"This is a 20 minute stop, be back on this bus at 2.30. Remember, it's a Greyhound on the side of this bus.....not a bloodhound. I will NOT come looking for you!"

Our first Greyhound driver was a comic legend.

Our entry into the United States was not straight forward. Firstly, because of our ludicrous flight plan, we were forced to get to San Francisco from Rio via Sao Paulo and New York City, making it an energy sapping 36 hour journey. Secondly, because of Dans increasingly ridiculous hair style, the somewhat over efficient US authorities refused to let him into the country. They refused to believe that the person in the passport photograph was the same person stood in front of them and he was detained at New York JFK airport until he could prove his identity and his reasons for visiting such 'strange' locations as Vietnam and China. The new look Dan Raw may look like many things, but international spy is certainly not one of them! After around an hour of interrogation and thorough inspection of his credit cards, driving licence and travel documents (thankfully nothing else), he was released and on his way with the immortal American words of acceptance, "Have a nice day!!"

SAN FRANCISCO

After the tiredness and trauma of the previous 36 hours, it seemed a Godsend to finally arrive in San Francisco. We have always been apprehensive about our trip through the States. After all we had seen and experienced over the past 10 months, we were worried that the last destination on the trip would be a plastic and unrealistic anti-climax. It appears that San Francisco was exactly the right place to start our tour of this monster of a country. Its apparently the most culturally aware of all US cities and has a kind of easy going culture that we really didn't expect. Of course the city is famed as the originator of the hippy movement in the 60's which instantly followed the 50's 'beat' generation of Kerouac and Burrows etc. We realised pretty quickly that of course the US has its culture, its just that its relatively new and we're all so aware of it that we sometimes fail to recognise it. It suddenly dawned on us that it was very possible that we might actually love our time stateside, the food alone was making us weep with joy!

First on the agenda however was a job that had been put off for far too long, an activity that would probably make or break our last 8 weeks of traveldom, something more important than eating, sleeping or sightseeing - Miss Drury had to go shopping! Our first few hours in San Fran were spent scouring all of the US shopping institutions in one of the clearest cases of retail therapy ever seen in peace time. 10 months of living in rags had taken its toll on lj and a happier shopper you will never see. Afterall, we were now in the money spending capital of the world.....when in Rome.

One of the best ways to get around San Francisco is aboard one of the ancient looking trolleys. They work there way up and down the steep hills in the city and cover most of the places you need to be on a short time span. We headed for the world famous Fishermans Wharf to sample the delights of the equally world famous Clam Chowder, a seafood soup served in a sour dough bread bowl, quite wonderful. Fishermans Wharf is also the departure point for Alcatraz, the Rock, the island prison. Tacky and touristy we know, but it had to be done. IT's really quite eery and chilling being inside the jail house, learning about escape attempts and the famous in-mates who have frequented over the years. A great afternoon and really worth the money.

San Francisco really was fantastic, but after a couple of days we decided to save any more sights and sounds of the 'city by the bay' until we returned to fly out 2 weeks later. Instead, we concentrated on heading north and made our way to the city bus depot to get the first taste of our new chosen mode of transport - The Greyhound.

SEATTLE

After great deliberation over the previous few weeks, it was decided that the best way to get around the states (apart from our scheduled flights) would be aboard the US institution that is The Greyhound. Having both experienced trips on the National Express back home, and having limited experience of American culture, it's obvious that we were a little apprehensive on embarking on our 18 hour overnight journey up the west coast.

In the nicest possible way and not wanting to appear rude, arrogant or condescending, it's quite clear to us now that the entire network of Greyhound Lines Inc, although reliable, usable and inexpensive, is quite literally chock full of absolute nutters. We're not sure whether we're seeing an unfair representation of the population of the United States, but it appears that Mr. Bush has more than the obvious problems on his hands. Our first journey was spent amongst the throngs of the mad, sleep was made impossible by the constant yelps and gurgles of the passengers. Added to this is the fact that we would be asked for money by various passengers on every 'leg stretch' stop. If the passengers weren't enough, our trip to Washington state was spent in the company of one of the funniest men we have ever met - the driver. This guy was tremendous and it was clear to see from the outset that all his young life, this man had wanted to be a Greyhound driver. His banter with the occupants on the PA system was legendary... as was his moustache.

We arrived bleary eyed, but happy in Seattle. The city was a special treat for Dan as the home of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and the birthplace of the 90's alternative music scene in the states. It has much more going for it than just this however, and many a happy hour were spent browsing the fabulous Pike Place Market and surrounding streets. The market is the centre of the city and we've not seen a city unfold around its market since our time in Asia, it was terrific. The first of our nights was spent in a cool little music club, 'Crocodile Cafe' watching a couple of live bands before a good nights sleep ahead of the following day - March 17th and lj's 26th birthday.A great day was spent around the city, at the Space Needle, the great 'Experience Music Project' and a few of Seattles great bars. The day was concluded with a superb Italian meal and more drinks at a perfect, quaint little restaurant. Happy Birthday lj.

