Hello

I apologise for the long delay in doing my blog; I have either been in places with little or no wifi activity or have not had the time to be able to get to a computer. So here goes:

Wednesday 12th May - After our overnight camping stop at our midway point, we continued our journey down to Nashville. Some of us walked around the city whilst others, including myself, paid to go and have a look at the Country Music Hall Of Fame, which altthough was not my cup of tea, was rather interesting in places. Most notably, was Elvis's Golden Cadiallic. The most memorable thing for me though was seeing the vinyl of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Classic Live Song, Freebird. One thing I noticed about being in the south was the accent changed to more of a Ya'll! After two hours, we met back at the van and as a group, made the executive decision to drive for another two hundred miles down to Memphis, as most of the attractions in Nashville were closed due to flooding. After a long gruelling, tiring 600 mile journey, we eventually got to our campsite in Memphis, which turned out to be right next door to Heartbreak Hotel. It was our turn (Chris, Mike and I) to cook so we chose chili con carne which went down a treat as well as a well deserved drink.

Thursday 13th May - I woke up at a leisurely time having a shower and breakfast (have been occassionally having those plain cornflakes, giving me the incentive to add some sugar. I wondered over to Heartbreak Hotel, took a picture and then wondered over to Graceland (opposite our campsite) which was very very good. I did not realise how big Elvis was until I visited Memphis town, and saw Elvis everywhere in shops, poster etc. I thought it was a bit distasteful seeing his grave but other than that, thoroughly enjoyed it. We all met at the designated time to wonder into the town itself to visit Sun Records, the place where Elvis was discovered (apparently he went to sun records to supposedly record a song for his mum - not the case) and also, I have taken a picture of the exact spot where Elvis stood and sang all those years ago in the recording studio. After this, we ventured down to the hotel where Martin Luther King was shot, and again, very interesting. There was this woman protesting nearby whom was saying that the hotel and the surrounding area should help those in need. Later on, we went to the Peebody hotel in Memphis where ducks come down the elevator and into a pond (1100) and back up to their penthouse (1700) for 3 months started by Tennessee Whiskey, now known as Jack Daniels. The hotel trip was just okay; a bit childish I thought. As it approached night time, we ventured down to the Pork Barbeque World Championship (3 day festival), which was good and atmospheric. The only trouble was the night we chose the competitors were entertaining clients, whereas on the Saturday, free food would be given. The food I had (BBQ Ribs) were nice although after a while, were not so good. After all meeting back up at our meeting point, we all went to a bar on Beale Street and saw a live band, whom were very good, with a few beers.

Friday 14th May - Today was an early one leaving at 0800 or so I think it was. We wanted to get to New Orleans to go on the 1400 Swamp tour, which as it turned out after many miles of travelling, we would not have made it despite very little traffic on the roads. As a result, we opted to go for the 1600 tour that allowed us to have an hour free time to do as we wanted. I went to a Starbucks and had a hot chocolate and people watched. The swamp tour was amazing, seeing wildlife and nature at its best. At one point, we fed marshmellow to alligators (turns out that they have a sweet tooth also then) as well as feeding baby piglets sausages, which Jamie deemed as unacceptable. After giving our swamp tour guide a tip (Dad; not don't stand up in a canoe!), we had a short drive to our hotel, which was a really nice, and comfortable hotel (Old Town Inn), two streets up from the street (invisible wall) we were told not to cross; it is not a matter of where but a matter of when. At night-time, we went to a local restuarant and tried Gumbo (Sausages, chicken and something else in a soup - very nice) and then went to a few bars along Bourbon Street, getting back to the hotel at about 0200.

Saturday 15th May - I awoke leisurely followed by a nice, light breakfast provided by the hotel followed by using the laundry for the first time whilst in America, which was rather easy. I must say though that I am sure some of my clothes habe shrunk, most notably my addidas blue jacket. A few of us then went down to the French Market which was okay, followed by a lovely lunch; pancakes, bacon, eggs, alligator sausage and hot chocolate. Mike and I then went to a cafe and French dougnuts which were very nice although rather filling. This was also the day when a fellow Suntrek group was passing by in the opposite direction to us, and on one late night, Reza (tour guide) decided that all the males should do some silly dance to some Country & Western song, which was very embarrassing. With our fellow group, we visited a few bars again although I went back back to the hotel early to get an early night. Today was a rainy day, which the occasional thunder and lightning. I must say that New Orleans is the total opposite of New York and Washington - in my eyes, it resembles a ghetto; an undeveloped town. New Orleans has a very relaxed attitude, hence the "big easy" name although at one point, this was not the case when those under 21 were rejected. I'm not sure if it is a place I would visit and stay agian.

Sunday 16th May - Woke up this morning to an almighty rainy and stormy day, which continued for the remainder of the day, whilst we were in New Orleans. Despite waking up early, our original departure time was 0900 but due to the weather, our departure time was moved to 1100. Leaving at 11, we had a 6 hour drive down to Houston, which as it turned out took most of the day with our numerous rest stops and food breaks. We finally got to the campsite late afternoon, and due to extensive rain, we had cabins rather than tents which was extremely appreciated. I had my first swim in America which was rather refreshing. As a group, we had our first barbeque (sausages, burgers and salad) which was lovely. Perhaps the most eventful thing that happened today was our flat tire, which was only discovered at the campsite.

