Disneyland!

Finally we were on my turf! Disneyland opened at ten am so we all had a bit of a sleep in and then it was over to the original park. We exchanged our vouchers - you have to love 14 day park hoppers for $251!

Patricia was scooting along on skeeter her electric scooter that we had hired for the rest of the trip but it was still slow going. Moving 15 people along at a reasonable speed is not easy

We started the day with a ride on Pirates just to get them all in the mood and then it was onto the Haunted Mansion Holiday. I love Nightmare Before Christmas but I prefer the original Haunted Mansion to this overlay. We tried to ride Splash Mountain but no matter how hard we tried it was down for most of the morning. We still took time to judge the best decorated shower cap and I'm pleased to report that Lisa with her octopus inspired cap was the winner!

For months I had been looking forward to trying a fried green tomato sandwich. I have one thing to say - Fail! It was soggy and not at all nice. Lunch was eventful for our trip mascot Izzy though. He had an intimate encounter with a preying mantis.

After lunch we decided to split up and regroup at two for our unbirthday party. Those who stayed with me enjoyed the Matterhorn, the Tea Cups and numerous goes on Buzz Lightyear.

There was some scoffing before the birthday party but the photos below show 15 ladies devoting far too much attention to decorating those birthday cakes! For anyone looking for a fun way to celebrate a birthday at Disneyland for $20 a head you can attend this private party which includes an audience with Mickey!

After much cake was consumed most of the group decided and afternoon break was in order. The less smart ones who stayed with me got to try Splash Mountain finally as we'll as Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and most notably dole whip!

The park closed at eight so we slowly headed out to meet the rest of the gang for dinner at the House of blues. The wait however was over two hours so we settled for Rainforest Cafe which is always fun! The bill was over $800!

We eventually made it to bed by midnight!

Leaving the lights behind.......

The plan for today was to ride a gondola, eat brunch at the Wicked Spoon and catch a bus to Anaheim to meet up with the fifteenth member of our group.

Intelligence from last night led us to believe the gondoliers opened at ten am so after packing up our rooms and leaving our bags with the bellhop a we walked down to the Venetian. We quickly found out that although the ticket booth opened at ten the rides did not begin until ten forty five.

Veronica was not with us and we had told her we would meet at eleven so I skipped the ride and went back to meet her after arranging to meet the rest of the gang at Wicked Spoon.

I got to the meeting place ten minutes late and waited for another ten minutes before deciding she wasn't coming. I headed down the strip to the Cosmopolitan Casino where I found he waiting for me! We made our way inside to Wicked Spoon where we waited and waited. After a little while Patricia, Margaret, Annette and Sharon showed up. We waited again. Around noon we gave up and got in line to pay for the buffet. Then they all turned up! The gondola rides were much enjoyed.

Wicked Spoon is not like other buffets. Instead of food sitting in warming trays it is served in little pots and baskets so you can try everything. I know I had shrimp, dim sums, meat, chicken wings, noodles, salami and ham, cheese and bread. But then it was time for the big time...... The dessert buffet. Thee must have been thirty different desserts in little servings plus a gelato bar! We all had a good attempt at fitting it all in!

After lunch we headed back to the Flamingo with everyone agreeing to meet at the bell hops at two pm. By two fifteen we were missing one and at two thirty I sent everyone else down to get bags and to transfer to Hurrahs for our bus pick up. I eventually found the missing one and left her with the others whilst I had a time out. My temper was very close to boiling over.

We all ended up on the right bus, enjoying our free drinks and snacks! We had a toilet stop in Barstow and arrived at our Anaheim hotel around nine pm. I would like to add had we run into any zombies we would have been fine as our bus hostess assured us many times she was ready for the zombie apocalypse.

We checked in and found Jeannette and after greetings and hugs we headed to IHOP for dinner. I can't remember what I had but I know someone had pancakes!

The Big Hole in the Ground

When we started planning this trip one of the things everyone wanted to do was head to the Grand Canyon. To achieve this we got up extra early ready for a five thirty am departure.

It soon became apparent that two of the group had stayed out all night. Naughty Mel and Annette.

They gave us a little box of food on the bus. The box contained a yummy muffin, a boring apple and really really gross cheese crackers with peanut butter on them!

I sat next to Deb for the three hour drive and we amused each other discussing life, the universe and embarrassing Susan stories!

First stop at the Canyon was a tourist shop where I bought ear rings and a little bottle of gold. We also made use of the rest rooms! 14 women make a lot of wee wee stops!

We soon made it to the edge of the Canyon. Shock one - there are no safety barriers! A nation that needs to have hand washing instructions on rest room sinks trusts its population to not fall off a huge cliff? Go figure!

We all decided to brave the Skywalk. A huge sheet of glass hanging over the edge of the canyon. Did I do it? Yes. Will I ever do it again? No bloody way! It scared the bejesus out of me. I stayed on long enough to get a photo and then I was gone! I did however take time to notice the crack in the structure near the exit.

