Blake & Jonno arrived in Houston on Sat Sept 22nd for some rest and relaxation after a very busy few weeks in London – packing all their worldly goods in readiness for their new life in New Zealand, celebrating Jonno’s 30th birthday on the 13th September and being guests of honor at more than one farewell party. Houston however was certainly not the place to come for a rest!
We travelled to San Antonio for an overnight discovery trip – it is such a wonderful place, a mini Venice. We went on the river cruise, had dinner with Gerry & Margo, work friends of John and a very very funny couple, shopped in a Mexican market and visited the Alamo.
Of course I’m sure Blake would agree that the highlight was Buc-ees’s!!! (for those of you who don’t know, Buc-ee's is an amazing service station just outside San Antonio – the highlight being the 27 spotless cubicles in the ladies’ restroom!)
We spent a day at a very, very large shopping centre in Houston and surprise, surprise Jonno outshopped the girls!!! Blake & I will have to pull up our socks! Shopping here is so wonderfully cheap – they purchased so much they had to buy an extra suitcase (which was also priced well!)
Jonno passed on our next shopping excursion (no staying power) and fell asleep by the pool – big mistake! He was a little red when we went to dinner that night.
Blake attended an EDN training day to get a better understanding of the way programs are delivered and to sharpen up some of her training and delivery techniques. Later in the week Blake & Jonno flew by helicopter out to an oil rig to see how they operate and experienced what it is like for the personnel who live and work out there in the middle of the Mexican Gulf – an amazing day for both of them and very tiring as you can see by the last photo – taken on the helicopter flight back to the US.
Jonno passed on our next shopping excursion (no staying power) and fell asleep by the pool – big mistake! He was a little red when we went to dinner that night.
Blake attended an EDN training day to get a better understanding of the way programs are delivered and to sharpen up some of her training and delivery techniques. Later in the week Blake & Jonno flew by helicopter out to an oil rig to see how they operate and experienced what it is like for the personnel who live and work out there in the middle of the Mexican Gulf – an amazing day for both of them and very tiring as you can see by the last photo – taken on the helicopter flight back to the US.
We all attended our very first American football match - Texans V Indianapolis Colts (last year’s Super Bowl winners). It was very interesting or should I say very slow. It was extremely slow – nowhere near as exciting as Aussie Rules. Someone forgot to tell the crowd that though – they were so noisy from start to finish, actually screaming their support nonstop through the entire game. They get so excited they forget to sit down and so we spent the whole game standing – even though it looked like the players weren’t actually doing anything! Just watching the cheerleaders dance and wave their little pom poms and experiencing the passion propelled out to the teams by the exuberant supporters was well worth attending. Perhaps if we understood the rules…………..
The next morning we were up bright and early and headed off to Disneyland. Our friend from Adelaide, David Knowles, was also in LA and we picked him up and spent the
day together. We had the best time – they even managed to get me on a roller coaster as well as into the ghost house which was featuring “The Nightmare Before Christmas”! We hadn’t seen David for a year and he now lives in Tasmania so it was great to catch up – we spent the day in a very special place with a very special friend.
Disneyland is amazing – we stayed all day and would have stayed longer but the gates close at 8pm and they kicked us out!
The following morning we headed off on a Beverly Hills tour where the highlight was seeing Dr. Phil’s house!
We also spent a very pleasant afternoon at Kemah, a popular tourist attraction, where we strolled along the boardwalk taking in all the sights - the boats, flying fish and birdlife on the waters of Galveston Bay as well as feeding the frenzied mullet in the ocean. We finished the day with a beautiful meal of delicious King Crabs while sitting outside on a balcony watching all the boats sail by………
The EDN staff here at the apartments organized a bbq tea out by the pool one night which was really nice and we also had a night out with some of our American friends – we ate at a vegetarian restaurant and I think Jonno only just survived!
It was a great week here in Houston – just too short to take in all the sights and in amongst all of this John had to actually work!
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Week 2 – San Diego & Los Angeles
John finally started his holiday leave from work and on Sunday 30th Sept we flew to San Diego. What an attractive city – lots of waterways as well as being on the ocean. The weather was perfect and we spent what was left of the afternoon driving around town orientating ourselves followed by a walk and a meal at beautiful Mission Beach.
