San Francisco California USA

DAY 47 6th OCT
This is my first day back in San Fran from so many weeks ago but it feels like only a few days have gone by. We are scheduled to meet at Mike and Eddie's place for going out to Filoli Gardens, similar to the Butchart Gardens. At 10:30 I had a shower and when I came out, Michelle had a shower 'stealing' my tablet. We headed off to Mike and Eddie's at 12 due to Michelle taking so long in the shower. We arrived there a little

after 12 and everyone minus one was there, Peter and Ashley were there (Ashley is a family friend) but Sam was not. Turns out he was purchasing some items at a convenience store. When he arrived, we made seating arrangements for the two cars and departed for the garden. When we got there, we had lunch at the cafe, looked at the bonsai trees and looked at a building before going into the actual garden. The garden was pretty spectacular and we would have liked to have been there for longer but they closed it earlier than we expected and we did get a good look but not a great one. We even got to take pictures of some wildlife: a lizard, some bees and some European wasps. I should congratulate Michelle for getting within inches of them to take pictures with a macro lens (to get the best shots, you need to almost touch the intended item for a picture). We went back to Mike and Eddie's apartment before

we went our separate ways before meeting back there at 7:30pm. One of the reasons we left was so Eddie could get a snooze, he has viral menengitis this means a virus has gotten into his spinal fluid, this makes him quite tired from time to time and to keep in best possible health he must take naps two or three times a day when he is tired. When we arrived home, I spent most of my time between arrival at home to 7:30 on holiday-work. At about 7 pm, Mum made us dress up as we are going out to a Chicago pizza shop, the same one we went to on our first time in San Fran. We arrived at Mike and Eddie's to find them, and Peter and Ashley. Shortly after Eddie's family

arrived who we greeted warmly and later the Catchersides. We had a nice time at the Chicago pizza place though I wasn't particularly thrilled by my parents choice of pizza. We came back to our place after the Chicago pizza and I sent myself to bed. Before I end this paragraph, I should say that because Mike and Eddie like my sketches, I intend to draw a picture of them for their wedding gift. I would buy them something but I have no money here in America and I feel guilty in making my parents buy it instead.

DAY 48 7th OCT
Last night I slept quite well and slept in until 8 o'clock which has been a rarity for me lately. We don't have anything to do this morning but tonight we are going to a do and where Michael will be performing. In the mean time I have decided to go and help Michael collect the food for the do tonight. Dad and Peter (Smith) joined us. We first had lunch at a cafe before we collected the lamingtons and eclairs. We headed for Costco after and bought plates and cups (disposable plates of coarse), drinks (wine and soft drink) and strawberries. We made our way to the place where they make the delicious Senorita Bread, the shop I found to be quite lacking. It was a (sort of) Chinese take-away shop. Michael bought

150 Senorita bread for the do and 40 for the car trip back. We went our separate ways, Dad and I took the soft drink as Dad bought it for us. Later that night we washed and dressed up ready for the night. The do was very nice in a old posh building and the music was splendid. The only non-alcoholic drinks available was water and the food was mostly dessert, the only things not sweet was cheese and biscuits. We arrived home late and I was given a box of left over Senorita bread.

DAY 49 8th OCT
Today is kinda like a pre-wedding celebration day full of fun things. Each third of the day has activities for us to do. First was a manicure, then second was go-kart racing before finally a visit to the Armory. At the start of the day I was really excited for the go-kart racing, though not of the manicure. I stayed

behind and did my holiday-work. Dad played taxi driver and the girls have their manicure. Between 10-11, Dad and I picked up the girls and some others and drove them to the go-kart area where we met everyone else there. I thoroughly enjoyed the go-karting except for one major thing, since I was considered a junior (and there were no other juniors) I ended up driving the coarse all by myself. Though it would of been even more fun with other people I did enjoy the drifting and the 'high' speed. After everyone else did their runs together, we departed. I was dropped off at our place and the others went to the Armory. From stories told to me from Michael, the Armory is a historic building that was used by the US armed forces (hence its name) they now make p**n movies there. The tour was mainly historical information with information about the porn industry thrown in. Mum said if it wasn't for the entertaining tour guide it would have been boring. I was both too young to go and I didn't want to go anyway. So I stayed behind with Nanna and Poppa and spent most of the time on holiday-work. I had great difficulty getting to sleep tonight.

