North America Blog Entry

My Apologies for taking so long to write but this trip has been absolutely manic and am only now getting the opportunity to catch my breath and go over exactly what we have done.

I am now back in North America and heading to the hostel where we started our journeys. The flight was good and we didn't have to wait long for the bus to the hostel. We are pro's when it comes to the buses and trains in L.A now (Well kind of).

So we arrived back to where it all began and are greeted by the site of loads of people and the place was really busy (I'm sure it had very little to do with our arrival back and more to do with the AVP tounament (Volley Ball) Eva Longoria was due to be playing there. That was all going on, on the beach right outside our hostel.

It was crazy, I had been told that it does get really busy at times but didn't expect it to be anyhting like it was. We walked into the hostel and was greeted by Alex and Paul, who true to his word didn't shave his beard or his hair while were were away (You will see the pics). We caught up for a short while, and met some of the people that they had been chilling out with. Some crazy, but most very nice.

We headed down to the beach to join in the fun, plus also they were giving away freebies and I'm not one to turn down a free gift. Also as luck would have it, the UK barber Paul Mitchell has colleges all over the US and had some of the apprentices there doing hair cuts for 10 dollars that went to charity. Very lucky as my hair was getting out of control (for my standards anyway)

So had a haircut and Frosty got a shave and a mowhawk, which looked good but was slightly wonky (He had it shaved the next day).

We watched a few of the volley ball games and genrally just kicked about, trying to catch some sun but mostly just taking in the atmosphere.

The next few days were spent doing much of the same. the place was really busy, so getting into the bars was a nighmare. We just bought drinks from the shops and caught up with each other.

We were due to start our North America tour within the next few days, so thought we would go and see some more sghts LA before that.

We visited Santa Monica to do a bit of shopping and went a bit crazy in the Abercombie & Fitch shop. Then we went onto Rodeo drive and Beverly Hills. That night we went back to the hostel and the next day had to make our way to Anaheim in LA to start our tour.

We got there and met some of the group and the tour leader(Jason), coach driver (Gina) and then got taken to our hotel, got washed off and then out for something to eat and a few drinks.

The morning came when we had to start our tour, so we went back to the hotel where we had met the group, signed in and jumped on the coach.

I will try not to be too brief with the details of this tour, but I have been very behind on my blog writing, and as I said previously the photos should sum up most of the trip.

I will write a bit about all f the places we visited and some of the things that we did there. It was a thirteen day tour in total and there was in excess of 40 people on the tour.

This was quite a change from the South America tour as it was a more intimate group on that tour.

So we went from L.A (Anaheim) to san Diego. saw some great sights on the drive that I will try and stay way from mentioning as I feel I will be mentioning them all the time, espescially considering the distance we were covering over the duration of the tour. There was a lot of driving involved, but it wasn't bad as it was a good chance for people to recharge their batteries and arrive in a place feeling refreshed (Well as refreshed as you an feel after a 7 hour coach drive.

So we arrived in San Diego (America's finest city) and it was off the coach and afer a little stretch and count up from jason, we went on a harbour cruise to see the sights. san Diego has a huge Naval influence and history and is very afluent. This is very apparent straight away and is a great place that seems to be still developing. It has a great sky line and the sights from the cruise were cool. We saw the Coronado bridge which we had driven
across on the journey there.

After the harbour cruise we went across the boarder to Tijuana (Mexico) for lunch. This was quite a crazy experince. We got off of our coach and onto a bus that took us across the boarder. It seems that they will let anyone across the boarder, but going the other way is a different story. There are often people standing in line for hours waiting to get back in America.

We were only there for a few hours, but it was still a cool experience. It is supposed to be a completely different place at night. Very seedy and kind of cheap. Apparently prostitutes line up next to each other and span both sides of the street, which is a good 400 metres long. This wasn't the case in the day time. There were a few people that were trying to get us into their strip clubs and buy crap merchandise, but mainly they were heckling us as Alex was wearing his England rugby shirt and Liverpool had just been beaten by AC Milan in the Champions League final.We missed the game by an hour or so.

We had lunch here and Frosty also indulges in a Tequilla shot in the dentist chair, which he seemed to Enjoy. Pete and Alex went to a different restaurant, but Paul and I just stuck to the one that the group went to called Cafe Iguana Rana. We were very reserved in our choice of food and had Chicken fajitas. I saw it as a safe choice.

we weren't there for long and it was back across the boarder to be interigated by the police officer at the boarder. Not the warmest of people.

The next day it was off to San Diego Zoo, which is the largest Zoo in the world. It was great, but I will leave it up to the photo's to do my job of taking you through. Afetr all, I'm sure most of you have been to a Zoo. If not you should defnitely go to one. After the Zoo we headed to Mission beach (So cal) to relax and takes in the surroundigs.

That night we went to a place in San Diego called the Gaslamp. This was a very American restaurant, where you write down your order, they give you a bib, your food comes, with your drinks and they basically encourage you to get rowdy. It was good fun. They also put chef's hats on people with random messages on. After a couple of drinks and dinner we headed to a bar just down the road. This was a great place where we got talking to some locals who had just been to a baseball game. One of the blokes was with his girl friend who was celebrating her birthday, so we all had a few drinks and then headed off to be feeling a bit worst for wear.

