tutenkamen exhibition!!! The Irony of it all!

Catch you all tomorrow Love Ralf & Sam xx

Bye Bye Vegas

Hello everyone well its that time again, to pack up all our wordly belongings and leave another amazing place in search of a new adventure, Vegas has been well lets say interesting, its as diverse as night and day, from the bright lights and ringing bells of the gaming venues to the stark beauty of one of the 7 wonders of the world, the wealthy that exists side by side with the young kids taking in their first vegas experience, it has been amazing and in a way i am sad to leave because i really dont think we got to know Vegas only because time didnt allow us to really explore what makes it tick, what i do know is that everything goes in Vegas!!

The wonderful array of outfits that people wear can only be seen here, people have no need for mirrors because if they think it looks good well they are bloody well going to wear it! and good on them i say!

We capped off our stay here with a wonderful night with some new found friends attempting to take a drink and bet a dollar in as many hotels as possible, well we made it to 7 casinos and dinner at the Harley Davison Cafe ( the tamest biker join t i have ever seen! ) Sam finishished up cradling an 18 inch high Strawberry Daquari in a container shaped like the Eiffel Tower!!

It was a great night starting at New York then moving to the MGM Grand, Bellagios, Monte Carlo, Balleys, and finishing in of course Paris, we won absolutely no money on the night but came away with some new friends which is worth more than money can buy.

So now we move on to SanFransisco where more fun and adventure await ( and more bloody walking, Trish you should have pushed me harder to join you on those morning walks!! )

Till then see ya not long to go now before we can share first hand our trip.

Love and miss you all Ralf & Sam xxx

How Grand it is...

Good morning to everyone back there in Aus. Ralf and I have had the most amazing start to our day (your yesterday) here in Nevada.

We were picked up by a stretch limo, yes Steph a stretch limo and taken 5 minutes across the road to the Sundance helicopter company to begin yet another adventure of a life time. We were weighed (and not rejected) then assigned to our helicopter. We were with an Australian couple from Melbourne (who are living in London) and a freaky couple from Florida. Allan was our pilot.

Life jackets, safety instructions the obligatory smile for the camera and we were seat belted in and wired for sound with headsets. Then it was up, up and away.

WOW!!!! The views were incredible as we left the strip behind us and headed toward Boulder city and beyond. Amazing that with so much water in the lakes and rivers and still no greener just plenty of Sage bush. Incredibly beautiful just the same. A quick flight over the amazing structure of the Hoover Dam and it was onward to the mighty Grand Canyon.

I was breathless as we came over the ridge and our eyes feasted on our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. Such incredible natural beauty created by mother nature at her best.

Our helicopter landed on ancient Indian grounds where we had time to take in the spectacle before us. We were then treated to a champagne picnic lunch with our fellow crew mates and back into the helicopter for the return journey to Sin City.

The return journey flew us back over a multi million dollar marina and then just when you think it couldn't get any better we took a spin down the strip to get the best view of Las Vegas going!

And guys this is just the morning... this afternoon we are off on a 'casino crawl' with a couple of Aussie Shelias we met the other night it is a drink and a dollar bet at as many casinos as we can up and down the strip!!! wish us luck!!!

Sam and Ralf

The Divine Miss M

Well today we had a fantastic morning, we awoke at 11.30 and it was bloody beautiful!!!!

We took in a little of the strip booked a 3 day hop on bus and went for a gondola ride at the Venetion it was pretty cool, then of course it was time to meet Bette, she was great Sam really loved it and Steph i didnt cry!!!

Tomorrow is a busy day with the Grand Canyon in the am and we are catching up with the guys from Canberra for dinner in the evening, we have also heard from the guys we met in Egypt from Sanfransisco who have offered to take us to the Muir Forest and the Nappa Valley where they live, we have a spare day in San Fran so we are going to take them up on their generous offer and see some beautiful Redwoods!!

Ok guys it was a lay day today so not many pics but just enough to let you know we are in Vegas!!

Love you all not long now before we can see yhou all and share our stories in person!

Catch you tomorrow Ralf & Sam xx

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Hello everyone well today was another very big day with an early morning wake up and trip to the airport for a 5 hour flight from New York to Las Vegas not the most pleasant experiences of my life but still we made it to the lights and glamour that is Vegas, we got into the hotel at around 1.30 Vegas time and crashed for a couple of hours until we left for a neon lights tour which was really good i put 1 dollar into a slot machine and on my very first pull won 25$ that kept Sam and a couple of ladies from Canberra ( also on our tour ) busy for around an hour untill it was all gone, we had a lot of fun for our dollar and because we were playing the slots free beer and strawberry Daquiris, as i said lots and lots of fun!!,

more tomorrow when we explore and see Bette Midler ( Yay ) Love you all Ralf & Sam xxx

Washington DC WOW!

Ok guys Washington was well worth the 4 hour bus trip to get here what a fantastic city wide streets that are really clean beautiful monuments and very friendly people, my highlight was the air and space museum that held such magnificent thiongs as the appollo 11 landing module and other really cool stuff Sam said that the Lincon Memorial was her favorite iot was a very big day beginning at 6am and we are on the bus now at 7.30pm with an arrival time at midnight!!

Mum Washington is a lot like Adelaide with wide streets and parklands surrounding the city except that this place has heaps of monuments scattered around the parklands!!

Love you all Ralf & Sam xxxx

Sandra's New York

Well I have finally managed to wrestle the computer away from Ralf long enough to post a blog on what I think about the BIG APPLE.

