Today we went to Universal studios, but Dad stayed home and slept off his jet lag. It was awesome. Gemma did every ride except for the rip rocket (way too scary) and the terminator (closed). Mum and Daniel did all except for 3. Our favourite rides were Jimmy Fallons tonight show ride through New York, ET, and Men in Black. Gemma's favourite was Harry Potters escape from gringotts which was an indoor roller coaster. But all the rides were really clever. They ea...

Fireworks that disappear in a silvery cloak Explosions swallowed by the hungry night Illuminated splashes of colour pierce the air Sparks rain down from a translucent sky Loud rumbles echo overhead as the gods battle in the heavens Colours flood along the seamless sea Light fades away into the endless wall of nothing But the magic is everywhere

Because its such a long way to Florida from nz we had a stopover. We came to see cousin stevie and Aunty Tara and also the Fourth of July fireworks . We took stevie and the dogs for a walk around the top of a mountain where we could see the whole world: the sea, San Francisco, hills, Alcatraz, the famous bridge and of course, the fog! It was such a cool walk and we saw lots of little lizards. We saw signs for rattlesnakes but luckily didn't see any of those... ...

The trip begins... It felt weird to leave school at lunchtime today, we couldn't believe the time had finally come to start our epic trip! We had a great drive to Hamilton even though there was lots of traffic and rain, we arrived in under 6 hours. Even in time for a delicious curry dinner at the Marshalls. The travel time went fast because we listened to Harry Potter in the car

These turned up just in time! Will be used at the NASA sites, and also to collect autographs :)