Honolulu - and return to New Zealand - 21/22/23 January 1984

Cloudy, muggy.

Half day last minute shopping.

Lunch at Pizza Hut. I had a personal pan pizza - very nice too.

Spent a few hours on the beach - cloudy but still got burnt. Very crowded but really wonderful. Used the lilo and the beach mat we'd bought - great fun. It wasn't unbearably hot or humid on the beach. I felt like crying when we had to leave.

I had a refreshing swim in the hotel pool.

Got the pick-up bus to Sunset Dinner Catamaran cruise - packed with Japanese tourists. Cruise was lovely, but I was so close to spewing (sea-sick) it was awful and so couldn't eat the dinner.

Couldn't sleep before we caught the plane - actually felt sea sick for 24 hours. Plane delayed, too. Packed with us and a big group of sailors who were very rowdy.

Depart Honolulu Sunday 22 January 1:55am Pan American PA811
Arrive Auckland Monday 23 January 9:30am

Spent the day with ex-neighbours who had moved to Auckland. I slept on their bed, still feeling seasick...

Depart Auckland 7:55pm Air New Zealand NZ539
Arrive Christchurch 9:15pm

Honolulu - Friday 20 January 1984

Hot, humid, sunny - 27C at 4pm.

Picked up car from Aloha Rentals - an automatic Mazda with half a tank of petrol, which we didn't have to replace. Drove through Pahi Highway and around east coast and back through centre of Oahu. Beautiful scenery and beaches - didn't stop anywhere though.

Stopped at Pearl Ridge Mall - same as other malls. Went to see Arizona memorial but scared it would be too emotional to take free trip out to actual memorial so just saw the very interesting film.

Drove around Diamond Head - beautiful homes, and back via Pahi highway again. Scenery and coastline kept changing.

Had a swim in hotel pool. Nice dinner at Smorgy's.

Honolulu - Thursday 19 January

Sunny, clear, hot, humid, gentle breeze.

Walked to Kodak Hula Show. Had Baskins and Robbins icecream on the way. Left show at half time - big crowd there. Got The Bus to Ala Moana Centre - too hot to really look properly - things not cheap either.

Got Bus back for lunch at Smorgy's. Spent a couple of hours on the crowded but lovely beach - great views of Diamond Head, and warm water.

Booked a rental car and sunset dinner cruise. Did the washing in hotel laundromat.

Honolulu - Wednesday 18 January 1984

Hot, humid, cloudy and strong breeze.

Very hot and humid when we arrived in the early hours of the morning.

Got a taxi to hotel $15). Arrived about 3am but picked up two hours so only 1am.

Outrigger West Hotel, Waikiki, Honolulu - 4 nights.

I woke up with a heavy cold. Went for a walk about 11am. Very humid and warm.

Nice lunch at Smorgy's $4.75 - back to hotel by 2pm and went to bed feeling crook. Slept for two hours and another 10 hours at night.

People seem to wear anything casual here - they don't seem to care how they look - everyone in shorts.

Los Angeles - and to Honolulu - Tuesday 17 January 1984

Mild, fine.

Left cases in motel office and got rental car - chevette - not nearly as nice as a Sentra. Drove to Los Angeles County Museum - very good exhibits - then Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Fishermans' Wharf (lunch), Culver City, Hollywood Park (for photos), Marina del Rey, and then picked up bags.

Dropped off the car and got dropped at airport for flight to Hawaii.

I could feel a cold coming on...

Depart Los Angeles 9pm Pan American PA811
Arrive Honolulu Wednesday 18 January 12:43am

Lovely chicken dinner on a very full 747 flight.

Los Angeles - Monday 16 January 1984

Cloudy, mild, fine rain to drizzle.

Decided to walk to Fox Hills Mall - about 3 miles one way. Not too bad, quite enjoyed the walk - a very nice mall. Tried Baskins and Robinson's icecream - nice ham sandwich for lunch at Sandwiches Unlimited. Bought boots, and shoes for school. A bit wet walking back. Bought ties at Sa'-on-Drugs, looked in Ralph's supermarket - very nice - bought 'Fire' and back to motel to play it.

Got rental car and drove to Hollywood Park. A cold night and only about 3,500 people there. Went into Club House, nothing much. David collected US$100 off Shah.

Los Angeles - Sunday 15 January 1984

Fine, mild, about 15-17C.

Grayline Tour of City, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood (stars' homes), then Universal Studios.

A tiring day but an interesting one. Lunch at Farmer's Market. Saw star's prints. Interesting tour around Universal Studios, though I was prepared for most of the surprises (as outlined in 'How to get lost and found in California book I'd planned some of the trip around).

