Los Angeles

Probably the last blog from the holiday :-( But LA is fantastic! Arrived here on Saturday very late having decided to drive the rest of route one without stopping off. We had a little trouble finding accommodation for fri and sat night. Ended up in our worst choice so far in Monterey with holes in the wall... nice.... but it was a comfy bed and I guess it's better than the car... After driving for miles on Saturday night we found refuge in a lovely hotel in a not so lovely area in LA. But we survived.

On Sunday we relocated to the fairfax area of LA to the Beverly Laurel Motel - it's fab, in a time warp from the 50's. It also has an excellent diner on site with the most AMAZING malt chocolate shakes heaven!!

Yesterday we went down to Santa Monica and went round the shops and went to the beach. Not the nicest beach here I might add but it was cool to see the stereotypical topless blokes and skinny sticks on skates.

Today we took a trip to Marina del Rey and hired a power boat for a few hours - so much fun!!! Have been wanting to do that for ages. We also made another trip to yet another cheesecake factory (our 4th so far I think....) and devoured yet more delicious desserts :)

See you all very soon! XXXXX

San Francisco

On our 4th night in San Francisco - no quakes yet!! It's such a great city- great shops, great food, great views! Have done most of the major tourist attractions: golden gate bridge, golden gate park, down by the piers, tasted the local chocolate, visited the sea lions, had cocktails at the top of the Bank of America building (AMAZING views!!), walked to the top of twin peaks, visited the museum of modern art (they have dedicated a whole floor to some very strange artist, I'm not sure i'd even call it art...) and much much more! Unfortunately have missed out on Alcatraz but it means we've got a great excuse to come back. Heading out on route 1 tomorrow, 2 nights with no accommodation booked....argh! Maybe the car?! Be in touch soon. XXXXX

Death Valley/Yosemite

We survived Death Valley and its soaring temperatures of over 112 oF!! It was a close call... firstly we were staying at an eerie, yet beautifully bizarre hotel (the Amargosa Opera House)where we met no one during our stay, not even at check in or check out. We have just done a little research online and discovered the hotel is haunted argh!! Secondly our GPS satellite navigation system decided to take us on the most obscure route out of Death Valley through dirt tracks.... would be fine had we had a 4X4 car but we have a small Chrysler PT cruiser with the worst suspension ever!!

Sorry to hear it's cold back home. Off to San Fran tomorrow where I hear its quite cold so we will be able to empathise with you all. Visited Yosemite today - it was breathtaking! And we were lucky enough to still see several of their waterfalls since they had a lot more snow than usual during the winter so it's taking longer for the waterfalls to dry up this year. We're both doing well, eating far too much food. Just pigged out at a divine BBQ house where we had St Louis style ribs - YUMMY! And we're just devouring a tub of Ben and Jerry's. That's it for now! XXX

Las Vegas

We made it! In the middle of the desert appears the neon lights and sparkle of vegas. Staying at the MGM grand - the largest hotel in the world and it sure is! Saw David Copperfield on Sunday - AMAZING!! He made cars appear from nowhere, makes a group of the audience disappear in a split second and can travel to the other side of the world instantaneously. Today we did our grand canyon/monument valley tour except the monument valley tour was cancelled due to bad weather. And boy was it bad - we took off in our 6 seater plane (so cute!) but then got to some very stormy weather and had to turn back - very scary! But the views of the canyon from the air were amazing! But I'm never going on a small plane again - felt so ill :(. Off now to the all you can eat buffet (must be feeling better then..) Our next stops are death valley and yosemite so will write when in San Francisco I hope! XXXXX

San Diego 5th Aug

Wow Wow Wow I got to swim with dolphins yesterday!!! Sooooo amazing! In San Deigo at the mo enjoying seaworld and the zoo. Off to Vegas tomorrow. Staying at the MGM grand with lazy rivers and waterfalls to cool off in the 120 degrees we expect it to be. Shopping so far has been poor... but hoping vegas makes up for it. Seeing David Copperfield tomorrow night which should be ace! Be in touch soonish. XXXXX

Anaheim

Hi there! Yes still alive, just amazingly limited internet access over here... who'd have thought it? Totally theme parked out. Since we arrived, we have spent EVERY day in one from Universal studios, Disneyland (2 parks!! in 3 days!) to Knotts Berry Farm (probably the best one so far). I have been on the scariest rides too, Marc is so proud! Namely the GHOSTRIDER at knotts (you can look it up online if you want...) - it's Marc's favourite ride of ALL time. So it's been 5 days, and I still haven't shopped! But off to a mall today so I should be feeling better later :). Food is amazing! Especially the choccie brownie desserts at TGI fridays WOW! Will keep you posted! XXXXX

Sunday 23rd July

First night accommodation booked! Thank god! We can legally enter the US now. Yay! Also got our southern California passes and tickets to David Copperfield.