Tag Archives: Holiday

Road to Ciaro – Alabama – USA Travel Journal 2012

Posted in Journalling, Travel, Writing by 
 16.7.12

Well not much to report today.

I wanted to check out a place that I had found. It was a unclaimed baggage centre. Where this company buys the unclaimed baggage from the airlines and they sort through it and then they sell it to the public and a 3rd of the price they have it valued at. So its basically finders keepers, losers weepers. It was amazing to see the items that they have found that was unclaimed. They also have stories of items some people have bought , only to find they are worth thousands. We did manage to find a really nice necklace for Dave. Their was some beautiful jewellery. I was kind of a little gutted though, as I think I expected more. They have it set up like a retail store. Me being the bargain hunter that I am, I really want to go to the auction , where they auction of the suitcases. So its like a big lucky dip. I think it would be cool to see what you would find. There are some things that I wouldn’t want to find..LOL. Anyway after taking a look around we headed off for our next major city…Miami – Florida.

We are doing lots of driving now, so only stopping to eat and stretch the legs and then somewhere to sleep, where we won’t wake up in the morning and find the car missing its wheels…LOL

Well time to get some shut eye again.

J

xx

Road to Galinsburg – USA Journal 2012

Posted in Journalling, Travel, Writing by

15.7.12

Well we didn’t get very far today. We had great intentions but this place was just too gorgeous to pass through. So many things to see and then taking the sky rail up to the top of the mountain. Amazing. What a sight to behold. It really is beautiful. At the top of the sky rail cable car is a huge ice rink inside a group of shops, where you can hire skates. There is a water slide. A great viewing platform. We spent a little time here just taking in the views and eating a ice cream, watching people fall on their butts before heading back down the mountain. By this time it was getting darker, so on the way down the city lights were on…breathtaking..and for those who know me…me and heights don’t mix. I can certainly tell you that because it was a huge cable car and fully enclosed that I was able to ride it. Dave wanted me to ride the chair lift…not in this lifetime baby!!!! Mind you when that cable car hit the high tower and started to swing a little…Jodie’s guts did a 360…not so good.

When we got to the bottom, we took in the sights of the city. I have never seen so many people, not even in LA. We stopped at a little italian place to eat. We ordered the pizza- New York style…Dave was in heaven…it was pretty damn good. He also became the class clown. We were sat right in front of the window facing the street. So Dave thought this would be great to watch the people outside. Yep you guessed it….had to make sure he was seen…too funny!!! He was in his element.

I finally dragged him away and now we have gone back to the motel. Time to unwind and get some sleep. We leave here to drive through the Smokey mountains tomorrow. Looking forward to that.

So time to see what is playing at the back of my eyelids.

Nite all

J

xx

 

Road to Tupelo 9.7.12 – USA Journal 2012

Posted in Journalling, Travel, Writing by
Today we headed out to Tupelo. This is the birthplace of Elvis Presley. They have a museum and a story wall , along with his original home that he lived in with his parents. They also have the church that he attended when he was a child with his parents. It was certainly worth the visit. They have done a wonderful job to preserve it all. They have a museum that houses personal items of his as well and those that have been donated to them from people who knew Elvis. It was very interesting to read the stories and see the items. Definitely a must do if visiting Memphis.

After leaving there, it was time to hit the road again and head to Nashville. We certainly drove around in a huge circle today, and felt like we didn’t get very far. We did stop at a great little cafe called Water Creek Cafe. It was run by the cutest lady. She has only been there for about 6 weeks, but it was going well. Her food was amazing. She got to talking to us and was fascinated with the accent. I actually left there giving her a recipe for a new sweet. I sure do hope she gives it a go. I think it would be a great hit.

We have decided to stop for the night in a place called Florence. Dave found a store he wants to go into in the morning. Oh what fun!!!

Anyway best be going.

Much love

JD

xx

South East Asia Cruise Journal

Posted in Craft, Journalling, Off the Page Projects, Photos, Scrapbooking, Travel, Writing by

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Sharing my travel journal I completed on a cruise to South East Asia last year.

The journal is from Kaszazz.

Unfortunately it is no longer available. Such a shame, as it’s a really a great product. I loved that it came in a kit with all the accessories needed to complete the journal. I packed it along with my Tim Holtz tiny attacher, journal pens, tape runner and my Fuji Instax camera. The sticker pack and metal embellishments were from the cruise ship journal kit.

Firstly I love how much room there was to journal. I did find it difficult to keep it on 1 or 2 pages though, as I love to write.

