Hi lovely people!

Nice to hear from you Ben. Have a nice time when you come to Oklahoma...dare you to try the lambs b@llocks!!

Due to get on a plane in 4 hours to Fiji. We leave at 10.30pm LA time on November 9, it's an 11 and a half hour flight and we arrive at 6am on November 11! Goodbye November 10! I was never that fond of you anyway!! Florida was fab, I should've said in my last message how great it was to see them all. We're really sad to be leaving the States, but it feels like we've turned a new page in the trip (or summat!) I feel like this is a fresh start and I'm excited.

I'll update soon! Love you all xxx

Hi Krate!

Finally (after much bossing from Julia) gotten round to posting a message - you know I'm rubbish! That's not to say I haven't had a look before now - sounds like you're having a fab time. Both Jools and I are mega-jealous of your travels.
Recognise the names of quite a few places you've been from supporting customers - as Jools said I'm due back out in the US in December for a new installation in 2x native casinos in Oklahoma. Apparently the local speciality is something they call 'lamb fries' - sounds innocent but actually is more along the lines of Hugh Fotheringly-Whattingstaff and should more accurately be called 'lamb's nuts'.

Anyway - keep up the journal and keep having fun!

Ben xx

Hey everyone

Lovely to log on after a little while and find so many messages...hi Matt, nice to know the public transport of the UK is in such safe hands(!)

Jools, let me know how the hen party plans are coming on.

Mum, sorry for the slightly emotional phone call this morning - I'm over it now. I'm at the day-after-the-wedding barbecue using someone's wifi laptop (don't worry mum, I'll explain it one day!) and it's raining and gusty! Rubbish! Will be sad to leave the Wales unit, but able to console myself with the fact that I'll be in Fiji in about 48 hours!!

Dan, when we're both online again I'll get that link emailed to you.

Phil, I saw my first Christmas house today - very understated and tasteful though!

Am going to be hanging around LA for a day before the Fiji flight so am hoping I'll be able to get online and update the journal.

Miss you all loads xxx

Hey Katerina!

Sorry I haven't posted a message for ages - it's been manic at work - I was only in the office for an hour yeesterday and 3 hours on Friday! Glad the ghost walk was fun and you're out of there in one piece. Looking forward to hearing all about it in the journal.

I hope the wedding and seeing Nat was fab and that Izzy lived up to her cute expectations! As your mum says, don't be too sad when your US bit is over as you still have so much more to come...although I know Nat will be very sad leaving you two to your jaunts!

We had a nice weekend and went to TWO firework displays, which was actually less tedious than I anticipated. Ben is due to go back to America in December for 3 weeks, so I'm not looking forward to a whole month in the house on my own :-( If only you were here to come and stay...imagine what antics we could get up to ;-)

Righty-ho, better be off I suppose. Lots of love to you. Take care and continue having fun.

Jools xx

PS Matt - get back to sorting out the trains - mine was delayed by 20 minutes this morning! x

Hi Love,
I guess the wedding has been today and I'm sure you've had a wonderful time. Rose, Allyson and me did the rugby on Saturday courtesy of Chris(never will understand the guy and have finally given up trying). It was a good result for us though very anti climatic (your brother's words not mine.) It seems you land in NZ on the day we take them on Cardiff which is strange. I will be ringing Annie tomorrow because she tells me that VIP cards have arrived at her house for you but nothing has arrived at your place so I can only assume we still have a problem with the YHA cards. I'll have another go tomorrow! Enjoy your time with Nat and try not to be too sad when you move on, and remember to be careful you still have a long way to go. Missing you so much, loads of love, Mum.

Hi Kate,
I'm writing this for the second time, I managed to obliterate my first effort some how.

Anyway, you're making good progress, no mean feat for you girls, you won't want to book a package deal in future.

Here, it's freezing and foggy, imagine what it's been like over the bonfire season, and it still is, it's Beruit out there still. Yesterday I saw my first over the top Christmas house, all animated, there's lovely!

Me, your mum and Rose are off to Rouen on December 1st, it should be nice. France does Christmas better than us, much more tasteful and not in your face, just atmospheric in my experience.

Well I'm doing a film night tonight, so I leave it for now (what are you like on Czech films?)

Take care you two, keep snapping!

Philip x

Hi Young Katie, WOW! Wish I had come with you both, as it all sounds fantastic! Been reading some of your journal entries and sounds like you managing to stay out of trouble just!

Well, don't worry about me, sat here at Network Rail (no im not a train spotter for the benfit of everyone else reading this ! :-) keeping Britains railways moving...he he he.

Take care, see you soon x

Hi hun, loving the stories! Sounds like you're having the time of your lives out there and with so much more to come! That's the life while we're still stuck here!!!!

E-mail me the link to your photo's so I can have a look. Em's got my e-mail address.

Take care and enjoy!

xx

Bonjour tout le monde

We got out of New Orleans in one piece...the ghost walk was fun, I'll tell you more about it in the journal when I get a chance to update it. We're now in Florida. We decided there was very little point stopping in southern Mississippi or Alabama...Yesterday we went to Pensacola Beach, where they have the whitest sand I have ever seen. Amazing. (Though I think it might be trumped by Fiji!)

Seeing Family Walker and the rest of the Newport family unit the day after tomorrow. Am very excited! Can't believe we're on the home straight of the American leg of the trip. Never really thought we'd make it I don't think!

Miss and love you all loads xxx

Hello,

Although I'm sure you're having a great time, I imagine that at this exact point I am ahppier than you as I am just leaving work and haven't yet joined the inevitable 11 mile tailback on the M4. Do you miss it or what?

OK, so we're now in New Orleans, and it's very hot...we're staying in a hotel which has a police guard and last night we went to a petrol station which had a tank on the forecourt, which tells you a lot about the place. Right now we're in the French Quarter though and it doesn't appear to have been touched by the hurricane so it's better. I think that tonight we're going to go on a ghost walk, what with it being Halloween and all. It's a really big thing over here.

Anyway, all is fine. I'm very excited to be seeing the Caerleon lot in Florida at the weekend, wish I could be seeing the rest of you too! Phil, sorry to hear that the bus trip wasn't very well attended. Are you serious that they were launching fireworks in Maindee?? That place just gets nicer...

I'll update things when I get a chance.

Miss you all loads xx

Hi yah Kate,
I finally got started on your message board. Jane has been keeping informed of your progress. I can only imagine the miles you've done, it makes my trip to California look so lame!
I didn't make the Grand Canyon on my trip, I started to get a bit short of money after Yosemite. I headed back to L.A. via Mojave, I reckoned if I was going to run out, it was better if I was in striking distance of the airport! I wasn't doing it in style like you two!
Thanks for the latest card too, it's post marked San Antonio and dated the 23rd, so I guess you've moved on by now. Jane tells me it's hot where you are, well you know it's been uncommonly warm here but we are assured that winter starts this week.
Had the bus out to Cardiff Bay yesterday, the weather was lousy and it was the worst turn out ever, eight people! It was a nice day anyway and everyone (except me) got well and truly lashed, I was the last man standing by midnight.
Berlin was really cool, one of the best cities I've been to, very different and it was affordable, far cheaper than London, more like Cardiff prices. Like nearly everywhere in the world or so it seems, the people were generally laid back and friendly, I'll go again.
Well I'm taking a stroll in to town now, how nice and I'll have a free firework display all the way in. I took the bus in last Friday and we were attacked by hoodies firing rockets horizontally in Maindee (ahh this bohemien life style)
Keep having fun!