so it's been a while.....

Sorry folks, we haven't posted for a while, we have had limited connectivity and when we have had it the strength of signal was not enough to upload photos.

So we left you in Chicago...since then we have driven across America, through the Rocky Mountains, to Los Angeles! It's a long way and not a lot to see on the freeway and we didn't have enough time to take the back roads so we had to settle for pulling off the freeway and exploring towns and sites and getting back on the freeway. But we saw some incredible things! And a lot of nothing! And a lot of amazing scenery, it was a week of contrasts!

We event went off road in the Sled!

We went to an animal refuge centre in Colorado where rescued animals live. We saw lions, tigers, bears, all sorts of beautiful and exotic animals that now live in peace and quiet on 750 acres. The way the refuge is set up is all about the comfort and protection of the animals so you walk above them on a suspended walkway 50 feet off the ground. Apparently walking along the ground is threatening to them, but they don't view the space above them as their territory so they aren't threatened by you and really pay no attention. It means you get to see them in their natural habitat.

we found a lion who sleeps like Henry!

We stopped in lots of cute little towns in the Rocky Mountains, and saw what a huge ski resort Colorado is, it was mind boggling how much bigger the ski fields are than in Australia and how much more infrastructure there is. There were outlet malls and shopping centres, hundreds of restaurants and shops, it was amazing.

The towns were lovely but we picked a remote stop with an amazing view for dinner. Love being able to pull over and make a meal wherever we like, it is one of the great things about the RV.

The weather was bitterly cold and it was snowing as we drove through the top of the mountains. But we felt compelled to stop for a family pic using time lapse. We got there eventually!

Then we went down the mountain and into Vegas and stinking heat! It was unbearable! We stopped at Calico, a ghost town that has been restored and is run as a tourist attraction. We enjoyed the actors playing miners and all the touristy stuff but we really loved going into a real mine and seeing how it worked. It was so nice and cool down there too!

This house is made out of wine bottles!

I've been saying for years that shoes are art.

After we had explored the ghost town we hit the road and went in search of an old school diner so we could have the quinessential burger and fries and sundae! We found two, couldn't decide so had burgers at one and sundaes at the other. It was really cool!

We picked up a cool T'shirt for Glenn at one of the MANY truck stops we frequented. He will wear it with pride...once we are back in Australia!!!

We thought this T shirt deserved an honourable mention too...great use of humour from the Colorado paramedics!

After many long days driving hundreds of miles we stopped at a cute little town for dinner and to let the kids have a play in the park and eat dinner outdoors. It was one of many towns that has died since the freeway went in and the kids thought it was so cool that we were the only people around. The train track ran right through town and trains with upwards of 50 carriages went through while we were there.

After days on the road in close quarters the mood was a little tense so rather than a bonding family meal the boys decided they would rather a quiet al fresco meal for one.....

so it took some morale building icecream sundaes to get their smiles back!

We eventually made it to LA and DISNEYLAND! The boys were beside themselves for pretty much every second of the 12 hours we spent at Disneyland - it is open until midnight! The lines were long, at least an hour each, and there were millions of people but it was still fun, it is the happiest place on earth as they say!



One of dozens of pram parking spaces. It was incredible how many people there were! We all struggled with the crowds a bit.

Glenn was pretty impressed with my choice of footwear for our night session at Disneyland. Sorry Mum, I know you will be mortified but it turned so cold! Plus, everyone else wears them out around town! And it was dark!

The crowds dropped a little once the sun went down and with all the lights Disneyland just became even more magical.

 So Disneyland has submarines! That actually work...no, I'm leaving that one alone.

And Glenn has a silly hat fetish...which is easily indulged at Disneyland...

we went on lots of rides, even Mummy went on some! (not the scary ones though)

And this look on Will's face during the fireworks display and singing and dancing show at the end of the night is what Disneyland is all about. He loved it. Every second.

So now we are in a Navy base RV park in Los Amitos trying to figure out how to pack 20 bags worth of stuff into 10 bags. I'm being VERY quiet. The children have legged it to the playground and Glenn is muttering a lot. I could be in trouble here, there is no hiding all the shoes and bags now!

Tomorrow we hand back the Sled and swap it for a normal car and we are going to explore LA and Hollywood for two days before we get on a big jet plane Friday night.

We should get one more post in, of our Hollywood adventures, so stay tuned!