The Final Journey Home

I got told by a couple of British people that their obsession with health and safety was just progress and would be in New Zealand within a few year. Well I hate to tell you this but we saw none of it in the US. At Manchester Airport we were told off for wheeling Holly on our car seat propped up on the front of our luggage trolley. Yeah she fell off once but it wasn't any great height and we were using common sense not to go too fast. We did it in San Fran and Auckland no one cared. Time to loose the paranoia in the UK and force the politicians to wind back the policy.

Anyway we were somewhat paranoid about time and arrived at the San Fran airport four and a half hours early. We actually had to wait 45 minutes for the counter to open. We were the first in the queue and enjoyed the very friendly experience of Air NZ staff. We sat down and had some Chinese before what we expected to be an arduous journey through US customs. Again we were wrong; they smiled and had us through in no time. The worst place we have experienced for customs was Heathrow. I was really surprised. In Heathrow three of our bags needed to be reexamined, one bag 3 times and they picked out the smallest detail. In San Fran I forgot about my toilet bag and they took the shaving cream and left the deodorant. 

So there we were waiting in the transit lounge for over two hours. Kids entertained themselves of course. Must have gone to the toilet five times and Holly needed to chat to anyone who would listen.

The difference between Air NZ and Virgin Atlantic was marked. On Virgin they just ignored attendant lights as they had so much to do or fix where as on Air NZ nothing was wrong and no one had a need to speak to an attendant. The attendants looked and acted completely professionally. On Virgin they were all made up and it felt more like a slightly out of control English holiday camp (Hi de Hi ) where the attendants also looked slight flustered.


The girls all sat together on one row just behind us (their choice). It had me concerned but they were amazing. Either playing with their flight entertainment or sleeping as we left at 10pm. 




The rest of the journey was just as uneventful. Customs in Auckland is always a hassle as bags are thoroughly checked with a concern for our bio-security is so strict. It still took less than an hour and we had time to walk over to the domestic terminal. We had another wait and boarded our final flight from Auckland to Nelson. 

The arrival was strange. Oma and Opa to greet us. The cousins Anna and Aimee also turned up as did Sue's friend Delwyn. Being home means not having to travel any more but it also means a consistent job and resetting up our house. Dealing with the hassles of having had our house rented and getting back into schools etc. 

I will miss the British the most. Their friendship, openness and general attitude took me aback and I shall value the year greatly. If you are ever in NZ give us a bell. Bozzy your still the man and I hope we catch up sooner rather than later.

Last Day Overseas

We were off early today as we had pre booked a boat to Alcatraz.

It left at 9.10am and we were nice and early. It was nice to be back on a boat but it didn't take  long and we had landed. What an airy feeling walking up the road to where so many hard out nutters had been locked up in such a notorious prism. 

The tour here is superb with a oral description leading you through the different areas of the prison building. We heard about the two major break out attempts and general life in this hell. Its hard to image how close the prison (island) is from San Francisco. Some ex-inmates described how, with the right winds they could hear the party's from the city waterfront. 





After a couple of hours and chilling out around the grounds we left by boat again. As we peered out over the water from the ferry we realised that Team New Zealand was out racing against Luna Arossa. They were a long way off and it was hard to tell who was who. We docked and immediately went to the America's Village. 

It was great and we sat down to watch the racing on the big screen. Some of us preferred to just get comfortable and do as little as possible. When the end came nigh we ran to the dock side to watch the  kiwis come in. The course is designed very well in that it all happens very close to the wharf. The kiwis won by miles and we had to wait for some time for Luna Rossa to cross the line.

Team New Zealand celebrate while Luna Rossa are still heading over the line.

The cup village was the type of place to hang out for a few hours which we had. There was a kids zone where they actually got to sail a boat on land. Not quite the real thing but a chance to experience sailing and wind. Of course there was the inevitable bouncy castle and blowing toy boats down guttering type channels full of water. 





Later a couple of the Team NZ crew came out to sign autographs. None of the organisers seemed to know who they were but we managed to find out that one of them was named Grant Loretz, Sail Coordinator and Trimmer.

Once we had finished all this action we used the tram one last time before heading back to the hostel picking up all our gear and catching the taxi to the airport.

