From Hollywood............. to Shepperton

And we're back.  Sunny Warm Pretty Shepperton welcomed us back on Wednesday afternoon after a long night flight from LAX.  Our journey was completed with a grumpy arse cheerful taxi driver.

As we settle back into normal home life and get ready for the autumn, it's hard to imagine that just a week ago we were hanging out in LA, swimming in the beautiful evening sun and enjoying the last few days of our American journey.

After the peace of Yosemite, the coolness of San Francisco and the beauty of the Big Sur, I found Los Angeles to be a bit 'in your face'; so aside from the obligatory tours visiting some of Hollywood's most famous landmarks, we also visited the beautiful Pasadena (as recommended by my friend Em), hung out at the hotel pool, shopped in the exclusive Fashion Island (home of the Orange County real housewives), enjoyed an all american baseball game and had an awesome day at Universal Studios.

It was a fantastic end to an amazing road trip; we learnt so much about ourselves and each other (I will blog about that later), saw places I have always dreamed of visiting, and had the most awesome time as a family.  

Roll on the next road trip!

angela x

The Road Horler's

At last - WiFi!!! OMG, how did we live without the internet in the past?  Although the peace of being unavailable has been L-O-V-E-R-L-Y.....not being able to access information at the touch of a button, share news, access emails has been a challenge (and a blessing)!  But we are back in the land of fast-paced living as we arrived in LA yesterday after an amazing road trip.  I had planned some great blogs, but some nights we couldn't even charge the PC, so I decided just to let it go and enjoy the moment.

My last post found us in our little condo, but since then we have visited and experienced some amazing places and people - and even though there were tough times, we loved 'The Rolling Turtle*' and where it took us! (*our nickname for our RV).

So, here is a quick overview of the past two weeks (NB: the best way to enjoy this is to sing it to a quick tune/ditty.  No singing skills required.)

The Road Horlers - 2013

So we leave our condo,

The Rolling Turtle (aka RV)

and head North to Denver,
driving 9 hours on the way.....
arrive at shitty hotel, run away to another (nicer one)
and then collect Ben Horler and the RrrrVVVV.

Rolling down to Interstate,
I take charge of the Turtle,
(and boy it's scary) over mountains we hurdle....
ooppps - watch out for that Bear! (almost)
arrive in Durango, and hang out with our pals
four lovely nights we spend there.

Then on to Mesa Verde - wow what a beauty!
Shame about the bloody RAIN
Lesson 1 in an RV learnt; close ALL windows.
Wet sheets ain't fun I can say.

Now, we head to the canyon (a dream of mine for long time)
and we oohh and ahhh and feel humble,
as we watch the sun set in wonder.
Then grumble
....... as some tossers steal our fire wood. hmm.

Ok now, on to Las Vegas - WTF, it's a nightmare.
Quick get us outta here - too much noise, lights and people,
Ahh, on to the bliss of Yosemite instead.

On the way, though the Turtle, has it's own little adventure
and we rescue a maiden in distress.
Quick thinking Angela flags down some bikers
and we all save the day.  Hooray!





Yosemite; a national park and a real Gem of a place
we hike and we hike all the day.
To see the amazing Bridalveils, cascading over rocks and walls.
Shame it had dried up - children pissed at me. Yay!

Never mind now, we head south to San Francisco.
Clam chowders, crooked streets and Alcatraz all the way!

Had a fantastic time and LOVED it
even if the campsite was slightly SHIT
Sad to move on, knowing our time with the Turtle was
short-lived.

Two days down the California coast
Cruising The Big Sur,
seeing the beauty and wonder all the way.

Arriving in Los Angeles (cough, splutter YUK)
who has hidden all the air?
Say goodbye to the Turtle, and head into our Posh hotel.

Power Shower - I have missed you.  Soft carpets I adore you.
But the road was my home and my heart.
Sad today.


Phew! - don't worry if you didn't get a tune whilst enjoying that ditty - my beer helped me with the flow of writing and it might help you too.

We have had an amazing adventure and are enjoying our last few days.

Speak soon
angela !

Condo-go-go

On Friday we moved out of our friends home and into our own little condominium.  The condo is based in a ski/golf lodge and is quite swish; the children (having rarely stayed in hotels) were ubber excited about the place and have settled in very well.  I think having Disney channel has helped, but in-line with my previous blog about screen use, we are using the TV judiciously!

On Saturday, we visited a town called 'Silverton'; this was founded as a mining town (as are many of the towns in the Rockies), and was a cute little place to see.  We didn't tour the town too much (as when Ben arrives we are riding an old steam train there, so want to explore with him) but we visited the museum and old jail which was really interesting.  There is even a gold mine you can tour, however the girls were too freaked out at the thought of going underground, so we had to forego that trip (which was a shame as Noah and I would have liked to go):

I want one of these!

It's about time he bathed!

So tempted to leave them there.........

Mum why can't I have an en-suite?

Working things out!

The children nearly got left behind due to their arguing, so I chucked them out of the car and asked them to go and work things out before they were allowed back in.  It was amazing how the thought of being abandoned in the middle of the mountains had such a powerful influence over their behaviour. 

Yesterday, we headed out on a 'mini' road-trip, driving the San Jaun Sky Way: this is a 236 mile round trip around some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see.  We stopped in at a couple of towns, hiked a little, and swam in the Ouray hot springs.  Some of the roads were REALLY scary, with narrow hair pin bends and sheer drops to the side.  It took a lot of concentration but I am pretty proud of myself, and in the words of 'Rainman'- "I'm an excellent driver."  

Some photos* for you to enjoy:

The waterfall was so loud you couldn't here each other!

The water here is naturally heated to about 35c.

angela xx

*some of the amazing photos are credit to Lily; she just has an 'eye' for pictures which is a natural gift.