Life in Los Angeles

We've setled into a routine here in West Hollywood. After breakfast we usually take Fox to a local park, And just past the park is The Grove, a mall with adjoining markets.

The Main Street of The Grove

My favourite Apple Store is at The Grovee

Advertising signs on lamp posts at The Grove

Good little boys sometime get rewarded with Ice Cream

Home again and Fox starts working with his tool set.

It's A Boy

NEWS FLASH!

We have a new member of the family.
Fox has a little brother.

Banjo Foster Curry was born in Los Angeles early this morning

More Details will Follow

Second Day in L.A.

I must admit we don't suffer at all from jet lag which is very good.

Bernie was starting filming at the studio so Grandma and Granddad took Fox to The Grove. But first we went to the local park on the way for a little play and a run around, and I can tell you this little man can run. We had a job catching up with him but somehow managed.

 They have some great children's playgrounds here in Hollywood full of Spanish nannies looking after toddlers. Fox just loves this place.

Maybe he is a budding mathematician, playing with this abacus.

At the Grove they have this old tram, mainly for tourists but very authentic. They call them 'trolleys' here. This one just runs up and down the length of The Grove. We walked past the Apple Store without entering, how about that?

A little side street at The Grove. It looks very European. There is also a large market at the end of The Grove and I was looking forward for my coffee. I remember last time we were here we couldn't get a drinkable coffee at the markets. But I discovered a coffee shop called The Coffee and Tea Leaf in one of the side streets that serves an excellent chocolate milk latte. I must remember that.

Then we spotted this little gem. I was very tempted to have my thongs (flip-flops) cleaned. Kidding I was wearing sneakers.

On the way home, our little man was very tired and we didn't want him to fall asleep in the pram, so we went through the park again and let him have another run. 

First Morning in L.A.

After a good night's sleep recovering from the long flight, we're up and running. We drove to Traveltown in Los Angeles, a railway museum, favourite with Fox and Granddad.

This place is about 20 minuted from Sonya and Bernie's house in Hollywood. It's a little like the Railway Museum in Peterborough but no entry fee other than a donation box.  It's very large and has lots of steam trains on display. Fox was in his element climbing onto all the trains.

Sonya is very uncomfortable and finds it difficult to walk very far so we gave her lots of time to sit and relax.

Fox discovered a model railway he could play with.  There is also a miniature railway you can ride along the perimeter track which we all enjoyed. No one took any pictures. Pity, but I took lots of video which will end up on YouTube in the next few days.

Then, after a browse through the Railway shop (without any purchases, I mighty add), we set off home for lunch and a rest for Fox, Sonya and the oldies.

Our first day in Los Angeles,

Until soon....

We're in Hollywood

We've arrived in L.A. mid afternoon after a 15 hour flight. We're very impressed with Air New Zealand from Auckland on but not with their Brisbane operation. When booking in, they had shifted us from the seats on our itinerary to another place, even though we had been given our seats weeks ago. On the Brisbane to Auckland leg they had us at the back in economy class, even though we had paid for premium-economy seats. Now that may sound petty. But we accepted it as Sam, our travel agent had told us that it would be unlikely that we would get premium-economy seats on they short leg as they didn't have a premium-economy section on short haul flights. We accepted that and walked down to the gates, when I heard my name being paged to go back to the Air New Zealand counter.

Once back, we were told that they had decided to give us the original seats shown on our itinerary and that they would upgrade us to premium-economy seats between Brisbane and Auckland. Now wasn't that nice? 

So as we boarded the 777-300 we found that they indeed did have a premium-economy section. If we hadn't complained about our Auckland to L.A. seat, we would have travelled at the back of the plane.

However I must say that the service on board including the food was excellent even better than Qantas and on the other scale of that dreadful Air Canada airline. It was a smooth crossing most of the way and the choice of movies was the best I've experienced so far in an overseas journey.

We arrived at LAX on time, even though we were delayed in Auckland for an hour. Bernie picked us up and drove us to their residence in West Hollywood, where Sonya, our heavily pregnant daughter and a very cute and beautiful grandson Fox greeted us.

Fox recognised us immediately from our regular Skype contact and we are now having fun playing with him to give Sonya and Bernie a wee rest .

Until soon....

Up, up and Away Again

We're leaving, On a Jet Plane, but Do Know When We're Back Again, to steal from John Denver's song. We're flying over to Los Angeles this morning so spend some time with Sonya, Bernie and Fox while waiting for Fox's little brother to arrive anytime soon.

