The Travelling Stevens Crew are off!

Now we are home I suppose it's time to look back on the memories and keep our many experiences alive for as long as possible. The return to routine, work and school comes around so quickly, at times it feels like we've never been away so the thousands of photos (4073 to be exact!), hours of video and diaries we have kept will keep the memories with us for our life time.

Many people have asked what was your favourite? My answer has been "too hard to choose". I have enjoyed so many aspects of our adventure that I couldn't single out just one. The combination of mountains, snow, water and wilderness and the activities that abound them were just spectacular and too numerous to pack into a holiday. Obviously the reason so many people visit these places and end up staying for ever.

During our many hours sitting around airports, on planes and in cars we talked about many things but what stood out for me were the questions the kids would ask about places we were going and what we were likely to do, expect or see. The fact that we were enjoying these experiences altogether, for the first time, made it memorable and special for all of us. The kids just assumed we knew what to expect and were quite surprised at our answers of " I have no idea, we've never been here before either!" If nothing else, I hope that this holiday will instill a love of travel and discovery for the kids where they can draw on all our adventures with worldly confidence and tackle new places and experiences for themselves in the future - not too distant I hope.

We were all surprised at just how many airports we visited while away and how efficient we tried to get at removing shoes and jackets.

Just for fun we listed them all during a lull in our itinery one day.
Perth x 2, Brisbane , LAX, Vancouver x 3, Kelowna, Las Vegas, San Francisco x 2, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Portland , Honolulu, Sydney

Another list we added to as we travelled was all the different forms of transport we experienced and I'm sure I will have missed something.
Aeroplane, sea plane, car, bus, coach, train, cruise ship, river boat ( sternwheeler) , canoe, jet boat, ferry, catamaran, cable car, street car, gondola, ski lift, bikes, dog sled, horse sleigh, mule, skis, snow mobile , mini z's , taxi, limo and maybe not covering the most Kms but definitely getting a good work out were the feet!

So as I sit finishing this off back at home I look around our home feels so big!! Those small motel rooms did get a bit much but they served a purpose and saved the dollars for activities and places we will remember. I believe that is some of the best advice I have heard about travelling - you won't remember the hotel room you stayed in but you will remember the activities you do and places you see with the money you save by not having the fancy accommodation. We definitley didn't slum it but bunking in together saved that second room and brought us very close together - literally!

Planning this holiday ourselves was definitely consuming for months prior and took many hours of research but we have no regerets in doing it this way and fortunately suffered no hiccups or dramas. This has been an experience of a lifetime for all of us, the dust hasn't settled yet but we have the travel bug to explore some more, who knows where?

We are here!! After leaving Perth on Good Friday morning we arrived in Brisbane before connecting to LA to wake upto yet another GOOD FRIDAY!! Real time travel and a rather difficult concept to explain to the kids, however we survived and the timing was actually quite good. We all managed to get a few hours sleep and were determined to get into the time zone quickly.

After a short nap (in a bed!) which excited all of us, we headed off on the trolley car that takes you down past Manhattan Beach and drops off at a shopping centre called Manhattan Village. Very upmarket establishment so had some lunch and left again within the hour, not quite what we were looking for! Hailed a cab from the "sidewalk" in true LA style and took off to a Westfield to try and pick up a few items. Still not too successful but passed a few hours before heading back to the Travellodge. We all crashed on the beds about 5.30pm and kids pretty much slept through until our wake up call at 4.30am.

Our flights on Saturday were a breeze compared to the day before. LA airport was very efficient and a 2.5 hour flight to Vancouver went in a flash. Everyone was happy and refreshed and enjoying not being nagged to go to sleep!!
From Vancouver we boarded our last flight to Kelowna which was only about 50 mins. Very spectacular flight over snow capped mountains and clear enough to get a great view of Vancouver.

Picked up all our 5 pieces of luggage (first fear ) and jumped in our cab to head for the snow. After Wayne tried to get in the wrong side of the taxi ( driver suggested it was probably better if "he" drove) we were on our way up the mountain.

The departure day is fast approaching and final arrangements are being made. We leave you all behind on Thursday 20th March on the midnight horror to Brisbane and then connect to LA on Good Friday.
Big question at the moment on our minds is " will we fit everything in?" We must do a practice pack this weekend!!