DAY 50 9th OCT
Today we are going over the rehearsal for the wedding. We drove up to the mansion where the wedding is being held and after a while of sitting around and carting things, we had a brief rehearsal. This rehearsal was of where the more important people to the groom and groom are sitting, in this case up at the end with the soon to be married couple. After that we headed off to a bar (of all places) and waited to get our seats for lunch. There was a tab so I helped myself to multiple glasses of sprite. One of the funny things I have noticed here is how you ask for sprite or 7-up rather than lemonade because lemonade is different here in America and I still prefer the 'french lemonade'. When we exited the bar, we went to my soon aunt-in-law's rented house for dinner. The view here was very nice and we all had a nice chat. Late in the afternoon but still before night, we made our departure. We got (or at least tried) ourselves to bed early tonight for the big day tomorrow.

DAY 51 10th OCT
Today, is the big day. I am so excited for this though we leave at 12 ish to get on a bus to the Mansion where the ceremony will be. We dressed up in our very best clothing and the girls even got their hair done. We drove up to the bus pick up point and waited for a while and had a nice chat to everyone else there. It was kind of funny seeing everyone dressed and Katherine even had her hair done up into a bun, which looked kind of funny from her long hair making this bun quite large. When the bus arrived, everyone had mixed thoughts on how the interior would be, though no one managed to guess correctly. The bus on the outside looked ordinary other than the logo and the interior was seated along the outer 'edge' with leather, there was a wine cooler filled with champagne and water, a

STRIPPER POLE and even a toilet. The lights inside were also impressive and almost gave you a seizure from all the flashing. We made our way to the mansion once everyone was accounted for and we drove to the mansion, though the ride was quite bumpy so the pen and paper I brought wasn't easy to use. When we arrived, we were ushered to our seats and later at 4:30 pm, everyone had arrived and the wedding started. First the ring bearer walked down the isle and he was dressed up hilariously, he had flowers poking from all over and a few butterflies as well. Then the important people began walking down the isle in pairs and sat down. Then came along the happy couple. They were in Middle Earth style tuxedo a Hobbit might wear. They got to the alter and they said their closest friends said a few words, they were all funny and one said 'my speech is short and funny, like Mike and Eddie'. They then said their vows 'will you, Michael, allow Eddie to back seat drive when you are driving' and 'will you, Eddie, '. When they were saying their vows, the had taken the unbreakable oath thing from Harry Potter and had Eddie's mother's ring (she is deceased) with four chains attached wrapped around their arms. The Celebrant person took the chain ring thing off and pronounced them to be legally married. There was a big cheer and everyone began to blow

bubbles (as we were asked to). We then had a long photo shoot of mostly Mike and Eddie (obviously) for quite a while before we all sat down in a BIG tent. Here we had our meals and late that night, the Groom and Groom gave out speeches, Eddie's side also gave out long emotional speeches and Mum decided the mood needed to be changed to a happier one (she was the only one from our side who gave a speech) stood up and said 'you know that are all Australians now so, AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!...oi oi oi.... AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!... oi oi oi.... AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE...oi oi oi!' (after each Aussie, everyone shouted oi oi oi). That lightened the mood greatly. Quite a few people thanked my Mum as they enjoyed her impromptu speech. After that there was the couple's dance where Michelle and I danced together for a bit before we danced with Darren and Amanda. After the dance, Mike and Eddie made the first cut of the cake with a sword, after a few photos we sat down and the dancing and karaoke began. Mum had an absolute ball dancing and Michelle, Dad and I sat around for a bit, feeling shy to join and later made our way to the karaoke (minus Dad). I left the group and sat around for a bit in the fresh air. I joined in on the dancing later and even danced along with Mum to 'we speak no Americano'. We soon departed after that as it all started closing. We got on the bus and most people were pissed. They even made a fair dent in the 7 bottles of champagne on the bus. When we got off the bus, we helped Mike and Eddie take things from the wedding venue to their apartment and stayed for a short while.

