Had such a great time in LA. Kevin drove me to Hollywood from Long Beach which was so nice of him, on my way up I started to get a bit nervous but I was about to start hostelling for the first time ever and this waswhere my solo trip really began. After we said our goodbyes I checked in USA Hostels Hollywood and was actually pleasantly surprised. One of the staff members showed you around the building, there was a garden/patio area, upstairs bar, computer areas...

So I flew into the tiny airport of Long beach where Kevin is there to meet me. It was crazy to think i am now going to hang with them in their home town after traveling in Vietnam together last summer. The weather was amazing, blue sky, sun shining, crusing along these wide roads and approaching the beach, I was so happy to be here. I had my first 'In and out' burger which kevin said was a must, and it was good. Healthier and tastier than a McDonalds too. Then ...

Back in San Francisco....... After saying bye to Nicki in Vegas (she decided to go home via LA..as you do I got on my flight and headed back to San Fran and made my way over to Julieta and Tony's house. They have an amazing apartment in the Mission District. The old victorian houses are amazing. My flight had actually been delayed so by the time I got to their apartment and dumped my stuff I raced downtown to the waterfront area to try and make the last Al...

Day Four We had a 5am shuttle picking us up from the hotel and taking us to the airport for our 7am flight to Vegas. When we got there it was already hot. We got another shuttle to our hotel-The Mandalay Bay. The hotel was massive and was the last chance of pure luxury I knew I would be getting for a while! Our room was fantastic, had a great pool view and two double beds and an amazing bathroom. The pool area was amazing, a wave pool, a lazy river and other poo...

Day One After a sad goodbye to my mum and Dave I went through customs by myself for what was not going to be the last time. By the time I had walked through to the gate to the flight was already boarding and I got straight on. The greeting staff were really friendly and I made some jokes with them as I got on. I sat down in my seat and then about five minutes later one of the cabin crew came over and discreetly told me to move to '13 D'...I had been upgraded!! W...