Once I got the family motivated, we hit the road but only locally to find a supermarket. We found “Smart and Final”, a warehouse supermarket only one block away. This is the first time the kids have been in a US supermarket and they were blown away by the size of everything. So we have photos inside the supermarket.
Back to the room to have some lunch and unpack the purchases. Then onto the I-55 through to Newport Beach for a look around and a swim. The weather was warm and the beaches weren’t all together packed but the water was a little rough so that may have kept the locals away.
After an hour or so, we dragged the kids out of the Pacific and headed for a drive through Balboa and then taking the ferry over to Balboa Island which reminded us a little of Key West.
Back up the I-55 and the kids were into bed by 10:00. Another big day tomorrow at California Adventure.
Whilst Jenny and the kids slept in to recover from Disneyland, I headed over to the Orange County Fire Authority to meet with Battalion Chief Mike Ferdig. Mike was recently over at the Victorian Fires and had shown interest in an exchange program with an urban fire service in Australia.
Our Chief is keen to get a DO program up so I was asked to make initial contact with a couple of departments – OCFA being the first.
Mike shown me over the excellent facility they have which is around 10-12 years old. All services including Engineering, Communications, Training and Administration is at the one site.
I observed the Dispatch Centre in operation (hopefully SACAD brings in some of these features they had here) then watched a Truck Company undergoing some BA training with search and rescue.
Left here at 12:00 to find everyone still in bed back at the hotel.
Follow the Life and Times of the Thompson Family ….