DAY 52 11th OCT
We got home from Mike and Eddies place at around 1 am and I had trouble sleeping but got to sleep at 2 am. After a solid sleep I was woken by light shining though the gaps in the curtains and got up. Today is going to be a relaxation day so I ended up doing most of it on holiday-work. Later in the day we went out to a play. The play was hysterical and was taking the piss out of Snow White finding her Prince. Many things happened and even a few 'appearances' from famous people like Barrack Obama, Michelle Obama, Barbara Streisand, Michael Jackson, Vladimir Putin and many more. The appearance of Kim Kardashian was certainly... different. The actors had her with a ridiculously big backside . In the end after going to Rome and Paris, Snow White goes back to San Francisco and finds love with Elvis Presley. After the play/musical we went to dinner at a restaurant. We had to wait for a while before the tables were put together for us but dinner made up for it. Sleep was pretty swift tonight.

Day 53 12th OCT
Today, the Catcheside's and most of our lot are going to Pier 39, Michelle is staying home. We went off and collected the Catchesides and departed for the pier. We did a lot of shopping there and saw the sea lions. We had lunch at a fish based restaurant where my promise of a whole crab was 'fulfilled'. The crab was succulent and

much better than what was at Icy Straight Point. We went our separate ways after that as most of the Catchesides (all but Sam) went on the 'Rocket Boat' But because we are hosting a party, we don't have time for it. When we returned we almost immediately began preparing. Late in the afternoon everyone began arriving. We had St Lois pork ribs plus Beef ribs for dinner with assorted salads and potatoes. For dessert, Mike and Eddie brought the last of their wedding cake. Later that night, Jeff and I decided to make smoors with a Caramel Lindt Chocolate covered in the rich marshmallow from on the top of the cake. He described the taste sensation 'better than an orgasm' (pardon the language). I tried one too, the taste was nice but at the end I was gasping for water from the sugar overload. I put myself to bed at 11pm because I was falling asleep in my chair.

DAY 54 13th OCT
Today, we are going to jail, and when I say jail I mean Alcatraz. Alcatraz is a historic island which used to have the Alcatraz Jail, the most high security jail of it's time and possibly, of all time. We left the house at 10:30 am and met the Catchesides at pier 41 where the boats come and leave from. We got some Churros and drinks and waited in line. The boat ride was pretty nice. When we arrived, we were greeted by the tall buildings. Once on dry land, we listened to a speaker who gave information about the place. We watched a presentation and made our way up the 13 story equivalent of a hill. We took the audio tour and made our way through. This building is seriously cool and interesting. There were things like the stereotypical cells and such like. There were only 3 people who possibly escaped form Alcatraz. They were never seen since so it is unknown. There are so many interesting things here that I deeply recommend readers going there themselves. We left at 4 pm ish and Peter (C) and Dad left at 5 ish, While we waited for those two, Katherine and Britt went to pier 39 and the rest of us waited in a cafe. When the two finally did arrive, our lot went home and the others did their thing. We met up again later that night at the Catheside's apartment and had a drink before heading out to dinner. I am not sure what theme the restaurant was but the food was Italian but the logo looked Mexican. We had dinner and went to a pub. Because Mum and I were tired, our lot and Katherine went home after dropping Katherine at her's. Two main things have been going through my mind lately, Firstly is how close the holiday is from ending. It feels like it hasn't been that long and I both want to stay on

holiday AND go home. The other is how Gemma (the family dog) went to a sort of dog hospital because she was ill, she is an old dog but still has life in her. She was at the point where Grandma and Gran dpa didn't think she would survive the night at the vet.

DAY 55 14th OCT
Due to my Mum coming down sick on the last day we did not go anywhere during the day. We did go out for dinner with Uncle Michael, Eddie, Peter, Jodi and Jim. Mum stayed home but Dad did have to take my Mum to hospital the night before we left with a kidney infection.