San Francisco and Biking Adventures

San Francisco has to be the coolest city I have ever been to. Heaps of people run and cycle and there is a cohesion to the city ethnically and socially I haven't seen in the US. The pieces just seem to fit together better and everybody seems far more informed about the rest of the world.

We started the day by taking a tram (F line) down to Fisherman's

Wharf. Something happened again which we hadn't experienced in a while. Our girls all sat on a seat separated from us. Four american woman (sisters) had them surrounded and after a short time were quizzing them on where we were from, where we had been and where we were going. They were quite taken by the girls and of course wanted the inevitable photo. Fifteen minutes later they bid farewell saying meeting the girls had made their day. 

We got off the tram and made our way to the San Francisco Bicycle Rentals. We we all measured up and good to go. Holly was especially keen as she imagined unbridled power with little effort having a clip-on on the back of my bike. 


The biking was easy and we cruised along the water front towards the Golden Gate Bridge.With a stroke of luck we came across the America's Cup set-up but unfortunately on a rest day. 

The bridge itself was awesome. Couldn't believe how many people were biking, running or walking over it. Great thing we had bells and put them to good use. The bridge itself is 2.7km long and gave breathtaking views of the city and harbour. It was surprisingly cold up there and we were glad to have polar fleeces. Unfortunately Julia pulled a slight muscle in her neck and we needed to curtail our longer journey to Golden Gate Park.

After dropping off the bikes we headed to Pier 39 known for it's huge crowds, seals and crazy shops. The seals were just hanging out probably bemused by the large number of people kept at bay watching their non-movement.

The crowds were large and the shops were fun. Our girls loved the piano staircase. As they ran up and down the music would play in accordance. They are amused by the simplest things and would have stayed a lot longer if not enticed away by the thought of ice-creams. The piers are a really happening place in San Francisco and also provide the typical tourist shops for souvenirs which Sue obliged willingly.

  

Arriving in San Francisco

It was a strange feeling driving up the coast. No time for sightseeing or stopping. We had spent the last nine days driving every day covering a total of over 2000 miles, way too far. We had to drop the rental in San Francisco central before 1pm and still had a drive of a little under four hours to get there.

The roads are very pleasant with straight freeways all the way requiring little slowing. We checked into our hostel first "Adelaide Hostel", before rushing to a petrol station. Eating on the run has created a rather large mess throughout the car. We used the vacuum to good effect and arrived at the rental drop-off with 15 minutes to spare. Because it was a Sunday it closed at 1pm.

Budget had created a small issue as they had entered my date of birth as the issue date of my license and were attempting to charge me extra for being a young driver. It all got sorted and as we were waiting we saw our car get wheeled out for the next client. "Man that was quick!!" It was all shiny again and looking like new. Obviously no time for checks though.

We bustled onto the sidewalk and attempted to get our bearings.

Yeah! No more car!!

The kids were re-leaved to be out of the car. All we wanted was food but it was a bit of a walk. Not only is San Fran highly expensive for accommodation but also for food. There were no Burger Kings or McD's for miles. Eventually we found a sandwich bar place in the like of Subway and settled down at Union Square for a picnic. 

We had a couple of hours to waste so took in China Town before climbing the hills to our Hostel. A nice place. We have a TV, free wifi and breakfast. In the evening they showed a movie but we only lasted 30 minutes as the Halo setting wasn't quite age appropriate.

Californian Coast Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo

Today we cruised up the Californian coast from Victorville to San Luis Obispo. As luck would have it it was a Saturday and the traffic was not too bad as we bypassed Los Angles. 

Holly airborne

We first stopped at Refugio State Beach. Just a nice beach quite like our own along the coast. After a shower and clean up we were off again. It was pretty cool to see names like Santa Barbara and Santa Maria before stopping again at Pismo Beach.

Pismo is the ultimate seaside experience with the hordes checking out the shops and walking the boardwalk. Ironically we found the 20C at the beach cold and decided not to go in. 


The hostel didn't open until 4.30pm, (whats with that) so we went and caught a movie Despicable Me 2 and checked out the town. It's probably the first town with a town center we have come across which is nice.

Cooking at Calico

400 miles is a long way no matter how you cut it. Julia says, "I need to go the toilet", reply "after another 100 miles". We left early and finally made Calico Ghost Town over five hours later.

Now this is heat. Yeah sure only 106F but this time we were out in it for 90 minutes. The town itself is pretty much as the name suggests. A western type ghost town with mostly authentic shops and buildings apart from now they sell nick knacks or food.

