Countdown!

So it’s countdown time….finally! 10 more sleeps and we are off on our epic adventure! I can’t wait! So unfortunately…if you are reading my blog…the next few entries are going to be holiday filled! I will try to limit entries to the highlights of each city, and hopefully it will be of some interest to you, but until then…..it’s countdown time!

I have to admit I hate the few days/weeks leading up to a holiday, or anything exciting. Mainly because, as hard as I try, my brain switches into holiday mode FAR too early, making concentrating on current projects and any type of work extremely difficult! I have no motivation, except to pack my suitcase. The problem with being only a few days away is that all the major things have been done. At least with a few weeks to go, you can still be organising and booking things to keep the excitement going but now – we have picked up all our documents, our money is converted (and at a great rate I might add! Thank you world economy!), everything is booked/paid for/deposits put down, our itinerary is all done, I have made my packing list (see Luggagitis) so except for a few small jobs we are all ready to go now I just have to sit….and work…and wait….

Now, so this blog isn’t completely about me complaining about waiting to go on a holiday – because I know you all have so much sympathy for that – I thought I would send you some links to some interesting blogs I am currently following that you may also want to have a look into:

London Still – penned by the gorgeous and multi-talented Al Silber – currently based in NYC she is a writer/actor/singer/photographer – you name it – well worth a read!

Miss K Goes Forth – one of my best friends – she has just moved to London to make a career for herself in ‘the biz’ – so follow along with her epic adventures making it in the business!

Screen Writing 101 or Misadventures in WA Film – talented Perth Screen Writer Richard W Hyde – a fellow West Wing/Aaron Sorkin fan – check out his views on the industry from the Screen Writer point of view!

FLIP SIMMONS – Yes it’s in capitols – because his title is in capitols – but he has totally earned the capitols – awesome vocalist/performer – this blog is also his webpage – check out some of his tunes you won’t be sorry!

Ok, they are my plugs for this week! Now off to plan for the Andrews Sisters gig this weekend in Geraldton – if I get time next week I may pen a quick entry on how it went!

Luggagitis

I suffer from Luggagitis.

Yes it’s true.

What is Luggagitis you might ask? Well, it is the inability to be able to pack light when I travel. It’s a curse. I always seem to over pack, no matter where I go. Even if it’s just an overnight stay. I pack for any possible occasion that may arise – I make sure I have some kind of outfit/shoes/bag/underwear/jewellery to match , so that I am always prepared, but this ends up with my luggage overflowing, me stressing over weight restrictions and being charged at the airport – and no room for possible purchases on trips! It is stressful. I hate it!

I must admit, I am getting better over the years, not much, but I have made a slight improvement….so I am determined, for my upcoming trip, to break free of this disease and pack minimal, light and with only the bare essentials….no….really…I will! I have a plan……

It all starts with the shoes.

Shoes are the heaviest/bulkiest part of the packing. So I figure if I can narrow this part down, the others things should be easy! Right? It’s all about mixing and matching and, as we will be doing a LOT of walking, comfort. So I have narrowed it down to 4 pairs:

Black Sketchers
Black Boots
Black and Silver Sandals
Black Thongs (Flip Flops)

I figure black goes with everything, and it keeps all possible occasions covered. All these shoes are comfortable, the latter 2 are thin and light and will pack well and I will wear my boots on the plane…..leaving room to buy more on holiday (along with bags and hats – my downfall).

So that’s the shoes done – which pretty much means I can’t take any clothes that don’t go with these shoes! So the clothes plan – well that is going to be where, hopefully, the mix and match theory comes into play! I am going to try, like in the magazines, to take a small amount of items that can be mixed and matched to create a multiple amount of out fits – and will take up hardly any room in my suitcase. Throw in a jacket to cover possibly cool weather, and anything else I can buy on the trip. I guess the great thing about going to/from the US is the luggage allowance is so much better!

So, this is the plan to avoid another case of Luggagitis. Will it work? Will I be tearing my hair out? Will I actually be able to make a decision about what NOT to take ‘just in case I need it’, will I end up letting my husband pack for me? Stay tuned to find out…..the holiday is still 4 weeks away, but these are things I need to start planning now to avoid complete meltdown hours before boarding the plane!

Wish me luck!

Honeymoon Update!

Well it's only 8 weeks and 3 days now until our Honeymoon (not that I'm counting or anything...) and I thought I  would share some more details of this epic adventure, so y'all know what we have in store - but not too much - just a bit of a teaser, as I will be going into much more detail whilst actually on the holiday! So let's start at the very beginning.....

San Francisco 

We are spending 5 days in this beautiful (altho one of those days is dedicated to getting over jet-lag!). SF is a place I have always wanted to go and have heard nothing but great things from everyone I know that have been there, so here is a run down on this city.....

Accommodation: Hotel des Arts

Highlights:
Hop-on Hop-off Tour of San Francisco
Muir Woods and Sausalito Tour
Alcatraz - night tour
San Francisco Movie Sites Tour (we had to get some Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry films in the trip somewhere!)
Napa Valley Wine Country Tour
Golden Gate Bay Cruise
Visit - The Emabrcado, The Piers and Fisherman's Wharf
Beach Blanket Babylon

We then hop in our hire car and start the 2 day journey down the West Coast to Los Angeles! (side note it doesn't actually take 2 days to drive to LA - for those that have never been - we just want to take our time and stop and see the sites!)

