Ok, doing this on iPhone so excuse typos. It was raining in San Fran when we left, so good timing on our part. Cruisy bus ride. Passed Facebook headquarters which might have been Palo Alto? Stopped a few times. Slept a bit. Checked out another pop up Halloween store. Will try and get a video because they are pretty cool. If I had any room in luggage I would stock up. Spent an hour and a half in Santa Barbara. Had a candy floss flavored ice-cream. Late in afternoon but hung out on beach. Got to hotel late. Enough time to satisfy wifi fix and make half hearted effort to get changed. Last night on tour. At some pub for dinner and then back to hotel for games.... read more

Went to Alcatraz this morning. Very cool. Did a 45 min audio tour which was very good. It's incredible the history there. Spent a half minute in the isolation cell. Pitch black. Very scary. Walked along waterfront a bit with some of the group. I booked the bike tour but cancelled last minute due to injury. Fleet week in San Fran this weekend, which is where planes (the Blue Angels) and ships come into harbour. The waterfront is/was pumping. Awesome holiday atmosphere, and the weather came to the party as well. Lunch at a cafe. Portion sizes again crazy. Had a taco salad. Was good, but could only eat a tiny bit due to sickness. Left the guys and walked through market, passed and briefly joined a protest against Wall Street. Went to Apple store and ... read more

- Lots of homeless people because it is warmer in CA than on the East COast - People always give you change in $1 bills. This is because they want to assist you in tipping them. Particulalrly at bars - There is a reason why you get free drinks with you are gambling. One - because you think you are winning when in fact you are not. Two - these are not nice drinks. Stick with a Bud. Strawberry daquiris should nut ever come with whipped cream. My throat burns just thinking of it - You can eat healthy if you want. It's just not as cheap and you have to make an effort - Toilet bowls fill alarmingly high. THis is normal. Public restrtooms largely clean and always have soap. - People are so very ... read more

Woke up relatively early. Went downstairs for a breakfast buffet. It was out of control - pretty much every food you could think of was there. I had two bowls of gelato and and bacon and toast. My experience is Americans overcook their bacon until it is crunchy. Went to the Premium Outlet stores. Took half an hour on the bus. Very hungover and did not appreciate the bus ride. Walked round for a couple of hours buying stuff. Didn't buy that much to be honest. There was a lot I would have liked to buy, but nothing I really *needed*. Nike is so cheap over here so stocked up on that. The $20 cab fare back to th hotel was the best $20 spent in my life. Legs felt like they were about to fall ... read more

Breakfast at the amazing food court. More naked juice. I'm in love with that stuff. Also had buckwheat pancakes because I didn't have the patience to wait 4 mins for the buttermilk ones. Big mistake. Went for a ~25 min helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. I had no idea how big it was. Photos just do not do it justice at all. It's almost a spiritul thing I think - the God of Mother Nature. After we got back, a few of us went on a mission to do our laundry at a local campground. We went for lunch at another lodge, but Mandy and I decided we could do better so left the others to enjoy their cheap hotdogs. Went to a hotel on Hopi Point called El Tovar. Eileen (tour manager) told us ... read more