Wednesday - I set off from 'Las Vegas' at 9.20am taking the bus to 'LA'. I arrived in 'LA' and then waited to catch the train to 'San Diego'. I eventually arrived in 'San Diego' at 7pm. From the train station I walked to the "USA Hostel San Diego", and met Andy on the way. The hostel is in the central "Gaslamp Quarter" of downtown. It is a nice little hostel, with good rooms ($22) and a free breakfast, atrium and travel information. In the evening I met up with A...

Monday - It took 12h to get to 'LA' from 'San Francisco'. I had to get a bus to 'San Lois Osposito' and then change to a train which was to get to 'LA' at 7pm. But "Amtrak", like UK trains, were running late so I did not arrive in 'LA' till 8.30pm. Then when I arrive at "Union Station" I took the red metro line to "Hollywood/Vine" and walked a couple of blocks to my hostel. It is $24 and in a great position, right next to the "Walk of Fame"! It has a great atmosp...

Sunday - Up very early today (6am) to join my tour to 'Yosemite National Park'. It was a bit chilly this morning but we were soon going to warm up! We set off at 7.30am. We left 'San Francisco' and headed over the "Bay Bridge" onto the freeway. After a couple of hours we reached the "San Joaquin Valley" and the golden grasslands, hence the title "California: the Golden State". They went for miles, but also included many fruit orchards, as agriculture is the main ...

Well I have made it, I am now in the 'USA'!! I arrived in 'San Francisco' airport on Wednesday at lunchtime and took the BART (metro) to Downtown 'San Francisco' and my hostel "HI San Francisco Downtown". It is $22 and really nice, it has a great location and the dorm rooms are big with an en-suite shower room. I had a shower when I first got in and then had a wander around the city to get my bearings. It is really easy to navigate as every street seems to end up...