When camping with Mika in Yosemite, she was foolish/generous enough to offer us a place to stay when we reached LA. After our day in South LA we arrived at Mika's gated apartment complex weary and restful.

At the weekend we would spend time with Mika but first we wanted to get into Hollywood and do some touristy things.

We walked the walk of fame taking photos of our favourite celebrities' stars from Stephen Spielberg to Micky Mouse then to the Grumans Chinese Theatre. Grumans is the spot that hosts all the Hollywood movie premiers but more famously has the cement handprints of celebs as prestigious as Marilyn Monroe, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman all the way (down) to the Twilight crew. Everyone looks for their idols to see if their hands fit to get their photo taken. Judy Dench was the most original and must have crossed her arms so her thumbs pointed out, confusing everyone!

No visit to Hollywood would be complete without a 'Homes of the Stars' tour which was really more of a scenic drive through Beverly Hills looking at the high walls and automatic gates of the stars tour. Actually it was still quite fun and the drive through Rodeo Drive complete with Buggati Varon was a treat. Back on Hollywood Bvd and slightly sizzled from the open top tour we walked down La Brea Avenue to High Voltage Tattoo which you may know as Kat Von D's shop in LA Ink! Sadly she wasn't there but we still went in and had a look around the shop.

When we were at the Chinese Theatre earlier we discovered that it is actually a normal cinema when there are no events going on. It seemed quite fitting to see a film whilst in Hollywood so we bought our tickets and overpriced popcorn and watched the new Ben Stiller flic 'The Watch' After the movie we went up to the Griffith Observatory to check out the clear summer nights sky.

Saturday morning Mika took us to the local farmers market and then to show us around her old university campus. After lunch we went back to her apartment for an afternoon of chilling by the pool with a bottle of wine (Thanks Nick!) That evening Mika seemed pretty excited about taking us to a Korean BBQ. The all you can eat buffet consisted of plate after plate of raw meat that you cook on a hot plate in the middle of your table. We had done a couple of all you can eat buffets by now but this was too much. Luckily Liann and Mika managed to finish it off for me!

We had a flight to catch Sunday afternoon but we still had time to treat Mika to breakfast as a thank you for putting us up and taking us out for an insane amount of Korean meat. After breakfast we went to Orange County Great Park where they have a huge orange helium balloon that takes people for free rides and give great views over LA!

Our time in mainland America was coming to a close, after over two months of driving on the wrong side of the road, having to add tax on to everything and the most annoying custom of all; tipping, it was time to drop our car off and wait for our flight to Hawaii.

America was somewhere that I had always wanted to explore and although we still missed huge chunks I think we managed to fit a lot into 9 weeks. We absorbed different cultures from one state to the next and we saw iconic natural treasures and timeless city skylines. Yes the states were expensive and really not set up as a travellers destination but thanks to the kindness of family and friends (old and new) we did it, and we had a blast all the way!!

Goodbye Ya'll and a huge thanks to.

Shirley, Buzz, Joe, Jim and their families. John and Matt. Bill, Brenda and family. Maria, Aled and Matt. Josh, Lynora and Linnea. Ben and Nick and Last but not least Mika!