mattjo

Aloha!

We arrived in Honolulu this morning, and to my surprise things were pretty easy, especially considering all of the horror stories that I have heard about US Customs.

If anything Sydney airport was the most stressful part, being ‘randomly’ chosen to participate in a ‘voluntary’ pat-down and drug search. Matt says’ thankfully rubber gloves were used, and they were very gentle’.

The flight over was smooth, we slept most of the way, I was just so tired, I think the adrenaline from all of the days building up to Sunday had started to wear off.

We are amazed at how many Japanese there are in Honolulu, it feels just like a giant Surfers Paradise. Ooh and on a random note, on the map of Australia shown on the flight over as one of the major places they had Sydney, then Southport…. What the? Gold coast I would understand but Southport??

Oow we have already had a slight touch of stardom since arriving in the land of opportunities, we shared our flight over with AJ (The host of the Biggest Loser). Then we walked out of the airport the Biggest Loser banners and TV cameras were positioned ready for something important to happen.

We were greeted at the Airport by Kazemaru, it’s been lovely having her show us around.

After checking in at the Hilton Hawaiian Village we walked up the beach of Waikiki and strolled down the tourist strip of all the shopping extravaganza. We met up with Neil and Nance Miers at the Cheesecake Shop and ate ourselves stupid with lushious slices of exotic cheescakes. It was fun meeting up with Neil and Nance they are so funny and had us in stitches talking about their shopping adventures.

We manages to walk off our cheesecake and make our way back to our hotel. Along the way the tourist strip are all lit up with flaming torches, that are fed from underground gas lines. Walking along the strip we came across a familiar picture of an Australian landscape, and subsequently went inside the gallery to check out more pics. Peter Lik photos are absolutely beautiful and he is a legend cause he is an Aussie!!! We were all inspired after seeing all the artistic photos and attempted to take Peter Lik photos – without much success.

Anyways, we are totally exhausted and are heading off to bed!

Well i know nothing much has happened since our last blog - but just thought to write some thoughts down.

Both Jo and I are very excited that this journey is about to come upon us very quickly now. We have been counting down and quite frankly am getting tired of waiting.

Our only concern in leaving Australia is that we hope that our trip will not be in vain, and that our efforts at home will continue on and not bust at the seams.

I don't even think the reality of such a long journey has hit us either - as I think that once we get to Hawaii (our first port of call) it might hit us then!

A big thank-you must go out to our parents in particular Alan and Robyn, as letting us take such a long time off from the family business. I know we will thank-you more and more as the years go by!

Well thats enough from me.

Well its not long now before we embark upon our round the world adventure.

Our trip is going to be more than 90 days, but only by a few days. So 90 days is a catchy number!

We leave our journey from the Gold Coast and fly out of Brisbane to Sydney to Honolulu Hawaii on the 24th Feb. In Hawaii we will be staying with family in both Honolulu and Hilo (big island). This leg of the trip is part work - part vacation as Matt is looking for properties for family members to develop. So we will get to see lots of the islands properties and features that only the local know about.

We leave Hawaii on the 5th March and stop over in LA. Here we will be catching up with friends and hopefully get to see most of LA including Hollywood, Disneyland, Universal Studios and maybe San Diego.

Leaving LA on the 10th we arrive in Las Vegas for the glitz and glamour for 4 nights. We will be staying right on the strip and also get a chance to fly on a helicopter into the Grand Canyon.

On the 14th we arrive at Springfield MO, where Matt lived for a year to catch up on old friends.

On the 18th March we set foot in Manhattan NY. For 7 days its "New York, New York" with visits to Washington DC, Niagara, Central Park, Broadway. We will be in New Yok for Easter and then head to Boston for 3 nights.

Boston is our last stay in the US!

Next stop London and a Contiki tour awaits us.

The 1st tour will be taking us around UK and Sth Ireland then back to London for 5 nights. After running around in London and trying to pick up the cackne (not sure how you spell that) accent. We then hop on another Contiki tour but this time through Europe, stopping in Brussels, Amsterdam, Rhine Valley, Munich, Lucerne, Florence, Nice, Barcelona, Bordeaux & Paris. Once back to London we hop on a plane and fly to Bangkok Thailand.

Bangkok will be a chance to start winding down for 4 nights in a 5 star hotel right in centre of town. Looking forward to eating here! After Bangkok its onto Singapore for an overnight stay before embarking on a cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong over 10 nights - can't wait!

Hong Kong will be graced with our presence for 3 nights, then its off to Phuket for our last stop over. Here we will be just sitting on the beach getting $5 massages and eating lots of Thai food - yum. 6 nights of pure bliss.

Then its home and back to the real world!

Not bad huh.

Once we start our journey we will keep you updated with all that happens with some great pics and stories from around the world.

Hope you can join us.