Thursday 18 July
We set an alarm for 7am this morning, determined to make the most of our LAST day in the USofA! After the free breakfast in the hotel lobby, we set off to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to show the kids the handprints and footprints and more stars on the Walk of Fame. It was such a good move – being there so early in the morning, we did not have to compete with crowds in the area. Hop on hop off tours start there, but not before 9am, so we didn’t have to push through any crowds until we were leaving the area.
The older kids found Hugh Jackman’s star and wanted to take a photo of me with it, but I declined as I left the hotel without shower or makeup this morning! I arranged for us to have a later checkout of 12pm, so we could explore and then return to our room for a shower before we head to the airport. The boys think it is great that we can’t then shower for another 25+ hours…
Next to the Chinese Theater was a souvenir shop called the $10 boutique – and they had a $5 sale! Everything in the $10 shop was $5 if you put it in a blue carry basket, so we did, and picked up some last minute souvenirs. We then drove down to Melrose Avenue to a specific store Ross had been directed to for a certain souvenir for a workmate he wanted to get, and then returned to our room to shower and pack for the final time.
Zac – in true Zac fashion – has now suddenly decided he is finished here and just wants to grab the bags and get straight on a plane! (Side note: we once took him to the zoo because he wanted to see a zebra up close. We made it around to the African animals exhibit about halfway through the day. He got to stand next to and have a photo with a zebra, and his response was “that’s great, lets go home now”…!!!) What is really cute is the way today the kids are suddenly talking about their friends. They have mentioned friends and family they are missing during the trip along the way, but knowing we will be home in mere hours, they are mentioning them a lot more today and working out when they can see them. (Side note 2: is it rude of me to say I also miss friends and family, but the person I really can’t wait to see is our GP!) 😉
Once we checked out of the hotel, we toured Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive. If we had more time and healthy children, I would have liked to do a sightseeing tour around LA, but it is just something else to add to the next time list! From there we drove to Santa Monica Pier. It is a beautiful day here, so we had pizzas for lunch from a cafe on the beachfront, wandered the length of the Pier, and while Ross and the girls returned to the car, the boys and I went and put our feet in the water. Belle didn’t want to because she wasn’t feeling well, and Abi didn’t want to get sand all over her!?!
Jarrod made an interesting comparison on our walk towards the water. At the Kennedy Space Centre, one of the IMAX movies we saw there interviewed some astronauts before they went on a mission, and they all separately talked about their final days and how nice it was to be able to walk along the secluded beaches near the Space Centre. Accommodation is provided there for the astronauts and their families to give them some quality time before they “lift off”. They all talked about how they appreciated this time and also the chance to spend some reflective time on the beach alone, preparing for what lay ahead and enjoying the feeling of the sand beneath their feet before they left the earth. Jarrod compared this to our opportunity to enjoy Santa Monica Beach before we leave this country, so we also decided it was our quality time and relaxing time together before we head home. Deep, but I loved the analogy!
Ross, the thoughtful man, drove the car to the edge of the sand so we could get back into the car without having to cross any hot paths or roads. From there we drove through Venice Beach, and were aiming for Muscle Beach to show the kids the locals, but the crowds were big being a nice summer’s day, so instead visited another fire station for Ross to chat and swap some shirts. We then stopped at a cafe in Marina Del Rey for afternoon tea before heading to the airport – Starbucks frappucinos and leftover snacks and fruit from Walmart shopping!
By the time we put petrol in the car, returned it to Hertz and were driven to our terminal, it was a little more than three hours before our “lift off” – I guess it is because we have done five flights in the last eight weeks that this goes so smoothly, but it still amazes us every time that there are no hiccups!