The high lights included the train which was no more than 200m long but had a great description of what the town used to be. We got talking to a Mexican couple. She lived some where famous on the coast of Mexico I had never heard of and I am fairly sure she didn't know where New Zealand was especially when she asked what other language we spoke and suggested we were both speaking English as a second language. Really nice people though. Reminds me of speaking to people in the UK. One of my classes told me they couldn't understand anything I was saying for the first month. That did explain a few things.

The mine was the other highlight. The idea of walking through a darkly lit cave heading who knows where never gets old. It gave a great description of the silver mining and the conditions the men were working in. It's well worth a visit to this town and the price is reasonable. Just ignore the attempt to make it in to some sort of theme park. If you go mid summer you can also experience the conditions they would have lived under. All my girls including the biggest one struggled with the hour we were here. Imagine if there wasn't any power.

A World Of Wonder - Grand Canyon & Walnut Canyon

From the moment we arrived in the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve we were enveloped in the splendor of one of the world's most beautiful wonders.

 We parked up at Mather Point. It is one of the South Rim's premier overlooks and then caught a shuttle to the start of our trail of choice South Kaibab Trailhead. We walked down as far as Ooh Aah Point before turning around and trudging back up. The walk captured an inspiring landscape as it wove its way down. 

South Rim - South Kaibab Trail

It kind of overwhelms all of your senses.(My grasp of Hollys hand was causing us both to sweat!) Sheer cliffs greeted anyone who slipped over the edge with no railing.

After our hiking effort we went into the Grand Canyon Visitor Centre and relaxed in the air con watching the park film Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder.
Its story tells of geologic processes played out over unimaginable time spans as a unique combination of size, colour, and dazzling erosional forms: 446 river kms long, up to 29km wide, and 1.6km deep. Its rugged landscape hosts a fascinating variety of plant and animal communities. From the desert next to the Colorado River deep in the canyon to montane forests atop its North Rim it is also home to five Native American tribes; Hopi, Navajo, Havasupai, Pauite and Hualapai.

Me and my dad, oh and the Grand Canyon!

Trail blazers, explorers and tour guides.

As we travel there is a fine balance of wanting to see as much as possible but also managing every ones needs. This is not always easy to juggle. We decided we would try to squeeze in a little more before returning to the comfort of our room and swimming pool.

We cruised along the rim passing various view points. We stopped at the Desert View Watchtower for a quick look. The tower 

Desert View Lookout

provides fantastic views of the Painted Desert. From the car we got an expansive perspective, it is hard to see anything but a harshly spectacular and ruggedly beautiful landscape. Man made structures are often hard to spot because they have such a minimal footprint on the canyon's grandeur.

Later we drove back to Flag Staff and detoured to the Walnut Canyon National Monument. This was really fascinating as the Sinagua tribe lived there between 1100 and 1250. We were warped back in time to see how this small Indian community/tribe lived.

We walked a trail and discovered the many cliff dwellings and the plants that grow precariously there. We cited the cacti plants we had been searching for. 

The visitor centre had lots of static displays which were really educational. Models of Indian living etc.

Another day of adventure, another day of sun, heat, hours in the car. All in need of a good nights sleep. Hope all is well in your patch of the world.

Hoover Dam and Meteor Crater

I had hoped today would be a little shorter but with the vast distances in this country and stopovers never being short we are finding little down time.

Luckily we managed to leave early again 8.30am. Hoover Dam is

located not far from Las Vegas and we parked up after less than an hour. The run into the dam is quite beautiful with the man made Lake Mead appearing out of the dry rocky scene. 

Its a short walk from the official car park to the dam and visitors center. They showed us an informative movie of how and why it was made way back in the 1930's and then take you down into the power generation area with the massive turbines. Apparently the lift took us down 70 stories as the dam itself is 220m tall. In typical American misinformation they were at pains to explain the environmental master piece of the construction. Only later have I read about the devastation of the animal and plant life at the delta when they virtually blocked off all river flow to build up Lake Mead. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

Walking on the dam itself is free and just past it is free parking. It gave a sense of the vastness of the construction and the beauty of the surrounding cavern. Not to be missed is a walk along the inter state bridge well above the dam. It gives amazing views of the whole area. 

