All good things must come to an end

---

Our last day in New Zealand went very quickly. I went to the Lions brewery, which brews most of the beer for the northern island including a lot of imported beers. When I got to the brewery I turned out to be the only person taking the tour and Donkey was late in meeting up with me. The tour guide was from Middlesborough and he gave me a shortened tour for free. Basically I saw the history of the brewery presentation then we walked through the factory to the bar where the tour guide and I sat for half an hour drinking beer and talking football. In the afternoon we headed to the airport and got on a 13 hour flight to Los Angeles. The majority of the flight was spent in turbulence.

We got into LA and picked up our second Toyota Corolla of the trip. This time we got satellite navigation, which was essential. Donkey drove us straight out of California and into Nevada ending up at the gambling mecca that is Las Vegas. We checked into the Stratosphere, which is a gambling hall/hotel on the northern end of the strip. The unique feature of this hotel is the huge Stratosphere tower at the front. You can get cheap rooms in Vegas on weekdays as the casinos want there rooms to be full so more people are gambling. On the night we had a venture down the strip and stopped in a few of the main casinos. We did a bit of gambling in places like Caesar's palace and Mandalay Bay. I lost about 50 bucks on slots and video machines but I did get a few complimentary drinks. The casinos are more spread out than I imagined they would be and they were all absolutely massive. It is pretty much Blackpool on a much grander stage. Most of the casinos were instantly recognisable for example the Luxor and its famous pyramid and Sphinx. New York New York was pretty amazing as the hotel is made up of the New York skyline and the statue of Liberty sits outside. There is also a casino called Paris which has the eiffel tower outside and the inside resembles Parisian streets, the roof is painted like the sky and it does actually make you feel like you are in an open air casino.

The nest day in Vegas we headed to the outskirts of town to a retail outlet mall. This is a place full of factory stores for brands like levis, calvin klein etc. We then went back to our hotel and went up the Stratosphere tower. At the top you get amazing views of Vegas and the desert surrounding it. Also on the top there were three rides, we went on two of them. The most interesting one was were you sit in a carriage which flies at speed and then stops suddenly leaving you hanging off the side of the building. On the night we once again cruised the strip but this time did little gambling. I did end up 10 dollars up which seemed a better return than most get in Vegas.

The next day we had a full day's drive to San Francisco. We got there on the night to find that our hostel was part of an old military base. called Fort Mason. On our only full day in San Francisco we got up early and then went to walk across the Golden gate bridge. It was extremely windy on the bridge but we got great views of the San Francisco bay area and got our first look at Alcatraz. We then went back into the city centre and took a ride a one of the famous trams which go up the insanely steep streets of San Francisco. Both Donkey and I decided the best way to ride the tram was to hang off the side. We then stopped off at Lombard street which is the worlds most crooked street. It is basically a really bendy road down a hill. We then went and explored some of the piers on the docks. One pier is home to a load of sea lions which tourists gather to watch. On the evening we went on a tour over to Alcatraz. The rock was exactly how it looked from the films but it was hard to imagine it being the maximum security prison that it was rather than the overcrowded tourist attraction that it now is. On the island you get to have an audio tour round the main prison block. It was interesting to learn about all the escape attempts and the famous prisoners that alcatraz held. The only people to escape did so using a raft made out of raincoats although they are assumed to be dead even though there bodies were not found. After you do the audio tour there are a selction of guided talks about specific things to with the prison. I elected to go on the talk about Al Capone mainly because I instantly know the name but I know very little about what he did. Big Al was actually a model prisoner but got into a lot of fights because of his status. he eventually died in Alcatraz of syphilis which he refused treatment for in its early stages.

We moved on again in the morning, this time to a place called Monterey which is on the coast between San Francisco and LA. It is a very small place but the people there were very friendly. We had a quick walk round the town and down to the sea to have a look at the view. We then went into an amazing little shop called Slow Burn. This shop is exclusively for hot sauce so it straight away went to the top of my favourite shops list. The woman there was really helpful and provided us with loads of free samples ranging from the stupidly hot 'sudden death' hot sauce to the charmingly named 'weapon of ass destruction'. Monterey is full of British pubs and ex pats from Britain. I met two people who used to live in Birmingham and go to visit their brother in Halesowen every year. They were nice people but the hybrid brummy-american accent was just scary. We also met a stereotypical american trucker guy called JK who took us to see his mates band play at another pub. They were really cool and our new found guide JK seemed to know everyone in the town making it a fun night.

In the morning we set off on a long ride to LA. We took the scenic Route 1 highway, much to the disgust of our satnav, which is a scenic highway right next to the pacific. The winding roads and big ocean views made it feel like a proper American road trip. On route we stopped at a beach which was jam packed full of huge fatty blobs otherwise known as seals. It was an amazing sight and it was great to watch them flick sand at each other, have a fight and then go back to sleep. We arrived into Hollywood, LA in the evening. The hostel was more like a motel but had a basketball court and mini cinema. We went to explore Hollywood Boulevard and ended up going down the walk of fame. Most of the stars were of old actors who I didnt really know but it was fun looking out for our favourite stars. We then decided to catch a film in Hollywood at one of the big cinemas. We watched a film called Jumper with Billy Elliot in it, it was awful.

On our last full day of travelling we went to Universal studios to see where the magic happens. It is an amazing place but I can imagine it would be so much better to be there as a kid. We went on the many rides like Terminator, Jurassic Park etc. The studio tour was good as you got to see old film props and sets. It was however a bit rubbish in some parts when you stop in front of a closed plain building and get told about all the amazing things that are happening inside and unfortunately you are not gonna get to see them. The last two shows we saw were Blues Brothers and Waterworld, both were really well done and worth seeing. After a packed day we went to have our last big meal. We thought it only right that in America we should have a big juicy steak. I had a 14oz rib eye which was unbelievably good, cooked to perfection.

The next day it was time to head home. We got in a quick photo stop at the hollywood sign and cruised round Beverley Hills before dropping off the car and going to the airport. After a long flight I arrived back in sunny old England.

I can't fully describe how amazing this last 6 months has been. It really has been a trip of a lifetime and something I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to do. A big thanks goes to all my family and friends who have supported me along the way, I have missed you all. Also thanks has to go to Donkey for putting up with me and also Dan, Woofy, Ben and Sarah who came along and made the trip that much better. I hope you enjoyed reading these blogs and who knows there may be more to come in future.

---