One month and many thousand miles later i've finally got around to updating my blog! This will be the last time that I do this as i'm heading home in 4 days. Can't believe how fast my time away has gone.

So this is the last little bit of my journey...my trek left LA on 24th March and headed for San Diego. We spent a couple of days there chilling at the beach, had an amusing game of drinking s***head and got to know each other before heading for Vegas on day 3! Pizza and jagerbombs were followed by 2 and a half hours of drinking and dancing on the party bus through the streets of vegas and some dancing in the club in the Rio. The next day unsurprisingly we weren't feeling too great so spent the day by the pool, wandered down the strip for a few hours and then chilled out with some films and snacks in the hotel room. I was pretty happy to head out of sin city the next day and into the wilderness. We camped out in Zion national park and did a couple of hikes including an early morning walk up Angels Landing which involved clinging to a chain to clamber up the last bit of rock. The view was awesome though! The grand canyon was next on the itinery and although i'd seen it the year before it was still pretty amazing. There was still snow on the ground so we froze out butts off for 2 days - i barely even slept the second night because the wind was blowing so hard.

We headed south towards Pheonix for some warmth the next day and stopped at Betty and Rusty's which is a cowboy camp in the middle of nowhere! There we did a horse back trek through the desert which was looking particularly good because there were loads of wild flowers in bloom. The horse ride was followed by some chilli and Art's magic potion - a dangerous combination of 3 litres of vodka and juice! Thea was in bed by 7 and Ollie was out cold by midnight! Momunent Valley was next on the itinery and despite the freezing open-top jeep ride it was probably my favourite stop of the trip. We got driven around the valley and shown all the different rock formations before heading off for some navajo tacos and a night of warm sleep in the hogan!

Heading south again the next day we travelled almost the entire length of New Mexico in order to avoid a snow storm. We eventually stopped at Las Cruces for the night, showered for the first time in 3 days and got all of our washing done! The next morning we headed to White Sands National Monument and played in the sand (or whatever the dunes are made of). We also paid a visit to Carlsbad Caverns and walked around underground for an hour or so paying little attention to the stalag-thingimabobs! I think it was then that we embarked on a game of Uno between me (Mummy), Charlotte (Hitler), Ollie (Fantapants) and Mike (Thundercat kid) which would last for the rest of the trip. We decided to score it and having a spent a few too many hours on the bus and listening to some dramatic music it all got a bit out of hand - Charlottle - you know what i mean!!! We stopped for the night in Fort Stockton before heading onto San Antonio on Easter Sunday. We spent the night in a cabin so actually had a bed to sleep on! Spent the evening watching Ben Stiller movies and chilling in the hot tub before i attempted to decorate some eggs to get in the easter mood! We had a few hours to spend exploring San Antonio the next day so we wandered along the river and had breakfast and took a look at the Alamo. We then drove all the way out of Texas to Lafayette. We had a late start the next morning with a breakfast of bacon, sausages, eggs and chocolate chip pancakes before heading to New Orleans (via the Tabasco sauce factory). We had a wander round and sampled our first hurricane cocktail before heading back to the hotel to get ready. In the evening we enjoyed some southern cuisine at the Gumbo Shop followed by many more hurricanes and the odd grenade. Went to Pat O'Briens where Allen, the other tour leader bought everyone a giant hurricane which pretty much set us all up for the night! Eventually made it in at about 4 with charlotte following closely behind at 5! The next morning we awoke to find that charlotte was topless and her top was in the bathroom - apparently she'd gone to the toilet and taken it off and walked back down the corridor half naked!!! Thankfully the tabasco sauce pj bottoms remained on!

We wandered around town the next day, ate some breakfast and complained about being hungover then spent the evening eating pizza and watching films. Ollie however decided to embark on a trip to a strip club so when he came back wasted in the early hours and passed out Charlotte and Mike drew a nice comedy beard on his face! Memphis was our next desitination - set up camp and went out for some awesome ribs. Did a tour of graceland in the morning and saw elvis' house and grave then headed across Tenessee to a campsite in Crossville. It was absolutely freezing there - woke up in the morning to find it frosty outside! Our next destination was Fayetville, West Virginia where we met up with another tour group heading in the opposite direction for a bbq and some more magic potion. The campsite also had a cheap bar with a band playing. I met some weird guy who had never even been to the beach which fascinated me! Woke up the next morning at what i thought was quarter to seven only to find it was actually an hour later and i had forgotten to change my clocks! Quickly got the tent down and brushed the teeth before jumping in the van again! Arrived at our campsite in Washington in the afternoon so had plenty of time for a swim. Headed into the city centre after dinner for a nighttime tour of the monuments. The pictures i took really don't do it justice as it looked awesome at night. Headed back in the next morning - went round Arlington cemetry and then me, Mike, Charlotte and Ollie headed for some lunch. Spent a couple of hours at the national archives and saw the declaration of independence and the constitution. While wandering around afterwards Charlotte found us all some cookie monster t shirts which proved to be the highlight of the day! Had pizza and wine in the evening and headed over to the other group's campsite.

After a pancake breakfast the next day we took our final drive and our final gas stop pee stop on our way to new jersey. Said goodbye to everyone and took a ride in a taxi to Manhatten. Mike and I went to our hostel in Harlem which turned out to be good (although apparently has now been shut down - something to do with health and safety). Took a walk along the length of central park into town for some dinner and then walked back again. Spent the evening chatting to a british couple in our dorm who we spent the next few days with. Did Rockefella, Ellis Island, Times Square, etc. Got a bit bored after a few days so just chilled out a bit - watched Date Night at the cinema and wandered around Grenwich Village and Soho with Mike and Charlotte. Stumbled upon an awesome fancy dress shop where Charlotte bought a fluffy bunny ears hat before getting her belly button pierced! On monday we went to Grand Central Station and then to Magnolia bakery where i had the best cheesecake of my life! We then collected all our luggage before heading to the greyhound station to catch our buses. Played our final games of uno on the bus station floor before getting on the overnight bus. Mike and Charlotte headed to Niagra Falls for a few days and i am in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina staying with my auntie and uncle before my flight home on Wednesday. Anyway, hope i haven't bored you with my tales too much. Until my next trip....!