Very late getting back though - not dropped at Airport Park Hotel until after 8pm and had to run to see the finish of Race 4 at Hollywood Park. Got given a small calculator each upon entry. Lost a packet on Right Bower in Race 5. Screen in middle of course is interesting. Good variety of eating places. Left after Race 9 and got a taxi right outside - bit of a rip-off at $7 each but was handy.

Got back to motel to find toilet flushing and wouldn't stop, so had to change to another room!

San Diego to Los Angeles - Saturday 14 January 1984

Fine, partly cloudy, mild, sunny.

Depart San Diego 11:15am Republic Airlines RC336
Arrive Los Angeles 12 noon

Capri Motel, Los Angeles - 3 nights

Picked up on time by ATS and had a good flight to LA. Capri Courtesy Car picked us up.

What a GROTTY place this motel is! Paint slopped everywhere, everything grubby, cracked basin, no bath, heating back-to-front, poor TV picture, holes in curtains - very depressing.

Walked to Hollywood Park in the afternoon after lunch at a restaurant. Took ages and some parts rough.

San Diego - Friday 13 January 1984

Fine, mild, partly cloudy.

Grayline Tours to San Diego Zoo in the morning, and Sea World in the afternoon. Zoo was very attractive. Bus tour took us through 80% of the zoo in 45 minutes, with 2 hours to see the rest - some very interesting exhibits, especially snakes.

Sea World is not to be missed. We'll never want to go to Napier's Marineland again - especially good were these shows: Shamu (the killer whale), Seal Show, Water Show, Dolphins - also displays of freshwater and marine animals. Sharks disappointing. A good place to spend a casual day.

Dinner at HJ's again! Stayed up to watch Falconcrest. (Huge dessert).

San Diego - Thursday 12 January 1984

Fine, mainly clear, mild/warm.

Grayline Tour of city in the morning wasn't that wonderful though view from point was interesting. Old Town was a let-down. Harbour Tour for 1 hour was very worthwhile, but long enough. Good views of shore and naval ships, including KittyHawk aircraft carrier and San Diego Coronado Bay Bridge.

Tijuana for 2 and a quarter hours - not nearly as bad or grotty as we expected - 3 hours would have been just right. Had to haggle for a price for a new leather jacket for David.

Tired by the end of the day - dinner at HJ's again. They have nice corn 'cakes' instead of bread.

Las Vegas - San Diego - Wednesday 11 January 1984

Fine, clear, mild.

Depart Las Vegas 10:35am Republic Airlines RC81
Arrive San Diego 11:30am

Flight delayed 50 minutes. Free soft drink and sunflower seeds on Republic flight. Some people were double-booked. An impressive airport at Las Vegas. Bags very heavy but got them to an ATS limo in San Diego - very good service ($4 each). Carried bags for miles to find our room at Best Western Seven Seas Lodge.

Decided to look for some nearby shops and walked to Fashion Valley Mall - very nice place. Very good dinner at Howard Johnson's. Hard to sleep with traffic noise, heat and dripping sound in roof.

Best Western Seven Seas San Diego 3 nights.

Las Vegas - Grand Canyon - Tuesday 10 January 1984

Fine, clear, warm.

Picked up 9:30am by Scenic Airlines for Air Tour of Grand Canyon. Flight to Grand Canyon took 1 hour and 10 minutes - not bumpy except odd spots - smoother coming back though. Very warm and sunny in plane - made everyone sleepy.

Grand Canyon was about what I expected - good to see but wouldn't rave about it.

Buffet lunch at Freemont $2.45 each - very nice.

Went looking for shops and couldn't really find any.

View of the lights from our hotel window is nice - the lights certainly are beautiful but the place is rough in the daylight.

Las Vegas - Monday 9 January 1984

Fine, clear, very warm 18C

Got up very late - about 11am.

Walked down the Strip to Circus Circus for lunch - boy was it hot and what a long way - it took us an hour.

A tremendous buffet lunch $2.49 +tax each.

Looked at the Fashion Show Mall and was not impressed - very expensive, too. Caught bus (95c each) back to hotel.

Spent the evening at Four Queens and Lady Luck Casinos (free drinks latter) - I won money and lost it back plus more.

Los Angeles to Las Vegas - Sunday 8 January 1984

Foggy in LA, clear in Las Vegas.

Never got our wake up call, but hadn't been able to sleep anyway.

