IM BACK IN......!!!!!! long time no speak!!!! my god what a busy old time ive had since i last did this where shall i start...... i know back in Chicago!!!!!

after a day on the beach thursday we wake up to rain pouring on the friday. we lied in as it was a long day thursday, grabbed some food and just chilled really, on the night we booked tickets to go and see Blueman Group, iv seen them before but its well worth seeing them again, the lads loved it! we decided to hit Clark St for a few beers, turned out rather messy with loads of alcohol flowing till about 2am, Sean managed to get thrown out of the bar for dancing on a chair with a girl!!! we ran up a $300 bar tab between 5 of us, whoops!!!!

saturday never really got started for the lads, to hungover, Danny stayed in bed til about 4pm mind you the weather was awful so there wasnt anything to do but recover. i however, headed out at 8am in the pouring rain to find a bar screening the city game!!!! what a nightmare that was, after an hour i found somewhere but it was the Man Utd game they screened but still managed to catch the City result, and what a result, unlucky Mr Dickinson, maybe next time Doug!!!! haha. we planned another drinking night with some of dannys girls he met in Cancun, which never actually happened so it was a quiet fet that saturday then to bed!!!!

Sunday wake up late again, to the smell of pizza, yes dan managed to leave a slice at the end of my bed when he got in. raining still so did abit of washing!!!! shock horror i know mother, i can wash!!!! just about! afternoon drys out, no more rain so we head down to US Cellular Field to catch the White Sox baseball game, again it was a great laugh with the lads ad something i loved the last time i visited chicago.

Monday its better weather, we hire some rollerblades and head off around the city, sean got a bike, bambi on ice comes to mind! we popped down north michigan ave for a last quick shop and to the Cheesecake Factory for a fat meal! it was good! our last supper before the lads left! a few cheeky beers on the night and to bed!

Tuesday, we checkout with no digs booked or car booked so we head for the nearest internet cafe!! we leave Sean and Danny behind now as they fly off to LA, we meet back up in Vegas in 7 days........hopefully. finally booked a car and pick it up. driving an automatic 4x4 on the wrong side of the road in the middle of chicago is something id rather not do for the 1st time but i suppose the deep end is a good place to start! i do manage to clip the wing mirror though on the interstate! whoops! haha. we sqeeze out 350 miles that afternoon and hit Iowa state, over the mississippi!!!! bed down for the night in some motel with a decent shower and bed which was nice, shame about the train line outside the window though!!!

Wednesday, after getting woken up by the train nice and early we jump in the car and plan on a long long day driving. infact 750 miles we covered!!!!! though Iowa, Missouri, Kansas an finally arriving in Colorado!!!! clearly the longest and boring days driving ever!! Kansas state is as flat and plain as they come! do great steaks though. we ate at some tiny steak house in the middle of no where! the waitress asked if we where harvesters because of our accents, she had never met an English guy before so we made her day!!!! we watched a beautiful sunset over the Kansas lains before hitting the road again! arrived in Denver at middnight ready for a good nights kip........ and well earned. hang on is that a train i can hear..... oh no not again!!!!!

Thursday, bloody trains! why blow your horns everytime you pass no matter what time! grrrr..... anyway, we drive on to Colorado springs through amazing moutains, finally something to look at after kansas state! we talk to some local tourist guide who pointed us in the right direction of some hot springs! now where talking, especially after yesterdays driving! we arrive at Mount Princeton springs and lay out in the boiling hot river and spring pools for about 3 hours! it was awesome! we decide to spend the night in Aspen, a 2 hour drive from the springs, dont know if thats a good idea on the budget we are on! we drive the Independence pass which is only open for 4 months out the year due to the snow, at the top we got out to take some amazing pics, it was -1 degrees up there and yes, there was snow!!!! not good after the hotsprings and wearing flip flops! arrive in Aspen after a scary ride through the dark in Independence pass. Aspen is rather posh for my liking! we where told though its a great night out if your english and male! thumbs up to that! we book into a pimped out suite for 3 and head out around town for some drinking!!

Friday, Aspen.......... expensive! amazing scenery but not great if your on a budget! time to go after a posh breakie at some world famous bakery!!! give me a full english anyday! "'shrimps for breakie, not for me love''! we drive off to Grand Junction and Utah! complete change of scenery! no more green more like golden sands! and hot hot weather! still beautiful and the scale of the place is unbelievable! we take a scenic drive through a canyon which was breath takingly beautiful to a town called Moab! its abit of a weird place, loads of hotels but not much else, i dont know why its here! we dont even mange to get some decent digs, we end up in some $9 per night hostel called Lazy Lizzard........ the name and price says it all, i dont think the lizzards would even stay there! we pop out for a few drinks but the bars are all very 'local'lets say...... 2 bars we went in, as you walk though the doors everyone stops what there doing and looks at you, we wasnt very welcome lets say! oh god it turns out to be an uncomfortable night.

Sunday, today, we wake up early and get out of Moab, never to return, although the breakfast we had at the jailhouse was spot on, thats a cafe not actually a place we ended up spending the night! we drive up to Mexican hat and Monument Valley! this place has got to be the most amazing place i have ever seen! the views and natural beauty of the place was out of this world! we spend 30 mins just taking in what we are actually looking at and head off to get to Flagstaff in Arizonsa for the night! this place is the home town of Arizona University! it could well be a good night! ;-) digs arent to bad, i think a couple od days will be spent here before shooting off to Vegas to met the lads for there last 2 days!