U S A '9 3

U S A '9 3

(A journal by D. Maxwell)

Part 3

21/9/93 (Tuesday)
???	We are preparing for bed and have just discovered how to turn some lights off. We went out for dinner without Steve and Bob since they didn’t return until 22:30, so we went to a local pizza place for dinner instead at about 21:00, it was OK, at least it was cheap. We have an early start today for Disneyland, Bob bought his new car, a Honda Accord, very nice indeed. Well we’ll the sack once the jokes have stopped as usual.
07:40	Everyone is up and awake except me. Darren is in the shower, so I will get up when he gets out. I slept well, but it took me some time to get to sleep.
08:30	We’re almost ready to go. My next entry will be a late one. A lot is bound to happen at Disneyland so I may miss a few details in the report.
09:10	We’re off, finally.
23:10	Well where to start. I rode in Steve’s car and Shane drove the Ford. We lost them on the freeway as we found our parking spot in Disneyland. We went to the pass entrance and waited for the others, 20 minutes later they showed up, Bob had taken a wrong turn. Anyway, we entered the park for free via Steve and Bob’s passes we went straight to Star Tours and queued up. The inside was interesting with R2 and a very well articulated 3PO doing their thing, it was cute. We all took pikkies, we eventually got up into the ramp into the second bit, 2 robots which looked like number 5’s from Short Circuit were actually stripped geese from another ride, great animatronics. We were led into the pre flight area and eventually into he ship, we had seen the video already which was on the screen in front of us. It shook a lot and looked great, but wasn’t as good as the Back to the Future ride, but then Star Tours is 6 years older!, but is still well put together. We left the ride and into the Star Tours shop. Which was rather disappointing, a small range of stuff and no Star Tours patches, we didn’t buy anything yet, instead we went to Captain Eo, Michael Jackson’s 3D movie. It was like a Sci-Fi video clip, the 3D was good but some of the opticals weren’t perfect and at times was too quick to focus on, however the starfield went all over the walls and a couple of lasers came through the screen was an excellent effect, including smoke and coloured lights at the appropriate moments, very interesting. We left that and went back to Star Tours to buy up, I spent only $8 with Bob’s discount card, which was a 35% advantage. I bought 1 chrome mug (the same as Geoff’s) and 2 pins, ESB and Star Tours. The others spent a bit more including Steve who boosted his collection a bit more, they had a nice black satin jacket with embroidered logo for $60, but I couldn’t afford it, pity. After the shop we went to a 20 minute documentary on China shown on a 360 degree screen, it was a fascinating technique and very enjoyable, especially when you could look all around you and see the whole perspective clearly, great. We left there and found the Star Tours line very short, so we went again, it was a lot more enjoyable this time and we appreciated it a lot more. After that we had lunch which was nice and cheap. After that we went to Pirates on the Caribbean, an excellent ride, we boarded a long boat, indoors and after a couple of small waterfalls went through a huge display set up of pirate ships, villages, treasures and everything else associated with them, every figure and animal moved one way or the other and was nothing short of brilliant. I ran out of film after 2 photos which was a shame, the figures looked so real and the atmosphere was magic, possibly the best ride at the park. After that we went to the haunted house, a large fake house where the actual ride was underground. We were led into a room which turned into an elevator then we boarded these ball cart things, 2 people per ball, which took us through the house, once again all the figures were animated and the use of projected holograms was excellent, transparent ghosts dined at a table, danced in the ballroom and made pictures come to life, very spectacular. At the end of the tour we were pointed at mirrors where a ghost was projected between myself and Darren, a tall thin one with a top hat, very apt and very clever. Good stuff. After that we went to Splash Mountain, this ride took us a long time to get on, but was worth it. A log containing all 6 of us with me at the front followed this water trail with huge plummet and splash at the end, we were told that a photo is taken at the plummet which we could buy so I made sure I didn’t duck, Justin was behind me, we got drenched at the bottom, but was a lot of fun. Justin Shane and I all bought a photo each, which were already processed by the time we got off the ride. Darren who sat in front of Shane hid in the shot and is barely noticeable in the photo. After that we went on a ride, Mr. Tousells (?) wild ride, it was a kiddies one where a car flies around the tracks, it was cute and fun, and the cars were right hand drive. Shane and I went on the revolving tea cups for a joke, the others refused to be in on it. It was pretty ginchy. After that Shane and I went onto Space Mountain, which is a Sci-Fi roller coaster, the whole thing was indoors and in the dark with only starfields and revolving galaxies projected everywhere to provide light, it was very spectacular and we picked up to a very fast speed but could not see where we were going or what to expect next, it was very thrilling and next to Pirates, rates as the top ride of Disneyland, a real buzz. After that we all took the tram ride which circles the park, it was a nice trip. I tried to take photos of the dinosaurs in the tunnels which were excellently animated, but I think I screwed up the pictures, we shall have to see. After the tram we went shopping, I bought Janet a nice Disneyland T-shirt and a T-shirt and patch for Mr. Smith’s 21st I halved the cost with Darren, plus a Disneyland pin,. altogether with Bob’s discount come to $30, the actual cost was $40, and they didn’t have any patches, damn. Disneyland closed at 18:00 which seemed too early but we left anyway, Steve and Bob went their separate ways while we went to Disneyland Hotel to have dinner with Lisa Cowan, we met up with them and after waiting for a while to get a table, had dinner at the restaurant. It was all very nice and enjoyable and free, Lisa footed the bill, by this time, it was now 21:00 and we left the restaurant to a special show, it was called the water fantasy, where jets of water were shot into the air making different patterns, along with coloured lights and lights in the trees behind at the end of the programme. All backed by various Disney movie themes, the patterns were of many varieties and is too hard to explain here, suffice to say it was nothing short of brilliant, it went for 20 minutes. After the show we went back into the hotel foyer to look at a photo wall of Walt Disney and the early construction of the park. After all that we said goodbye to Lisa, Bob (hubby) and Steve (kid) and came back here, the car is low on fuel and Shane went to fill up and go for a drive. It is now 00:05 on Wednesday and he hasn’t returned. Darren is recording music, Justin is smoking outside and Steve and Bob have hit the sack. It has been a full day, Disneyland was good although smaller than I thought, also the big Cinderella castle is quite small and is not at the entrance and there aren’t millions of rides as you would expect either. One day is enough there, at least the ride queues were short. I had fun although I wish I could have found a Disneyland patch. I would like to bring Kaths next time, I think she would enjoy it. The quality of the rides are top notch and is easy to see why Disneyland has them in the first place. Apparently the park in Florida is 3-4 times larger than this one, but that maybe too much. The only other main ride we missed out on was the Matahorn, it was not working. The Disneyland hotel is very nice, the garden lights and waterfalls you can walk through are excellent, a very good atmosphere especially at night. It’s been a good day, all for $35 (+lunch). Tomorrow we shall rest a bit and pack a lot. I need to sleep, I have written a lot and am getting a headache. Time for bed, Shane is still not back.