RENO

2 days later and quite by accident we arrived in 'the biggest little city in the world', a poor mans Las Vegas, the burnt out, washed up, north Nevada gambling town of Reno. The plan had been to get to Lake Tahoe back in California and to transfer buses in Reno. Instead, as we found out Greyhound don't go to Lake Tahoe, we spent 2 days in Reno. Ironically, we're really glad we did. The town was a graveyard, every inhabitant spent every waking moment in the casinos, there really was nothing else to do. Of course there was still the regulation street nutters around who would ask you for money at every street corner, but even apart from them there was absolutely no need to go outside. We managed to score a bargain king sized room in one of the top casinos for next to nothing and set about finding out what this casino lark was all about. Within 8 minutes we had lost $20. Our tactics had to change. The indisputable best thing about Reno is this: Whenever you are using any form of gambling machine in a casino, you get free drinks. Our plan from that moment was thus: Each of us would place $1 in a machine, set it to cost a penny a game and press the play button about once a minute. We could make a dollar last about an hour and the free booze flowed in. All that was necessary was to move areas every hour or so to where a different waitress would be unaware of our cunning plan. On our first night in Reno, we got through about 15 bottles of beer for the princely sum of $4. Who says gambling doesn't pay???!

LOS ANGELES

Another day, another Greyhound. This time our destination would be completely different - the second most populous city in the country and if you believe the movies, home to lots of guns - LA.

We decided to base ourselves in Hollywood and checked into a hostel right on Hollywood Boulevard, on the walk of fame itself. Its amazing to see that people still flock here in the hope that they will be spotted and become stars, the streets are crammed with performers, dancers, singers and comedians. We loved it and it never even entered our heads that we may see an actual star. This all changed as we enjoyed a well earned beer at a bar on our first afternoon. As we sat happily sipping, chatting and lapping up the Californian sun, a man ambled past whom we both instantly recognised - Nicholas Cage. Jesus! He wasn't with an entourage, a bodyguard or any staff, just him and his mate on their way to the theatre. Surreal. Dan managed to have a chat and shake his hand, but we somehow managed to forget to get a picture until it was almost too late. The pressure got to us! After this we began scouring the city expecting to see more A list stars at every corner. We ventured to downtown LA, Beverley Hills, Santa Monica, but left empty handed!

We initially thought that getting around La would be a problem, it's absolutely huge and we had read that it was undo-able without a car. In reality it was one of the easiest places so far to navigate, the metro and bus system was incredibly cheap and reliable and not at all threatening, something we were a little worried about. We covered a good amount of ground in the 3-4 days we were there. The highlights probably being our day around Venice Beach (where The Doors met and formed) which seems unchanged since its cool 60's heyday and our night out on sunset strip at the legendary Whiskey-a-Go-Go club. The Doors played several times there in the 60's and it was a real dream for Dan to be there, where Mr Morrison himself had once stood. A night to remember.

SAN DIEGO

Our last stop in California before heading back to San Fran, the far south, mexican border city of San Diego. We had no real plans as such for our 3 days in town and were looking to relax and recharge as the previous 2 weeks bus journies began to take their toll. San Diego was the perfect location and within a day or so we were firmly back on our feet. The proximity to Mexico gives you the unique opportunity to cross the border and back within a day, something we eagerley embraced. Afterall, beer is a fraction of the US price Mexico side! We wasted no time at all in kicking back and soaking up the Latin American sunshine and hospitality, a great day.

Of course no visit is complete without a trip to the world famous San Diego zoo. As far as zoo's go, it's very very impressive, but we had a slight feeling that we'd seen most of the exhibits out in the wild, or had had much closer encounters with them over the previous 11 months. As patrons oohed and aahhed at the elephants, we were thinking, "try sitting on one of the beasts for 2 hours and see how you feel about them then!" (ref Thailand)

BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO

Only 1 thing remained on our return to San Fran - Bike the bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge spans San Francisco Bay majestically. It's not the biggest bridge in the world, it's not even the biggest on the bay (the bay bridge at the other end is about twice the size), but it's just phonomenal to look at. It has a magic quality that's nothing to do with it's size or look, just it's prescence. The 2 of us duly hired cycles for the day to make the trip across it. Another surreal experience and another time when you really have to stop and think "I'm riding across the Golden Gate Bridge". The day could have been soured somewhat, as just as we left the bridge on our return leg of our ride, Dans back wheel exploded and he was forced to carry the bike back to the depot, a few miles away! In truth though, it didn't matter at all and only helped to make the experience more memorable.

It's difficult not to let these moments become 'just another day' on our amazing journey. Of course it wasn't and nothing we have experienced so far ever will be. What a life!!

Next stop Texas where apparently the food portions are even bigger, let's see how the cowboys get on with life.

We'll update again soon.

All our love, us xxx