Orange, NSW, Australia - 2nd September 2009
By: sararingham
...since Sara hasn't done much with me lately Sara decided to take a photo of something I helped her make... WAFFLES! Sara just got a waffle maker in the mail so she went crazy making a whole bunch of penguin waffles... aren't they cute?
...Sara's waiting for a clear day and we'll be headed up to Mount Canobolas... I'm quite excited! Write again soon mom! Miss you! :-)
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Posted Sep 5, 2009, 7:15 pm
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Orange, NSW, Australia - 16th September 2009
By: sararingham
It's less than 3 weeks now until Sara's holiday... quite exciting! I helped Sara start to pack today. She's got up to 23kg for each bag. She's trying to bring one (with another in it which you can see) and the clothes and all the presents and everything for her family. So much fun! Apparently the moment we get to the airport it's a mad rush to get to the Sheraton hotel 1 mile away from LAX to go to Santa Monica to start our first tour...
Sara also got the tickets to go to 'The Big Bang Theory' live... unfortunately I won't be able to go to that - as they don't even allow cameras or cell phones... but Sara will tell me all about it... then off to Seattle the next day... we might be able to visit the Forest Lawn Cemetery too (which sounds gruesome) but they've got a lot of celebrities buried there - like Michael Jackson recently...
When we come back to Australia in mid-November I'm going to go to the beach a few times during the Summer, maybe the South Coast, Sydney beaches and if were lucky we all might go to Queensland for a few days as well... how exciting! There's lots more to come with the next year I'm visiting! :-)
Write soon! :-)
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Posted Sep 16, 2009, 7:23 am Last edited Sep 16, 2009, 7:35 am by sararingham
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Mount Canobolas, NSW, Australia - 19th September 2009
By: sararingham
Today was another very nice day with clear skies so Sara decided to take herself, Daniel and Andrew up to Mount Canobolas. There was a bit more to it though - we were going to take a 'short' one kilometre hike to Little Man Canobolas. Little Man Canobolas is a summit right next to the main summit of the extinct volcano. It's a pretty rough trail but we'll get to that later...
First things first, we got ready... I travelled with Sara's at home traveling toyvoyager Toothy Walrus he's been up many times but he'll be coming to LA with us and back to Monroe where he was rescued... anyways... Sara brought her bigger camera this time as well just in case!...
Finally we got up to the summit of the mountain and Sara took a more or less panoramic view of the summit. On a really great day you can see really far. It's the highest point West of Sydney until you nearly get to Western Australia. Australia is a *really* flat country!
Unfortunately they had to make it quite ugly in this view with all the towers...
Oh well... the other side is what makes it just that much more gorgeous... right below us you can see Orange... and if you look closely in one of the last photos you'll see a smaller peak. That's where were going...
Off we go...
This is literally the very beginning of the track... we already had gotten off the track and were walking in the wrong direction. Sara mentioned that that wasn't a great start... haha...
Here we are a bit farther down the track...
There was a lot of unique birds singing and Sara wanted to get a video of their sounds. So just after this photo was taken Sara took a short video... see that here. You might notice around half way through the camera wiggles a bit, Sara almost tripped over. Whoops! She was paying more attention to holding Andrew's hand and the view finder to find her way around... haha. She quickly learned her lesson. None the less you can hear some of the birds we were listening to...
Around half way down the track we saw a eucalyptus tree that was hollowed out by a forest fire. Not sure if it was a fire itself many years ago, or 'back burning' which they've been doing A LOT of in the last few weeks because they're expecting a very bad Summer for bush fires...
When we got closer to the summit, the track started to get very vertical. Lots of big steps onto huge rocks and huge rocks surrounding us... so we were carrying Andrew a lot and Toothy and I stayed deep in Sara's pockets... this is one of the big rocks we passed by... they got even bigger... amazing really...!
Here's a view from the trail looking out towards Orange...
Finally we're up at the top of the summit... an amazing view!
Sara got a close up shot just as it looks here:
I got to see Mount Canobolas summit as well from where we were standing... amazing that we were just standing up there about 30-40 minutes ago...
While we were resting at the summit, Sara spotted a little lizard... can you see him?
