Disneyland Park & Disney California Adventure - 28 September 2013

13.5 hours today at Disney California Adventure & Disneyland

Splash Mountain, Disneyland - 27 September 2013

Disneyland Park & Disney California Advenuture - 27 September 2013

Photos rather than words today. 12 hour stint at Disneyland & Disney California Adventure.

Washington DC to Los Angeles - 26 September 2013

A day of trans-continental travel.

6am - Wake up
645am - Breakfast
745am - Van to Dulles Airport
1050am - AA263 to LAX
125pm - Arrive LAX (3 hours behind DC)
230pm - Van to Anaheim
330pm - Arrive Anaheim
330pm - Exhausted
530pm - Dinner
7pm - Bed

Washington DC - 25 September 2013

We joined the 'outside the beltway' Virginian commuters into DC again today and jumped off the metro at Foggy Bottom and walked to Georgetown. What a great part of DC - nice shopping strip, quaint 18th/19th century homes and the impressive Georgetown University situated right on the Potomac River looking across to Rosslyn in VA. After meandering through Georgetown we walked to the Lincoln Memorial via Pennsylvania Avenue, the Watergate Complex, the JFK Performing Arts Centre.

It was another magnificent day - clear skies and warm, so we had lunch on the grass near the Lincoln Memorial, then wandered around learning more about Lincoln and his role in the Civil War. We then walked through the Vietnam War Memorial, WW2 memorial, around the Washington Monument which is closed for repairs, and shrouded in scaffolding, due to damage from an earthquake in 2012.

We then walked through downtown to the National Spy Museum which was right near the FBI Building and Ford Theater where Lincoln was assassinated. The Spy Museum was a hoot with lots of artefacts from the Cold War - MI5, MI6, FBI, CIA, Stasi, KGB, etc.

A great day to end our east coast time, as we head to California tomorrow!

Update by Lachlan Magrath- September 17-22

September 22^nd

Today we had a nice relaxing day at the park, and a fun night watching the NFL. We had a relaxed morning, sleeping in a lot. Once we had all dragged ourselves out of bed, gotten dressed, and had breakfast, we hopped into the cars, and drove to a nearby park. The park was great, Abbey, Cruz, and Cole played on the play equipment, while me, Uncle Murray, Elliott, Dad, and Hamilton threw a Gridirons ball around. The park was great, and the landscape made it even better, the hilly green landscape with autumn trees was a great effect.  Once we had done this, we went back to our cousin’s house where we got ready for the NFL game. We got dressed in warm clothes; we drove in the car to MetLife stadium where the New York Jets and the New York Buffalos were going to face off. Excitement built as we walked closer and closer to the final hosting, gigantic stadium. We got our tickets checked. One thing Uncle Murray did not tell us was that the tickets that he had got for himself, and us were from his work, and that meant that our seats were in a private box! It was absolutely amazing seeing our box decked out with luxurious chairs, and delicious foods! We were absolutely amazed at this spectacle. This was the first time that the kids and me had been in a private box! We met all Uncle Murray’s work colleagues, got settled down into the outdoor cushioned seats to watch the game decked out in our New York Jets gear. The game was absolutely amazing! In my books it is the best sport I have ever watched (apart from soccer) in a stadium! The skill and brute strength of the players was amazing. The game was great, and NFL is really engaging to watch. The score ended being twenty-seven to twenty the Jets way! A happy Uncle Murray and Magraths family drove back home after the game, ready to go to bed.

September 21^st

Today we went on a bike ride in Central Park, Manhattan. We woke up at seven to get ready to go on a bike ride. Once we had all dragged ourselves out of bed, had breakfast, and gotten dressed, we hopped in the car and drove all the way to Manhattan. Once we arrived, we got underground parking, and walked the rest of the way to Central Park. We went to the bike-hiring stand, and received our biked that we would use. We met the Webbs there who were guiding us through the loop of Central Park. Riding through Central Park was beautiful, and we really enjoyed. The dappled shadows of the trees, and the amazing design of the park had a wonderful effect on the bike ride. After that, we met our cousins at the end of the circuit around Central Park. We had a bit of a play around, and then we said goodbye to the Webbs, and went back to our cousin’s house with our cousins. After that we had a nice relaxing afternoon.