We are now more than half way through the flight home. Seeing as we will never see the 19th July 2013 (we left on the 18th and arrive fourteen hours later on the 20th), I thought the 19th would be a perfect date for a postscript summarising everyone’s feelings/experiences/opinions about the trip. As I reflect on this, Abi has just approached me crying saying she feels like vomiting and has a sore throat!!!!! Round 4 begins…
Thankyou for journeying this with me through these posts (sometimes, essays!). I will see everyone once I am sure we are all healthy again! Cue the BlackEyedPeas song: We’re coming home!! Xx

Wednesday 17 July
This morning started with breakfast in the hotel lobby and Tim throwing up in the garden. Yes, despite a good night’s sleep for everyone, Tim was sick this morning and Belle is still burning up. Ross drove all the way to LA without stopping while I held sick bags for Tim (who even had a Zofran pill this morning) and the others played or dozed. At one point I realised we were near Calabasas, and suggested we stop there to see if we could see some Kardashians, but surprisingly no one was keen…
Once we arrived in Hollywood at 12.30pm, we went straight to the hotels in the area to check prices and find accommodation. The ones I spoke to only had one or two rooms left to sell, so I settled on Days Inn on Sunset Boulevard which had a room big enough for us all. Check-in was not available until 3pm, so I asked if there was a doctor nearby. A strong recommendation came for the Hollywood walk-in clinic two blocks away, at a cost of $69, so Ross dropped Tim, Belle and I there and took the healthy children out for lunch.
We saw a fantastic doctor and were not hurried by the clinic at all. The kids were given excellent attention. Tim nearly passed out, so we were moved to a room with a bed for him. He was given another Zofran and told he had a stomach bug. Belle was examined and we learned her virus has turned into pharangytis and severe tonsillitis. Poor baby, no wonder I cannot get her temperature down! She was tested for strep throat and prescribed antibiotics. Ross then picked us up and we drove to a pharmacy to fill the prescription, where I had a Jersey Mike sub for lunch at 3pm (a competitor to Subway). The pharmacy was on the Walk of Fame so we checked out a few stars while we waited for it. Belle had been begging all morning for a milkshake, so we then bought frappucinos at Starbucks – even for Tim who should have been on clear fluids, but was starving and sure he could manage one! (And he did – not a proud parenting moment as I should have given him a clear diet to start with after no eating for 24 hours, but he was happy).
What a way to kill time waiting for check in. We returned to the hotel, and Ross took my washing down to the coin laundry around the corner while I took the kids for a swim in the hotel pool. I was happy to do the washing myself but Ross didn’t feel confident enough about the neighbourhood to let me walk it alone. So chivalrous that husband of mine – remember the injury he sustained last time he tried to do a good deed and look after me? He did say he was approached by a couple of homeless men while walking back to the hotel, so we were both glad I had stayed with the kids.
At 6.30pm once the washing was finished, we drove up to the Hollywood sign, and then around Mullholland Drive to a lookout over the city and the Hollywood Bowl. We could hear an orchestra and loud clapping from the crowd which looked like a full house, I later looked it up and Sergio Mendes was performing there with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. We were thankful at that point we had looked for accommodation as soon as we arrived rather than do touristy things first as the Hollywood Bowl program over the next few days is probably responsible for the hotels in the area being close to booked out.
Being 9pm by then, we drove back to our hotel and walked across the road to a restaurant called iHop, which we learned stands for International House of Pancakes. Pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner, and we returned to our room to pack – lamenting all the way that it was our LAST night in the US!!

Tuesday 16 July
After a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant this morning, we packed our bags while Ross and Tim went and picked up our hire car. Hertz was on the corner diagonally opposite our hotel so we thought they wouldn’t be long, but just like at Dallas the queue was about ten people deep because only one customer service rep was working. The process took about an hour!!
Once in the car our first stop was Lombard Street. The older three kids walked to the top from the bottom, where we picked them up and drove down the street. The kids thought that was great! The Bay Bridge then took us out of the city on our way to Yosemite National Park.
Our only stop on the way there was a Walmart along the way. As we were all still full from breakfast, I picked up my favourite Walmart product for lunch – a little plastic container of compartments full of celery, carrots, snow peas, and broccoli surrounding a little pot of ranch dressing. And that was lunch in the car on the way.