I had an ice block whilst I waited for the rest of my crew. The temperature was close to forty again. We eventually all regrouped and caught the bus to our next stop which advertised our free cow boy lunch. I was picturing turkey legs, steaks, buffalo and corn bread. We got meat that looked like dog food. Poor cowboys!

We spent a good hour taking photos next to the dangerous edge of the canyon before boarding the bus back to Vegas. On our return we did cross the Hoover Dam which was pretty cool!

We got back to the Flamingo with a bit of time to spare so a few of us decided to make use of the uber cool pool. They said if you didn't look over forty you would have to show ID. We all got carded except poor Kellie. Although I think this was more because the pool was almost closing rather than her looking more mature than the rest of us!

We headed to the Venetian for dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. To sped things up we all agreed to sit in smaller groups. Some of us got served really fast, some of us not so much. After dinner we had planned a gondolier ride but they were closed so that was arranged for the next morning.

On the way back to the hotel some of us watch the Bellagio fountains.

Exploring the City of Sin part two

Seems my IPad is not that comfortable with Blogger!

After Sugar Factory we headed to M & M World where I searched in vain for the bracelet I had lost on our 2010 trip. I did watch lots of my group spend lots more money than me though! Melissa seemed to have a special affinity with the hard shelled candy!

Next stop World of Coke. It was expected that Annette would part with some cash in here and she did not disappoint! They did not have the free Coke testing that other W of C have.

After ingesting a frozen coke we headed across the road to New York New York. On the way I had my first run in with slimy men handing out cards for prostitutes. He did leave me alone after I asked him if he was offering me a job.

NY NY was a really well themed casino. As soon as we entered I felt like I was in 1930's New York. We did some shopping before some of us rode the coaster. It was big, it was mean but it was too rough. With that out the way some lunch was had before we headed up the road to Planet Hollywood to attend stripper school.

Turns out most of us will never be strippers or pole dancers. Melissa however did have some natural talent! And at least one of group late equipped herself with some costume choices so she could practice at home!

I did however graduate and my stripper name is Molly Peaches!

After a short rest at the hotel we headed down the street to the Mirage to watch Love. Love is based on the music of the Beatles. It was a great show but had far less circus stuff than other cirque shows I have seen. I had the pleasure of sitting next toLisa who was a Cirque virgin and enjoyed here reaction to the show!

After dinner we ate at BB Kings Jazz bar. Dinner was momentarily interrupted when Sharon noticed her wallet missing. It all turned out well in the end with wallet and all cash being returned. I had a huge hot dog for dinner and the others had burgers and steaks.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel as we had a five am wake up the next day!

Exploring the City of Sin

We started the day with the hotel buffet. This is where the first crime of the trip was committed...... I stole two boxes of Lucky Charm cereal for my kids!

After breakfast we caught the Monorail to the end of the strip. The monorail is sold as being a convenient way to travel the Strip. Pigs bum! It deposits you at the back of every hotel so you still have to walk a mile.

Never mind we eventually got to the MGM Grand and did our first shopping of the trip. A shop called Sugar Factory provided endless sweet diversion. Unfortunately nothing was priced so we spent more than we planned. My purchases included IV bags of zombie blood.

Bright Lights

So lets start with a confession.....I tried to blog while away but it just didn't work out. It seems sleep is more important!

Our trip started at Sydney International Airport. After checking in we said goodbye to our families and I'm proud to admit I cried a little bit. I knew I would miss them a lot. We got through customs pretty quickly but then disaster struck. It seemed that I had not adequately described the smoking situation to our smokers who now realised that they would be unable to smoke for about 18 hours. (I know as they were drawing in their first cigarettes in LA they finally forgave me!)

The flight was uneventful. I watch almost the entire series of Smash as well as the Exotic Marigold Hotel. I did realise why Qantas charges so much for their tickets- it's because they feed you every two hours!

On arrival in LA I had the pleasure of watching part of my suitcase go sailing past on the luggage carousel independently of the rest of my bag. Thanks Qantas! We soon met up with Annette and Lisa and prepared for the next leg of our trip.

Southwest do not ore assign seats so when boarding started we all raced on board like maniacs. Patricia and I seemed to lose and ended up in the very back row. We had an excellent view though and saw some mountains really really close up. Maybe a little too close up!

When we landed the heat hit us in the face, it was super hot! I left the girls in some shade and went to organise our transfers. We were offered a limo that would carry us all but our bags wouldn't have fit so we ended up with a private shuttle bus. We arrived at the Flamingo within ten minutes- I wish I could say that check in was as quick. An hour later we were all on the way up to our rooms. The hotel had been overbooked so we accepted a downgrade. In my opinion you couldn't tell the difference and the money we saved helped pay for other fun things!

We all agreed to meet in two hours for a buffet dinner in the hotel. I spent most of that time looking at the amazing view outside my hotel window.