When I travel I like to pick up keepsakes that are relevant to the place I am visiting. I collect currency, postcards, receipts, ticket stubs and embellishments.

I love my little instant camera. I can place the photo’s straight into my journal capturing a special moment or place. I also love to use my Dymo to journal the pictures. It adds some element and texture to the page.

I had to buy this postcard for obvious reasons. My husband’s name is Dave.

Some of the embellishments I used are from a store called Stroberi in Indonesia. They have fantastic hair clips and brooches. They had some that were film rolls, planes, luggage cases , drinks and popcorn. I just removed them from the clips or brooch. They retail for approx $1-$2 making them a cheap way to embellish the page.

Washi tape is a great way to attach items to your journal, if you don’t have glue, tape runner or a mini attacher, while adding decoration to the page.

Through out my journal, I have added a little doodling to fill up the white space.

Whenever I travel, I look out for postcards. They are cheap and a great way to document where you have been and showcases the main attractions of that city/country. I also like the keep entry tickets from attractions or places we have visited as a visual prompt for that days activities. Envelope pockets are a great way to keep souvenirs, pictures, maps or ticket stubs.

With this page, I have used some stickers to create the beginning of my journaling.

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I also used an arrow brad to keep my brochure from opening and it works as an embellishment for my page.

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I have used my ticket stub as a photo mat to add some colour to this page and it also reminds me of the bus tour we took on the day.

A great way to keep your pictures in place is to use these fabulous adhesive photo corners. I found mine in a discount store. They also create a nice detail to the picture.

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With this page I used my washi tape to frame the photo’s. I found some Kaszazz beach rub-ons in my stash. They have hibiscus flowers on the sheet. This was perfect for this page, as this is the national flower of KL.

These pages don’t have a lot of photo’s on them as these were the days when we were at sea. This gave me more room to journal and I was able to use items from activities that we participated in on board the ship.

I really love this page in journal. I was able to take a photo from each place we visited and highlight the memory from that day.

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To fill up the back of the journal , I placed our luggage tags, vouchers and other memorabilia into the pocket for reference.

I was able to journal and attach most of the items daily. I found this a great way to scrapbook while we were on the cruise and it was fresh in my memory. Having it already in kit form made it convenient to carry and use daily.

Once I was home, I then finished the journal off with some added embellishments, rub-ons, dymo lettering and photo’s.

I am really happy with the finished project and it’s really nice that I am able to have it sitting on the coffee table for friends and family to view and not half finished in my craft room along with the other UFO’s.

Thanks for stopping by and I would love to hear your travel tips for scrapbooking or journaling on holiday.

I look forward to reading your comments.

Keep the Faith

JD

xx

2016

Road to Nashville – USA Travel Journal 2012

Posted in Journalling, Travel, Writing by

10.7.12

Well up early to get to the shop and then get on the road. Dave had a blast in this antique store. Lots of old tin signs. We struck gold. Now we don’t have to look any more for them. Thank heavens. I got him out of there before he spent all our savings…lol and he was worried about my spending on scrap booking. Mine didn’t even come close to adding up to what he spent. LOL.

We hit the road again with the agenda to make it to Nashville today, as we got no where near it yesterday.

We stopped in a little antique store to check out the items. Well that turned out to be a very eventful stop. We got talking to the owner, Mr Bob Moore. He was a scream. We ended up being there for over 2+ hours just talking about Australia and the States. He knew heaps of places to check out along our journey. He told us many a tale. His sense of humour was so much like Dave’s it was uncanny. They got along like a house on fire. I think we persuaded him to go to Australia for his holiday. Let him know to come check us out in Perth and that we would be more than happy to show him around. What an awesome person.

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He told me about the time his father was driving along the highway and this car went past him and then swerved in front of him and pulled to the side. His father stopped to see if he could help, turns out they had blown a tyre, so his dad helped changed it. Low and behold, who should step out of the car but Elvis Presley. He thanked him for helping them out. How cool. We managed to drag ourselves away from there and left with his email address and I think we made a friend for life. Sure do hope to catch up with them in Australia one day.