22/9/93 (Wednesday)
00:20	My bed is made and I am lying happily in it, Darren is recording, Justin is writing and Shane still has not returned, anyway good night.
01:20	Shane is back
09:50	I’m awake, the others are already up. I feel pretty OK though.
10:35	I have showered and dressed. Shane is packing his stuff in the lounge room, s*** he bought a lot!
12:10	We went and bought some boxes and I am now packed, all my Batman stuff went into it with little hassle, the cowl will sit at the bottom of my bag, and anything else left over goes into the suitcase. Shane is sealing his 2 boxes, Darren is about to start and Justin is really f*ed. He has so much s* it’s not funny. He bought 4 boxes and other some other s***, it will take him hours to pack it all, well at least his is trying.
15:10	It’s been a funny day so far. Shane and I packed and took it easy for a while, Justin packed 3 boxes and 1 tube and we took them to a post office (which was easier to find than any in San Fran), only to find 2 of his boxes were too big. I bought a 36 film across the road and we took Justin’s boxes back. I used my entire roll of 36 film on Steve’s collection, I came back up stairs only to find Justin’s boxes are in big trouble. A courier is too expensive, he has to re box everything into smaller boxes, and send them that way. I’m glad I don’t have this problem, through all this, Darren is still recording music.
18:15	After lunch we finally got around to videoing Steve’s collection. Justin filmed and Shane and I narrated, it went for 1 and a half and was as comprehensive as possible, it will be interesting to see how it came out. We don’t have the right leads to plug it into Steve’s system, so we can’t watch what we film which is a bit of a s***, but oh well, we’ll see it once we get home.
23:10	Steve and Bob got home and we all went to the Universal Studio city walk. We went to dinner at a BBQ rib place, the meal was nice and we paid for our hosts. After that we wandered up the walk and looked at the shops, it was very nice and pleasant, a lot of lights and different style of shops. It was great, we found a Sci-Fi shop called Things From Another World where I bought a couple of Batman things, including a window pop or $20 (Minotaur has them for $60) but the box is large so that created a packing problem, when we came home, I tackled the problem, I refused to touch the box. so I put it in the bag instead, by the time Friday night comes, I will have 1 suitcase, 1 box, 1 bag all packed to maximum capacity, even the poster tube has no room left in it, anyway the news is on, and bed time will be soon so ciao for now.