As we approached, we stopped at a Yosemite sign for a photo. Sam told us there he wasn’t feeling well, so we figured the stop in the fresh air was good after the windy roads that had taken us in there. Ummm, no…a few minutes down the road, Sam needed to vomit. Luckily I had a Walmart bag close by!! Needless to say, it is now littering a roadside in Yosemite…
We parked in the main car park and caught a shuttle bus over to the visitors centre, holding our breath the whole way because we had boarded in a hurry and not thought to bring other sick bags (Sam had vomited twice more already). By this time it was 5.20pm and the last shuttle bus back to the parking ran at 6pm, so we didn’t have long to explore the exhibits there. Ross had really good memories of our last visit there, and I had only ever been there in winter, so we were keen to see it in summer. We wouldn’t have included it on the itinerary if we had known what was going to happen though!
It was a three and a half hour trip from San Francisco, which we didn’t leave until midday. Next time we will have to be more serious about the day trip and leave earlier in the morning. Mind you, I wasn’t keen to spend a lot of time there because there is some contagious virus in the park area carried by rodents, which made news in Australia before we left. 35 percent of people in California who have had this virus have died. So this helicopter parent figures if I hadn’t been so focused on Sam being sick, I probably would have been rushing everyone through the park visit anyway to avoid rodents! We did see the waterfall and chapel we remembered, but to be honest they were both more magical in a winter setting. The scenery was still beautiful.
By this time Sam had been sick on six different occasions, so as we left Yosemite we decided to stop at a pharmacy wherever we could find one and fill the prescription for anti-nausea medication the doctor in Dallas gave us for Belle. I felt so sorry for ALL the kids – as poor Sam dry-retched, five other children would block their ears trying to block out his panicky cries. It was the first time I missed the RV where we would have had more space to deal with this rather than a car filled to the brim with people and luggage!
We found a Rite-Aid pharmacy but were told because we were not on file there and had no insurance card, we would have to fill out forms and wait half an hour for the medication. So we waited, and Sam threw up in their garden. The tablets, 10 in a pack, are a wonder drug. I have had them with kidney stone trouble before. They melt on your tongue and instantly stop the desire to vomit. We were kicking ourselves for not filling the prescription in Dallas even though Belle no longer needed it by the time it was given…until we saw the price. The 10 little tablets cost $105! And to add insult to injury, Ross gave one to Sam just as he went to be sick for the eighth time, sending $10.50 down the drain! The second tablet worked immediately though, and Sam was happy to sit quietly in the car after that.
Being 7.30pm by then, we thought it time to find accommodation and dinner. We had planned to head back out to the coast to Carmel-by-the-sea and Monterey as our travel agent had recommended this scenic route back to LA. We decided just to head south from Yosemite to LA, so picked Fresno to stop at as it was only 94 miles away and a larger town.
Well bigger isn’t always better! We exited at the convention centre area, thinking that would have some accommodation choices. There was only a Radisson hotel and a few homeless people on street corners, so we went into downtown Fresno to the Holiday Inn. The city didn’t look enticing based on the people around the streets, and when we arrived at the Holiday Inn we found it was next door to a casino. So despite it being 8.30pm, we decided to keep going. The next highway exit led us to a Best Western hotel in the town of Selma. Ross negotiated two rooms down from $97 to $75, and we went in search of dinner. A Chinese fast food restaurant called Panda Express next door closed as we arrived because it was 9.30pm by then, so we picked up two pizzas at Pizza Hut and returned to our room. Sam decided he had the “vomiting record” with eight times, and I realised we had a new dinner time record as the kids ate pizza at 10.40pm!!
Sam helped himself to two pieces before we realised it, so is feeling much better. Ross is refusing to stay on crutches so is limping around, but doing better. Belle still has worrying high temps – we have now been medicating her for six days constantly, alternating the Panadol and Nurofen. The Dallas doctor said that was the right thing to do, but I am concerned at how long this is going on without any sign of improvement, and am keen to get back home to our GP. (Hear that? I am finally ready and accepting of the fact it is time to go home!!) Saying that, when the meds are due, she is irritable (“everyone just needs to stop talking!”) and sad, but in between she is fine, happy, sleeps a bit but has a good appetite. Tim looked green tonight though and went to bed without dinner. The poor boy tried not to let on how he was feeling because he felt his parents had had enough to deal with today, but I could tell by looking at him. I will see how he is when we wakes, but if he needs to be sick, that is ok – I have a $10.50 wonder pill ready for him!! 😉

Monday 15 July
After another sleep in this morning, we finally succumbed to a request of the kids weeks ago and took them to Denny’s for breakfast. They had seen the breakfast menu when we ate there along the way, and were enticed by the picture of chocolate chip pancakes and softball pancakes!