September 20^th

Today, we planned to go toe the famous Intrepid Museum, and drive back to Chatham, New Jersey, where are cousins live. We had a relaxed morning, sleeping in to about eight o-clock. We finally got out of the house at about nine, after we had got through the long process of getting changed, and getting breakfast. We caught the train to Times Square, where Intrepid Museum was located nearby on the riverside. We walked form the subway station down the street, and after about five to ten minutes, we arrived at the museum. We were absolutely taken by awe by the things on display, and when we arrived, we immediately saw a huge aircraft carrier, planes, and a huge submarine used in the Cold War. We gained entrance (after customs) via tickets, and we went inside the hangar of the aircraft carrier. Inside the hangar there were lots of demonstrations and facts, about the aircraft carrier, and all the planes and helicopters displayed there. One of favourite facts was how a jet fighter landing on an aircraft carrier had to decelerate from four hundred kilometres to zero in less than one second to achieve a landing. There were also a lot of facts and demonstrations on space to like space hands, where you had to attempt jobs an astronaut would do, with astronaut gloves on! My favourite marine demonstration was, when it showed you how much a small rowing boat would sway in the water. Once we had done this, we went to the upper deck, and saw all the amazing planes displayed. My favourite plane was the Blackhawk, a supersonic; stealth plane used in dangerous war places. After we had done this, we all went in the submarine used in the Cold War. The submarine is the last of it’s kind, and objects on it were irreplaceable. We imagined as we walked through the cramped space that navy soldiers would have to endure for three months! After we had seen Intrepid Museum, we caught the subway to Madison Square where we relaxed, and had a bit of afternoon tea. After that we caught the subway back to our hotel room, to catch a shuttle that went to the airport, so we could pick up our rental car to drive back to Chatham, New Jersey. It took just over an hour to get of Manhattan because of the mad traffic, and took a further hour to get to our cousin’s place. Once we arrived, we had a nice quiet night.

September 19^th

Today we planned to go to Brooklyn Bridge, see on of the oldest universities in the US of A, and to see the Broad Way Musical, the Lion King. We had a relaxed morning, sleeping in to about seven forty-five. We had a quick breakfast (bagels), and got dressed quickly, before we went out to catch the subway to Brooklyn, where we could walk on the famous Brooklyn Bridge. Once we had arrived, we met Polly (and old friend of Mum and Dad’s) and Mr Webb. Once we had met them, we went on Brooklyn Bridge; the oldest bridge of it’s kind in the world! From the bridge you got an absolutely spectacular view of Manhattan and all the buildings, like the Chrysler, and Freedom Tower, and the whole skyline of Manhattan. Once we had walked of this iconical bridge, we looked at some street dance. Hamilton got pulled into the dance to let the people do a trick with him. They also pulled in four more people. A guy took a run up, and did a forward flip over the five people! After we had seen this, we went to Columbia University. We went inside the grounds of Columbia, and saw the amazing quality of all the structures, and the amazing facilities at this famous university. We had a look at the apparel and bookstore of Columbia after that, and Mum bought a Columbia sweater. After this we said goodbye to Polly, and went back to our hotel room so we could get ready for the musical. We arrived back home via subway, and got ready to go to the Lion King. By six- o-clock, now decked out in jeans and smart clothes, we went to Five Guys; a famous American burger chain. After we had tasted their delicious burgers, we went to Times Square, where the musical was going to be performed. We collected our tickets, and went inside the theatre. Once it started, we were absolutely amazed by the amazing singing and dancing that took place, and the beautiful costuming. The plot was exactly the same as the movie, but somehow, it was better seeing it in real life, rather than in the movie. The performers had amazing musical skills. After we had seen this, we went back to our hotel room.

