Hello from sunny San Francisco! It's been a while so go and get a cup of tea and a biscuit and settle down for a (good?) read!!

We had a great time in Fiji, it exceeded our expectations and the tour we did was ideal with some great people. The accommodation was really good, we paid backpacker prices but were basically staying in resorts that inculded breakfast and free activities like snorkelling, kayaking and coconut jewellery making! We've been so busy it was quite strange to get used to lying on a beach reading but we really enjoyed warming up and chilling out. It actually made us realise how odd coming home could be; it's great to have Matt and Nicole's wedding to look forward to but Greg is worried he may be restless and jumping around the house after a week - sorry Claire!

From Fiji we flew to LA, experiencing a 40 hour day in the process! (We crossed the international date line so had Tues 16th June twice!). It's been said that everyone in LA is a wannabe actor - we think it could be because anyone who doesn't chooses to live somewhere else! The city does have some redeeming features, e.g. we really liked Santa Monica which had a lovely beach front with a real family feel and a classic 'Americana' shopping strip but other wise we weren't that impressed. Hollywood Boulevard is a bit of a dive - we went to the Kodak Theatre where they hold the Oscars but the bit they don't show you on the red carpet is that it's surrounded by sex shops and tattoo parlours! Public transport is also horrific, if you want a complete map of the system you have to request one from the council and metro stations don't say where the trains are going or at what time. The buses also take forever because of the traffic! It really made us appreciate the London Underground, seriously, it's just not that bad!

On our second day in LA we went to Universal Studios which was great however. Themed movie rides and shows which had the most amazing special effects and attention to detail. I think the pictures show how much we enjoyed being kids for the day!

Since LA we've had pretty good luck (we've realised that luck is an important element of getting the most out of travelling) which started at the rentalcar depot where they'd run out of economy cars so we had a Toyota Prius for no extra cost! Not only is this a very cool car to driving in LA we also saved loads in petrol, especially when we were stuck in a traffic jam leaving LA!

Our first stop on the road was the Ronald Reagan Presidential library that has managed to become a huge tourist attraction. We managed to catch the last weekend of a Magna Carta exhibition with the actual document on loan from Lincoln Cathedra as well as the ACTUAL Air Force One used until 2001 and scale replica of the oval office, even Steph enjoyed it! Following this we came across the Santa Barbara Summer Soltice festival which meant cheap food, two cheap dresses for Steph and free entertainment. It was a genuine 'American' event with people dancing without British inhibition, hula hoop competitions, face painting etc!

Finding a campsite wasn't quite so good as it turns out that all the state parks book up for the weekends 7 months in advance! Despite this Governer Schwarzenneger wants to close them all to save money and stop California going bankrupt (predicted to happen in about 2 weeks). His other ideas include scrapping health insurance for children...! Anyway we were about to give up and spend $150 on a motel room when the guy there told us about an RV park around the corner that none of the park rangers had seemed to know about!

The second day we came across a colony of elephant seals - they really have to be seen to be believed but they were enormous! This day also included a visit to an old Spanish mission where they were having a historical weekend so saw tortillas, candles and soap being made and everyone in costume etc with lots of American tourists going 'Oh WOW' very loudly! Later on we found ourselves driving through 'Big Sur' on spectacular roads, another trip highlight for both of us.

San Francisco is much more our kind of place and we both like it a lot - the people, the architecture, and the comprehensive transport system! We also happened to arrive on the one day a week (Sunday) that a bus runs across the Golden Gate bridge to a great bridge/city lookout. Today we've been down to the birth of flower power, lots of fab vintage clothes shops etc and a great day out. Tomorrow we're off to Alcatraz and then our tour finishing in Las Vegas which we're now both kind of looking forward to and for which we've got a hotel in the middle of the strip (opposite The Mirage) for less than we're currently paying for a dorm in SF!

Happy Belated Father's day to all concerned!

Loads of love

Steph and Greg xxx