We then returned to Fisherman’s Wharf to board a hop on hop off bus tour of the city – alas, no Alcatraz tickets available still, even when I requested 4 instead of 8, thinking I would just send Ross and the older 3. So it appears we need to return here at some point to tour Alcatraz! When Ross and I came here 17 years ago, we could not go to Alcatraz because stormy weather had destroyed the pier from where the boats leave, but I don’t remember having to book tickets so far in advance when I used to come with my parents.
The tour guide on the bus was an African-American lady who sounded just like Oprah, and we loved her humour. Belle fell asleep and Ross was happy to ride and rest his leg, so we took the whole trip in one go, rather than hop on and off. The trip took over two hours. It was good to have such an informative guide and to be able to see the city. The bus even did a loop over the Golden Gate Bridge. When it returned, we went to Applebee’s at Fisherman’s Wharf for lunch, then returned to our room for a rest. On the way back, we bought some weatherproof jackets similar to one we had bought Jarrod when we left the hotel this morning. He was so warm and we were so cold on the bus tour, it was easy to vote to shop again!
At 4pm we headed out again, in our new warm jackets, planning to walk Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. At Ghiradelli the lines waiting for cable cars were as long as yesterday, so we thought we would walk the five blocks to Lombard…until we saw the angle of the street! Ross knew he would not make it, so instead we hopped back on the tour bus and off at Union Square to explore that area.
Close to 6pm we caught another tour bus back to Fisherman’s Wharf. The kids have been begging us for McDonalds because the happy meal comes with a Despicable Me toy, so we fed them there and then I picked up some clam chowder in a bread bowl while Ross got frappucinos from Starbucks for us. We are not used to the cold weather, it is the middle of summer here after all! We retired to our room for the night, and are planning to return to Lombard St when we pick up our rental car tomorrow morning. It is amazing to realise but we only have three days to go!

Sunday 14 July
This has always been one of my favourite cities outside of Sydney, and I have told the kids for years I would one day bring them here. I have only ever been here in winter though. It is now mid-summer, and it is SO cold! Maximum in the high fifties today. Brr!
We enjoyed a buffet breakfast in the hotel, well perhaps it should be called brunch after the long sleep in everyone had. We have noticed every restaurant we have looked at or been to here is more expensive than we are used to – it compares with staying in New York more than elsewhere.
We then left the hotel and wandered through Fisherman’s Wharf to a visitors centre to buy tickets for a bus tour of the city, stopping to browse in souvenir shops along the way. I had seen on-line last night that tickets to Alcatraz sell out two weeks in advance, but hoped the bus tour companies that offer combination tickets would mean we could get to Alcatraz. Unfortunately they were all sold out! We moved on to Pier 39 to explore all the shops there, ending with the younger kids riding the two-storey carousel.
Ross then took them at his slow pace in search of lunch, while I went to Pier 33 to Alcatraz Landing to see if there was any chance of getting cancellation tickets down there. No luck. The earliest I could get tickets to Alcatraz was 12th August! The strangest thing about my walk down and back between the Piers was that I was all alone – no one accompanied me, and I realised it is the first time I have been alone in two months! We bought crab and shrimp rolls for lunch from a stall out the front of Alioto’s and headed back to the hotel for Ross and Belle to rest.
During the siesta, Abi worked out how many more friends she needed to buy a souvenir for, so we left the others in the room, got some laundry underway, and went shopping again. We also stopped at Luggage World on the opposite corner from our hotel and bought another suitcase. This had been our plan before we left home as we purchased things, it is not the result of too much shopping! The travel agent had told us the internal flights would charge us $25 for every bag we checked in, so we only brought five, intending to purchase another one before we headed home. Interestingly, the internal flights she booked for us with JetBlue did not charge us, only Virgin America – the only flight we booked ourselves because the travel agent couldn’t price match – did.