Monday 17th May - It was nice having another night in a bed again although the downside would be; sleeping in a sleeping bag again would be even harder. After the tire was professionaly checked, we departed the campsite and headed into Houston town, dropping some of those off and continuing on for those who wished to visit the NASA Space Centre, of which I was one. As I entered the Space Centre, I could not help but notice the child orientated aspect of the centre itself; however, we opted to do the tram tour which as it played out took all of the 150 minutes that we were given. Leaving at 1200, we saw amongst things mission control (Houston, we have a problem) and a $300 million stationary Apollo 18, wondering whether such an object can be justified etc. Whilst making lunch in the van, we went back into the town to pick up the others (an hour late), not being helped by the crash near the NASA centre and started our journey to San Antonio.

Tuesday 18th May - After getting to the campsite at a reasonable time last night, we awoke early to leave the campsite at 0730 for two reasons; firstly, to visit the town of San Antonio and secondly, it will be another long day of driving. Getting into the town of San Antonio, our first port of call was the Riverwalk, which was beautiful - tree and flower lined edges with many bridges. I popped into McDonalds for a quick breakfast. Following this, I walked to the famous fortress, the alamo, which would not allow photos for some reason inside the buildings. After a brief rest stop, we get back into the van to begin our 7 hour journey down to Carlsbad Caverns in order to set the bats at sunset. As of 1720, we were still driving to the Caverns after having a short stop at a place I shall call "Hotsville" doing a spot of shopping in order to make our salad tonight. Since 1300ish, we have been driving on roads where all around you is barren land and at on time, we stopped a petrol station in the middle of nowhere making me wonder whether they struggle to make a living. Of the days so far in America, all of them except 3 have been sunny and warm gradually getting hotter as the days pass. One bad day was in New York (cloudy) and the other two, were in New Orleans (rain and storms). We finally arrived at our campsite with approximately a 10 minute drive to the Caverns. This campsite has showers like a prison (no privacy - I wore my swimming trunks) and toilets with shower curtians rather than doors. After a quick refreshing time, we all got back into the van to witness the bats fly out of the caverns, which to was rather good; the amount of disturbanes was annoying though - children, coughs, late comers etc. We got back to the campsite where I and the other two did a big salad for everyone - we all needed something green!

Wednesday 19th May - We all awoke early and left at 0802, two minutes past our designated departure time, our best yet, to go into the Caverns, which was a part of the tour that the price included. The Caverns were amazing both in terms of what nature can do when it is left alone and the sudden drop in temperature down there. There was an interesting information board which I cannot remember off the top of my head although I may have taken a picture of it; if it were not for a relatively small amount of lighting, it would be totally black in there, which occassionally rangers will do. After much discussion on how good the Caverns were, we commenced our journey down to Sante Fe whilst listning to a classic rock radio station, that has just played Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven and Judas Priest's Breaking The Law. We had a lunch stop in Roswell in a small diner, with the town itself seemingly obsessed with aliens. Eventually, we got to a campsite just outside of Sante Fe in the middle of nowhere, where the temperature was awfully cold - t-shirt, fleece and jacket weather helped later by a fire! The toilet was a hole in the ground, but other than that, it was a jolly nice campground.

Thursday 20th May - After a relaxed morning, we left at just gone 0900 to visit the town of Sante Fe which was a beautiful little town; the buildings were amazing, clearly of mexican build. I stopped at a small french cafe where I had a turkey sandwich and a hot chocolate which was nice. After two hours in Sante Fe, we left for the Aztec Ruins (Aztec), which although there was not alot there, it was still rather interesting. Shortly after, we left the ruins and entered the state of Colorado which was absolutely beautiful; the mountians, the trees etc. We got to the campground and again, another good campiste with the extra bonus of the views being fantastic; I also did my 2nd laundry wash at this particular campsite.

Friday 21st May - We had an early start today loading the trailer at 0700. We drove on a scenic route to Mesa Verde National Park, which road works up to the visitor centre, giving us an opporunity to admire the views. We did the Cliff Palace walking tour, a site under a giant sombrero looking canopy, that took an hour. After, I visited the Musuem, Gift Shop and Bookstore and then back into the van for another 40 minutes to exit the park followed by a 3 hour journey to Monument Valley. We had a rest stop at a restuarant/trading post being overlooked by two giant perched rocks. As a group, we are doing a tour later on in Monument Valley costing $75 individually. Eventually, we got to Monument Valley and met our guide, Richard wearing his Scarface t-shirt, who drove us around the valley in an open top turck with the sand blowing all around us. At one point, it is the suntrek tradtion to run up a hill and roll down which I did, which although I got covered in sand was rather fun. After our jeep tour, our meal was all ready; fired breasd, lettuce, cheese, baked beans, tomatoes and a large piece of meat which was lovely. I will never forget the toilet though at Monument Valley; it was essentially a shack with a hole in the ground with an awful smell. After the meal, we had approximately an hour of entertainment with a story of the Nevajo instrument followed by Nevajo dancing. As a group afterwards, we all slept in the hut.

I shall get my blog up to date tomorrow