September 18^th

Today, we woke up at seven am to get ready to pick up Hamilton and Abbey from the Webb’s place. Once we had all had showers, eaten breakfast, and gotten dressed, we exited the hotel to go to the subway. We hopped on the subway, until we had arrived at the edge of Central Park, where the Webb’s apartment was located. We walked down the street to Carlyle Apartments, and went up the lift to their apartment. We picked up Hamilton and Abbey, and with Mr Webb, we went to a coffee shop. Unfortunately, Elliott was sick, and we had to go back to Carlyle Apartments to drop Elliott and Dad back there, so Elliott could recover. Now with just me, Mum, Abbey, Hamilton, and Mr Webb, we went for a walk in the beautiful Central Park. Abbey and Hamilton wanted to play in the park, so we stopped at the park for about twenty minutes so they could play. After this we went to the Met Art Museum, which is one of the most famous art museums in the world because of it’s amazingly well-preserved pieces, and the amazing quality, second after Paris, and London! We looked at the Egyptian section of the Art Museum. Before I went to the museum, I had never seen Egyptian artefacts with so much quality. The way they were displayed was amazing in remakes of Ancient tombs. My favourite part was the papyrus scrolls, were hieroglyphs were painted, and pictures were depicted with ancient Pharaoh, servants and royals. After we saw the Egyptian section, we went to the medieval section, where we saw armour of intricate design, and swords of beautiful craftsmanship.  After this we went to the Museum Café, and we had morning tea. Mum received a text from Dad saying, Elliott is feeling a bit better, and they are coming over to the art museum. We went outside to meet them. Elliott was still looking a little pale, but we went on going to an amazing toy store called, F.A.O Schwarz.  The toy store was absolutely amazing; there were models of animals costing up to thirteen thousand dollars, and an amazing variety of lollies and toys. After this we went to The Empire State Building. We bought tickets to go to the observation deck, where you can get an all round view of Manhattan. But it took ages to get up there, because of all the people wanting to see this great view. It took us through a few displays how The Empire State Building conserves energy. Once we had finally gotten up to the observation deck, the view was breathtaking. You could see all the famous buildings like the Chrysler, Freedom tower, Rockefeller Centre, and much more. Once we had seen this, went back to our hotel room.    

September 17^th

Today we planned to see all of the most famous sites that are situated in Manhattan, New York. We woke up at seven- thirty to get ready to get out and tackle the big day ahead of us. Once we had dragged ourselves out of our hotel room, we entered into the cool, morning air of Manhattan. We first went to the high line, a train track on a bridge, converted into a park. We walked along the bridge, seeing many of the highlights of Manhattan, like The Empire State Building. Once we had seen this amazing structure, we went downtown to catch a ferry that comes very close to Staten Island, where The Statue of Liberty stands. It was amazing to see The Statue of Liberty so close, we could see all the tiny details on the amazing structure, and we saw how much skill would be required to build this architectural masterpiece. We met Mr Webb at the Ferry Terminal, and he was going to show us around Wall Street. After we had caught the ferry back, we walked to Wall Street, the financial capital of the world. All the streets were blocked off in commemoration of the day protestors came to Wall Street. The police patrolled the streets, and it was quite scary to see some carrying semi- automatic machine guns! After this, we saw Freedom Tower, the tallest tower in New York. It is still in construction, but is nearly finished, with only a few windows that need to be placed. It’s an amazing structure, with a triangular based design, and the blue tinted windows creates an amazing effect. After this, we caught the subway to Times Square. Mr Webb left us then, because of work, and we were left to ourselves to explore Times Square. Times Squares was extremely busy. Tip hungry, Mario, Angelina Ballerina, and Mickey Mouse, were patrolling the streets to get people to take photos with them! The screens and atmosphere was absolutely breathtaking. It was just like you see in the movies! With flashing screens, and interesting and crazy shops, like the m&m store, which had three stories! We went to the Toys R Us store, which is a crazy four level high store, packed full of toys and lollies. (Or candy as Americans say.) Before we entered Mum stopped to take a photo of us, but just before we got in Angelina Ballerina posed in front of us with Abbey beside Mum got a photo in, before all the other characters came and posed beside Abbey! Mum took another photo. Immediately after Mum had done this, all the characters surrounded Mum, holding out their hands for tips. Once Mum had given them Money, they went away. We entered the Toys R Us to find an indoor Ferris wheel, due to the enormous size of the store! We went in the Ferris wheel, and it brought us around it a couple of times in a few themed carriages. After that, we looked at all the amazing items available. There were Wonka Nerd boxes, as big as cereal boxes! My favourite section was the Lego section, where giant Lego structures were on display, like The Statue of Liberty, and The Empire State Building. Once we had exited the store, we went back to our hotel room, via the subway. After that we went out to the Webb’s apartment because of Hamilton and Abbey sleeping over at their house. After we had dropped them off, we had dinner at Times Square, at a place called Ellen’s Stardust Diner. The food was excellent, but the best bit were the waiters, who were aspiring Broad Way performers, who took turns at singing. Once we had done this, we did a bit of shopping for Abbey’ s birthday, and after that we went back.