We finally made it in to Nashville and we will fill up our day tomorrow with checking the place out but for now its time to call it a night and get some shuteye.541654_10150962435638041_937530315_n

J

xx

Travel Journal – USA 2012 – Vegas 9.6.12 – 14.6.12

Posted in Travel, Writing by

Vegas 9.6.12

Entrance of Vegas Airport

Well we are here. We flew in at midnight and were greeted by our driver. First time ever being in a limo and even though the ride was short, it was so great to hope off the flight and someone there to get our bags and put them in the car and take us straight to the hotel. Think I might have to talk Dave into this whenever we have to go to the airport 🙂

Our Limo to take us to the Hotel

By the time we checked in and finally called it a night it was 2am. The flight was so quick from LA and I didn’t feel a thing..always a good thing as I don’t do turbulence well!!! Dave and I sat in the car and were amazed by the lights of Vegas…it was lit up like a Christmas tree. So going to sleep in and then take a wander down the strip tomorrow and maybe try our hand at lady luck…mind you Dave says we won’t need luck if we don’t gamble…to true but you can’t come to Vegas and not try the one armed bandits…Dave also wants to go find the Pawn Star shop and get his pic with one of the guys…I sure do hope they are there. That would be so cool.

Well going to call it a night and will update you all again on our adventures . I sure do hope you like reading about them, but its also for my benefit as this way I will have a record of the trip for the scrapbooking that will take me 100 yrs to scrap….hehehehe.

Vegas 9.6.12 – 14.6.12

Hi All

Well we have now been in Vegas since the 9.6.12 and we check out tomorrow , ready to start our road trip.

On Tuesday 12.6.12 we took our tour to Grand Canyon West Rim which included visiting an Indian village (which was pretty average – not too authentique) . We had to catch the bus at 6 am and it took us 2.5 hrs to get there. It was a great time to really look at the scenery without worrying about directing Dave all over the countryside with the GPS.

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The magnificent Grand Canyon

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One of the Traditional Leaders

One of the Traditional Leaders

We had a great tour guide called Kathy, she was a scream…really knew her stuff about the Canyon and surrounding areas and told us many tales about her adventures driving the tour. One of them included a man who travelled on the bus with his wife and was heard many times talking about life insurance policy…well you guessed it, he got to the Canyon and was seen by the other passengers running towards his wife to push her over the edge, but they stopped him before he could achieve his plan and get the insurance payout. Guessing he was charged with that one. Dave really enjoyed the tour and her expertise, so much that he got up in front of everyone with microphone in hand and thanked her for her services and encouraged everyone to ‘dig deep’ and tip her well…embarrassment plus. But Kathy appreciated it and everyone tipped her on their way out…bet she got a nice bonus…Well done Dave.

We have also been down the strip and checked out the many wonderful casino’s. They are a sight to behold. The finest detail has been taken to ensure they represent parts of the world they are based on. There is one that is in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, where you can take a romantic ride up through the centre to see the view of the strip.

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Another one is called New York, New York – has the statue of Liberty out the front and the Empire State Building forms one of the hotels. There is Ceasars Palace where there is a Colusseum shaped building out front, and then all the other buildings have marbel columns and cupids all over it. Then there is the Bellagio which is just massive and has the most amazing water fountain show every hour. When the water shoots out the fountain in the air and lands back in the water is so loud that we can hear it from our room.

Another of them is called Circus Circus, where you can ride many attractions. Another has a rollercoaster on its roof. Everytime I go out I find a new casino to marvel at, but I have to say that Vegas definately looks better at night. The attraction is the lights and daylight just doesn’t do it justice.

We have been too the Pawn Stars shop and taken a look around. Dave was pretty devo though as the guys are on a weeks vacation. He really wanted a photo with them. Maybe we can call in there on the way out tomorrow and see if anyone is around. We did get his wedding ring resized though, so he can say he was in the store and actually had something done there. He also bought a Old Man Bobble head. Its kind of surreal being in the actual store when you watch it on telly all the time.

Tonight we are off to watch Peep Show with Holly Maddison. Now while some people may find that kind of weird for me to go watch a strip show, I really loved Girls of the Playboy Mansion and Holly’s world, so I wanted to make sure I got to see her show. I also have a meet and greet with her after the show. I am looking forward to that.

My professional shot with Holly Maddison

My professional shot with Holly Maddison

Well its nearing 8pm here, and we need to go and eat before the show and celebrate as today we renewed our vows in the Graceland Wedding Chapel..the same one that Jon Bon Jovi got married in many yrs ago. So those of you who know me , know that there was no way I was leaving this place without getting married here!!! It was a great day.

So now I must sign off and get the bags packed ready to leave tomorrow and start our roadtrip…we got our Mustang Convertable to drive too!!

