After a rather bumpy, lengthy and long-anticipated flight to Los Angeles through Tahiti, we finally arrived in the USA mid morning. We were greeted by the friendly American airport officials, who decided to detain us for an hour (in the same room as illegal immigrants & drug smugglers, might i add) while they investigated the outrageous truth that we would want to spend 2 & a half months in the land of the free! We were soon questioning that fact too! Nevertheless as D:Ream assures us 'things can only get better', and they did, it was great to be back in LA & we spent the next week enjoying all things Hollywood! We took a walking tour around beverly hills, on a gloriously sweaty day, stopping to speak to security & Hugh Heffner's brother at the Playboy Mansion, spotting Antonio Banderas (would not have been my pick of male celebs to have drive past me in a softop but hey) & spying over lots of famous gates! We did the compulsory yet tragic stroll down Rodeo Drive, knowing too well that should we backpackers enter any of the holy stores we would be as welcome as Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman! We also witnessed mass hysteria as the stars arrived on Hollwood Boulevard for the ESPYs, we peeked over the crowd for about 2 seconds & saw that the fuss was about Eva Longoria & decided to go for a burger instead - great decision (God Bless Johnny Rockets)! We also headed to Santa Monica & Venice Beach for the day, we watched the brave rollerblade, & the not so brave (aka us) laugh when they fall over, Venice is just as you imagine, tacky & cool all at the same time. Next we headed to San Diego on our first Greyhound bus - aside from the fact that the 3 people in front of us were exchanging prison stories and comparing time (the winner - 13 years!!!), it was fine! And San Diego in huge contrast to LA was fantastically relaxed. We checked out the museums and architecture at Balboa Park, strolled around the Gaslamp Quarter & caught the train to Tijuana...... (see mexico) ....Back in San Diego the next day (discovering that Tequila doesnt give us hangovers & therfore very happy) we boarded the overnight 18 hour bus journey to Grand Junction, Colorado to meet our friend Bri. As she was working we were instead met by the first of many family members, her Aunt & Uncle who were absolutely lovely, they took us for a mean Mexican & then we travelled up into the mountains to meet Bri & her brothers. (They are real cowboys, they actually wear checked shirts, tight jeans, & cowboy hats & boots!) We spent our first evening in Colorado at a rodeo, it was awesome - cheap beers & hotdogs, cowboys everywhere & 4 year old kids jumping on the back of sheep & geting chucked off around the arena. It was all good until it was Bri's brother Doug's turn to rodeo bulls, after an impressive start, he got bucked off & got caught up in the rope, the bull stamped him into the ground right in the centre off his back - he didnt get up for 10 mins - horrible! Our experience of the Wild West had begun - that night it was a long drive back to Bri's ranch and we rolled in about 2am, to a shock. Despite a pre-warning that her family liked to hunt, Bri hadn't prepared us for her 'decor', their kills were mounted all over the walls, she had Elk, Deer, grizzly Bears (who looked particularly unhappy to be there), mountain lions, bob cats. Despite the initial shock, the animals were stunning, but even I couldn't quite deal with sharing the sofa with a bear skin, believe me when I say you don't want to sit on a bear's claw - dead or alive! The next morning we met the rest of Bri's family - parents, grandparents, cousins, nephews. And after a delicious homecooked breakfast we headed to the local rodeo, we watched Bri's younger brother Brad's rodeo debut, he rode broncs (bucking horses) & bulls, despite not quite making the 8 seconds, he still made the best time on the bulls & won his first belt buckle (he's hooked). We watched loads of events, barrel racing & calf roping etc & had an awesome day, that night we settled in for a BBQ, a game of kick the can & 'Pure Country' - apparently the best film ever - no comment! After a pretty lazy morning, we headed back for the second day of the rodeo, starting off watching the farm auction (I so wanted a sheep) & then heading back to the arena for a few beers & all the big prize adult events. We watched Doug on his second bull, but with his back still sore he didnt make too good a time, we were still highly impressed & everyone was just relieved he didn't get injured again. One guy wasnt so lucky and left in an ambulance - can you believe these guys pay to do this?! That night we had an awesome time at the 'Hitchin' Post', we drank beer, we met cowboys and we danced country! We also met our fair share of redknecks, all of whom had trouble realising that America isn't the only country in the world - "so where in New England are you from?", "I been to Denver & I been here, I can see anywhere else in pictures!" Over the next few days, Bri took us on an awesome road trip through the Colorado Mountains where she grew up, (we saw a bear in the wild - amazing), to Arches National Park, the famous and stunning ****, stopping to stay the night with her Grandparents in *** & then carrying on to see Mesa Verde (the native Indian homes in the cliff faces of a canyon) and finishing up in Durango. While Bri built fence we spent a couple of days chilling out in the Uni town & meeting up with Maren, another friend from Fiji. We finally headed back through Nucla, said farewell to Bri & her lovely family & started the long wait in Grand Junction for our Greyhound bus to Vegas. 19 hours in the Greyhound station and several unwanted propositions from the Colorado homeless later, we finally got on the night bus to Sin City. Arriving early morning, we headed straight to our hotel on the strip, eager to see what our $35 a night was getting us & we were very pleasantly surprised. The Sahara was awesome, it was so deluxe & attached to every major casino in Veags by monorail. We spent a fun 4 days, visiting every Casino on the strip, taking true advantage of the free alcohol, gambling on the 1c machines and occasionally winning a jackpot - $11 - I actually jumped up & screamed over 5 quid!! We dressed up at night & saw all the free shows we could find & spent all day & all night, shopping, gambling & drinking - it's fair to say Vegas was definitely a highlight of our time in the US. We then reboarded the Greyhound for the trip back to LA to do those things we missed out on the first time. After a rather scary bus journey involving a woman with a moustache & being stranded in a one horse town for 2 hours at 3am (with no-one but the hairy lady), we finally got back & still in party mode from Vegas, filled up on Margueritas & hit The Viper Room on the sunset strip (Johnny Depp's club where River Phoenix overdosed). We watched some great live rock bands upstairs, relaxed with some beers in the acoustic room downstairs, got quite frankly trashed (Jemma) & then shared a rather cagey cab ride back to the hostel with a stranger who tried to pash Jem in the back seat (he did pay though) (for the cab - not the kiss)! We spent the next day at Six Flags - theme park, although we spent more time on trains & buses getting there than we did on the rollercoasters themselves, they were incredible, I think I actually cried on the first one & I've been bungy jumping & skydiving in the last few months! Before heading back west we enjoyed our last dose of Hollywood, watching Superman in Grauman's Chinese Theater (wow), filling up on Mexican & walking past some chick from Coyote Ugly (it's the best we could do)!.....