Washington DC - 24 September 2013

Today we caught the Metro into DC from West Falls Church which is about 15 mins by Shuttle from our hotel in McLean, Virginia. We started at Capitol South station, and walked up past the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, around the US Capitol Building and down onto the National Mall. We spent a few hours at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum which was amazing. The boys loved all the space exhibits from the Saturn, Mercury and Apollo missions, as well as SkyLab. The Wright Brothers exhibit was also very informative and included and original of Leonardo Da Vinci's flight codex!

After a quick bite to eat out on the Mall we headed to the National Natural History Museum to visit the Butterfly exhibit - a purpose built pavilion with live butterflies in the hundreds if not thousands - a few of which hitched a ride with Hamilton and Stuart.

The Smithsonian Institution Museums are amazing - all being free! A change to the expense of New York City.

We then wandered up to, and around The White House, Lafayette Square, Scott Circle to see the Australian Embassy and on to Dupont Circle and the amazing Kramers Bookstore on Connecticut Avenue.

A Metro ride back into suburban Virginia with a Nachos and Salad Dinner provided as a freebie at the Staybridge Suites.

Chatham, NJ to Washington, DC - 23 September 2013

Today we farewelled our American cousins, Cruz and Cole, as well as Murray and Rachel. We had a great time with them over two weekends, with Kaylene, Hamilton & Abbey having had an extra four days at the start of their trip in late August. We headed east and then south through New Jersey, a quick sprint across the top of Delaware seeing the skyline of Wilmington, into Maryland, zipping through Baltimore and into Virginia via the 'Beltway'. After checking in at our hotel in McLean, Virginia, we drove to Arlington Cemetery.

Arlington is an extraordinary place with row after row of tombstones as well as the graves of JFK, RFK,  Joseph Kennedy Jr, and Edward Kennedy. We were fortunate enough to be at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the time of the changing of the guard which was a display of military precision.

We then dropped our car back at Reagan National Airport which is right on the Potomac River, and caught the Washington Metro back to West Falls Church metro station and the 6 of us squeezed into a cab for the short ride back to the hotel, with Elliott and Hamilton riding up front with the driver!

Our last day in New York/New Jersey - 22 September

What a day! After a slow start we headed out to a park at Mountainside for some footy kicking, play equipment climbing, bagels and cream cheese with Murray, Rachel, Cruz & Cole! After lunch we got ready for the game - NY Jets v Buffalo Bills but needed to detour to get the fan gear.

We then headed to MetLife Stadium - were fascinated by all the people tail-gating.  Massive cook ups and BBQs in the parking lot which are allowed 5 hour before and 2 hours after the game. We entered the stadium when we received a big surprise from Murray that we had seats, and catering, in a private suite with amazing seats and view of the game!

Four hours (for 60 minutes of play) followed. What an experience from the newly crowned Uncle of the Year!

New York City - 21 September

We drove back into Manhattan today - we just can't get enough - and met our friends the Webbs from Sydney and spent a few hours riding bikes around Central Park under threatening, yet warm skies, which then became just warm and sunny! We lunched in the park and met up with the NJ Graingers for a run around in the park before saying our final farewells to the Webbs for about 18 months and headed back to Chatham - the long way - via a loop around Newark Airport ....

