USA

Well, that's it. It's all over. I've arrived back in Blightey and my year travelling around the word seems but a distant memory!

We had a lovely time with the girls (Claire and Michelle).

Chilled on the beach in Miami. It was the first time that they had both stayed in a hostel and I have to say, after the initial shock of having to share a room with total strangers, making their own beds, and the beds actually being bunk beds, they soon settled in and became travellers (almost!)

Hired a nice big 4x4 Trailblazer and drove up to Orlando. Here we stayed in a motel 6, but in order to save money, all four of us stayed in one room so it was decidely cosy! We spent the week in Orlando getting lost on the highways, visiting Disney World which thanks to Michelle we all got in free. This turned out to be a very good thing as the rides at MGM and the Magic Kingdom are rubbish, no thrills and spills here. Just nice calm rides for all the children - BORING!! We did see a lovely firework display at the Magic Kingdom though, which was nice!

As the weather wasn't too great the beach wasn't really an option. We did try one afternoon but when the sun went in after only 30 mins and then Claire decided to sunbathe with all her clothers on so we headed home.

When a friend of Michelle's came over to spend the day with us we decided to head to the tatooist. 3 out of 5 girls got tatoos....

We also saw a lot of movies: Deja Vu - very good. Stranger than Fiction - good but not as funny as the trailers promise. The Holiday - lots of bad over acting from everyone.

And then the girls went home, I went to spend a few days in New York where I had lunch with the lovely Tim McCann in Pastis (lovely restaurant) and spent far too much money in the shops, and Laura went to Washington.

So that's it. All over for me. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and I thank you for taking the time to read it. I've had an amazing year and can't believe it's all over already!

Laura is still out and about, currently in Toronto I think. She will hopefully keep us all updated via email.

Thank you and Good Bye and See some of you soon!

Janine

I've uploaded some new photos too on:

http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/J9travels/

From Flagstaff we took the old Route 66 through to Kingman where we stayed one night (nothing going on there on a sunday) and then on to Las Vegas.

We arrived late afternoon at the Stratosphere, our home for the next 5 nights. The place is big. Downstairs is all flashing lights of the slots, every corner is taken up by some sort of gambling opportunity, it's madness!

We ate early dinner and then went down the strip for a walk. It's longer than it looks and it took us about an hour to get down to the Ballagio where we planned to go for birthday (mine) drinks. Unfortunately all the bars in there were closed for private functions so we went across the road for a margherita and to crowd watch. We got a bit more than we bargained for when this massive SUV hit a van, slid across the road straight into a palm tree which crashed down on top of the car. Luckily nobody was hurt, only the tree.

The rest of the week we did what everyone does in Vegas, ate, drank and gambled (I lost all of $5 and Laura won $20!).

Laura Says:
Petty values in Vegas terms, we know, but you can't win much when you've nothing to gamble with in the beginging.

We drank in Coyote Ugly and the Big Apple in New York New york. We had a posh birthday meal in Tao in the Venetian (the same night Britney Spears came in but we'd left by then!).

Laura Says:
Coyote Ugly night was great. We managed to make friends with a guy from Ohio who bought us drinks for the rest of the night (shame we didn't meet him earlier, we'd already spent about $30). We left the New York New York hotel about 5.00am & managed to get lost in our own hotel lobby trying to find the elevators - no, not cause we were drunk, because it's sooooo big!
Managing to stay up till 5am drinking also gave J9 the perfect opportunity to contact all those loved ones that she thought had forgotten her birthday on the Monday "to discuss"!

We saw all the free hotel displays including the Fountains at the Bellagio (impressive), the earthquake at the Mirage (rubbish) and the pirates show at Treausre Island (pretty good).

We had a blackjack lesson at the Hilton but we were still to scared to actually play with real money.

We ate all you could eat buffets at the Monte Carlo and Stardust and stole as much as we could for breakfast the next day!!

We also did a horse ride in the desert which was a bit rubbish. I think my horse was about 80 as it kept tripping up the whole way.