An enjoyable Funbus trip to Las Vegas - saw video of 'Flash Dance' and played Bingo.

Grayline Las Vegas by Night Tour was good - dinner and two shows with some nice Commonwealth people on the tour. Dinner at Fire and Ice Show at Hacienda, then look at lights down the Strip, then back to the Tropicana for Bougeres show - very exciting and fast-moving.

Four Queens Hotel Downtown - 3 nights.

Los Angeles - Saturday 7 January 1984

Overcast but warm.

Drove to Sav' on Drugs then returned car. Got dropped at Buena Park Mall where we had a good look around. Had lunch, David bought a suit, trousers, sports coat and shoes. Had to buy a new 29" suitcase ($34 + tax). Spent the evening repacking.

Los Angeles - Friday 6 January 1984

Fine and warm.

Drove to Target, Toys R Us, and Big 5 sporting shop, and Anaheim Plaza. Next to 'The City' near Garden Grove.

In afternoon drove to Long Beach to see the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose - got a 10% discount for AA membership. Both were very interesting and worth seeing.

Anniversary dinner at The Provider restaurant.

Los Angeles - 5 January 1984

Warm, sunny/partly cloudy.

Drove to Teacher Supplies, an amazing variety of books. Then to the Cerritos Shopping Mall - a beautiful place which we had to rush through. (David's words: 'Eat your heart out Riccarton Mall!)

Then off to Santa Anita on the freeway - no problem, and didn't take long.

A lovely day at the races, a nice course - but no collects. Looked like a big crowd.

Stopped at Movieland next - a rip-off at nearly $8 each - Black Box very disappointing - most movies too old for us.

Pizza for tea, nice and cheap at $4, from next door.

Los Angeles - 4 January 1984

Hot and still - 27C late in afternoon.

Rented a car from Enterprise Rent-a-Car - got picked up and got a Datsun/Nissan Sentra - $19.95 basic and unlimited miles. A lovely car, automatic, radio and excellent air conditioning.

Drove to Toys R Us (in Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim), Mini Golf), Tustin Ave Mall of Orange - good purchases there.

Next to K-Mart (Lincoln E), Crown Books, (Lincoln Beach) and Buena Park Mall for microwave special.

Driving good if know where going, much more pleasant.

Nice dinner at The Provider, I had a swim and repacked many new purchases.

Los Angeles - 3 January 1984

Warm/hot - no wind - perfect.

Finally got to Disneyland by Funbus (Grrrr!). Went straight to submarine, then Matterhorn.

Did rides like Pinocchio. Haunted House and Scenic America were closed.

Queues generally much shorter - much less crowded. A beautiful place. Did Space Mountain again and only waited 5 minutes. When we came out, the Monorail, Matterhorn and Peoplemover had stopped. A lady had been killed on the Bobsled ride. Really awful.

Bought shoes at Buena Park Mall.

Caught taxi to Los Alamitos. Racing very interesting, excellent facilities, excellent seats in Club House ($4 each) and lovely meal and excellent service - right by TV screen.

Shocking time trying to get taxi back - nearly an hour to wait. But a worthwhile and interesting night out. Taxi drivers were nice and first one gave David some useful tips.

Los Angeles - 2 January 1984

Fine, breezy, mild/warm/HOT

Waited for ages for the Funbus which was half an hour late and took another 40 minutes to get to Disneyland.

Went on old Steam Train for view, then headed for Tomorrowland and Space Mountain. We queued for half an hour and I was a little disappointed.

Other attractions we saw were: Enchanted Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise (very good), Swiss Family Tree House, Pirates of the Caribbean (VERY GOOD), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Raft to Tom Sawyer Island, Storybook Land Canal Boats, It's a Small World (very good), Motorboat Cruise, Adventure through Inner Space, Space Mountain, Mission to Mars, America Sings (very good), Tomorrowland, Autopia, Monorail.

Got very crowded, especially during parade, but queues kept moving.

A fun day and will go again tomorrow to finish.

Tea at 'Bob's Place'. Nice.

Los Angeles (Buena Park) - Sunday 1 January 1984

Sunny and very warm 85F

Buena Park Best Western

Walked the block to Knotts Berry Farm. A great place. I went on all the rides. Took me an hour to recover from Montezuma's Revenge and I didn't know whether to laugh of cry.

Enjoyed log ride, Bearys Tour, Parachute Jump and Corkscrew. Spent 4.5 hours there and not crowded till later.

Walked to Buena Park Mall - could hardly walk home, feet so sore. Nice tea - cheap - across the road from motel at 'The Provider' Family Restaurant.