New York City - 20 September

Today we head back to Chatham for 3 nights but before doing so we headed to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum which is on and around the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier on the Hudson River. We toured the carrier and the Spaceshuttle Enterprise pavilion where the Enterprise is located (the prototype shuttle), as well as a submarine and walked around a British Airways Concorde. After a quick trip back to Times Square for a coffee at Dean & Deluca, we headed to Union Square Park for a bit of a relax before heading back to the hotel to await our van to Newark. It arrived late and had to collect other passengers down at Chinatown. It took us 90 mins to get off Manhattan and 2 hours to get to Newark Airport  - a trip that should take 30 mins! We finally got our car and headed to Chatham.

New York City - 19 Septmber

Today we headed down to City Hall and walked around enjoying the outdoor sculpture and the Court District before jumping on the subway over to Brooklyn. We met up with Kenton and Polly and walked back over the Brooklyn Bridget into Manhattan. On arrival in Manhattan we came across a street dance troupe who readily grabbed Hamilton to be part of their show! We had to tip them to get him back. After a quick lunch we jumped on the subway to the Upper West Side to walk around Columbia University, visit the bookstore there (HUGE) and wandered back down to near Central Park and the subway back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and The Lion King. Had dinner at Five Guys - www.fiveguys.com - on W34 Street - hamburgers wrapped in lettuce were the option I took to reduce the carb intake! We then headed up to Broadway and 45th for The Lion King. One word - amazing!

The Lion King on Broadway - 19 September

Amazing!

New York City - 18 September

A stunning day, and warmer than yesterday, in New York City.  Started on the Upper West Side, walked through Central Park to the Met, then down 5th Avenue through Central Park to FAO Schwarz, subway to the Empire State Building, up the building and walked back along 34th Street to our hotel. Joined part of the day by our friend Kenton. I ended up with the key to their apartment - long story, Elliott was a bit sick - and had to do a cloak and dagger key delivery out of the #6 train with Kenton waiting on the platform at Grand Central/42nd St!

17 September - New York City

We headed to the High Line and walked from 30th street to Gansevoort Street, through Greenwich Village and by subway down to the Staten Island Ferry. Then caught up with Kenton and Lynne for lunch outside the Fed. Walked to Freedom tower than the subway back to 42nd Street ... took the Shuttle to Grand Central, along Park Avenue, to 5th Avenue, Times Square, back to the hotel, then took Hamo and Abbey for a sleep over at the Webbs on the Upper West Side. Elliott, Lachlan, Kaylene and I then headed to Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway and 50th (amazing place) and then back down through Times Square!

16 September - New York CIty

Today we moved from Chatham into Manhattan. We had breakfast in a typical diner in Madison and then embarked on the drive into Manhattan via Outlet stores in Jersey Garden near Newark Airport. We managed the 18 lane freeway past Newark, negotiating the I98 and I75. After some power shopping we headed to Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel. Unfortunately I was in the wrong lane and ended up in West 40th Street rather than West 36th, and then had to get onto 7th Avenue to head down to 35th Street where our hotel was. After dropping everyone off, and getting stuff up to our room, I then ventured out again into the madness of Manhattan traffic to get to 31st street to drop our car off at Avis. To go about 300m took about 40 minutes as I negotiated around Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. Nerves shot was happy to walk back to the hotel! We headed for an Afternoon at the Museum rather than Night - at the American Museum of Natural History and then caught up with our friend Kenton Webb and his kids, headed to dinner on the Upper West Side for $10 fajitas and a margarita! Lynne joined us for dinner coming straight from work at the Federal Reserve of NY down in the financial district. We then headed back to their apartment for a tea before jumping on the subway at 86th street back to 34th.