We rode the roller coaster at the New York New York and the Xtream at the top of the Stratosphere - you are already 800ft up and you sit at the bottom of the tower and get shot up into the air at 70mph and then drop back down again. 3 times. It was good!

Laura Says:
To give you idea of the speed of the roller coaster at NY NY - when I got off my hair was straight!!

So that was Vegas.

We went back to LA and dropped the car off which was a bit disappointing!! Then we caught the greyhound back to San Fran and chilled there for a few days. We had a night out where a very dull swiss guy bought us our drinks all night, which is the least he could have done seen as he was so dull.

Laura Says:
My god was he dull. I don't think you realise the sacrifices we make for free drinks!

Then we caught our flight here to Miami. This place is full of beautiful people so Laura and I fit right in. It was about 85 degrees yesterday but today it's raining so I am spending a lot of time here in this internet cafe!!

Laura Says:
Not only are the people round here beautiful they are dead skinny too. People keep staring at my hips like I'm some sort of freak

So, that's it for the USA for now.

Next stop, Lima, Peru.

Grand Canyon National Park, a World Heritage Site, encompasses 1,218,375 acres and lies on the Colorado Plateau in northwestern Arizona. The land is semi-arid and consists of raised plateaus and structural basins typical of the southwestern United States. Drainage systems have cut deeply through the rock, forming numerous steep-walled canyons. Forests are found at higher elevations while the lower elevations are comprised of a series of desert basins. The Canyon, incised by the Colorado River, is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 15 miles at its widest

We were picked up by Rob, our guide, at 7am and set off for the Canyon, about an hours drive from Flagstaff. On the way we picked up Letrice, an older lady who was also accompanying us.

We arrived at the Canyon and took some photos as we drove to park the car. It was a lovely sunny day. It had said it would rain but the blue skies gave us confidence.

Rob kitted us all out with all our gear, including rather heavy backpacks and walking sticks. I laughed and said I wouldn't need the sticks but Rob told me that they really help lessen the pressure on your ankles and knees when walking down and aid pull ourself up on the walk back out of the canyon. Really glad I took them!!

The walk down was nice and slow paced as Letrice was a little slower than the rest of us. We stopped numerous times to take picutes - it's a really impressive place, the scenery and colours are amazing and it is sooooo big.

We stopped to have lunch and whilst tucking into our chicken wraps a rather large spider came to join us. Rob informed us it was a tarantula. Then it's mate turned up too and I decided that lunch time was over and moved on!

They were big spiders.

We got to our camp about 3pm and set up our tents. Then Laura and Rob went further down the canyon to collect some water whilst Letrice and I waited at the top for them - it looked too steep for me and it would have taken Letrice about 3 days to climb down and back out!!

It had started to cloud over a little and we did have a few spots of rain which gave the canyon a totally different appearance and resulted in a number of rainbows.

That night, Rob cooked Teriyaki tuna with courgettes and mash potatoes on a small gas fire and we finished off with chocolate pudding. No beans and sausages for us!!

No showers either and only a pit for a toilet which smelled like nothing I've ever smelt before and was surrounded by flies. It was the bush for us then, good job we only needed to pee!

As there's not that much to do in the Canyon after dark we were all in bed by about 9pm. At around 11pm it started to rain and didn't stop.

We were up around 7am for breakfast (choc chip pancakes!) and then we cleared everything up and set off walking about 11am. The rain was still coming down hard and we were all a little achey from the day before so the going was a little slower!

Laura and I made quite good time but unfortunately Letrice was more than a little slow and Rob had to wait for her. We managed to get to a spot where we'd stopped the previous day on the way down. We decided to stay here and wait for Rob so that we could get the car keys off him. We figured it would be warmer here than higher up in the carpark. We waited for just over an hour, getting colder and colder as time passed. When Rob rounded the corner we were absoltutely frozen and soaking wet. We grabbed the car keys and off we went.

The last bit was the worst for me. It was really steep and there were quite a few points where if you stumbled you'd be an obsolute goner. I don't know why I didn't notice this on the way down but it just seemed much higher and steeper climbing back up!

