Hello All,

First off, we are so sorry for not emailing before now. We have been crazy busy so far (we are now going to head to Newport Beach to have a break from our holiday!!! He he he- I did warn you that I would do that!) So update….

LA

We spent the first three days in Los Angeles. Was only supposed to be 2 but renting a car proved to be nearly impossible as we are under 25 and they want to charge $20 zillion extra just because of that! We were staying in a hostel directly on Venice Beach which was gorgeous. Look out the window onto palm trees, beaches and a *ahem* diverse range of people! The vibe on Venice Beach is lovely, with everyone being really laid back and chilled just going about their days. Got excited about exploring but by the time we headed out it had gotten dark and as we found out, the funky vibe quickly becomes creepy. Instead we headed up to Santa Monica and explored the pier. Managed (as always) to get lost and ended up in a Hooters bar for dinner. Oddly enough, turns out that Hooters is a fairly family orientated place - except for the teeny tiny outfits!!! Were looked at a little weirdly when we ordered salad and soft drinks!

The next day we went rollerblading on Venice Beach - we are very bad at rollerblading! People were walking faster than us which was embarrassing. Was made worse when a couple took pity and showed us what to do. We went off the boardwalk onto the beach path which was better as we had sand to wipe out on - we made use of this a lot!!! We also discovered uber pancakes at a little café!

Tried to rent a car the following day as I have said and ended up grumpy. Discovered two fantastic cures for depression. The one is convincing the people in the Segway shop (American concept of going for a walk without the pesky walking - google it!) to let you play with the Segways rather than paying to rent them…and then nearly running the poor people over! The second is Venice Beach. We went to watch the sunset (yes Celia - 1 down!) and it was absolutely beautiful. So peaceful - neither of us can understand how anyone can be upset/depressed for long in LA. Managed to embarrass ourselves by getting photos with the hot lifeguard (full Baywatch gear and everything!).

We went on a tour of Beverley Hills (stars homes) and Hollywood. Was good fun wandering along the walk of fame but not necessarily that much to do in Hollywood itself - much nicer outside. Though I do now want a house in Beverley Hills - I'll have to rob a bank or something! The tour guide clearly knew two phrases "very very famous" and "very very beautiful" - these were said "very very" many times!

One last bit on LA - we got cornered by this dude selling fake hair on 3rd street promenade who decided that Ali and I had the same hair colour and started clipping hair to us - interesting when in the middle of a crowded street!

Big Sur and the way to San Fran:

After LA we drove up towards San Fran stopping along the way. Saw loads of funky little towns like San Luis Obispo which is a cute little college town. Though we would recommend not staying at the only hostel in town as their dog threw up on the kitchen floor while we were eating breakfast - and their reaction was to ask the dog if it had a "sore tummy"!

The most amazing part of driving up the Pacific Coast Highway are the views - mountains and forest to one side, cliffs and ocean to the other. The cliffs and rock slides from the mountain side did make the drive interesting. At one point, I said "Ali, watch that rock" at which point we drove into said rock causing a blow out. This is an interesting thing to have happen when there is no barrier between you and the sheer cliff drop! Thankfully Ali's amazing driving meant we hardly left our lane. I was a little more worried when she informed me afterwards that she had been unable to steer but thought it best not to tell me at the time!! Anyway, as it was getting on for dusk and we were stranded on the side of a mountain…and lets face it, its us, we had to wave down a car. The car emergency stopped and came towards us at which point we hoped the person inside was normal! Turned out to be an Argentinean family who changed our tyre (though the Dad did get the daughter to help saying that as she was driving she would have to know how to change a tyre *sheepish!*) Turned out ok, and we got to swap the car though we did have to change 'Roxy' the very sexy Pontiac G6 GT for 'Clive' the MASSIVE IMPOSSIBLE TO PARK Sebring!

San Francisco:

San Fran is filled with stories - though Ali cannot remember all of these following the moustache party on the second night when the hostel bought in alcohol. (USA Hostels San Fran is an amazing hostel - if in the area definitely stay!) We managed to walk miles as we kept getting lost which leads to many more stories. One where we went to find the mission area and returned having walked around it 4 times, but never found it. On another occasion, we went South of Market Street to find the funky boutiques - turns out it is just warehouses! Wanting to sit down for a bit but not wanting any more coffee (too many starbucks!) we wandered into a furniture shop and sat on a gorgeous sofa. Only problem with this - they then try to sell you said sofa. We had to choose between being asked to leave and playing along by discussing durable fabrics really loud. This seemed a fantastic plan and we were impressed with how well we were getting away with it (we were not dressed to look like we could afford the sofa)…when the lady asked if we were setting up a home together. At this point we realised that she had decided that we were a lesbian couple shopping for a sofa. By this point she had handed us fabric swatches and a little cut and stick guide that helps you match out furniture areas! We ended up walking out of the shop holding hands just to play along before collapsing in a pile of laughter outside.

Also, we managed to hitch rides on the cable cars as they are least secure method of public transport ever. You just hop on and off and they never check tickets - if they do stay quiet and they ignore you! Though if hanging onto the side, then you do get really worried that you will be hit by the HUGE SUVs that everyone drives! Also all the stops are in the middle of intersections, so you are stopped look out at traffic - there is at this point an enormous urge to wave!

San Francisco isn't really like we imagined (or at least most of it - Haight comes pretty close!). It is bigger and busier than I had expected and full of crazy people who randomly yell or talk to themselves. This is an interesting experience when not expecting it - The Tenderloin is an area to avoid especially at night.

Yosemite, Vegas and The Grand Canyon:

We .left San Fran and started to drive to Yosemite, stopping along the way. We were at this point driving our White Ford Mustang Convertible (you heard me!) which is the coolest car to drive ever. We did look ridiculous though as we insisted on having the top down even though it is winter. Also the scarf round the hair thing looked closer to granny chic than American road trip! Yosemite is beautiful and something that has to be experienced. Definitely definitely go. I have hundreds of photos and none of them do it justice. After Yosemite we headed to Vegas where we stayed at the Sahara casino (cool but miles down the strip!) We finally went home at 7am the morning after the first night having spent all evening in the casino. We did discover that as long as you hang around tables chatting to people the waitresses assume that you are playing and bring you free drinks - very nice given that drinks on average are around $6 for a very small coke and $15 for a glass of wine!

The next night we went and had fun gambling with a few singles on the slot machines which was fun but I can't understand how people spend as much as we saw. All the people look either nervous or bored but we were giggling over our $2.50 wins. I beat the house and managed to make money by turning $10 into $15 but Ali brought me back down to earth by pointing out that this was not even going to make a difference. Personally I think I have bankrupted the Bellagio!

Anyway, we then headed to the Grand Canyon where we hiked INTO the canyon. We meant to stop at the first check point but we missed it ( they removed the sign as people keep stealing it) and ended up hiking twice as far (3 miles, 1,140 feet) into the Canyon where we had lunch before starting the incredibly tiring hike back out.

Afterwards we headed back to Vegas to see the David Copperfield show which was awesome!

As I said at the beginning we are now a little tired and are staying in the coolest hotel right near Laguna Beach in Orange County. We are having a beach day tomorrow before returning the car. We are not sure what will happen after this.

Oh well, I had better go (sorry the next ones will be MUCH shorter). I will keep you more regularly updated.

Hope everyone is having a fun and they you are all well - please email us and let us know what you are up to as we like getting emails!

Bron and Ali

xxxxxxxxxx