Sara got quite a few pictures of him... we're not sure what type of lizard he is... but we also got to see a few skink's some were quite large. This little guy, was very small... you can see a short video right here
After 30 photos, Sara was able to touch the little guy and being very careful was able to pick him up... you can see that video right here... we had quite a lot of fun looking at this adorable little guy... Sara's still not sure what kind of lizard he is, but is curious to find out...
A little big longer at the summit and we put the little lizard down on a warm rock so he could get the sun he needed...
...and we said our goodbye, and left the summit...
On the way down Sara got a shot of another view from the trail...
We really did see some amazing sights. Then we started... seeing things we didn't see when we came down the first time. We brushed it off since we were still on a marked trail... odd though... we see something we definitely didn't see coming down... a wombat hole!
I'm pretty sure it's occupied, it's got a number 5 next to the hole so it's obvious people are monitoring the wombats that live in there... they're nocturnal usually though so we didn't see any...
Moving on, we saw some pretty butterflies... do you see the one I see?
Here's a close up, see him now?
...huh... now this trail definitely isn't the right one. The last marker said another 680m, and we've been walking at least another kilometre... oh well, eventually we'll get somewhere...
Well, no photos, but Sara can tell you what happened. We ended up walking up an entirely different trail near something called the Wall Picnic Area. Although they didn't know that until later... Sara, Daniel and Andrew kept walking down towards the summit (yes unfortunately down for a while - it was quite confusing). Then we finally ended up near a road and Daniel ran another 3kms to the summit and got the car... we didn't go back up unfortunately but Sara can tell you some more information about Mt. Canobolas that she was going to tell us the first time...
Mount Canobolas volcanic complex is listed in the Commonwealth Heritage Register for it's unique geological composition and location. These factors have resulted in a distinctive vegetation pattern, containing rare and unique species, which in turn contain habitats for a number of equally unique animals.
Within a 30 kilometer radius of Mount Canobolas, approximately 30 vents are known to have erupted. These eruptions commenced about 50 million years ago and halted approximately 10-15 million years ago. The Mount Canobolas vents erupted over that entire period, while others within the 30 kilometer radius were active for shorter periods. The basalt capping has largely weathered away producing fertile soils as far away as West Wyalong. Which is 222 kilometers away from Orange or just under a 3 hour drive West of Orange.
Well, that was a very long day! At least I wasn't the one walking it - haha! The originally 2km trail ended up more like a 10km hike... crazy! Oh well, I guess they needed the exercise... on another note, 2 weeks until we go to Sydney and on the long plane ride to LA! Yay! :-)
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Posted Sep 20, 2009, 6:12 pm
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Orange, NSW, Australia - 5th October 2009
By: sararingham
Today is the BIG day! Were leaving to Sydney extremely early and hopping on that big plane to Los Angeles! Can you believe it?
This is us leaving... you can see how dark it is... it's around 330 in the morning! We'll be getting to Sydney early around 9am... but we need a bit of a rest when were there... Sara doesn't like flying so being around it a while helps... so bye bye for now Orange! See you in a while!
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Posted Oct 12, 2009, 8:02 pm
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Echo Point, NSW, Australia - 5th October 2009
By: sararingham
Sara decided since it's a long car ride to surprise us and take us to a famous touristy area in the Blue Mountains which surrounds Sydney and is part of the famous Great Dividing Range... we stopped at Echo Point which is famous for it's Three Sisters... it's very foggy, but you can still see it!
Did you know there was a legend that came along with this famous rock formation? Well, here it is!
Long ago in the Blue Mountains, three Aboriginal sisters; Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo lived with their father, a Witch doctor named Tyawan.
Only one creature was feared by all - he was the Bunyip. Tyawan who knew where he lived would leave his daughters on the cliff behind a rocky wall where they would be safe while he would collect food.
One day, waving goodbye to his daughters he descended the cliff steps. On the top of the cliff, a big centipede suddenly appeared and frightened Meenhi. She picked up a stone and threw it at him. The stone rolled away over the cliff and crashed into the valley below. The rocks behind the three sisters split open, leaving the sisters on a thin ledge.
There was a deep rumble from below and the angry Bunyip emerged from his sleep. He looked up to see who had rudely awakened him and there perched on the thin ledge he saw the sisters cowering in fear. Furiously he lurched towards them.
In the valley, Tyawan heard the cry and looked up to see that the Bunyip had almost reached his daughters. Frantically the Witch Doctor pointed his magic bone at the girls and turned them into stone. They would be safe there until the Bunyip was gone and then Tyawan would return them to their former selves.