We got to the car, changed into some dry clothes and then sat with the heating on waiting for Rob and Letrice. They emerged about 2 hours later!!!

It was a really good trip. Even the rain didn't spoil it that much!

For the next 2 days we could hardly walk!!

Next stop, Las Vegas!

So, we picked up the car and we were off, almost. As main driver, Laura got to take the wheel first. It didn't start smoothly!! Not having driven an automatic before she didn't know not use both feet on the pedals, there's no clutch on an automatic so your left foot becomes redundant. Using your left foot on the brake and your right foot on the accelerator results in a lot of bunny hopping... It wasn't until after nearly hitting the Porsche behind us and the car hire bloke offering to drive as around the states himself that he mentioned just using the one foot for the brake and accelerator and everything went smoothly. Obviously I should have mentioned this too but was just too excited to be sat in a car to notice!

So, we were off. We took the Pacific Highway up through Malibu, missed the turn to Santa Barbara and nearly ended up in Pasadena. This has nothing to do with my awesome navigation skills I hasten to add, it's just that we didn't have a proper map and the road signs in the states don't mention the nearby cities you want to get to, they only mention roads. So, on a main highway, you'll come across hundreds of signs saying 'Red Rock Boulevard' or 'Ashton Road' without the slightest mention of which town they are in...

Anyway, 8 days later we arrived in Santa Barbara. OK, 4 hours later (only 2 hours longer than it should have taken us!)

We stopped off at the Tourist Office and got a map of the area, found the hostel and then I drove Laura to the doctors again for her poorly ear (deafness). I love driving!

That night we partied with the locals at a bar down the main street and got followed home by a guy from our hostel who was slightly strange to say the least.

Laura Says:
It may seem that the only people we meet on this trip are ALL strange. I would just like to assure you that they're not but it doesn't make such interesting reading to write about the normal, nice people.
That said I wonder if we get a mention in anyone else's blog????

We spent another day in Santa Barbara walking around, Laura saw the sights and I went shopping. Bought 3 CDs for our new car as the radio here is awful. Best of Eurythmics, Keane and Monty Python soundtrack - awesome!!! They were cheap!

Laura Says:
The idea of having a Monthy Python CD in the car doesn't bare thinking about. Can you imagine J9's continuous hysterical laughter whilst driving round America?! Luckily it was The Full Monty CD, so I only had to listen to her rendition of Tom Jones instead.
Normaly I would've just edited the above paragraph for her but seeing as I had to endure complete humiliation at the start of the blog, re: my driving, I thought it best to point out her mistake :-)

The next day we headed for Palm Springs, another 5 hour drive. It gets a little bit hectic when you drive on the city ring roads because the 2 lane highway suddenly changes into a 6 lane highway and nobody her indicates so you have no idea what anyone else is doing until they cut you up.

Palm Springs

As there are no hostels in Palm Springs (far too posh) we opted for Motel 6 which ended up being cheaper than our hostel in Santa Monica. What luxury to have our own room, with TV and a clean private bathroom. And there was a pool outside too, it felt 5 star to us!

Laura says:
You will notice the facilities do not include a kitchen... ho hum, take outs for 3 nights then.

We hung out in PS for 3 days. We went to the Joshua Tree National Park and did a little hike and saw all the smog coming in from LA obscuring the view. We then spent a good couple of hours at the hotpools with all the old people.

The next day we rode the rotating cable car up to the top of Chino Canyon (8,516 ft) and had walk around there and then drove to another park and had a walk around there. Lots of desert here.

And that was Palm Springs.

We drove to Phoenix and spent a night there so didn't see any of it and so won't comment on it. Doesn't look too exciting though.

Then we took the scenic route up to Flagstaff through Prescott, Jerome and Sedona which was stunning.

And then we were in Flagstaff, ready for our Grand Canyon trip.

Venice Beach

So, after a week in the heart of Hollywood, some much needed R&R was called for and we headed for Venice Beach, only to be disappointed again!!

