Monday, 17 December 2007
Rose at 4:30, packed kids, bags and all into our Budget Tarago and were on the road by 6:00. Probably just as well because the traffic to Brisbane was just as bad as expected. Took us 90 minutes. Our EVA flight was 35 minutes late and did not make up lost time en route. Consequently we had just 50 minutes to transfer to our LAX flight in Taipei. Another 777, we had wrongly assumed it would be a 747, and we had the same seats, 7H and 7K. Service was good and the food was, surprisingly, excellent but there was a lot of turbulence throughout the flight. Took forever (1.5h) to clear customs but finally arrived Howard Johnson, Anaheim at 17:30. Rod and family had checked in 3 hours earlier and organised adjoining rooms on level 7.

Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Up early for breakfast then off to Disneyland where 2 days passes for the six of us cost US$660. Did all the rides we could given some minimum height restrictions which sometimes ruled out Zara and/or Ashton.. We found a good position and settled down to see the grand parade where Zara was very keen to see Micka Mouse but it was not to be. She fell asleep just before the Parade started but Ashton saw the lot with eyes as big as saucers when the Disney characters and Buzz and Woody came past. After Zara woke up we took in more rides and then lined up for the evening version of tge Parade which kicked off early due to the threatening weather. It started to rain and got progressively heavier but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of Zara and Ashton from their vantage points sitting on the shoulders of Barry and Rod. Ashton was again gobsmacked at the proximity of his heros and Zara's eyes popped at the sight of Micka, Goofy and Pluto. At the finish it was pouring and we were all drenched walking the 1km back to our hotel. Finished the night with takeaway Chinese delivered to our room and watched the evening fireworks while Nicola and Rod went back to Disneyland for some big people rides.

Wednesday, 19 December 2007
After a very long day yesterday and a late night we had a leisurely late breakfast at Denny's and decided today would be for shopping. Took a cab to Anaheim Plaza which had two of Margaret's favourites, Ross and Walmart, where we stocked up on supplies and clothing for Leavenworth. Tonight was Rod and Nicola's turn to look after the kids and Barry and Margaret celebrated yesterday's 43 wedding anniversary with dinner at the Steakhouse at the Sheraton. Margaret also found the Travelodge in which she and the girls sheltered during an earthquake back in 1992...

Thursday, 20 December 2007
Breakfast at Denny's, followed by a planned full day at Disneyland. We hit just about every ride possible until about 14:30 when it was time for Zara's sleep so Margaret and Barry headed back to the hotel. Zara was asleep in the stroller before we got there..At 17:30 we returned to Disneyland and eventually rejoined the others in the adjoining California Adventure theme park. Rod, Nicola and Ashton had already tried many rides and found thm faster and scarier than Disneyland. We tried Grizzly River Run comprising a series of high speed drops through a man-made rapids course which resulted in us all getting quite wet. Then we noved on to California Soarin' , a simulated helicopter flight over California. Margaret, Nicola and Rod rode the roller coaster. Barry and Ashton declined fearing it was too fast and scary. We finished the night taking in the fireworks at Disneyland which climaxed with a white Christmas display of artificial snow.

Friday, 21 December 2007After breakfast at Denny's (now becoming a habit thanks to their hashbrowns and Senior's menu), we split into two groups for the day: Nicola, Rod and Ashton in search of a giant shopping mall, while Barry, Margaret decided to walk back to Anaheim Plaza to settle a dispute with and do more shopping at Walmart. Settled everything and, after checking with Emma, purchased a Garmin satnav for $174 which we will use for this trip and again when we come back in April. We had a late lunch before taking a cab back to our hotel. Something dodgy about the lunch because Barry spent all night back and forth to the toilet.

Saturday, 22 December 2007
We rose very early for a 7:56 transfer by Super Shuttle to LAX airport. Despite warnings of expected heavy holiday traffic we made good time and caught our Alaskan Air flight without any problems. On arrival at Seattle we were met by Emma and Colleen. It soon became clear we would need a very large vehicle to accommodate our 8 passengers and their growing mountain of luggage. Most of the SUVs at Enterprise just had insufficient luggage space. We finally settled for a Chevy Suburban, a huge 4WD with just enough luggage space if we loaded up carefully. Spent the first night at Embassy Suites Hotel not far from the airport.

Sunday, 23 December 2007
Today is the big day for our expected 3 hours drive over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth. Weather repots indicated it had been snowing along the route and storms were expected this pm so we decided to skip breakfast and hit the road as soon as possible. After a fruitless search for snow chains we were under way by 10:00, stopping only for a quick Maccas. Despite plenty of evidence of snowploughs constantly clearing the road, it was snowing non stop and driving conditions deteriorated as we approached the summit. Many smaller vehicles were forced to pull over and stop but the big Chevy, which we were now driving full time in low range 4WD mode in first or second gear handled the conditions well. After we crossed the summit and started the 20 miles descent to Leavenworth conditions got worse. Much of the time the road surface was not visible under the snow which was up to 20cm deep. By now there very few vehicles on the road and all heavy transport had been banned, With some relief we arrived at our house, some 4 hours after departure. The snow was thick around the house up to waist depth. The children headed immediately for the snow on a plastic toboggan which they rode down the drive. After unpacking, the girls took the car into the village of Leavenworth to load up on supplies for our Christmas dinner. That evening Emma proved to be king of the kids when she unloaded her XBox and showed them how to play. The day finally ended on a few drinks with and after dinner and Emma and Rod trudging through the snow ro hit the outdoor heated spa.