The third stop on my recent family trip to California, USA was San Diego. Rich in history, this city has a beautiful harbour and a huge naval presence.
(left) Mural at Old Town, San Diego.
(centre) Watching tortillas being made by hand.
(right) Harbour cruise - San Diego city in background.
(left) Statues at the entrance of Balboa Park.
(centre) Inside the Botanical Building at Balboa Park.
(right) Posing at Balboa Park.
(left) Waiting for one of the shows at Seaworld.
(centre) The Dolphin Show - Blue Horizons.
(right) Meeting the Count at Seaworld.
(left) Lego Darth Vader at Legoland.
(centre) Miniland - awesome models.
(right) A face-painted Julia roaring as a lego lion.
(left & centre) Flying planes on the USS Midway.
(right) The giant sized kissing couple statue near USS Midway.
San Diego was such a lovely city to visit with so much to do. There was just one disappointment at Legoland for Julia: "I thought the toilets would be made of Lego!"
Just one more California stop to go - can you guess where?
My Day on Sesame Street
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Here's another glimpse of my recent family trip to California, USA. Our second stop was Los Angeles - staying right in the heart of Hollywood. This place is bustling with tourists and a never ending allusion to stars and celebrities.
(left) Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(centre) Hand & footprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Julia: "I wish the ground was wet so I could do my footprints".
(right) One of many out of work actors posing for tips along Hollywood Boulevard.
(left) Griffith Park Observatory - the show in the planetarium was awesome!
(centre) The mammoths at the La Brea Tar Pits.
(right) "Urban Light" sculpture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
(left) Santa Monica beach.
(centre) Outside Universal Studios.
(right) Julia with Shrek and Princess Fiona at Universal Studios.
(left) Hollywood Bowl.
(centre) Shopping on Rodeo Drive.
(right) The famous Hollywood sign.
While we were staying in LA, there was night shooting for the Wonder Woman movie on Hollywood Boulevard, Penelope Cruz received her star on the Walk of Fame, and Helen Mirren left her hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre just a few days earlier.
LA was a wonderful place to visit - more California travels soon!
My Day on Sesame Street
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I have just returned from a family trip to the USA - the land of Sesame Street! It was such a fabulous holiday with many new experiences and wonderful memories.
Our first stop was San Francisco - what an incredibly friendly city with so many things to see and do. The cable cars, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz are all magnificent icons and wonderful sights.
(left) One of our first places we visited was the Golden Gate bridge.
(centre) On the same tour a stop at Twin peaks for a magnificent 180 degree view over San Francisco.
(right) Historic streetcars travel along the waterfront area to the city centre.
(left) The streets really are steep, but provide for awesome views at every corner.
(centre) Julia loved the beautiful heart sculptures at Union Square.
(right) These mooring bollards lined the street along the Fisherman's Wharf area - Julia called them "Shrek ears".
(left) Cable car views from our hotel balcony.
(centre) The gorgeous setting at the Palace of Fine Arts.
(right) This beautiful park is Transamerica Redwood Park in San Francisco city - surrounded by tall buildings in the financial district it is a real oasis of beauty.
(left) We stayed only a few blocks from Fisherman's Wharf.
(centre) Lombard Street was fun to walk down and the gardens were very well maintained.
(right) A feast of delicious sourdough bread from Boudin Bakery.
San Francisco has definitely won a place in my heart - more California travels soon!
My Day on Sesame Street
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Memorable moments from our trip to the circus on Saturday...
Julia (Miss 4) is thrilled to be at the circus. We are sitting ringside and she is looking around, noticing everything, from the disco ball lights to the number of cactus painted on the backdrop. She is very excited to see the cannons, but I have to explain that although they are cannon-shaped, they are actually lights.
The performers are dancing - a flamenco type of dance - to set the scene for the next act. Julia turns to me and says "It's a bit boring Mum".