Another place that looks totally different when you see it in the magazines. It's a bit like Blackpool but weirder. And that's all I've got to say about Venice Beach, even the policemen we got chatting to that live there think it's a shit hole. I'll let Laura fill you in.

Laura says:
mmmm, harsh words J9.
I have to admit the real appeal for me, to visit Venice Beach, was the mention of it being home to the infamous 'Muscle Beach' - a kind of outdoor gym where buff men work out - what more reason could a female singleton have to go to a place, I ask ya?
OK so admitedly no one had actually described Muscle Beach like this to me but that was the picture I had in my little dreamy head.
Try aging over tanned leathery looking men in speedos sweating collectively on a Sunday morning...... I know it's not a pretty description but think yourself lucky, you didn't have to see it!

Santa Monica

Only a couple of miles up the road and things vastly improve. The beach is nicer and the loons have dispersed somewhat.

Our first stop was the omellette parlour for a massive breakie and then we had a wander around the area. Lots of nice shops and bars and restaurants that we won't be going in. I like it!

Despite it having a lovely beach, and it being deserted and the sun shining, we haven't actually done any sunbathing. We've been far too active and cultured for that!

We've hired bikes and spent 5 hours riding up and down the beach road. We were promised that it went on for 18 miles but it seems that the nice bike hire man was a little confused because it seemed to stop after about 1.8 miles. We tried in vain to ride around and find a new route but the 4 lane highway was a bit off putting and we didn't have our helmets on so we turned back and headed in the other direction! This time we tried to cycle to Malibu but again, the cycle path runs out just before you get there and turns into a SUV clogged super interstate. Oh well, we still managed to spend about 5 hours cycling around and getting sore buttocks.

The bikes were handed back and we went to play on the original Muscle Beach (the one down the road in Venice is the new sight), swinging on the bars and rings, or in Laura's case, watching me acting about 8 years old whilst she struggled to reach the rings. The little legs don't help.

The next day was Getty museum day. Just up the road but obviously it took us 2 buses and about 3 hours to get there. Again the bus driver was lovely and pointed us in almost the right direction when we got off the bus and it only took us 30 mins to find our way to get the tram to take us to the top of the mountain where the museum is. Nothing is easy here without a car...

Nice museum though.

And that's about it for Santa Monica. Our hostel was nice apart from some shitbag who kept stealing our food, not the brocolli or the grenn beans, but the nice big slice of choccie cake and the cookies. The things that you are really looking forward to eat... I did call them a rude word but this is a family blog so I'll leave our reaction to your imgainations!

I also got into a fight with a girl in our dorm, well almost. She kept putting her suitcase and her 2 other bags by my bed and not her own. I moved them and when she came in and moved them back I politely pointed out that it was blocking the way to my bed and the girl above me and was generally causing a mess and that she had ample space by and under her bed.

She in turn pointed out that she wanted her bed area clear....!!

Interersting.

I got a little cross at this and said that this wasn't possible and to please move her stuff. She ignored me and turned her back. So I grabbed her bags and put them by her bed.

She didn't like this and she told me not to touch her stuff. I said I wouldn't have to if it were not in my way and again pointed out that in a hostel room where there are 8 people, you sometimes have to forego the space that you are used to at home and SHARE. I was quite stern but didn't raise my voise too much.

Her response was to storm out!!!! For the rest of our stay we played a fun game of moving her bags back and forth.

Laura says:
I was very impressed with the way J9 handled the witch, she was very adult & calm about the whole thing....
To add a more interesting twist to the tale, I had actually swapped beds with J9, on arrival, giving her the bottom bunk & I was on the other side of the room on the top bunk. Therefore, when a note was placed on her bed for her to come to reception to discuss the situation it read: 'Laura Pagden, please come to reception as soon as possible', so anything J9 did was under my name anyway!
I din't mind though, the guy on reception had a smirk on his face the whole time, I think he found it pretty amusing.

Luckily we checked out the next day and hired our car, hooray!!

Next stop Santa Barbara