Once we returned, the others were ready to go again, so we went through Anchorage Square and The Cannery areas, towards Ghiradelli Square. We intended to catch a cable car from there up to Union Square, but – perhaps because it was a Sunday afternoon? – the lines of people waiting for cable cars was so long, it reminded us of theme park lines! Instead we consoled ourselves with samples at Ghiradelli, and introduced the kids to chocolate there.
We then returned to our hotel for dinner at Denny’s in the lobby area. We met there an Australian couple at the next table, and he was a recently retired firefighter from Queensland. I have heard more Australian accents here than anywhere else we have been – maybe they are acclimatising us to get us ready to go home, but they do sound a little strange after being here so long. Ross and Abi weren’t hungry, so while the rest of us ate a small meal, they went shopping AGAIN. We had bought Jarrod a waterproof jacket this morning that Ross liked, so he wanted one for himself. The rest of us returned to the room where I began repacking using our new suitcase. By 9pm I was starting to feel like Belle, so went to bed before anyone else in the hope I could sleep it off. We have enough sick and injured here without me going out in sympathy with them!

Saturday 13 July
Last night was another bad night with Belle 😦 we just do not seem to be able to get her high temps down for very long 😦
We had breakfast in the hotel lobby again, and spent the morning packing bags and readying ourselves for the flight from Dallas Fort Worth to San Francisco. I had received an email to say there may be delays because a runway is still closed due to last week’s tragedy there, but our flight was exactly on time. Seeing as Ross cannot carry bags and walk using crutches, he dropped us at the departure area and went with Tim to return the rental car. Meanwhile, the other kids and I transported all the bags up to check in. I did this in stages because I was too tight to pay for a trolley for the bags at $5. Sam told me if I hadn’t left a tip for the cleaners, I could have afforded a trolley!! From the mouths of babes…
The flight was smooth and uneventful, except for Belle’s distress. We remembered to take her medicine in our carry-on this time, so were able to give her some during the flight. In the periods when that takes effect and she is feeling a bit better, she tends to sing the “Girl On Fire”song, but changes the words to be “my brain is on fire”.
We needed two taxis to take us to our hotel at Fisherman’s Wharf as their maxi taxis take a maximum of 6. By the time we had checked in, Belle was feeling better, so we wandered down to Fisherman’s Wharf for an early dinner (it was 5pm by then, and since the late breakfast we had only had fruit and snacks at the airport). We took the kids to Alioto’s so they could try clam chowder – I think I have eaten at the restaurant for a first meal every single time I have been to San Fran! I loved continuing such a tradition!
We then walked from there down to Pier 39. We had told the kids all about the seals there, but arrived to discover they move south to breed in the summer months and will not return to those posts until July 20. We have just missed them! We then explored Pier 39 a little further and bought some souvenirs from the NFL shop and Mrs Fields cookies for dessert. Ross felt he had done enough hobbling on crutches by then, so we decided to return to the hotel, just a couple of blocks away. By this time, the wind was quite cold. The taxi driver did tell me today the weather was nice and hot at 67 degrees, following some cold days – I told him we had just arrived from Texas where Dallas was 100 degrees today!!
Our hotel has a Denny’s restaurant down on the ground floor, so Abi and I went and ordered some hot chocolates to go for everyone’s supper in the room. Our travel agent requested adjoining rooms when she booked this for us months ago, which is much appreciated now. Everyone is now sleeping peacefully except for Belle, who has been vomiting again late tonight and has high temps again 😦 I am not sure whether I will need to catch up on sleep when I get home because of jet lag or because of all these late nights this week filled with medicine dispensing and cold compresses! I will assess overnight whether I need to find another doctor for her. I hope not for her sake. And San Fran is one of my favourite cities in the world, and the kids are looking forward to exploring it tomorrow. After so many healthy and happy weeks, it is sad to be limping (Ross literally limping…) towards the finish line!

I was counting the good things, I promise!

