A DAY AT THE DOGS (SAUSAGE DOGS THAT IS)

DAY 21: Newport Beach

Today I brushed aside Jaws' presence and went 'surfing'. I hired a suit and board from the shop a few blocks down and borrowed a body board from the motel.

I don't know whether it was just the weather, and thus the swell in the sea, or whether it was the fact that it was today that I decided to go surfing, but the waves looked about three times bigger than any other day we'd been on the coast. It was more 'Total Wipeout USA' than 'Surfin' USA'. And that was just getting out past the break.

I've never been in the sea when it's as powerful as this and it made me realise the sheer force of the ocean. It literally knocked me for six about four times. A serious case of running (or trying to surf) before I could walk.

Having barely knelt on the board once in about five attempts, I decided to give the body board a go. First go with that and I caught a wave but the front of the board was too low meaning I got flipped over the top and into the washing machine. It was like being hit by a truck.

I decided to give in to the ocean's might after a short while due to its far superior strength as it wouldn't be long before I got hurt or Jen would have to come in and save me. Back to the foamy stuff on England's coast for some more practice I think.

After showering and checking out, we headed for one more vanilla latte at Starbuck's (official coffee shop of our travels) before we had our last piece of entertainment in the US - sausage dog racing!

Huntington Beach hosts its own Oktoberfest paying homage to Germany's iconic event, including Daschund racing. About 50 sausage dogs, all shapes, sizes and colours bouncing down a four lane raceway with their ears flying. Hilarious, cute and one of the least expected things I thought we'd see on this trip.

After watching the floppy-eared frankfurters we decided to head for one last Taco Bell before we hit the road and slowly make our way back to the airport to hand back our loyal steed for the journey, our Chevy.

We were slightly early for our flight (about 5 hours!), but we thought at least we could check in then browse around the many shops that an airport like LAX would surely have. Wrong! There were six shops at our terminal, all selling the same stuff. And with only about eight dollars left Starbucks, journal writing and some very slow looking around was all we could do.

FINAL WORD ON THE US

I knew the places we would visit in the States would show us an amazing time, as everyone we know who had been to the various destinations had said so. But still we were surprised, shocked, left speechless, in awe and delighted.

The US is an amazing country - as diverse as it could possibly be in every way. It has everything, which is probably why many Americans never leave.

The country takes a lot of flack around the world, and whilst some of it may be justified, I think some of it is just mis-education.

The natural beauty of the country is up there with the best in the world. It's so vast, stunning and simply breathtaking.

And as for the people? I've always thought that the 'Have a nice day attitude' was a bit false and laid on, a bit over the top. Whilst sometimes this may be the case, 99% of the time I think it's genuine. The only bad customer service we experienced was from foreigners. Not one American was rude whilst we were visiting. They go out of their way to make conversation and ask how you are. It's so refreshing and it's infectious. You even find yourself instigating conversation with complete strangers. What would London think of that?

And as for their passion, it's unrivalled. You can see it in everything they do. The surroundings, the attention to detail, their sport.

I love this country and I will be back to explore more of it.