Busy busy busy!!

We have been so busy since our last blog, we have driven nearly 1600 miles, covered 3 states and seen one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Since our last blog, we did a mini bus tour of san francisco, it was really good, lthough it rained all day. We saw all the different districts, including Haight-Ashbury, the hippy district and Pacific Heights, the posh area. We even drove over the Golden Gate bridge. That night we stayed at a place where the owner had the best wig, which he kept fiddling with. It was so funny I had to go outside and G had to fill in the forms and pay. On our last day, we took a tram from Union Square to Fishermans Wharf and had a lovely walk along the waterfront. We then took a walk around Saks Fifth Avenue trying on posh shoes etc. That night, we got an upgrade to a really posh hotel, for the same price as a drom. It was amazing and such a comfy bed! compared to a bunk bed.

On the Thursday, we picked up our hire car. Its really nice, a chevrolet Cobalt, complete with cruise control, air con and all the mod cons. G really likes it. From San Francisco, we drove down the coast towards LA. It was such a beautiful drive and the sea was so blue. We stayed at a motel for the night in San Luis. We went out that night to a local farmers market and had the most amazing bbq food for dinner. The produce was lovely as well, huge strawberries and fresh veg.

When we reached LA we picked up our friend James, who we met in Fiji, and he joined us for the next few days at the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. We didn't chose the right weekend to go really, as it has been Memorial Weekend so everyone goes on holiday. We sat on the freeway for a good few hours before stopping at a motel on the way. We stopped for dinner at Taco Bell, it was really good. A whole meal for $2. The journey on took us through amazing desert with great views. We stopped on the way at a place called Seligman, a famous place on Route 66. It was amazing with lots of 50's style shops and cafes. We ate lunch at the Roadkill Cafe, which gave us huge portions. Our stop for the night was at a place called Williams, another Route 66 stop. That night we went out to a local bar. It was the best night out we have had. We were the only tourists there and it was like a saloon bar yous ee in movies. They even had a live band playing old american rock songs. There were moose head on the wall and a stuffed bear. Very cool.

The following morning, we were up early and heading to the Grand Canyon. Its quite drive away but well well worth it. We have never seen anything like it in our lives and no words can describe the view. When we first walked to the edge I stood there for about 5 minutes with my mouth wide open. It looked fake, like someone had put wallpaper up. It was just incredible and amazing. We walked the 5 miles along the rim, and caught the bus to the end as it was just so hot. We spent pretty much all day soaking in the view andtaking photos, it was great. We then got back in the car and drove towards Vegas. Along the way, we got to drive over the Hoover Dam, which again was incredible and so big. I suppose it needs to be to provide Vegas with power.

After Boulder City we came over a hill and just plonked in the middle of the desert was a vast smack of lights! You could almost feel the buzz from the car. Although it was nearlly midnight, we drove down the strip to see what we were letting our selves in for. Everybody looked like they were having so much fun and it was really nice to see some people had made the effort to wear suits and nice dresses. Very surreal to see a huge pyramid and the eiffel tower all in one street. Our motel, was in the wedding chapel end of the Strip next to the Elvis little white chapel. The following morning i went to the car and the first thing I saw as a mermaid getting married - crazy. For the rest of our stay, we checked into a hotel called the Excalibur. You can get some amazing hotel deals. Ours was a huge huge castle, right next to New York. As we walked in it was amazing, just a huge casino with hundreds of people already gambling and drinking and lying by the pool. Our room was huge, with a view of the pool and a very swish bathroom. The beds were also huge, so James who is pretty much 10feet tall could sleepw ithout his feet hangning off the end. There was also a huge 42inch plasma tv. Luxury. After checking in and getting sorted, we took a walk down the strip and looking in the shops. There is a huge coca cola shop, where the elevator is inside a massive coke bottle. Aswell as an M and M shop with a whole wall of m and m pick and mix. In the Hard Rock cafe, they had outfits worn by elvis which i think is pretty amazing. There is such a buzz about Vegas, it makes you want to have a good time, although the only thing to do is spend moeny. There are amazing shops and bars and casinos everywhere. Back at the hotel, we had a macdonalds, which was next to the krispy kremes and pizza hut in our hotels food court. Very strange.

We then got ready to go out, playing a few games with cards and vodka. Because I am too young to drink and gamble here i had to be quite careful and in the first casino i got kicked out twice, which was quite fun, trying to convince security that I was drinking lemonade. But we left and went to the next one. We used a 1cent slot machine and won $3.93 - big winners. That night was a late one, getting to bed at around 4.30. The next morning, we went to iHop for a stodgy breakfast and it was lush, pancakes and fry up yum. Then an afternoon relaxing by the pool, it is very hot, around 97degrees. So last night G and I went out for a walk all along the strip and into the posh hotels. We watched the Bellagio Fountain shop as well as the Lava show at the Mirage which was cool. We also went to Venice for a wonder around. The Bellagio was so posh we felt very under dressed but they had a room of art work that was made to look like willy wonkas choc factory but a garden instead. They had huge bumble bees made from driend flowers. We were very fed up of fast food, which is pretty much all there is to eat here unless you spend a bomb, but we found a small italian which was reasonably priced so dined there. The hotels are very clever to make you stay there, by not putting a fridge or microwave in your room, you have to go out and eat etc - very clever.

Today, was our last day in Vegas :( I definately want to come back when I am old enough not to worry about being thrown out or not let in. We spent the morning by the pool relaxing. We dropped James off a the airport and have made our way to LA. We are at a motel in a veyr dodgy part of LA but it is near the airport and its cheap so its not all bad. On our way out of our hotel in Vegas, I had a real urge to had a bet on a slot machine, i then saw one called the Lucky Meerkat, so I hd to put a dollar in. And it so happened that we won $13!! What a good end. Not loads of money, but better than nothing.

Tomorrow we head to San Diego.