Friday 12 July
The Texans have a saying “bigger than Texas”. They have street art around the city of a capital B and G, so that tourists can themselves be the “I” in the middle, photo opportunity being that I am bigger than Texas. The little boys think that is “sick”. I just think we are sicker, literally!
Belle had another bad night, vomiting this morning every time we tried to give her medication for her fever (including vomiting once in the hotel lobby on the way to breakfast – yuk), and while Ross is feeling better than yesterday, he is still limping with some pain. So our first tourist destination for today is a doctors’ clinic 😦
I was up doing laundry until 1am – the dryer here is free, but there is only one so it is hard to access. While waiting for it to finish, I googled urgent care clinics in Dallas and found an ER room with paediatric care. So off we went to get both Ross and Belle seen to. It was very nice, and all staff were lovely. The reception area looked like that of the laser surgery centres in Sydney, so I knew it would be pricey!! The kids had access to a variety of snacks and a bar fridge full of water, juice and soft drinks, and hot chocolate. Once we were admitted and had paid the fee, I told them to eat, drink and be merry in the waiting room…and get my money’s worth! 😉
The doctor confirmed that Ross had torn his calf muscle, but does not believe he has any clots or DVT. He humoured the cybercondriac in me though by sharing the symptoms of DVT to watch for, which made Ross roll his eyes but will be applied by me on the flight home. Ross is allowed to fly tomorrow only if his pain does not get any worse. (My concern knowing Ross is he won’t admit to it if it does…) The doctor also showed me ways to check for appendicitis in children as he confirmed Belle has a virus. Her temperature was 102 degrees F, which I could tell by the nurse’s face was high and knew by touching her myself, but I have no idea what that translates to in degrees Celcius. They gave her nausea medication so we could give her Panadol and Nurofen and she would keep it down, but the bad news is her virus is contagious. Interestingly, they had not heard of Panadol or Nurofen, but luckily I had packed them to give her so could show them. Now it is my turn to feel ill – the visit there cost me $700!!!!!!!!!
While out and about we decided to do something for the sake of the other kids, so drove out to Arlington to see the Rangers Baseball Stadium and Cowboys Stadium. We had intended to tour the latter as it gave you on-field access, but access to the field was not possible today, so at a cost of $17.50 each and with two miles of walking involved, we decided to give it a miss. We left Ross and the girls in the car while the boys and I visited the entrance area and pro shop.
From there we drove on to Fort Worth, where the boys saw and requested Five Guys Burgers and Fries for lunch. I had just finished telling Belle she could not have McDonalds for lunch because it wasn’t healthy for her, so was caught in an inconsistent parenting moment! I have offered her Maccas when she is feeling better… We then moved on to the Fort Worth Stockyards which looked like a good place to explore (and they do cattle drives down the street at 11am and 4pm each day), but it was only 2pm and Belle was sick again, so we thought we should just call it a day! My only other plan for today had been to take the kids out to a ghost town I had read about, but it didn’t exist on the car navigation system and was over 80 miles away, so it will have to wait for another holiday.
While Ross and the little kids rested, the older kids and I watched The Biggest Loser Australia finale from last May, and now they are all in the pool while Ross and Belle rest in the room.
Our blessings have been super easy to count here – everyone we have come across has been lovely and helpful, from the hotel staff to the parking lady who saved us $10 last night, to the reassurance of the doctor today. He didn’t even roll his eyes at me for cyber diagnosing first which I suspect our normal GP does… 😉 We were moved from the third floor to ground floor before we needed it, and moved to a suite so we could be together which makes looking after the sick and healthy so much easier!! I am also thankful this didn’t happen while we had the RV, so I didn’t have to drive it! And it probably doesn’t hurt to slow down the pace we have been keeping. Ross also has another week off work when we get home, so should be able to recover properly before he has to get back into the swing of things. And my diary is up to date as at 6pm rather than the following 1am 😉

Photos include the boys at Cowboys Stadium; my five guys at Five Guys for lunch; and the freebies Ross made sure he picked up at the doctors clinic 😉

Friday 12 July
After a quick daylight inspection of this hotel and facilities, we decided we were happy enough with it to book our two rooms for the next two nights as well. Our plan had been to travel to San Antonio today and back to Dallas tomorrow, but we have decided just to base ourselves in Dallas as San Antonio is over 4 hours away and such a trip would be more difficult in the car than an RV. So now San Antonio is added to the must-do list for next time, but the decision proved to be the right one.