Accommodation: Inn at Morro Bay

Highlights:
17-Mile drive (The Lone Cypress, Fanshell Overlook, Spanish Bay, Point Joe, Lodge at Pebble Beach)
Monterey
Carmel (the home of Doris Day)
Pacific Grove
Morro Bay
Hearst Castle
Malibu
Santa Monica
Venice Beach

By the end of this 2 day drive/sightseeing adventure we will be ready to have a good night's sleep before 2 days of excitement, fun and adventure at......DISNEYLAND!!!

Accommodation: Disneyland Paradise Pier Hotel

Not really much more to say about this - 2 days filled with Disneyland magic! I AM SO EXCITED!! After our second full day at Disneyland, we leave our hotel in Anaheim and transfer to our cheaper, but location friendly hotel in Hollywood!

Accommodation: Hollywood Orchid Suites

Highlights:
Grand City Tour of Los Angeles and Hollywood Homes
Hollywood Blvd sightseeing
Behind-the-Scenes-Tour of the Kodak theatre, Grauman's, El Capitan, Egyptian and Roosevelt Hotel
Warner Bros. Studio VIP Tour
Hollywood Museum

We then pick up our next hire car and start the drive thru the desert to meet up with the Adlems in LAS VEGAS!

Accommodation: MGM Grand

Highlights:
Grand Canyon
Hoover Dam
Checking out the Hotels and Casinos
Hanging out with Ann and Andrew

After a few days we then jump in a plane, leaving the West Coast behind, and head across country to New York!

We are staying in NYC with our friend Lauren at her apartment in Manhattan - where I have stayed the previous times I have visited. NYC is not going to be as tour/tourist filled as the other cities as we have both been before and we want to spend time catching up with all the friends we have living here and checking out some great bars and restaurants and just generally exploring the place. We are here for 9 days , so we do have a list of things we may or may not do depending on how we feel!

Highlights:
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Museums
Lincoln Centre Tour
Greenwich Village Walking Tour
Sopranos Tour
Movie Sites Tour
Yankees vs Red Sox game
Sightseeing Cruise on the Hudson
Brooklyn Bridge

Shows:
Anything Goes
Catch Me If You Can
How to Succeed in Business

After 9 fabulous days we will be heading to our final destination - for a bit of relaxation to finish off this epic trip - Miami!

Accommodation: Fountaine Bleau

We wanted to end the trip with a few days relaxing lying by a pool, drinking cocktails, eating and not doing a lot do our travel agent suggested a resort in Miami. So that's pretty much what we are going to do - we may hire a pool cabana one day and do a tour of Key West, but otherwise it will be plenty of  lying pool side or o the beach!

So that's the overall plan - well highlights anyway! We have been given some great recommendations from friends on places to go, where to eat, shop etc... but if anyone else had any recommendations please send them our way! I will do my best to update each city as we go with all the details! Ok... back to work so I can actually afford this trip!

Honeymoon Adventures

So, as was mentioned in my somewhat scarce blogs from last year, I was getting married....well now I am....married that is. So last year was a crazy, stressful, wonderful time spent planning and organising every last detail - of which there were many - and the day itself exceeded expectations, it really is the best day of your life. But, as wonderful as it was, it was also nice for all the stress and anxiety be over and to just be married:) Which just leaves us no with the fun part....planning the HONEYMOON! (oh yeah and spending the rest of our lives together.....)


I love planning holidays. Organising things is what I do well, and this is not exception! So where are we going you may ask? Well, after 8 years together (!) it turns out we have never actually had a proper holiday! Sure we have had the odd weekend away, but any major trip, longer than a week, has resulted in it being a work trip for either one of us with very little time to fully relax and enjoy. We have both wanted to explore the USA a bit more so.....America the Beautiful here we come!


It is currently 11 weeks and 4 days til we depart......not that I am counting or anything.....so I imagine there will be a few blogs in the coming months tracking our planning/packing process as well as the trip itself! We will be gone just under 5 weeks and a trip like this definitely needs planning! For a bit of a teaser here will be some of our destinations:


San Francisco
Disneyland - it is a destination within itself!
Los Angeles
Las Vegas
New York
Miami


When I say I like organising holidays.....I really mean that. NO seriously! Itineraries and all, from monthly calendars, to daily itineraries (all colour coded), to our own travel 'booklets' rather than carrying around 5-6 Lonely Planet guides. Too much you might say? Maybe for some, but I figure if I am going to be somewhere for a short amount of time, I am going to make the most of it. I mean, not every minute of the trip is planned....really....REALLY! There are just some things you need to think about in advance so you are not walking around in some foreign city not really sure what to do or where to go! Luckily my Husband is happy to smile, say 'yes dear' and just go with the flow! So I look forward to updating you on the Honeymoon adventures that lay ahead - but needless to say I (we - well I am sure he will be at some point!) am very excited!! So stay tuned.......