Well our last week in the US of A has certainly been an interesting one and in no way have we let the relaxing thoughts of the Cook Islands stop us from seeing more of this incredible country.

After the craziness of Vegas we made our way across to Palm Springs to visit my cousin Alyson and her husband Jeremy who had kindly offered us a place to rest our heads for a couple of days. The house was a fantastic restbite, and although the surrounding area offered so much to see and do, we were happy to have a couple of days to sort through things and get everything in order. That being said we did have a classic American BBQ and rock band night which had us all in hesterics at how bad we were at playing (and singing) the various rock songs! It was a really great stay and I need to reiterate how thankful we all are for them letting us stay.

Once recharged we were off again like the Duracell bunny heading towards the fame and fortunes of Hollywood, Los Angeles. Our last coach journey was as easy as the first - a nice 4 hour stretch along the interstate and we were at our destination. The hostel we'd been recommended (by our new tour guide Rachel) was situated right on Hollywood Boulevard and had tons of free activities, tours and nights out for us lads to get our teeth into. The room we were staying in was a 6 bed dorm with it's own kitchen, bathroom and satelite TV - perfect! We chilled at the hostel on our first night and took a quick stroll along the hollywood boulevard, eyes glued to the floor checking every star we passed. 

Up at 7am, TV straight on, England in full flow and Fabio going irate about a bad call from the ref. Oh to be a devoted England fan whilst the world cups on. I don't think the two Brazilians who were sharing our room appreciated it though! Soon enough we'd heard English shouts from downstairs and we were up out of bed and down to the TV room to join the hoards of English travellers and one Slovenian watching the game. Thankfully England managed to scrape through and everyone was in good spirits for the start of our first full day in Hollywood. 

First things first we had to get our haircut. After spotting a cheap hair salon on our walk the previous day we were straight in and out sporting some dashingly short do's which should last us another 8 weeks! After we'd got the chores out the way we were on our way to see the stars, quite literally. The walk along the boulevard was interesting to say the least. There are tons of touts selling their tours, your typical souvenir shops and then a ton of theatres and shops. We saw the lifesize Shrek outside Madame tussauds and he hand prints along the Chinese theatre. The day rolled on and we made our way back to the hostel for the advertised free beer,  BBQ and karaoke night. Our hostel actually has a sister hostel in west Hollywood and all the guests were invited over too to join in the fun. After having some freshly cooked seafood rissotto (octupus included), we started on the free keg. Safe to say we'd be up on stage at some point but it was surprising that we formed the tribute band 'Take Crap' with some British guy we'd met called Ben. The night was quality and despite the vocal cords suffering, it was a great introduction to the hostel.

The next day we decided to take a walk down to the mall to check on some bargain Ed Hardy shorts before heading on to Venice beach. We'd heard the place was home to a bohemian like crowd which would line the boardwalk selling all sorts of arts, craft and ofcourse 'herbs' - for medicinal purposes only ofcourse! The beach itself was incredible... Miles of golden sand with the perfect sea breeze on a sunny day. Add that to the scantily clad women cycling and rollerblading along the beach route and it was an ideal day to sit back, relax and enjoy the sights and sounds. Me and George did decide to go for a little wander however to see the skatepark and pose in front of muscle beach. The boardwalk offered so many different things but mainly consisted of your typical food joints, sunglass huts and souvenir shops. The atmosphere was  almost expectantly vibrant with tourists flocking around street acts and your standard preachers offering words of 'wisdom' about their desired religion. The day wore on and we eventually made our way back to a sleepy Woody and a rednecked Wild who'd been on the beach all day. The bus took us back to the hostel and we had a night in for once to recharge the batteries for another day.

Our next day was planned over breakfast as we decided to bite the bullett and go on a tour of the celebrity homes. Throughout the week we'd been approached by millions of touts offering 2 hour driving tours of the sights and sounds Hollywood. After going shopping (again?!) we found a decent tout who actually seemed a little more genuine than the others. We were held up a little as the LA traffic was horrible and it was the anniversary of Michael Jacksons death so Hollywood boulevard was busier than normal. The tour eventually got under way and we were breezing around in an open top minivan taking in the interesting stories behind  various bars, hotels and ofcourse the homes. My camera was full of pictures of expansive gates and distant shots of multi-million dollar homes. Beverly Hills and Sunset was just a whole different world. You even had to book appointments to go shopping in the celebrity districts... How the other half live eh? The day rolled on and we headed back for a quick bite to eat before jumping into a free shuttle to the hostels sister place in West Hollywood. There was a free beer/wine (which don't mix well) night and then they'd take us all to a local club. We met loads of new people and made our way to the club which was something you could only dream of. Upon walking in you're greeted by scantily clad women in a bath with tons of bubbles. Then you make your way inside a little more and you've got free chocolate covered strawberries and meat tacos. But that's nothing compared to the actual bar and dance floor. A raised stage was home to professional dancers (who were again wearing little more than a bikini) which was surrounded by the packed floor. Even the hostel reps were out with us and 'Boogie' and Tiana were going crazy despite having to do it week in week out - not a bad job if you ask me.

Needless to say the heads have been clearer as we woke the next morning. As they say, wine on beer and I'll be queer... Never really understood the statement fully but i presume they mean the hangover. However it was our last full day not only in LA but in America. We weren't really feeling a big hike up to the sign and wanted to hit a premier downtown on Sunday so we basically watched the football, got Georges haircut and went for a wander down Sunset boulevard. Woody picked up some more reading material for the Cook Islands before hunger took over and we went and got the largest slices of pizza ever. The evening was fairly chilled as we recovered from the hangovers and prepared ourselves for the premier of 'Despicable Me' which was in downtown LA the next day. We also had the important role of devoted England supporters as our beautiful nation took on ze Germans in the world cup - unfortunately it did mean a 7am wake up once again!

So up we were, bleary eyed but pumping with excitement for the game. We went down to the TV room in our hostel which was packed with people for the big game once more. A couple of German girls in front of us were pretty mute as the Germans went 2-0 up... Us on the other hand went bloody barmy when England finally showed some fire. Shame the result didn't go our way which left me in a not so great mood as I packed my bags to check out and called mum to wish her a happy birthday. Despite being away from home for almost 2 months I'd say I was less homesick now than I was at the beginning of our adventure. I guess it's because I've settled in alot more. But anyway, onto the remainder of the day... We took a tube down to downtown LA and started searching for the Nokia theatre where 'Despicable Me' was due to premier. The red (which was actually yellow) carpet was out and a few well named stars made an appearance but it was great to just take in the atmosphere the premier brought with it. Typically we got talking to stangers and also met one of the official photographers who told us about the 10,000 screaming girls who turned up to the Twilight premier. We then walked through a fairly boring downtown LA before trudging back to our hostel to make sure that we didn't miss our airport shuttle to LAX. 

And so our great American adventure has come to an end. It's been a long, but surprisingly short, couple of months and it's insane to think we've travelled almost 8000 miles across on a bus. I will miss America, it's brought us many experiences, sights and unforgetable memories. However, needless to say, the Cook Islands is going to be incredible. We've always talked about it being the 'holiday' of our trip and with 2 weeks of sun, sea, sand and a tropical paradise awaiting us I can see it being nothing but that. Don't get me wrong though, we'll want to explore the island and what it's got to offer so expect another blog in 2 weeks time of the activities we've got up to! 

Speak to you all soon,
Nick x