The buffet was very good. I got to scope it out in depth as Patricia had sore legs and I offered to be he table server. I can tell you she enjoyed he prawns, roast meat and assorted desserts! I can't remember what I ate.

After dinner a small group of us walked down to the Mirage as I had to collect our Love tickets. The heat was still present and the strip was packed.

On arrival at the Mirage Melissa provided entertainment by eating booze filled cherries and the first cocktail of the night! On the way back we saw the TI show which was really bad and the Mirage Volcano which was much better!

I hit the pillow around midnight after sending Facebook messages home.

almost there!

Just four more sleeps!  I'm packed but still have heaps to do.  Nett, Annette and Lisa are already over there and Marg arrived in Sydney today.  It's amazing how quickly the time has come around, it seems like it was just two years ago when we decided to go.

I'm suffering some Mum guilt from deserting my family but they don't seem to mind......as long as I remember their shopping lists!

All the girls have finished work now so the last few days will probably drag on.  Did you know you can fill hours just browsing the Qantas site planning what movies ou may watch on the plane?

Well it's a short update but it will just have to do.....next post I will be at the airport!

Six Weeks to go!

So tomorrow marks the six weeks to go for most of us. Lisa, Annette and Nett will all be going a little earlier and meeting up with us on our first day.  He gift bags for the airport are finished, everything is paid for except stripper school and I had the pleasure of spending an hour on the phone this morning with Janet from the Disneyland Resort.

I am much more experienced with traveling to Disneyworld where I can book everything on line including tours and meal reservations.  Disneyland have just introduced making meal reservations via email which I tried last week. Unfortunately it only works for groups of eight or less.  So after an hour on the phone, half of which was spend on hold, we have reservations for the Blue Bayou and Goofy's Kitchen.

We also have a special reservation for our first day at Disneyland.  It's mid afternoon and none of the girls know what it is!  They can attend if they fork over $20.  So let's hope they all have that left after a few days in Vegas!

Our Halloween costumes arrived today. What do you call a group of nuns? A gaggle? A herd?  Who knows! We are busy working on our nun names and still have to come up with a name for our order. Any suggestions?

I have just had the pleasure of a three day long weekend.  I spent all of it trying to make some sense out of all travel documents for this trip.  There are e-tickets, plane tickets, customs forms, brochures, menus, timetables, accomodation bookings and so on.

Once sorted into piles of relevance they still filled my whole dining room table.  By 5pm on Sunday night they were all sorted into a folder and detailed run sheets were done for each day so that I knew what I had to be doing - meeting places, confirming tours, keeping track of reservations.

So this busy trip related weekend follows the last one where we had our awesome 4th July party to launch our 2016 trip!  The food was amazing and mostly done by Kellie, Annette and Veronica whilst I oversaw it all and tasted each item to make sure they were good enough for my guests.

We started off with Patriotic Pretzels:

Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, home made lemonade and artichoke dip!  Main meals were fried chicken, mac and cheese, hot dogs, potato salad and corn on the cob.

Kellie's son Jack manned the bbq - he was the only male in attendance - but thats ok because he is a Chef!

Dessert was the best though- pumpkin pies, patriotic cup cakes, revolutionary berries and pecan pie!

and finally:

Till next time.....

Sandie

Testing.......

I have decided I should probably do some more frequent posts so that by the time we go I actually know what I am doing! I have spent most of my weekend sorting out the gift bags for the girls! Want to know what's in them? Tough if you are one of the girls you will find out at the airports dn if not you will just have to wait for someone to blog about the contents! Preparations are underway for our 4th of July party next weekend. I know that this trip isn't over yet (in fact it hasn't started yet!) but discussions are already underway for the next one in 2016! It's not too late to attend the launch next Saturday.....you just need to be a girl and at least twenty in 2016......there is no upper age limit! That's it for today...enough practice on this stupid iPad! Sandie

Getting Very Close!

Tomorrow marks the 80 day mark.  In eighty short days we will be jetting away - even sooner for Annette, Lisa and Nett who are all having mini adventures before we meet up! 

I have started having pre trip nightmares which none of the other girls are suffering because they appear to have comlete faith in my abilities (eek!!!). The best one was the one where I missed the plane but no one else did!  Not sure how they managed that when I have the tickets!

A lot of us started this trip as almost comlete strangers but are slowly getting to know each other - individual personalities are starting to show through and you can already see that new friendships have formed.  One of the highlights for me is that I have become closer to my mother in law which is probably a good thing for her - I am less likely to lose her in Vegas now!

Most of the girls are on some sort of get prepared for the trip junket - whether its just walking or getting into boxing it seems we have all been motivated to some level.

Big prep work is going into our 4th July picnic which we are holding on the 7th July!  This is when we will announce the plans for our next trip - its not too late to come along just send me a message.  The only rules are you must be a girl and be at least 20 years old in 2016!