Travel Journal USA 2012 – Hollywood / Disneyland

Posted in Travel by

6.6.12 – Hollywood
Well today we had a day to just relax and do anything. We spent most of the morning bloody trying to get our money exchanged. We tried a few banks with no success, so then one of the tellers gave us the American Express exchange, located in Hollywood. So off we went to find it When we found it, the lady that exchange the money for us was so wonderful and told us that we may have trouble getting out, as President Obama was staying at the Beverly Wiltshire.. so we decide to venture down the street and see if we could see anything. Maybe this will be the star spotting for Dave. We got to see the cavalcade, black cars and secret service but no President. So we waiting a little longer . When we thought it was all over, there were a few black cars leaving the building. One of them just happened to be Ellen with Portia. I was so annoyed as I didn’t have the camera in the right spot, and all I got was the tinted windows.

Well its been a long day and I am extremely tired and I have a huge day tomorrow…..DISNEYLAND!!!

So looking forward to being a kid again 🙂

Disneyland 7.6.12 – 8.6.12

Well this blog is a little late but I am trying to catch up…this time difference is still screwing me around.

I have spent the most amazing 2 days visiting Disneyland and Disneyland Adventure Park. Dave and I spent many hours wandering from section to section looking at all the scenes and checking out the rides. Many of you will know that I am not one for roller coaster rides or anything that will send my stomach into a spin…really hate that stomach in throat feeling. I did however ride the huge Ferris Wheel. 

I even managed to go up on the Dumbo ride. Who said big kids can’t ride the kiddies rides?

Dave and I on the Flying Elephant ride.

Mind you these are rides for small children, so kind of felt like a weirdo buy hey if this was the place to be a kid , then I fit right in…everyone is a kid in Disneyland.

Dave and I went on a trip through a wild jungle , rode the carousel, spun around in boxes, went flying with Peter Pan, saw Jonnie in Pirates of the Caribbean, rode in a beehive with Winnie, saw a 3D bugs movie (which was totally awesome) and so many others, that I lost count. It was just a great time to spend with each other and bring out our inner child.

If I was going to recommend which one to visit, I would say the Adventure Park. Dave and I had a lot of fun here. I got to see him ride the roller coaster and just laugh. No way was I going on it, that is instant chunder material. We went and watched the Bugs 3D movie…this was so cool. During the short film, at one point they have something come out the back of the chair to resemble a bee sting…I jumped so high out that chair, Dave just about peed in his pants, but then they had to send down spiders…arghhh I was screaming like a little kid. They shot water out over the audience in parts and at the very end they made the seats move….boy I jumped up out that seat and run out that theatre….Dave could hardly move due to being in fits of laughter..but it was so much fun.

We also enjoyed watching the Micky light show in Disneyland   .

Whoever these creators are, they are amazing. How they have that show playing with water and then use some of the rides to tell a story was incredible. This was definitely a highlight of the day.            
Well while I could go on for days about this place, I must end at some point. I can honestly say that it has been a blast, my legs are killing me and I think I will sleep for a week but it has been so worth it.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to LA and then its off to Las Vegas. Another bucket list place. Can’t wait to see the bright lights of Sin City.

So I will say see you later and have a great day/night wherever you are in this world.

xoxo

Travel Journal – USA 2012 – Ventura County Fair

Posted in Travel, Writing by

3.6.12

Well I certainly crashed last night….I had a solid 9 hrs sleep. That is a first in a very long time.

All refreshed we ventured out with our rental car to find some swap meets or flea markets as they are known here. I just put in an address for them and I was a little concerned when the GPS said we had 1hr to get there. I had no idea where Ventura was but hey it was an experience  for Dave to get driving the car. The drive there was beautiful and Ventura is located on the coast, so that was even nicer. It was absolutely huge. The biggest market I have ever been too in my life. I took some pics along the way and seen a little of the countryside too.

Handbag Anyone?

Handbag Anyone?

Entrance to Flea Market

Entrance to Flea Market

We then went to a place called Pasendena….Wow that was an experience.

We found an indoor market, which is just like our Fremantle Markets. Lots of the same sorts of stalls but at a fraction of the price. Dave and I kind of stuck out like Dunnies in a Desert though as were the only ones that were not speaking Spanish.

We found a little electronics shop and got ourselves a second hand GPS system. So now I don’t have to use my phone. Much cheaper. Hopefully my bill won’t be too high.

We shopped a little and then decided it was time to call it a day and head home. We have just finished dinner at a little restaurant around the corner. It was so quiet and good food. So now with full belly and yawning my head off, I am going to call it a night and get ready for a big day tomorrow.

Heading into Hollywood to check out the sights and I want to visit the wax museum. At least this way I get to see some stars and get up close and personal and not find myself in jail….lol.

Lights out!!!!