Oahu - Hawaii

Aloha!

Just a quick note before we head out for our last dinner of the 4 week adventure. Had an awesome time in Hawaii, relaxing yesterday and doing a great tour of the island Oahu today. This place is very pretty, but not until you leave the commercial Honolulu and head into the many mountains, beaches and volcanic areas. A lot of diversity here, and a lot more people! Breathtaking scenery that has been the backdrop for many movies and TV Shows too - Lost, Jurrasic Park, Hawaii 5.0, Blue Hawaii, Fantasy Island, Giligans Island etc.

All in all a perfect way to end our amazing trip!

This time tomorrow night we will be home....

C&L

Canada - Vancouver & Snow Country

We have been busy bees over the last few days. We left the US via the beautiful Whidbey Island (accessible by car ferry) and Deception Pass, crossing customs and immigration in the car...much less trouble than at the airport!

Vancouver was our first overnight in a new country...Canada. They use Metric (pity the car only had miles!) so we were back to Celcius and Kms, and a new currency! Vancouver is soooooo pretty. By far the prettiest city we have visited anywhere in North America yet. We spent the afternoon on a tandem bike touring through one of the largest parks in the world, Stanley Park, in the centre of Vancouver. Grouse Mt was great also... the closest we have been to grizly bears since we got here. Awesome lumberjack show as well. We had a scrumptious meal in Cloud 9 last night also, a revolving restaurant to take in the evening views of the city...wow.

Today we headed north to Whistler and snow country. The weather is still beautiful and the skies blue...we took the gondola to the top of a very bustling town, full of hikers, zipliners, mountain/bmx bikers and other adventure seekers. Luke would love to come back with a his bike sometime (and a lot of padding)...me...I could stay here in our chateau (http://www.fairmont.com/whistler/) all day sipping some wine and watching everyone else get their adrenaline rush! This would of course also be the ultimate place to come back and ski at...one day perhaps :)

Tomorrow we hop on a plane and head to Hawaii for a few nights, before home.

We may not check in again, so we look forward to catching up soon in person. It's sad it is nearly over, but it has been an amazing trip that we have lived to the max.

Coxox

Forth of July Celebrations and The Boeing Factory

The celebrations in seattle city were great for the forth of july, a very strong sence or patriotism was shown by everyone. The fireworks were very impressive (and long!) Then on our walk back to the hotel we had to dodge all the people lighting up there own fireworks.

Today we went to the boeing factory and did the full tour. Was probably one of the best tours that we have been on so far, especially for the money it cost. $9 each got us a 90 minute tour and saw all of the 747 787 and 777 manafacturing lines, they were amazingly huge. The building that they use for making all of the planes is the largest building in the world covering more than 399,000 square meters - big enough to fit 911 basketball courts. The Hangar doors are nearly the size of a US Football field. The building was so large that when it was first built it used to create its own weather (warm air and moisture accumulated near the ceiling, forming clouds). Anyway enough about the size. Its pretty big ;)

Tonight we are staying in oak harbor, and tomorrow heading over the border into Canada.

Mt St Helen's & Washington

On May 18, the year we were both born, Mt St Helen's erupted here in Northwest US. Just south of Seattle. Yesterday we visited the still devastated blast zone and watched actual footage from the eruption...eerie. Gave me goosebumps. 57 people died, most caught by surprise. A large % of the area effected was private logging land, which is now regenerated, but a considerable radius around the mountain is still bare and lifeless, 28 years on. Ash gets in your eyes when the wind blows. The haze is the smoke that has travelled up from the 100 odd California forest fires.

Today we headed north to Seattle....we have already toured the Seattle Center, Westlake Center and of course, the 'Sleepless in Seattle' classic, the Space Needle...we are going to go back to the top tonight for the authentic experience!

Tomorrow is 4th of July, so we intend to spend the day gorging ourselves on gourmet delicacies at Pike Place before heading to Union Lake to watch the fireworks!

The Cars

FORD Edge - 2008: Had a lot of nice features, but used a fair bit of fuel. (Averaged about 22MPG).


Subaru Outback - 2008: Was a bit powerless on the overtaking, but good on fuel. (Averaged about 30MPG)


Chev HHR 2008: This is a cool car, One of those like it or hate it cars i think. Must be a fairly new model as we have had a lot of comments about it.

Mesa Verde

The Midwest countryside changed dramatically as we crossed into Colorado. We stayed overnight in Cortez, just north of 4 Corners, the only point in the US where 4 states meet...lame i know, but we had to get a picture...1/4 of me in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah!

Mesa Verde is the home of the ancient Anasazi Indians. Dating back to 600AD-1300AD, they built pithouses, pueblos and cliff dwellings that we can explore today. They abandoned their homes in the late 1300's and no one knows why...made the place that much more eerie. Once again, a National Park that is run exceptionally well.

Leaving the midwest and flying north east to Portland tonight...