At intermission, Dad offers to buy Julia some fairy floss, which is gratefully accepted. She eats about half of the packet. Then she notices that blow up hammers, flashing light sticks and other toys are being sold nearby. Of course she asks for one, but is turned down. I tell her that she has had enough treats today, to which she laments "Oh why, oh why did we get fairy floss?"
Julia is fascinated by the most daring act - the Wheel of Death. As the performer completes his act, he pulls his long hair out of a hairband before he leaves the stage. Julia says "Mum, he looks just like a girl now".
Her favourite act - the clowns of course! I think her love of slapstick comedy comes straight from her father :)
I will be away on holidays for a few weeks - but I should have plenty to tell you about when I get back!
Circus Star
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Julia (Miss 4) has a beautiful book called "No Matter What" by Debi Gliori. I bought it some time ago as I just adored the sentiment behind the words in the story - and well, let's face it, I wanted the book for myself.
"I’m grim and grumpy," said little Small,
"and I don’t think you love me at all."
"Oh Small,” said Large, “grumpy or not,
I’ll always love you, no matter what."
"If I were a grumpy grizzly bear,
would you still love me?
Would you still care?"
"Of course,” said Large. “Bear or not,
I’d always love you, no matter what."
It's become a game (and a good one for the car) for me to say something like "Would you still love me if I were a giraffe? - I'd be too tall to kiss". Julia then replies, "I'll always love you, no matter what. I'd get a ladder and climb up to kiss you".
Julia brought the book to me today and pointed to a picture inside. "I want to be just like this one, Mum", she said. I took a closer look. The cartoon-style picture is of a large green bug, sitting at a dinner table, slurping soup through a long proboscis. "Why would you want to be a bug?" was my immediate question. "So I can eat soup all the time", was her reply.
Don't grow up too soon, my gorgeous child.
When I Grow Up
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Julia (Miss 4) loves Barbie dolls. She loves to undress and dress them, cook for them, play fairy tales with them and sleep with them.
Barbie's birthday was yesterday, March 9th. It's hard to believe that Barbie has been around since 1959! So whilst Barbie is celebrating her 52nd birthday (and she looks so good too!) I'm having a double celebration of my own.
Jelly Bean Books has just reached 1700 Facebook likers and Mini-Me Handcrafts has just reached 100 likers so let's have another giveaway!
For a chance to win this package, all you have to do is visit & "like" both of my Facebook pages, tag yourself in one Barbie competition photo on each page, then send me an email to chris@jellybeanbooks.com.au to confirm your entry.
Entries will close at 9.00pm (NSW) on Sunday 13th March 2011 at which time all tagged names which have been confirmed by email will go into a random draw for the package. The winner will be notified by email, then I will let you know the winner on Facebook.
Good luck and thanks for all your support!
Handmade Children's Ponchos & more
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Personalised Children's Books
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Joel is 13 years old and has a dream. Like so many other boys, he would love to play for the Socceroos one day. He has been playing soccer for the past 8 years and soccer is his passion.
What sets Joel apart from others is his amazing dedication to soccer which has enabled him to play and to play well. You see, Joel has Aspergers Syndrome and also has Type 1 Diabetes. His parents were told that he would never play team sports but his absolute love for soccer has spurred him on and he has now been selected to play for Wide Bay U13's. This is one step away from making the State team!
Unfortunately, there is quite a significant cost to play at such a high level and so the Facebook community has banded together to help Joel's parents Tracey & Sebastian meet this cost. There's an auction on Facebook right now at Help Joel Kick a Goal. The auction opens at 9.30am Monday March the 7th and finishes at 8.30 pm AEST Sunday March the 13th.
There are many absolutely fabulous items donated by amazing friends and very talented people on Facebook. Please take a look and place a bid on something to help support this amazing boy and help him to reach his goals, surpass his hopes and live his dreams.
G-o-o-oal! A Soccer Story
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Available now from Jelly Bean Books.