We were so tired after arriving so late last night, we only just made it in time for the included breakfast which finished at 9.30am. I extended our booking, but Ross decided to ask them for adjoining rooms rather than across the hallway. He returned to level 3 looking like a Cheshire Cat – he not only managed to get us all into one room, he organised for us to have the Executive Suite on the ground floor, with two bedrooms and a living area, that opened out onto the pool…AND saved us $80 per night!!!!!!!
We drove into downtown Dallas to jump straight on a city bus tour. A 75 minute trolley bus showed us all the sights and gave us a lot of history, and the tour guide’s obvious passion for the city was infectious. My favourite part of the tour was Thanksgiving Square, a little park in the middle of downtown that celebrated not only the American Thanksgiving but also that we all should be grateful all year round all the world. It all expressed my motto for this year brilliantly.
Dallas is very hot at this time of year, with temperatures well above 100 degrees F (mid 40s to us?). We notice the main question we are asked is why we are here at this time of year! We ducked into restaurant chain for lunch called T.G.I.Fridays, and enjoyed their delicious food and air conditioning. We then walked down to the Sixth Floor Museum at the Texas School Book Depository to explore the JFK Museum, stopping first at Dealey Plaza and the “grassy knoll”. We were at the Museum for two hours before we realised it, so engrossed in the tour and information. I did not expect it to keep us involved for that long. We were able to stand at the window and see the same view Lee Harvey Oswald had. The trolley bus tour had stopped on the road in exactly the same spot where JFK was shot, and it was interesting to look down on that. I must admit, I was a doubter of the official conclusion but being there made it seem more likely to me that Lee Harvey Oswald had committed the assassination.
Belle’s temperature had returned by then, so we thought we had done enough for the day and drove back to the hotel for a cooling swim in the pool. I decided to then get a jump on my laundry, so went to start it while Ross bathed the little kids. He decided to do the kind and gentlemanly thing and went to open the balcony door for me to re-enter the room the quick way. I was unaware of this, and when I returned to the room found him looking deathly pale on the floor clutching his leg. In his attempt to open the door for me, he had stepped awkwardly over a suitcase and did some damage to his calf muscle 😦 As he has torn his calf muscle before, he was pretty sure that’s what it was. He went to lie down while I got him ice and google-diagnosed him.
As no doctors were available at night, the front desk gave me the address of the nearest ER. We all piled into the car and drove there, and parked by mistake in the Children’s’ Hospital parking (which meant the walk for a limping and in pain Ross was longer). The queues were SO long at the ER, they said he would be waiting for hours, and we were told we would have to wait for Ross on another floor. So we left without him being seen, and drove around to find a pharmacy to get him some crutches (as Dr Nicole discovered you should not put pressure on that leg). Our parking at the hospital should have cost is $10, but the kind lady on the gate told us our accent was so sexy, she let us out for free! The older kids went next door to Starbucks and bought us all frappucinos for dinner while we purchased crutches ($45!!!!), and then Ross proved to me he was delirious by asking could we drive downtown to see Dallas by night.
Now Ross does not like city driving, and is not fond of cities! But, we did notice today that Dallas was not crowded, because they all apparently prefer to use the airconditioned skywalks or tunnels under the city to get around. Parking in downtown is also a maximum of $5 per day! So we toured downtown again and admired all the lights and buildings, and then took our injured Dad and sick baby home to rest. Remember that comment we made about how no one had been sick while we were away?…

Photos are of the Sixth Floor Museum, Thanksgiving Square, and Ross being brave and posing at the ER (you will notice he isn’t straightening his leg, but was willing to pose there so we could record the memory he is making here!) 😉

Wednesday 10 July
Ross decided we should set off early this morning, as we have to have the motorhome back by 11am. I am exhausted! He woke me at 7am, and we had left the KOA by 7.30am. Despite Belle not being well and our lack of sleep, the day went incredibly smoothly. There was no cereal, bread or yoghurt left, so everyone had a piece of fruit for breakfast as we drove. Our trip to Linden went smoothly, with no traffic delays. I folded blankets and sheets as Ross drove, and we were there with a clean RV full of “gas” (petrol) before 10am.