We had amazing hotel rooms overlooking the marina filled with yachts and the following morning we watched the seals splashing around in the water as we ate our breakfast. Unfortunately we then discovered our car had been broken into overnight which meant a trip back to the car rental place, police report etc so day 2 started a little later th
an expected. However we were not distracted for long and headed down to the coast so Blake could put her feet in the Pacific Ocean – she couldn’t actually go for a swim because her bathers were stolen out of the car – and that only meant one thing – another shopping trip! The beach area is filled with surf type shops and it didn’t take long for her to be decked out in new swimwear (plus a few other bits and pieces we couldn’t resist while shopping!)
It was a great week here in Houston – just too short to take in all the sights and in amongst all of this John had to actually work!
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Week 2 – San Diego & Los Angeles
John finally started his holiday leave from work and on Sunday 30th Sept we flew to San Diego. What an attractive city – lots of waterways as well as being on the ocean. The weather was perfect and we spent what was left of the afternoon driving around town orientating ourselves followed by a walk and a meal at beautiful Mission Beach.
We had amazing hotel rooms overlooking the marina filled with yachts and the following morning we watched the seals splashing around in the water as we ate our breakfast. Unfortunately we then discovered our car had been broken into overnight which meant a trip back to the car rental place, police report etc so day 2 started a little later th
an expected. However we were not distracted for long and headed down to the coast so Blake could put her feet in the Pacific Ocean – she couldn’t actually go for a swim because her bathers were stolen out of the car – and that only meant one thing – another shopping trip! The beach area is filled with surf type shops and it didn’t take long for her to be decked out in new swimwear (plus a few other bits and pieces we couldn’t resist while shopping!)
We spent time at Seaport Village, a waterfront tourist attraction with cobbled walkways, ponds, streams, lots of quaint little shops ……. It was fun. We also walked out onto the jetty where we could see the large naval base with the port filled with its many vessels - submarines, first aid ship, aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates etc.
Another highlight was our trip over the very big bridge to Coronado where we had a leisurely drink at The Del overlooking the ocean. Several dolphins actually swam by as we sat on the hotel decking enjoying the sunshine – Blake was trying to get a closer look at them using the telescope! 
The Hotel del Coronado was built in 1888 and is considered one of America’s most beautiful resorts. The Del has been used in many movies including 1959 classic Some Like It Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
San Diego was amazing – just beautiful – we loved it.
The Hotel del Coronado was built in 1888 and is considered one of America’s most beautiful resorts. The Del has been used in many movies including 1959 classic Some Like It Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
San Diego was amazing – just beautiful – we loved it.
However it was time to move on and Los Angeles waited. We drove up the coast roa
d and stopped at Laguna Beach for lunch and Jonno had a quick dip in the ocean – it was very hot. It’s only about a 3 hour drive between the 2 big cities so it wasn’t long until we arrived in LA. Blake had programmed our hotel’s address in the GPS and when we turned into the street we all gasped. It was the next best thing to 3rd world – broken homes, dirty, very unsavoury looking people hanging around most of the doorways – we were shocked. Blake did a double check on the address and realised she had entered incorrect information. We all sighed with relief and then burst out laughing and laughed all the way to our ‘proper’ hotel.
Our hotel was situated right in Hollywood – a fantastic position. We basically walked right outside and onto Hollywood Blvd where the ‘stars’ are on the footpath. We checked them all out and then jumped on a topless double decker bus for a quick tour of the town – down Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills……….
d and stopped at Laguna Beach for lunch and Jonno had a quick dip in the ocean – it was very hot. It’s only about a 3 hour drive between the 2 big cities so it wasn’t long until we arrived in LA. Blake had programmed our hotel’s address in the GPS and when we turned into the street we all gasped. It was the next best thing to 3rd world – broken homes, dirty, very unsavoury looking people hanging around most of the doorways – we were shocked. Blake did a double check on the address and realised she had entered incorrect information. We all sighed with relief and then burst out laughing and laughed all the way to our ‘proper’ hotel.Our hotel was situated right in Hollywood – a fantastic position. We basically walked right outside and onto Hollywood Blvd where the ‘stars’ are on the footpath. We checked them all out and then jumped on a topless double decker bus for a quick tour of the town – down Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills……….