After a disasterous begining, it was great to be in such an amazing city to help me to forget for a minute. New York is amazing, there is such a buzz as you walk aroubd the city streets, you really can feel it in the air. Speaking of air, never have I been sooooo cold in my life. Temps about 27F (not sure any more about celcius) but the wind chill factor drops it down to about 19. After our visit to the statue of liberty I really didn't think I would ever be warm again. Yesterday wasn't so bad wind wise. The people in NY are fabulous, I think every aussie would feel at home here. Our first morning in starbucks we met a couple of guys, one was waiting to meet the mayor to launch the 2010 census and Ralf was talking to a guy with a thick Jersey accent. Oh we are having some language barrier issues making oursleves understood sometimes too, funny that English needs translating too. I am learning to say restroom, as saying toilets really offends people!

highlights of New York? I loved the Museum of Natural History, Ralfie wasn't real keen but we found it difficult to drag ourselves away. Walking through central park, we bought some Kosher soup in the park, nothing has ever tasted better, the glitz and glamour of the Empire State and Rockerfeller centres and then of course our first NY cab ride down to the Wintergarden theatre last night (as I wasn't walking down in just a skirt, leggings and jumper!!). Everthing is amazing time square... the list goes on and on. I even sent Ralf back to the room for a lay down yesterday and ventured into a Kmart near us for supplies yesterday. The girl on the checkout asked if we had big shops like the crappy Kmart she worked in, in Australia, I assured her we even had houses and big tall buildings!!!

The New Yorkers are very busy people but happy to help and give directions around their city, they really want to show it off.

Probably the biggest disappointment here so far has been ground Zero. Construction has started at the sight (finally the New Yorker say) but they seemed to have removed all memorials to it, which seems odd before they build the comemmoration to it. Overheard so many people say the same thing while we were there.

Today we are off to Washington for a flying visit, it will be great to get off the bus and walk from place to place, Ralf is having a little nap and snoring peacefully at the moment, conserving his energy!

Remember keep those messages coming we love it... it really does help to stave off the homesickness. Thanks Trishy for picking up Lynn, thanks Seb and Steph for making Lynn feel so welcome by both being there and making the house clean (NOT!!). Thanks Lynn for cleaning the house on your first day of holidays. Gerv it was great to hear your voice the other day and you too mum and Trish

Ok that is probably enough for now, Vicki the scenery has changed but no quilt signs yet and as Lynn so kindly pointed out I probably wouldn't know what to do with one!!!!!!

Love to all.

Sam XXXXX

P.S. John, I thought I just saw you drive past in the Polyair truck??

Pictures

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Mama Mia here we go again!!!

Hello guys well we are on the famous Bolt Bus at 33rd and 7th ready to leave for Washington DC, last night we went to see Mama Mia on Broadway and it was Fantastic a very high energy dancing and singing show! beforehand we went to dinner at a place called the stardust club where aspiring actors and singers serve tables and sing songs as you eat, it was a wonderful prelude to the show and really got us in the mood for the show.
Ok more details on our NYC trip now the Top of the Rock ( Rockafeller Centre was amazing much better than the Empire State Building as its closer to downtown Central Park etc and the decorations and lights on 5th avenue are beautiful, the Museum of natural history is huge and we went to the planatarium show which apparently was good ( I fell asleep when they turned the lights off, Sam said my snoring added to the whole experience!! )
We then walked through Central Park and tried to take a picture of those pesky squirrels but man they never stop moving!
We are both really tired and i have a little cold ( yes trish i would like some tissues !! ) but all in all we are doing ok, Washington should prove to be amazing, and if i see a quaker as we go through Pennsylvania Vic ill take a photo!
Steph your presents are going to be directly related to the amount of CLEANING you get done while we are away at the moment from what i hear all you are getting is a crappy
I Love New York T Shirt that i stole from some homeless guy!!
Madison Square Garden was unbelievable and im starting to get the accent here it goes smething like this ( That Guys a waste of a good Joisy aka Jersey )
Anyway im going to post more pics now and more tonight on the way back whew what a blog.
Love you all Ralf & Sam xxx

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Hope these make it!!

Quick NYC Update

Hi guys well just a quick update from us as i am having a great deal of trouble getting a good internet connection!! In NYC can you believe it!
We have been very busy going to Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero Site, Empire State building, Rockafeller Cetre, Central Park, and the Museum of Natural History, Whew Busy Busy Busy, we are on the Bolt Bus tomorrow so i will download a heap of pictures then Ok I promise!
Mama Mia tonight so i better go and warm up my vocal chords!!!
Love you all Ralf & Sam xxx

Lets Go Rangers Lets Go

Hey sports fans!!! Ok firstly thankyou all for your thoughts and good wishes it was fantastic to hear and read your good wishes we have moved on and spent a fantastic day in the big apple yesterday and WOW what a place the power needed to run this city for a day would run Australia for a year!!

Yesterday we did a lot of research bought a mobile phone so you guys can ring and leave text and voice messages if you choose remember we are 15 hours behind you so 12 noon here is 3am in Australia OK dont ring us at 3am!!!!!! the number is as follows the country code followed by the mobile 001 917 446 6005

Ok after lots of walking ( I have walked more this trip thasn in the last 5 years!! ) we enjoyed a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden it was unbelievable the lights the noise the hits fantastic!!

Well i better get back we have a huge day on yhe bus visiting sights today and tomorrow!

Talk to you soon Love you all Ralf & Sam xxx