The Bunyip was even more angry when he saw what had happened and he turned on Tyawan and began to chase him. Running away, Tyawan found himself trapped against a rock which he culd neither climb nor go around. He quickly changed into a Lyrebird and disappeared into a small cave. Everyone was safe but Tyawan had dropped his magic bone. The Bunyip returned angrily to his hole.
Tyawan crept out of the cave and searched for the bone, still seeking it today while the Three Sisters stand silently waiting, hoping he will find the bone and turn them back to their former selves.
We can see the Three Sisters today from Echo Point and in the valley we can hear Tyawan, the Lyrebird, calling them as he searches for his lost magic bone.
Isn't that amazing? Well, off to the airport!
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Posted Oct 12, 2009, 8:08 pm
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Kingsford Smith Intl Airport, Australia - 5th October 2009
By: sararingham
Well, here we are! Kingsford Smith International Airport... we have a long stay here till our flight leaves but hey, we got to see a lot of planes while looking out this window... it's amazing how huge they are isn't it mom?
Oh my gosh! Check that out... that's a United Airlines plane too... I wonder if that's ours?
You would never have guessed... that WAS our plane! How cool is that? Well, gotta get boarding now... we have a 14 hour plane ride ahead of us... hopefully we'll sleep as were starting the day again the moment we arrive in Los Angeles!
Write again soon! Miss you mom!
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Posted Oct 12, 2009, 8:13 pm Last edited Oct 14, 2009, 8:19 pm by sararingham
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Burbank, California, United States - 6th October 2009
By: sararingham
I suppose going to bed at 5pm means you get up really really early. Besides waking up to watch her favourite TV show, Sara slept the whole time... and so did we! It was a nice sleep but we needed our rest... we got up early and had a nice breakfast burrito from Fiesta Taco again... it was very filling but just what we needed to start the day!
Another hour and were off to Warner Brothers Studios. Write again soon!
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Posted Oct 14, 2009, 6:47 pm
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WB Studios, United States - 6th October 2009
By: sararingham
Sara firstly wants to apologize for not being able to take photos of us... because we were packed on a tram it was nearly impossible to have anything but your camera with you... especially since you're in a working studio with people filming it was even hard to take photos sometimes... but I can guarantee I saw it all... it was AWESOME!
This is the front of the studios... the bronze Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny... how cool is that?
First set we saw was the famous kissing scene in Spiderman - the first one? Remember that? That was filmed right here, do you see it?
I know it may be hard to believe... but were now in New York... the basic New York streets can be found here... seen in many many movies. They told us how they'll change these streets to look however they want for whatever movie they're doing. Sometimes they'll put these huge shells over these buildings to have them look like other buildings. All the trees can be lifted out and removed, even the cement were walking on can be. Only a small handful of these buildings you can actually film inside. Most are only shells for outside shots... interesting isn't it?
Did you ever see the movie Gremlins, mom? Well you might remember this shop...
...and this was the stairwell the mom walked down to get the present for her boy for Christmas... the little mogwai... do you recognize that?
Next was a hair salon store, which actually can be filmed inside... it's recent movie that you might recognize it from is You Don't Mess With The Zohan...
Here's the bus we were in... isn't it cool?
Here's another shot of it - it also shows a larger building behind the studio... kinda ruins the feel doesn't it? But really does throw you back into reality... :-)
Do you remember the old Orphan Annie movie? This was the orphanage...
This is also a good shot of what the buildings are like when they're just a shell... see the inside? There's nothing there but rafters and everything holding up the building... crazy huh?!
You can't visit the WB studios and not get a picture of the famous WB tower...
Have you seen the new Terminator movie? Terminator Salvation? Well, the beginning scene of the movie depicts Christian Bale in a desert... who would know that, that exact scene we'd be looking at? Except... it's a car park? Well, they just removed the cars and filled this full of dirt and sand and green screened the background to have it look just like they were in the middle of nowhere... it was really interesting... who would know just looking at it right?
Did you ever watch that long running tv show ER? This was the front of the hospital, but it's just a frame... so no filming was done inside...
..and just like that... were in Chicago!
If you remember Friends there was an episode where Phoebe was running through Central Park and really embarrassing Rachel? Well, this is the studios version of Central Park... kinda small isn't it? Looking at it though, Sara can recognize it from a few different scenes in different TV shows she's seen... can you recognize it from anything else?