The next morning we were up bright and early and headed off to Disneyland. Our friend from Adelaide, David Knowles, was also in LA and we picked him up and spent the
day together. We had the best time – they even managed to get me on a roller coaster as well as into the ghost house which was featuring “The Nightmare Before Christmas”! We hadn’t seen David for a year and he now lives in Tasmania so it was great to catch up – we spent the day in a very special place with a very special friend. Disneyland is amazing – we stayed all day and would have stayed longer but the gates close at 8pm and they kicked us out!
The following day we headed off to Universal Studios – another amazing place. We d
id the studio tour and then checked out lots of their shows – Waterworld (unbelievable!), Backdraft, Jaws, Shrek etc etc …….. just wonderful.
That night John & Jonno were exhausted and just vegged in front of the tv while Blake and I caught a taxi into a market area and went shopping – once again there was no staying power with the boys! We can outlast them anyday!
id the studio tour and then checked out lots of their shows – Waterworld (unbelievable!), Backdraft, Jaws, Shrek etc etc …….. just wonderful.That night John & Jonno were exhausted and just vegged in front of the tv while Blake and I caught a taxi into a market area and went shopping – once again there was no staying power with the boys! We can outlast them anyday!
The following morning we headed off on a Beverly Hills tour where the highlight was seeing Dr. Phil’s house!
Then too soon it was time to drive to Venice Beach where we farewelled Blake & Jonno. They were catching a flight that night out of LA for NZ and we had to drive back to San Diego. This was our only cold day – it was so windy and Venice Beach was being blown away!
Over the last 7 years we have had to say goodbye to Blake many times and it certainly doesn’t get any easier. However it was good knowing that we will be seeing her again in April when we travel down to NZ for a couple of weeks.
Over the last 7 years we have had to say goodbye to Blake many times and it certainly doesn’t get any easier. However it was good knowing that we will be seeing her again in April when we travel down to NZ for a couple of weeks.
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Week 3 – Julie & John – Mexican cruise (to help me get over saying goodbye to Blake….)
John and I drove back to San Diego where we spent the night – we actually had dinner with Jodie Weber, who is considering moving to Houston and working with EDN as a consultant. We had a great night - a wonderful distraction from the afternoon’s farewell.
Late the next morning we boarded the ms Oosterdam in anticipation of a wonderful weeks relaxation – wrong! It was such a busy cruise we were actually exhausted when we disembarked 8 days later! We had three ports of call – Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and explored and shopped in all three places until we dropped. It was extremely hot – around 40F with very high humidity – so very nice to return to the ship each night and enjoy the cool air conditioning. We met so many wonderful people, attended so many onboard seminars (it was a Bob Proctor cruise) that the week just flew by. We did a 5km walk around the deck to raise money for Breast Cancer Week, saw some amazing shows including ‘Elton John’ (aka Joel Mason) who was just wonderful, ate lots, swam, shopped and also found time to read our books! All in all it was a great trip – we loved the beautiful ports of Mexico and would really like to return one day. We were blessed with wonderful dinner companions each night - Bill & Leah from Vancouver in Canada as well as Sharon & Yadranka also from Canada - photos below -
Late the next morning we boarded the ms Oosterdam in anticipation of a wonderful weeks relaxation – wrong! It was such a busy cruise we were actually exhausted when we disembarked 8 days later! We had three ports of call – Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and explored and shopped in all three places until we dropped. It was extremely hot – around 40F with very high humidity – so very nice to return to the ship each night and enjoy the cool air conditioning. We met so many wonderful people, attended so many onboard seminars (it was a Bob Proctor cruise) that the week just flew by. We did a 5km walk around the deck to raise money for Breast Cancer Week, saw some amazing shows including ‘Elton John’ (aka Joel Mason) who was just wonderful, ate lots, swam, shopped and also found time to read our books! All in all it was a great trip – we loved the beautiful ports of Mexico and would really like to return one day. We were blessed with wonderful dinner companions each night - Bill & Leah from Vancouver in Canada as well as Sharon & Yadranka also from Canada - photos below -
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