11.07.2023 – Tuesday, 1.45am: still up, thinking and writing things down as they pop up in my head. It’s still a long 16 weeks and 6 days away, but excited would be a gross understatement 🙃. Yes, we’ve deferred our Holy Land tour and instead will be travelling to the West Coast of USA, Los Angeles to be more specific.
By we, I mean, my husband and I with our youngest son. It’s a short 2 weeks, or 12 days visit – two of those will be travel days of course. Thought about going all the way to the east coast, but time and budget constraints have not been on our side. We are looking forward to it. Hoping the rest of our family can join us on the trip – to make it a family vacation! How exciting would that be 🤞🥰
12.07.2023 – Wednesday, 4.50am. I remember growing up and even later in life, seeing my mother up early at ungodly hours like this one – sitting quietly, head bowed, and praying. Sometimes she prayed loudly enough for one to hear, most times – I’d just see her lips moving. I used to wonder how she did all that, seeing as most times she was the last one to sleep, after making sure the house and especially the kitchen was clean, and the house neat and tidy.
Her motto was ‘you never know who’s going to drop by, so make sure your house is neat and tidy, and the kitchen clean with fire burning and the kettle always hot and ready for a cuppa to offer to visitors, expected or otherwise’. And she always maintained these were words of wisdom from her grandmother and aunty, the two family matriarchs who helped raise her and her siblings.
04.09.2023 – Monday, 4am: I’ve downloaded a vacation countdown app, which reminds me that it’s exactly 63 days, 20 hours and 22 minutes till the big day. I’m so excited, would be an understatement. And since 2 weeks ago, our group has gone from 3 to 5, yes, our two daughters have decided to join us as well. So looking forward to this family getaway to the west coast of USA ❤️
19.09.2023 – Tuesday, 5pm: our travel plans are moving along just fine. Airline tickets – ✅️! Accom LA – ✅️! 😊 Itinerary, sightseeing, hire car, etc – remain unchecked and I will have to get on top of that as the count down is telling me – it’s exactly 48 days, 7 hours till holiday time. DTLA here I come 😊😅
09.10.2023 – Monday, 10pm: patience is a virtue is not just a saying – it’s divine. When you pray for a need, maybe it’s health related or a financial or physical need, whatever it us – no matter how urgent or not, DO NOT pray for the need. Rather, pray to God for patience and strength as you wait!
James 1:4 NKJV
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
20.10.2023 – Friday, 12 noon: surreal! It’s bizarre how things work out and you feel like you’re in a dream. A good one, so much so that you’re afraid to wake up from it because you’ll be back to reality?? However, as I look back on this journey or planning process, which changed so many times, including the dates, the destination, number of people, etc… all I see is the hand of God at play in our lives.
Up till two weeks ago, I’ve been questioning myself – maybe I should not have deferred the Israel Tour to 2024, it was the 4th or so time to do so, and bless their hearts, the travel agent was happy to oblige, without asking why.
Waking up on the morning of 7th October to the news of war in Israel- all I could do was say a prayer of thank you to God, as I thought of all the hard work and worry it would have caused if I hadn’t deferred the trip 🙏. Breaks my heart to see so many innocent lives on both sides becoming victims in this bitter centuries-old conflict 😢 all I or we can offer are prayers for everyone, and I mean EVERYONE!! God bless and protect them 🙏 ❤️
24.10.2023 – Tuesday, 1.55pm: my vacation countdown tells me it’s exactly 13 days, 10 hours and 28 minutes till the start of our family holiday. Excited would be an understatement! 😊 Inspite of everything I see and hear of the “City of Angels”, I’m going there with an open heart and mind, to see, feel, hear, taste and smell ALL things LA and much, much more.
05.11.2023 – Sunday, 8.25am: In exactly 39 hours, our whole family will be embarking on a trip of a lifetime to Los Angeles, CA: excited is an understatement – beginning to sound like a broken record 😀. This planned holiday has been changed and updated so many times that I’ve lost count. I’m forever grateful to God for allowing this to happen – we’ve had many setbacks, doubts, and fears, but His grace and mercy overcomed them all. Thank you, God 🙏❤️
06.11.2023 – Monday, 10.45pm! Excited is an understatement! Ok, it’s settled, I’m a broken record!! 😆😁. We’ve all checked in online and set for travel tomorrow. I am looking forward to this little adventure with family 🇺🇸 God is good always 🙏❤️
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding
Proverbs 9:10 NKJV
23.11.2023 – 10am, LA trip done and dusted!! An amazing experience in Los Angeles and surrounds, including Anaheim, especially Disneyland. We even managed to do a quick drive down to Coronado Island and San Diego.
We went, we saw, and got our full American experience, including visits to an urgent care clinic for medical attention. Nothing serious, it was cold and flu symptoms but with high fever so we had to get checked to be on the safe side.
Obviously, we were wary of the clinic experience, but to our pleasant surprise were treated with great American hospitality and care, and are forever grateful for the team at Weekend Urgent Care, View Park LA and the pharmacists at Walgreens, Crenshaw. God bless them.
In between hospital visits, antibiotics and loads of painkillers we managed to visit Universal Studios, Santa Monica Pier, take pictures at Hollywood sign, Griffith observatory for some amazing views of LA. From the observatory we could see smoke which we later found out from the news was a huge fire that shut down one of the biggest freeways, I10. The subsequent traffic delays were enormous, luckily it was on the other side of town.
Would love to travel that route – west to east or vice versa – one fine day 😊
Family went to Crypto.com arena, first to see a Lauren Daigle concert and then an NBA game. I didn’t attend either, but from their stories, they were both amazing experiences.
Our one day trip to Disneyland in Anaheim would be a highlight also, and I’m glad our grandchildren recovered in time for that visit. We realised that more than a day or two is required to see all of Disneyland and its attractions, but we’re glad with what we saw and experienced.
My favorite part was seeing my grand-daughter’s eyes light up with happiness for the opportunity to see Mickey – we had tried all day but the lines were so long, with wait times over an hour plus especially for Mickey. And then when it was her turn, Mickey started doing the ‘Let it Go’ song and dance as she was in her Elsa outfit, it was magical ❤️
Folks, don’t believe everything you read and see online about LA or America as a whole. Go with open hearts & minds, it’s a whole different world over there on the other side of the great Pacific Ocean ❤️ And I’m glad, we made that trip, the trip that changed multiple times and finally made it out of the group chat. With all its ups & downs, it truly was an eye-opening experience for our whole family.
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
Walt Disney
...no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 54:17 ESV
Idau Hahine 