As there were so many people on the tour I will mention some names, but wont go into too much detail.

Day 3 we were off to Phoenix. This drive is worth mentioning as it was mainly desert and the sort of scenery we were expecting to see in the Grand canyon. We stopped off for a photo in the Sonoran desert and checked out the sand dunes. After that we went to a local town in the Sonoran desert, where some of the group went for a four wheel drive tour into the rocky hills and desert.

Pete and I gave it a miss as we had done similar excursions in South America, so had a walk around the town and just did the tourist thing, having lunch and looking in the shops.

That night we went off to a place in Phoenix called Scottsdale. This is a very nice area and seems very rich. We got to the hotel and even although it was getting quite late in the afternoon it was still as hot as it had been in the desert. The tour leader always arranges aplace for everyone to eat, however we like going to a different place as ordeing for 40 people can get a bit too much. we went to a place called 'Red Lobster' and the food and service was great. They had lovely fish and at good prices (Get there if you can)

After this we went on to a club, which was very cool. They have an outdoors balcony that has a pipe that sprays mist out. Although this was cool, I think the alcohol and girls were possibly the main focus for most of the group. We got speaking to a lot of the group and met some really funny characters. One lad called Steve was especially cool. Afetr a few drins and some free shots from the bar man for being English, we headed back to the hotel, which is coinsidently the last place I updated my Blog. (Don't worry - I'm back on it)

The following day we were off again. This tour is making me feel like the littlest hobo. We are off to the Grand Canyon, and his is a place I was really looking forward to again. I don't feel I can do any of these places justice with my writing, so will put the pictures up very soon, for you to have a look at. Shortly before we arrived at the national park where were staying, we stopped off at a small Imax cinema to view a brief film detailing the history of the Grand canyon. Then off to our cabins.

After a lot of driving, we arrive and drop our stuff in the rooms. We settle in and there was not much to do with the exceptiomn of chatting, as the park rangers are very strict and like noise to be kept to a minimum after a certain time, otherwise they will hand out a $5000 dollar fine. (Nice of them) We didn't actually see a ranger about, well on that night anyway.

The next day is the big day where we will be taking a helicopter into the heart of the canyon. We turned up by coach to the small airport, where we will be getting the chopper into the canyon. we are all weighed and after a couple of issues, we get the flight down into a native Indian town. We were greeted by a native Indian lady. This by the way is the only place in the USA to still have it's mail delivered by horse. So as you can imagine how remote it is.

We also met up with Jason at the bottom and me and a few from the group take a walk through the canyon, where we will get to see three different waterfalls and also have a swim in them. We miss the first one and go straght to the second. Not realising that we had missed the first one, we wonder why none of the group are there, so assume they have gone to number 2(Which is actually number 3). After a walk down the side of a mounain face in flip flops we see some of the group, but couldn't see Alex, Pete or Paul. Just to go back to walking down the face of the mountain. This seemed absolutely crazy. At points you have to hold on to chains to get your self down. The way back up seemed easier but still very dangerous.

Anyway, we got to the bottom, which was a fantastic sight, especially consideing the heat. I stripped down, jumped in and it was absolutely freezing. The waterfall itself was huge and a few of us tried to swim under it but it was just too powerful and cold, so we just went a bit round the side and there was a cool rope swing about 50 yards away.

The boys, joined us shorty after and told, us that we had missed the first water fall. So after a while we headed back to that one, to chill out and have a jump from the lower point of the rocks. Altought Frosty jumped from the highest point. And it was very high.

As we had all came in the helicopters at different times, we had to go back at different points. We hung around for a bit and then got the helicopter back to the airport base. We were then picked up and taken back to the cabin,where me and Frosty then went on to watch the sunset over the canyon.

That was great and you will see the pictures of that under North America pics.

Pete and Alex made it up for the sunrise the next day. So there will be pics of that on their site.

The next day is the big one. We were off to Las Vegas (Sin City) Now this was always going to be great. There is very litle that I can say about the place that hasn't been said already. It is like a play ground and is amazingly over the top but so fantastic. We arrived at the place in the afternoon, headed out to get some beers and have a look around this fantastic place. It is utterly amazing. I just couldn't get my head around this place. The amount of money it must have cost for one of these hotels is just mind boggling. So we got settled in and got ready for dinner which was a buffet in one of the huge hotels (I foget the name).

After dinner we go on a coach ride to see the strip. Gina points out all of the sights and hot spots along the way. We went into a wedding chapel as Jason made out that he knew a guy that worked there, but it was a lie to get us in there without asking too many questions. We all sat down and a man dressed as Elvis came out to talk to us about the history of the wedding chapels and then called out two names from the tour group list and gave a fake wedding ceremony to Jeremy and Rebecca. We then went to a place caled Fremont Street, where the local casinos have al paid to refurbish an absolutely huge entertainment screen, which is like a TV screen that is the length of a street. It was realy good as all of the lights go out and they put on the TV/Light show. The cost of the screen was around 70 million dollars.