Everyone will remember this... even if they never saw an episode. The old time Batman movies and TV show where they'd show the "BAM" and "POW!" when they hit someone? The ones with Adam West? Those were filmed on the front steps of this court house!
Next stop, we drove by the famous sound stages... this is what makes up most of the studio lot... we were lucky enough to go in sound stage 25 which is famous for Two and a Half Men with Charlie Sheen and we also got to go on the set where The Mentalist is filmed. Which is a 3D stage where when you go into the actual middle of the set, where you see cubicles on one side and the hallway and the kitchen on the other. It was so cool! Unfortunately our cameras had to be locked away for that - no photos allowed in the sound stages... :-)
This is one of the main general parks you can find in a lot of movies and TV shows. One you might have seen in the past was Jack Frost, a lot of that movie was filmed in this area... you can see houses in the back too - but we'll get to that in a minute. The trees here are permanent trees so they can't be removed like the trees on the streets of New York and Chicago... so when they were filming Jack Frost, they were filming it in August... so the trees obviously had a lot of nice green leaves on it - so how did they make it a Winter movie? Well you'll see in a second!
This is a perfect example of what they do in the Winter movies filmed in the Summer... or Summer movies filmed in the Winter... they'll go up with cherry pickers and pick every last leaf off of the tree. If it's for Winter that's all they have to do, if it's for Autumn, they put on the coloured leaves on each of the branches so it looks like it's full of coloured leaves... and if it's Winter for a Summer movie... they put on green leaves... quite a lot of work isn't it? Looks like they're preparing for a Winter movie... or just finishing up for one... these trees look pretty bare don't they?
These are those houses in the background... they use a lot of these as just the front of houses for movies and TV shows... but some can be filmed inside. You can see that funny looking truck? That has all the foliage they might need, for the trees, or to make it look like a storm came through or to cover houses in vines or whatever... those are the trucks they bring in to make the scenes as the directors want it...
Going back to the movie Gremlins... this house was the house of the old lady... she flew through that front window near the end of the movie... do you remember that? It's hard to tell but someone is inside there painting... that's one of the houses they can film inside...
Oh, I never mentioned it... but if you wanted a house a certain colour - like on the streets of New York, or any of these houses and buildings. You have people come in and paint the house. The house then stays that colour until another movie or TV show comes through and wants it another colour... pretty interesting all the work that goes into this isn't it?
This house was in the The Gilmore Girls. This is known as a "two-way" house. The front is one house... and the backside of the house... is the front side of another house. So obviously that house you cannot film inside...
Back to the old TV show, Friends. Do you remember the episode with Ross and Monica when they were going to prom? Ross was playing a keyboard downstairs and Monica comes down in her prom dress? It's an old episode... well, that's where this was filmed. The front of the house is nearly the same and they filmed just inside the doors... so this is one of those houses you can film inside when needed!
Next stop we got to visit some old... antiques... the old cars from movies and TV shows... of course we have the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo
The car from the The Dukes of Hazzard..
The car from the new Speed Racer movie...
The famous Bat mobile from The Dark Knight...
...and of course the car from Harry Potter!
Last but of course... not least... we got to see the preserved set of Central Perk... the famous coffee house in the Friends series... and you would never guess... we got to sit on the couch! They don't usually let people sit on it, but they let us when they shut the door... how cool is that?
It was a massive day! We went back to the hotel while Sara went off to one of the sound stages to see The Big Bang Theory taped live... how exciting!
Write again soon!
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Posted Oct 14, 2009, 8:09 pm
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Burbank, California, United States - 6th October 2009
By: sararingham
Well... while we waited here and rested Sara was at the taping... she came home around 9pm which was pretty good... the show started at 630pm. So that's a solid two hours to tape a 22 minute show... with all they do... that's an amazing time...
Sara came back with a surprise. She brought a TV guide with the main characters on the front for autographs... and guess what? She got some! See it?
She got Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Kunal Nayyar (Raj), Kevin Sussman (Stewart), and both creators and writers of the show signed it for her as well Chuck Lorre... who also writes for Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother and Bill Prady. Isn't that awesome?
Well, no rest for us tonight... were off to Seattle in the early morning. One hour of sleep then off to LAX all over again!
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Posted Oct 14, 2009, 8:17 pm
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