This time we're flying Air New Zealand

We're stopping in Auckland to change the plane for Los Angeles. The reason for Air NZ is that we'll return from San Francisco and Qantas doesn't fry from San Francisco to Brisbane anymore.

Stop-over in Auckland

Hopefully Bernie will be at LAX airport to meet us,
unless he had to take Sonya to hospital in which
case, we'll call a cab to Hollywood.

 I'll have my MacBook with me to blog regularly from California and don't forget to check out my 365 project site at http://365project.org/wilbo43/365

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

On a spur of the moment, we decided to go to the movies last night with our friends, Paul and Helen. The ladies were playing tennis in the morning and the topic of conversation veered to this delightful feel-good movie. I ask you, why should anybody think of going fishing for Scottish salmon in the arid desert of Yemen.

Well, author Paul Torday thought of it. Torday (60) who had written very little since his youth, when he wrote articles for British newspapers, penned this delightful story about a wealthy Yemeni sheikh (Waked), with more money than sense, who decided he wanted to fish for salmon the Yemen.

He engaged consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Blunt) who floated the idea with the British government, who, desperate for a good-news story from the middle-east forced the project onto fisheries expert Fred Jones (McGregor), Fred, an asperger-syndrome sufferer who thinks it’s a crazy idea but ends up working with Harriet to fulfill the sheikh’s dream.

There is, of course the inevitable side plot. Fred’s marriage is falling apart and Harriet’s soldier boyfriend, is missing in action in Afghanistan, so it is inevitably that Fred and Harriet are brought together, but only after a few riotous disasters.


The film is directed by Lasse Hallström, known for his block-busters Chocolat and A Guy and a Gal. 
A stellar cast includes Amr Waked, Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Catherine Steadman.

Another one of those wonderful British movies I’m glad we went to see. I highly recommend it.

Alexander Clark Park

The Blogger dragged me out of bed again this morning as the rain had stopped. So off we trundled down to Loganholme to find the Alexander Clark Park for a pleasant walk. I must admit, I enjoyed it.

The Logan City Council has done a great job laying out this park on the Logan River

There are pontoons to tie up boats

There is a peddle railway where you can cycle around a large track

This lovely tree caught my eye. If I was younger, I would climb up

All pictures taken with my iPhone, the first and last one with Hipstamatic App.

Stanthorpe Here We Come Again

We've arrived in Stanthorpe for a reunion with some of Diane's friends from her Judo Group in New Guinea in the old days. After a wonderful meal at one of Queensland's best restaurants, Anna's, where I ate too much, and a good night, I've just been reading in the papers that the temperature has plummeted to the lowest this year in the Granite Belt. Oh well.....

The park

Taken with my iPhone on Hipstamatic setting.

365 Project

Our camera club is talking about the 365 Project at the next meeting, even though, we'll be in Los Angeles, so we set out to investigate what it is, after all we need to know what we are talking about when we get back.

The 365project is a wbsite where members take a photo every day for a whole year and post them into their project. This serves several purposes. First: it will give you a pictorial overview of what you've been doing during the last twelve months, a bit like a photo journal. Second: It will make you a better photographer and Third: You will get to know your camera in details.

So, I set up a project, which is totally free and am now into my third day of uploading a daily photo. Below is my photo for today, of daughter Sonya with whom we have been skyping this morning. (5th from left - top row).

Below is my project site which I started on the 4th of April 2012 and will continue until the 5th of April 2013.

Yesterday, I took a shot of a porcelain frog with my iPhone in Hipstamatic mode.

My 365project site:

365project/bill

Another Day - Another Walk

The Blogger got me out of bed this morning and talked me into a morning walk. As we have lots of interesting paths in our area, we set off down the road and into the Springwood Conservation Park, climbing up very steep paths back onto the main road heading for home.

Another Bridge Too Far

Along some big rocks up a steep hill

The Blogger doesn't look happy bu she is

Sunday Afternoon at Another Lagoon

The Blogger dragged me away from the Telly as I was about to watch Manchester City play Sunderland. Oh well, so we drove to a newly discovered lagoon on the border of Logan City and Redlands. It took a bit of effort getting to the lagoon as there is no pathway yet and we had to fight our way through the jungle, but the end result was great anyway. I had my iPhone with me just in case.

Lots of Waterr Lillies

Happy Snapper

The newly discovered Lagoon (for us anyway)

Still caught the last few minutes of the match which was great.

(Pictures taken with Hipstamatic from my iPhone)