23/9/93 (Thursday)
09:40	I was sort of awake when Justin left then Shane, Darren and I went back to sleep. I got up at 09:10 and had a shower and got dressed. Steve’s cleaning lady arrives at 09:30 and she is already here, why doesn’t it surprise me she is black. Today we go to the Disney Studio’s to meet Bob for lunch at 13:00 and sometime today we go to the Griffith Observatory to have a look. I am down to my last $43 for the trip and my cold has gone. I only cough a little from time to time but am sleeping well. LA is as hazy today as the whole trip, probably worse, we cannot get a decent photo of the view because of this, at night though it is pretty good, strange stuff, anyway time to go.
18:00	A great day has been had, we took a drive to Beverley Hills and after a bit of roaming around, came across Harrison Ford’s house, we took some pikkies then went to the Disney Studios for lunch with Bob. We got there OK and lunch was fine, We were introduced to 2 ladies one of whom worked in the archives, we were taken there for a look, it was quite impressive. It was only a few glass cabinets but they had a lot of interesting things in them, including the first Mickey Mouse watch ever made. We were allowed to take photos which we did, there was a lot of interesting stuff here, early projectors and things and we got to actually hold a real Oscar from the film XXXXXXXXX and we each had our photo taken with it. After the archives we were shown around the place by Bob. We went into a production office building where one long corridor contained lots of cells from Disney films, excellent quality and a great variety. Darren and Shane took photos of some hopefully they will turn out. We also went upstairs whee another corridor full of Disney history photos were on display. Including a couple of Beauty and the Beast figures in glass cabinets, and a couple of Donald Duck pikkies as well. Disney also has their own shop so we bought some stuff there. It was a great tour and we were very privileged even down to the 3 live squirrels who hang out in the area of the canteen on the grass, very cute. After Disney we went to the Griffith Observatory so Darren could take some photos, the view of LA would’ve been excellent if it wasn’t for the haze, it covered everything. Darren took some pikkies and we wandered into the museum part of the place. Very interesting and quite good. They also had a shop where Darren spent up big, again. He bought a T-shirt for me which I will pay him back for in Australia, I now have $16 in my wallet, enough for well......not much. the Sansweet books have been paid for, which Steve will sign and give us tonight, otherwise it’s time to rest. I am packed and ready to go.
18:40	I was laying the chair trying to have a snooze when we discovered that Sydney has just won the right to hold the 2000 Olympic games, good stuff.
23:15	Earlier, Steve came home and we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant which Steve paid for, which was nice of him, and the meal was good. We returned here where we packed up our books which Steve signed for us, when we returned from dinner, Bob has also come back.
23:40	I’m in bed for the last time in LA. Shane has just left to go to the beach which means he won’t be back for ages. I’ve packed my 2 books in the case, which is now very big and very heavy, besides my bag of toiletries, I am ready to leave. Shane and Darren are still yet to finish. Steve signed 9 books for us, 5 for Shane, 2 for me and 2 for Star Walking. This is my last night in LA and the USA, it has been a great trip. I have seen things most average people never get to see and also a lot of people at home haven’t seen. I feel really good about the whole experience, people like Steve and Bob also make it a great highlight. For Shane, Darren and I, we don’t have many conversations left to us, but Steve and Bob are people we can always turn to for a chat, they are truly wonderful people. It has been a pleasure to stay with them. The problem we have is how to show our gratitude to them, it won’t be easy.

