New York is our final stop in the states. It took some bribery to get Lachy there for an extended period of time. He was not keen on visiting the Big Apple for longer than 24 hours. But I managed to talk him round. That - and I booked the flights there so he didn't really get a choice. The hostels were super expensive in New York, it ended up being cheaper for us to get a private room in an Airbnb, which suited us! Also meant better sleep for the jam packed iti...

I'm lucky enough to have relatives everywhere. So after visiting Yellowstone, Lach and I headed to see cousin Rob, his wife Shannon and their three kids. Our first night was a barrel of laughs. Considering we'd never met before, it's always great when you can instantly get along with someone. I personally loved Shannon immediately when she said "I stalked your Facebook to see what you like to drink. Lots of your friends send you things about Gin, so I got that....

After leaving LA, we jumped ahead an hour in the timezone and landed in Denver, Colorado. We realise it's not that close to Yellowstone, but we chose to fly in and out of Denver and drive to Yellowstone so we could catch up with some more relatives after the trip. Yes - I have relatives everywhere. We picked up our hire car, it was the cheapest we could find, and therefore the smallest imaginable. Lachy was now my chauffeur in the luxuriously spacious Mitsubish...

Words cannot describe how amazing it is to get to a real home after months of travelling. That's what LA was for Lachy and I. We stayed with my cousins, or who will now be known as my American parents. We had a queen size bed, our own bedroom, access to a kitchen - pure luxury! But a highlight - being able to flush the toilet paper. Not throw it in the dank waste basket beside you. It's the little things in life! Los Angeles was a time for hanging out with fam...