After spending a sleepless night in a stuffy, stinky, small co-ed dorm room, we had a quick free breakfast in the hostel kitchen, locked up our bags, hired bikes (I got a great "cruiser" - wouldn't mind something like that back in London!) and went cycling from Santa Monica down to Venice Beach. The morning started off misty and cool but later the clouds dissipated and the California sunshine smiled down on us. It was great to feel the cool Pacific breeze once ag...

OK, so Day 1 isn't exactly a full day in LA as our plane landed at 9pm, but LAX airport is such a maze of craziness (perhaps a forerunner of things to come), that it warrants it own blog. If only to just complain about it being the worst airport in the world!!!! Alright, so here's the list of what I hate most about LAX: 1. Signs: or complete lack of them. People, there is no excuse not to put up a sign to inform everyone where to go and how to get there! 2. No...

Woke up early as I'd set the alarm for 6:30am, then went back to bed - it's a Sunday, for God's sake - I just needed to give myself a break and a chance to get some more sleep. I'd had grand plans of going kayaking at 7am to the Captain Cook monument and then snorkelling for a couple of hours before heading back to the Place of Refuge, but I just felt too tired and unmotivated. Woke up the second time at about 8am, feeling more refreshed. Sat and admired the view...

After dropping off Wendy at the airport, I took another trip to Ross and Target (my 2 favourite stores in America). Got a nice new "skirtini" (a bikini with bottoms in the shape of a skirt) and yet another lovely new dress from Ross. After a couple of hours of walking around the shops in a "gambling daze", I headed off towards Captain Cook to check back in to Manago's Hotel, where I "upgraded" myself to a top floor suite with sweeping, uninterrupted views of the ...

Today, we chilled out on numerous beaches dotting the coast north of Kohala. Our first stop, Beach 69 - named after the postcode, not the "position" - where we lay under the shade of a tree whilst watching families play in the waves. Wendy spoke to a couple of people about turtle spotting as we'd been told they hang out here in their droves, but they eluded us yet again! Our next beach stop, the postcard perfect Bay of Anaeho'omalu, situated in front of a series...