After that is was off to a club called Rum Jungle that is in the Mandaay bay Hotel. This place is massive and took Pete 15 minutes to find the exit, as he was in the heart of the casino. The bar was quiet at the time we got in there but it sooned picked up. It was a good night and there was quite a lot of drinking involved. I had a small gamble on the slots but they seemed like a waste of money so after 8 dollars I gave up. Late in the evening the place was closing so we all headed back to the hotel.

The following day was very relaxing. We went for breakfast and then chilled around the pool. We had a look around th strip and then went out to get our team shorts from Abercrombie & Fitch. After we had a look around we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the night out. Everyone was going to a club called Pure that was in Ceasers palace. We had a few drinks in the hotel and then jumped into a Limo (Same price as a cab) and headed for something to eat.
Soon after a bit of food we went to see the water fountains at the Belagio Hotel and then onto Pure. Unfortunately as we were not wearing shoes we could not get in. We kind of knew that would happen, but weren't going to get a pair of shoes just for that club.

Paul ended up going home and Alex, Pete and I went to the Stratosphere casino. They decided to gamble but I didn't feel like it at that point. The Stratosphere is the tallest building in Vegas and has three rides at the top of it and also a reveolving restaurant. I decided to go on the ride that hangs over the side like a grab arm and spins you round close to the top point and all you see is the sheer drop. It was amazing and the view that I could see was great.

After the ride, I went down to the casino and put a bet on. Long story short, I left Vegas $30 up. I didn't quite put the casino out of business, but hey. We were then going to go to a bar but kind of lost the spark as it was getting late. We just ended up heading back to the hotel.

The next day we were up early and heading for Bass lake (This is where they filmed The Great Outdoors with John Candy). It was out of the deserts of Nevada and off to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was quite a long drive, so we arrived mid afternoon. We dumped our bags in the chalet (These were quality) and then a few of us went to play tennis.

That night we had a Pizza party in a couple of the rooms that joined via the balcony and also an interior door. A few drinks and some good music and then stumbled to bed.

Up early the next day and we were of to Yosemite National park to see the rock formations of El Capitan and the half dome. A group of about nine of us decided to hire
and formed a group called the T Birds. It seemed appropriate. We cycled round for hours and took in the views of the park and also the huge waterfalls.

It was back to Bass lake and after a dip in the pool, Me, Pete and Alex rented out a single Kayak and also a two person canoe. this was so much fun. We paddled around for a short while and then it started to get boring, so I started to shake to canoe that Alex and I were in and ended up flipping it. We had to drag it to shore and then empty it out. It was very hard work. I then jumped into the one person Kayak and had a paddle around. Not content with flipping one boat, I picked up some speed in the Kayak and speered the Canoe from the side. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Pete's face was an absolute picture as they rolled over into the water. We were half way between both pieces of land, where we would be able to drag the boat to and it was quite a wa to either. In the end two ladies dragged the canoe with their motor boat and then the person who rented the boats to us came out and rescued Pete and Alex on his jetski. They also capsized and fell into the water. Great stuff. Iwas fine in the sibgle kayak. I just paddled to shore.

We eventually made it back to land. What a great time though. We all went down for dinner and even got involved with a bit of Karaoke. I do have the video as well. What can I say. We were very good. (?????????????) This was quite a drunken night and a very early start the next morning was the last thing we needed.

Up early again, we were off to San Francisco. This is a great place and we did some great stuff there. Pier 39 was very good. This is where you go and see all of the sea lions (Fight and sunbathe - It's no kind of life, they just pick on each other all the time) We enjoyed some clam chauder that was served in a hollowed our sour dough roll, took a look round the pier and after getting ready in our hotel, we had dinner at Bubba Gump's restaurant. This was very cool. After this we took a walk to a local bar and had few drinks there.

The following day was spent looking around the town to kill some time before our night tour of Alcatraz. We also decidede that it may be a good idea to call the airline as we had problems in South America with our flights. It was lucky that we did as there was an issue with our tickts. Our paper tickets stated that our flight was the 6th June, the itinerary stated the 3rd, although the airline had the 10th June as our flight date. We all agreed that we didn't want to hang around in L.A until the 10th, so we had to cut our tour short (as they had a flight the next day) or stay for another week. We had the night to think about as we had a tour of Alcatraz that night.

The tour of Alcatraz included an audio tour around the prison. This was really good and definitely worth doing. Kind of freaky though. Espescially to hear some of the inmates voices over the audio equipment. This is definitely the sort of place that would deter crime, however they closed it down due to the cost.

After this we went on to a local pub, where everybody was hanging out at. I wasn't there for long as I wanted to go off and buy a Hooters Tshirt. Also I wasn't really in the mood for drinking. The boys stayed out though and had a good night.

We all agreed to leave the tour and get the flight to Rarotonga. We were currently in san francisco and the coach was taking us to Santa Barbara. From here we had to rush and get a train to L.A to get to the airport in time for our flight.

We got off of the coach. said our goodbyes and ended our trip rather abruptly. It wasn't so bad as we had seen the sights they were due to see in the first few das we were there.

Next Blog entry will be from Rarotonga. Take care all.