Hi everyone,
Sorry for not updating the blog for a while, it turns out that the internet isnt free in New York! But we ended up just deciding to pay so we can use the internet.

22nd of October
Today was the day we went to the Grand Canyon. It wasnt an early start because our tour didnt leave the hotel until midday. The tour company was late picking us up and this meant that when we got to Boulder City Airport it was a bit of a rush to get us on the plane. It was a little 19 seater plane and although the flight was smooth and uneventful, Leanne really didnt like the idea of going on a plane that small. We flew directly of Hoover Dam and over the western edge of the Grand Canyon. It was very impressive.
When we landed in Grand Canyon National Park we were taken to an Imax Theatre where we saw a movie about the Grand Canyon.
After the movie we were taken to the edge of the Canyon and it was even more impressive up close and we took lots of photos and video. At the edge of the canyon it was 10 miles wide and 1 mile deep.
The photos looked like we were standing in front of a backdrop.
After we had been there for about 45 minutes we went back to the plane and flew back over the Grand Canyon in the dark. So we couldnt see anything.
We were back in Las Vegas at about 8.00 pm and we all thoroughly enjoyed our day.

23rd of October
On Friday morning we went to the Outlet Shops in Vegas they were no where near as good as the outlet shops in LA and we didnt really buy much.
We hopped on the 'Deuce' bus which goes from one length of the strip right down to downtown vegas for $7 (a day trip.)
Downtown Vegas (Glitter Gulch) was pretty dirty and to be honest we were all glad to head back to the strip where our hotel was.
We had previously bought some discounted tickets for a show at The Mirage Resort, it was a Cirque Du Soleil performance done to Beatles music. The show was EXCELLENT and the combination of the music with the circus performers was amazing. We all really had a good time.

24th of October
We had to get an early start to our flight to New York as our flight was at 6.55 am.
I underestimated the time it would take to get to the airport, check in and get through security and we ended up running for the plane while the speaker blasted out our names: "Pease family, party of four, the gate is closing in 2 minutes.""
It was pretty stressful and i need to make sure it wont happen again!!
We landed in New York at about 2.30 pm, it was raining and the cab ride to our hotel took about an hour. Once we got settled we walked around the corner to a Pizza place called Dean's. Leanne and I ordered a Pizza, they do their pizzas real weird. They are really plain, with basically cheese, sauce and then you have to add extra toppings. Once we got up to about 4 toppings the waitress told us it would be too complicated!! I dont think they had ever heard of a Supreme.

25th of October
Today was our first full day in New York, and the weather had thankfully cleared. We decided to go to the American Museum of Natural history (seen in the movie Night at the Museum). We were brave enough to catch the train from grand central station which is next door to our hotel. By the time we had navigated the subway system we arrived at the museum at around 11am.
The Museum was enormous and it had plenty of great exhibits and we got to go into the planitarium screening a show based on the creation of the universe. After we had left the museum we walked across the road to central park and found strawberry fields, a memorial to John Lennon and went to the place where he was shot. Central park is an amazing place, full of people either walking their dogs, riding their bikes, rollerblading and jogging. It is just an enormous hive of activity. It really is a pretty place and this was Leanne's favourite place of the trip so far. We unintentially walked to where the carriage rides start and the four of us ended up taking a 25 minute carriage ride around southern central park. The carriage ride ended near fifth avenue, we decided to walk down it and take in the amazing sights along the way. Rather then walk back to our hotel we decided that because it was dark it would be a perfect way to experience Times Square at night. I guess that it was similar to Vegas, full of people, neon lights and shops (including another M&M's shop and a Toys'R Us that had a working ferris wheel inside). At the end of the day although we caught the train to the museum at the morning we ended up walking all of the way back. Although we were all very tired we really had a good day.

26th of October
We were yet again up early this morning so we could catch the subway to battery park, the location of the ferries heading to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. This time the subway was absolutely crowded as it was a Monday morning and peak hour conditions.
The security to get onto the ferry for Liberty Island was even more stringint then at an airport and once we got the the statue of Liberty there were further security checks. Everyone had to go through a machine the blasted you with air to check for explosive particles. I had previously purchased tickets to go into the crown of the statue and although we had to wait for a while to get up there it was an amazing experience and the walk up the spiral staircase was pretty streuous but was well worth it. We were able to take some amazing videos and pictures of the statue of liberty and the New York skyline. The ferry then took us to the immigration museum at Ellis Island, we decided not to stay there long as we thought that there were more interesting things to do in New York with our limited time. We walked to the World Trade Center site where there is current construction for new buildings that are going to be on the site. We also visited a memorial museum dedicated to the events of 9/11, it was a pretty moving experience.
It was a pretty short walk to Wall Street so we walked there, we saw the New York Stock Exchange, the statue of the bull and right opposite the hustle of Wall street is Trinity church, one of the oldest buildings in New York founded in 1697. It was strange to find such an old building in the madness of New York. On Wall street is also the federal hall where George Washington took his oath of office. Another ride on the subway in peak hour (5:30 pm) took us back to Grand central station and we were all ready to call it a day.

From Emily, Josh, Leanne and Carl.