24/9/93 (Friday)
10:00	I’m awake on this, our last day.
14:10	After brekkie we watched the George Lucas Japanese Panasonic ads, very interesting, then Shane and I tackled the poster collection of Steve’s. It’s f***ing enormous, so far we have sorted out all the US 1 sheets and 10ths and 15ths. The commercial posters are endless, we have decided to have a break for a while before going on.
17:15	Well the car is packed and is pretty full of stuff, there is a lot to take on the plane WOW. Today’s been rather non productive, Darren and I got lunch at Makkas where they had their own security officer present. We briefly visited the army disposal store so Darren could get a couple of badges, on the returning I went for a walk for a while and then packed the car. We are ready to go. LA is still hazy but I took a photo anyway as well as a couple of Steve’s place.
17:55	I’ve just taken a last look at the collection especially the toy robots. I am still over awed by what this guy has got, he has stuff Star Trek fans would go crazy over, boxed phasors, figures from the classic series even Motion Picture playing cards. He has Battlestar stuff in boxes, figures, ships, even a Cylon AM radio head. He has 6 million dollar man figures with interchangable arms and legs in boxes as well. He has a Tron lightcycle, which I never knew existed, in a box. Plus no end of toy robots and guns. It is truly mesmerising. I had a final look at the Star Wars room. I had a close look at the helmets and Death Star gun towers and some of the boxed toys. Then after about 10 minutes, I took my last look and left. He has T-shirts, posters and patches worth dying for, it is a very impressive collection and he is the best person for it too. he deserves all he has. I am glad he takes pleasure in sharing it with us, he truly is a nice guy.
18:05	A bit of excitement, a fire engine has just gone past the house, Darren and I were out there with our cameras taking photos. Neat stuff, Bob has also come home, what a way to end a holiday.
19:25	We’re in the car and off to the airport, we’ve said our farewells and thank you’s. Bob and Steve are 2 truly nice guys.
20:15	We’re at the car hire place next to the airport. The planes are landing directly over our head. It is smoggy so their lights are creating beams above us, what with the noise, fantastic!
20:30	We’re on the shuttle to the departure lounge.
20:50	We’re waiting in line to check in and have been here for about 10 minutes, Wow, we’re going home.
21:15	We’re now in the departure lounge, it doesn’t look as good as Tullamarine but we are all checked in with no problems. Our boarding is at 22:00 and we take off at 22:40, the realisation that I’m going home is getting more obvious by the moment. I have $2.20 in American money left now, I might keep it as a souvenir or a reminder.
22:10	We’re on board, Shane and Darren are next to each other and I am in front of them, I shall ask whoever is sitting in the seat next to them whether I can swap, Shane has the window and I hopefully will get the aisle.
22:30	Great luck, I was able to swap seats so we are all together which is at least one consolation.
22:50	We’ve got a delay of about 20 minutes. Air traffic control over the South Pacific, so here we sit.
22:55	Well we’re going backwards, it’s the fastest 20 minutes I’ve ever seen, since LA is so hazy chances are we won’t get much of a view
23:00	We didn’t get very far, we moved about 20 seconds worth then stopped, although there are a lot of noises. Ah we are moving again this time forwards. taxiing
23:12	We’re travelling down the runway.
23:13	We’re flying! Goodbye America, Australia here we come. Within a couple of seconds we lost sight of the lights of LA, Damn smog. Everything outside is black, well all we can do now is sit back and have a pleasant trip. yay, oh well, homeward bound after all, we are.
23:30	How’s this! meal time already.

