Dragonboat racing Well, believe it or not, I decided to get involved in a corporate event - dragonboat racing. Pretty scary I know considering most people know that I'm an absolute weakling and can barely open a bottle - let alone paddling in a race! Surprisingly, I had a fantastic time and would like to do more of it! Two ladies I work with at Griffith belong to the Burleigh Fire Dragons and they had their annual regatta on Sunday. As part of the re...

Back in LA We arrived back in LA mid morning after a longer than planned journey due to the traffic jams. I couldn't believe I was back to LA already. We were taken directly in Hollywood and onto Hollywood Boulevard. I didn't mind going back because we were taken on an inside Hollywood tour. The guide led us around and spoke to us through a headset. He gave lots of movie trivia, including talking about scenes that had been filmed where we were standing....

Santa Barbara We left San Francisco and headed down the coast, along the Pacific Highway. The journey was about 5 hours so we were at Santa Barbara by about 2pm. While some headed to the beach, Jo, Lee and I went for the shops. Our shopping in San Francisco so we decided to make up for it here. We found Macy's and spent a good few hours in the department store before leaving with purchases. There was time for a quick wander back up the main street a...

San Francisco The trip from Bass Lake to San Francisco was only a few hours so we were down at Fisherman's Wharf by midday. We headed directly to Pier 39 and found a restaurant to have lunch that gave views of the harbour. The food was excellent and afterwards we wandered around the Pier, looking in the shops and watching the street performers. Then it was time to get back on the bus and we were driven around San Francisco, shown china town and othe...

Yosemite National Park Waking up to the sound of nature was a lovely feeling and the day seemed to get better once we were on the bus and heading to Yosemite National Park. I hadn't thought visiting Yosemite would be that great but the moment we exited the tunnel under the mountain that announced the entrance to the park I was transfixed to the view out the window. We stopped and had a look at the mist slowly rising from Yosemite and I can't describe...