Update by Lachlan Magrath. September 14-16

September 16^th

Today we planned to drive to Manhattan, New York, form Chatham, New Jersey. We got up at seven o’clock, and had an earlier wake-up call then usual, wishing to get an early start to get to Manhattan. After we had had breakfast and said goodbye to Uncle Murray (he had to go to work), we packed (chaotically) all our stuff into our rented car. After we had said our goodbyes to Auntie Rachel and the boys, we were off. We navigated our way out of Chatham, and went to a nearby breakfast store. We had a brunch with bagels, croissants, and pancakes. (American Style.) Once we had brunch, we were off again. We stopped on the way to Manhattan, to go to an outlet. After we had looked at all the amazingly cheap stores, we were off again, and excitement built, as we saw the skyline for New York City. The most anticipating bit was when we went through the tunnel that went onto the island of Manhattan. Once we had exited the tunnel, we were suddenly surrounded by one of the biggest cities in the world. Yellow taxicabs were everywhere, we could see the Empire State Building, and we could see al the places that you could always see in movies. Even with one of New York’s infamous traffic jams, it did not feel like it took long to get our hotel, because of all the lights, and tall buildings. Once we had got our hotel, we put all our stuff in our hotel room, and set out to The Natural History Museum near Central Park. We caught one of New York’s famous subways to Central Park and walked the rest of the way to The Natural History Museum. We planned to meet the Webbs, old friends at the Museum, but until then, we looked at the displays available. It was really overwhelming, because of the four floors of museum. We looked at African animals and people, Dinosaurs before the Webbs arrived. We met them in the foyer, and met them. They took as out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. After we had had dinner with them, we went to their city apartment. And once we had gone there, we went back to our own hotel room, and settled down for the night.

September 15^th

Today, we went with Uncle Murray, and his little men to the farmer’s marke. Where a variety of farmers come together to sell their best and freshest goods. We had another relaxed morning, due to our champion sleepers, otherwise known as Dad and Elliott. Once they had gotten out of bed and had breakfast, we were all ready (sort of) to go to the farmer’s market in a nearby suburb. We didn’t know this, but an antique car sale was on at the same time. There were heaps of interesting cars, like old London taxicabs, and remodelled cars, and some that would not be out of the norm, fifty years ago. Once we had passed through the streets where these cars were put on show, we entered the farmer’s market. We saw a lot of different things that you would not see at Australia, like pickles on a stick! Hamilton and Abbey tried the pickles willingly, while Elliott and I, held back. But then we all tasted some freshly squeezed on the spot, lemonade. The lemonade had quite an edge, and was not as sweet as what you would find in store, but it was very refreshing. Once we had looked at the market, we went to a store called Manhattan Bagels. We had our first try of bagels. They were very nice, and tasted like heavy, doughy, bread. After this, we drove to a massive play equipment area. Elliott, Uncle Murray, Dad, and I, went to the synthetic grass soccer field instead. We had lots of fun, but then we had to go back home, due to Cruz and Cole becoming quite tired. Once we had got back home we had a nice, quiet, relaxed afternoon.

September 14^th

Today, we had a late wake up call, with our most diligent ‘sleeper inners’, sleeping in to about eight thirty or nine in the morning. We planned to go to a (almost) traditional, American, autumn farm. But first, we had a few errands to do, like getting our car washed. After we had done this, it took about thirty minutes to get there. (It felt like nothing to me, I was totally engrossed in a new book.) Once we got there, we noticed that this was farm unlike Australian farms. Stalls selling bagels and hot dogs (and all other types of American food) surrounded us. There were lots of activities that people could get involved in. Like climbing a haystack, having a tractor driven, wagons ride, and (this is something I have never seen before) a sandpit, but instead of sand, there was corn! The young ones participated in all these. After all this, we could pick fresh apples, and peaches from the orchard at the farm. We picked a variety of apples like Gala apples, and Jonamac apples. After the staff had weighed, and priced the apples, we headed back to base, with a load of apples and peaches in tow. Once we had arrived home, we sampled all these different types of apples. The apples were absolutely delicious! We had a pretty relaxed afternoon after that, watching American sports, like NFL, and baseball. After this we had planned to go to a soccer game! The game was New York Red Bulls, verses, Toronto FC. We had a hurried dinner at a pizza parlour, before the boys drove to the stadium. Unfortunately, we arrived halfway through the game, and we managed to acquire a few tickets, from someone outside the stadium. The game was really cool, but unfortunately Aussie player, Tim Cahill had an injury, and he did not play that night. Red Bulls ended up winning 2-0. We drove back home and arrived at ten pm. We got to sleep quickly after that.

Chatham - 15 September

We headed to a farmer's market in Summit this morning where we had a pickle on a stick and bagels with lashings of cream cheese! The afternoon we spent hanging around Holly Drive relaxing in the sun and all the cousins playing ball on the front lawn.