The inspection showed up a miniature crack in the windscreen for which we were charged $50, but we were not charged for other problems we had found along the way and rang in about (like a broken blind, hole in a cupboard due to another cupboard with no working latch bashing into it as we drove, rip in an awning on the outside). We were transported to Newark Airport at 11am, in plenty of time for our 2pm flight.
I had purchased at JR’s a metal star painted with the American flag across it, keen to hang it on a wall at home as a souvenir. We discovered late last night it would not fit in the bag we purchased at Kmart, or any of our other pieces of luggage for that matter. When we were checking in at Newark, I asked the lady behind the counter (called Desiree) if there was any way I could get it on the plane as Ross was telling me to leave it behind. Desiree went and found me boxes big enough to package it up so the sharp metal corners of the star wouldn’t be a problem, but then informed me as it was an extra piece of luggage to be checked through (we are entitled to one bag each), I would have to pay $40. The star cost me $12. So I told her my husband wouldn’t let me take it, and the kind woman offered to post it to me later. Instead, I gave it to her. She was so thankful! She thanked me three times for blessing her with it, and of her desire to travel to Australia one day (everyone except for one lady in NY has said that to us in conversation). So while I was a little devastated to not be able to take my souvenir home, I feel it will be well looked after in Desiree’s home!
We sat in the arrivals, not departures, lounge to eat and drink leftovers from the RV – we learnt going to NY from LA that as soon as you go through security screening they make you throw out liquids. So we had an early lunch of cookies, chips, Coke cans and water bottles. Ross bought me an awesome wooden puzzle of the states that I had seen near the restroom, to make me feel better about giving up my star.
Our flight was delayed due to bad weather in Boston. This flight is in two parts – Newark to Boston at 2pm, then Boston to Dallas at 6.30pm. And there is the kicker: the one city I was devastated about missing out on was Boston, and now I get to sit in Boston Airport for a few hours!! Our 2pm flight finally left just after 3pm. Once landed, we strolled leisurely to our next gate, stopping at Johnny Rocket’s for burgers and fries for lunch. I let the kids choose my meal for me, and ended up with a burger containing a meat patty, bacon, cheese, and onion rings…never again…
That flight was also delayed due to weather, giving the kids some time to play in a little airplane-themed playground. We boarded just before 7pm, but then had to wait for another half hour on the tarmac before we were allowed to fly. The flights were both incredibly smooth and quicker than the stated length of time. About an hour before we landed, Belle was burning up and crying because her “brain was hot”. We had kept the medicine up until we boarded, but packed it in the suitcase thinking we weren’t allowed to take it in cabin luggage. I had already stripped her to cool her down and was just sitting watching her breathing, but as she was upset I went to see if the flight attendants had anything I could give her. They had no liquid medicine, but crushed up half a Tylenol tablet for her in juice. She only had a little of it, but then slept a little better on my lap until we landed. Ross and I were both feeling guilty for expressing out loud the other night our wonderment at no one being ill!!!!
We landed in Dallas after 11pm, and after collecting our baggage took a few minutes to discover where the car rental place was. They have a shuttle bus to take car renters to another building 7 minutes away. There was such a queue for Hertz and only one customer service rep, so it took a while to claim our pre-booked vehicle. The kids were hungry as after our 4.30pm airport lunch, they had only had snacks on the plane, so I gave them more chips and cookies to finish off…at 11.30pm… This does not sit well with me and would never happen at home!! Our routine has been out the window while here, and we have subjected the kids to some strange meal times!
The time it took to get the SUV gave me time to ring around and find a hotel for the night. One I rang was expensive, 4 others didn’t answer the phone, one was booked out, so ‘Country Inn and Suites’ was the winner. It was 11 miles from the airport. I booked two rooms and we arrived and dropped into our beds at 1.30am!!