25/9/93 (Saturday)
00:20	We’ve just finished watching an episode of Sherlock Holmes, quite enjoyable. I’m starting to feel a little tired, unlike the flight to the US, I think I shall end up snoozing on this one. Since I have an aisle seat I can stretch my legs out a bit. Although the chairs don’t recline far enough back, but we shall see.
03:40	I’ve just finished watching (something) I played music through the whole film except the last 20 minutes, it was quite interesting to follow a story with no sound. I think the whole plane’s asleep, I’m surprised, they are actually showing some films this late. We’ve hit a spot of turbulence, so we’ve got the shakes a bit, pretty soon, I’ll try to have a snooze
04:30	I just woke up from a nap only to find the attendants handing out a late supper. Darren woke up to so I gave him mine. I went down the back to check the view, Nothing, all cloud. One passenger scored well, 3 empty seats so they can lounge out, its pretty uncomfortable trying to sleep in these seats.
04:50	Something interesting to note. We were told that the whole flight was full yet there seems to be empty seats everywhere, one in front of us and one behind, maybe we’ll pick people up in New Zealand, who knows.
09:15	Well I’ve overcome a potential problem, our flight has been rather turbulent earlier on, while reading this journal I started to feeling a little crook. So I went to the back of the plane and got a drink and had some pretzels. I came back to my seat and had a sleep. That was I think about 06:00ish thereabouts. So I feel a lot better and the flight has since become a lot smoother. It is still dark outside and will be up until NZ. The 2nd of 2 films has just finished so the whole plane seems awake. Considering I have to sleep in an awkward position, I feel OK.
09:55	It looks like brekkie is being served. Which is good, I could do with a feed, although I suspect it will be a while before they get to us.
10:20	We have finished brekkie, an omelette with snags and a croissant. Apparently we land in New Zealand in 45 minutes, so the worst part of the trip (crossing the Pacific) is nearly over. Yay. I feel quite good at the moment. It was the sleep that has helped. If I can arrive home feeling like this, then I should be in good condition to go to Trexpo to meet my baby. Oh by the way, the sun is rising on our side, our black window has turned grey (clouds) orange (horizon) and blue (sky) quite picturesque and a change from the blackness.
10:35	I do believe we are descending.
11:05	We’ve landed in New Zealand.
11:40	We’re in the lounge of the New Zealand airport. Local time is 06:00. We reboard the plane at 07:30. The 3 hour trip home should get us there at 10.30 theoretically, anyway, time now to rest.
12:45	We’ve reboarded the plane. We just sat in the lounge and chatted. Now we are ready to fly home. The sooner the better.
13:05	We’re moving backwards for the last time of this holiday
13:10	Now forwards taxiing.
13:16	We’re heading down the runway.
13:17	We’re off, Melbourne/home here we come.
13:20	One thing to say about New Zealand, it’s very green. Which makes a change from the LA cement works which makes up their airport. It’s good to be finally going back to Australia, even though their time is about 06:00.
13:55	I’ve filled out my first bit of Aussie paperwork, the incoming passenger card. Oh by the way, Essendon won the grand final over Carlton, damn. The match took place while we were over the swimming pool called the Pacific Ocean.
14:20	In Darren’s own words "he prematurely sent the pillow to a watery grave." Yes he spilt his Coke over himself, What a Dag. We have finished our second brekkie for this trip it was the same as the one we had going to the USA, Now I think we are all quite nourished.
15:50	Land hoy. I had a snooze for a while, we have about 45 minutes left in flight and Australia is fast approaching us.
16:25	We’ve been descending for a while, Melbourne is quite visible through the clouds.
16:30	We’re going through the cloud line. The ground looks pretty close now.
16:32	We’re home, our wheels have just hit Oz, our journey is over, it’s good to see buildings that are recognisable, any way time to stop writing and prepare to depart.

Daggy Bits	USA ’93 Part 1	USA ’93 Part 2	USA ’93 Part 3
Click the Bat to go home