It was a very long drive from the dam to where we were staying in Flagstaff Arizona. Fast driving though with the very straight inter state allowing 75miles/hr. Four hours later we arrived but only stopped to get our keys before continuing on another 40 miles to the Meteor Crater.

Now this place is impressive. A 1200m wide and 170m deep. We just sat there awestruck and enjoyed the vista. Initially scientists had thought it was volcanic and they couldn't find the meteor. But apparently is was made by a rock the size of two buses, not very large considering the devastation  When it hit it mostly burnt up having been traveling at 20km/second. Only fragments were found.

It was back to Flagstaff next and a quick swim in their pool before tea and bed. I had been concerned about a number of our accommodations because of some of the bad reviews. However, between nice beds, cable T.V., free wifi and breakfast what do people expect. How far can $65US a night go? We have found the staff really friendly where ever we have been.

Chilling out in Las Vegas

We had thoughts of going to a couple of National Parks around Las Vegas but decided against it as we were really tired. Instead we slept in, chilled out and headed to the strip just before noon. 

The main boulevards are so wide, up to four lanes wide. They create a perpendicular grid and are surprisingly frequent. You would think that the simplest things like buying groceries and petrol would go easily, but not so. You have to prepay for the petrol (no guessing why) and between lbs and club cards supermarket shopping is messy. The groceries are also noticeably more expensive here than the UK. However, we are happy with this adjustment as the whole place is so chilled out.

 The first thing our kids noticed as we approached the strip was the working roller coaster. It certainly is the entertainment capital of the world. It's hard to see anyone getting bored here. Just for convenience the main international airport is no less than one kilometer from the strip. Arrive and away you go.

We parked in a building and immediately entered what was the M&M building floor 4. A dancing M&M, OK and whats more three other floors of the same M&M merchandise. They did show a free 3D movie and it was actually really good.

After some time we departed and just wandered down the strip, cool. It was hot though so we headed across the street and into the New York - New York Hotel and Casino where the roller coaster was located. Julia was on tippie toes but just wasn't tall enough so we gave the coaster away. Its immense in these places. From where we entered there were a number of shops and food outlets. Then we went down an escalator onto the main casino level. It was like a massive cavern, 

maybe 100 meters square with no pillars holding anything up. To

one side there was an alley with more restaurants. The main area was full of slot machines. The poker tables looked the most authentic and even the roulette wheel was electronic.

We found the arcade area and indulged the kids. Holly enjoyed shooting spiders from a jeep.

Time was flying so we made our last stop the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. Like most things in this place it was extravagantly made. For us a chance to eat ice creams. We are not learning though. Small here is bigger than medium at home. Needless to say I had to finish off plenty of ice cream. We had the same problem at McD's and for the first time in my life left food behind. Unfortunately the effects are noticeable on most locals waistlines.   

Goodbye Northop Hall Part II

Sara, Annie, Dee, Ang, P.T.A members A Dee?! Lovely mid week lunch THANKS Ang!!! (my long lost Welsh relative)

Sasha, Soph, Jules, and Jasmine

Julas, Jessica and Rose

Good mates, Holly and Alan

Julia, William and McKenzie

Jules and Macca

Sharon, Sue and Sarah (Sarah and I were born within 2 days of each other!)

Goodbye, until we see each other again!

Goodbye Northop Hall

Thank you Northop Hall School Community

The girls shared a little of N.Z during a sharing assembly. Sophia is doing a poi demo to Poi e

Full school assembly

To the families, teachers, staff of Northop Hall, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you. My family and I have been here for two weeks short of a year. We came to Wales as part of an ‘exchange’. My husband has done a job swap. It was really by chance that we ended up being part of your community. The fact that this happened has been a highlight of the whole experience. We just love Northop Hall school, it has a dedicated team of staff, supportive parents and wonderful children that have embraced our girls. Our girls have been so happy here and will REALLY miss their new friends. We are grateful for your part in making the experience so memorable. We will go home with fond memories of the U.K, and will never forget the generous, friendly, warm hearted Northop Hall community.

Lovely girls

Kind regards,

Sue, Henry, Sophia, Julia, Holly Kersten

This is what we posted into the school newsletter. The last days in Northop Hall were really hard, so  hard for us to say goodbye!

Shared bring your own picnic on last day at school

Sharon, Emlyn, Sophia, Lucia and Isobella. Holly's childminder family.