Even with our good intentions of an early night and an early morning, we still managed to over sleep on our last day in Vegas and didn't get out of the room until 12! Bearing in mind that we had a 4 1/2 hour drive to the Grand Canyon. Ooops! We decided that we'd stay in Flagstaff so that we could do sunset at the canyon that night then go back the next day.

On our way to the Grand Canyon we spotted a place called 'Bearizona' which was a drive through zoo so we stopped to have a look. It was so much fun! There were big horn sheep, wolves, bison and loads of big black bears just roaming around the drive through area. They were so close to the car and it didn't seem to phase them at all. One bear sat right next to our car window and another sauntered across the road while we waited for him to cross. George was most impressed with the huge bison that weighed 220lbs. There was then a walk through area where we saw baby bear cubs up close along with; raccoons, lynx, porcupines, badgers and beavers. There was a funny little pig type animal called a javelina and a peacock that walked right up to me while I was eating my pulled pork sandwich. I think he was hungry as I dropped a crumb and he was on it in a shot!

After our pulled pork dinner (which was delicious by the way), we continued on our way to the Grand Canyon. We got there at about 6pm just in time for sunset at 6.19. We walked to the 'rim' and looked out over the view. It has to be one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Watching the sunset was extremely peaceful although a little chilly! We then walked to a woodland amphitheatre where they were doing a night time talk about mountain lions. George loved it! We learnt some cool facts like how they are part of the felinea family of small cats, not big cats like African lions, they can run up to 45mph and jump 18 foot up and 24 foot along and they eat elk (who have massive antlers and are also pretty strong!)! Sitting under the stars and listening to all the wildlife was amazing while the talk was going on and it wasn't until we were back in the car that we realised we were both thinking the same thing... how easily a mountain lion could've jumped out on us! Eeek!

We drove to our hotel, which wasn't as close as we thought, and checked our online banking only to find that they'd blocked our cards again (happened in Vegas - 40 mins spent on mobile to them. Nightmare) I wished I'd taken Rachelles advice and got a metro bank card! We spent another half an hour on the phone to natwest and the women seemed to imply that even though we informed them of our plans, it'll most likely happen in each new place. She did, however, say that they would refund the phone calls (not seen that yet!) Anyway, the Kardashians was on the tv so I was happy!

The next morning we were both eager to get back to the Grand Canyon so we yammed down some rubbish muffins from the 'continental breakfast buffet' and set off. We spent the day checking out the views, watching a film about its origins and looking in the museum. It wasn't too hot so it made a refreshing change to Death Valley. It was a long drive to our next destination so we left at about 4pm planning to get to Lake Havasu for half 8.

The drive felt like the longest yet as I felt really tired. George told me I wasn't allowed to sleep as I had to be navigator. We played car games to keep me awake. I kicked George's arse at the alphabet game so I got to chose dinner for the night. Little did we know that we'd still be trying to find the hotel at 11.30! We got totally lost on route 66 and ended up going in the wrong direction for about 40 miles then back again when we realised. Meanwhile a dramatic thunderstorm was lighting up the sky. Needless to say, I got upset and had a 'moment'! When we found our turning for the town we were staying in, we then couldn't find the motel. I maintain that Google maps messed up the directions! Nothing to do with my navigational skills! By the time we had found the motel (after lots of asking for directions!) we got straight in to bed and went to sleep.

I woke up itching and scratching! Bed bugs!! The motel looked really clean and George wasn't affected but I googled it and I've definitely been munched to pieces by bed bugs! That's the last time I sleep without a sleep sheet!

The thunderstorm was still going on so we spent the morning planning our next couple of days and looking at places to stay in Hawaii. We booked a niceish budget hotel for Honolulu, flights to maui and our first hostel experience for a week in maui. It looks nice though! Fingers crossed!

The storm cleared up, the sun came out and we headed off to Lake Havasu. We parked up and walked passed a big 'no trespassing' sign and found a beautiful and secluded part of the beach. We watched the boats and the jet skis go passed and then George fell asleep so I did my nails and listened to the waves. I was getting worried that someone might tell us off so I woke George up and we walked to the busier part which wasn't restricted! It was named London Bridge and it all looked a bit run down. There were lots of loud, drunk Americans who had clearly been drinking on boats all day. It would've been fine if we were joining in but it made me feel a bit uneasy after our nice tranquil afternoon so we left. We drove back to the motel and on the way picked up some microwave meals from Wal-Mart (we're both pretty fed up of subway, MacDonalds and in and out burger!) George ended up chatting to and having a beer with a random American trucker who had a cute dog while I cooked (heated up!) Dinner and planned the next day.

We're driving towards San Diego but thought we'd stop over in Palm Springs and, on our way, visit our last national park - Joshua Tree. It was a short, scenic 2 hour drive to Joshua Tree and we didn't spend too long there. It was pretty cool, lots of Joshua trees (shock) and cacti around. We climbed up on top of a huge rock formation and then read that there are 6 different species of rattle snake living there. So we headed off pretty quickly. It was then an hour to Palm Springs which feels like nothing after our recent driving stints.

Palm springs is beautiful. We drove through the town to get to our Travelodge and it just looks like there's a lot of fun stuff going on there! We can't wait to get up early tomorrow to explore. Right now I'm sat by the pool watching the sun set over the Mojave desert with Palm trees to the left of me and a corona to my right. Humming birds are buzzing around and the laundry room is creating a smell of fresh linen. George has just gone to collect a take away pizza and I'm about to go in the hot tub! I think we might book another night here as its cheaper than staying in San Diego and really lovely. Life's good :D