The United States of America. The final stop on our world adventure, and for me a return to my birth country and a chance to catch up with some relatives. Our destinantion on arrival was Los Angeles, the so called Cityof Angels, a city which I had travelled to before and had a mixed opinon of. The flight from Fiji departed at 2200 on Tuesday 24th July, we landed at Los Angeles International Airport at 1320 on Tuesday 24th July. We had crossed the International Date Line on the flight and has LA is 19 hours behind Fiji we had done the nearest thing possible to time travel. We successfully found a hostel in the West Hollywood district of Los Angeles, which was a good location to explore Hollywood from. After checking in we wondered through North LA and towards Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. The Walk of fame is located on the latter and we spent some time looking for famous people on the walk and even contributed our own star to the walk. We then explored the movie district further and checked out the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held and the Mann's Chinese Theatre where all the movie stars engraved their hand prints in the pavement. It was a good vibe and full of street dancers and fun entertainment. We enjoyed a huge pizza which Me, Rick and Ross couldn't finish between us, we wanted to go for a beer, but the Americans have the whole 21 age law, which is a little annoying, so we had to settle for bed. We all agreed LA was a hard city to walk.

The next day we rented a car. A little Toyota Aveo that could just about fit 5 guys in. Rick was driver and I was the wing man. Rick wanted to drive down to Huntington beach so we took the 405 South, which is the busiest freeway in the world, and managed to get there. Huntington beach is what most people probably think a California beach looks like, wide, full of surfers, girls, families and volleyball courts, it was just a shame about the smog. Rick was happy though especially after managing to get a discount on a Huntington Beach badge. Then we drove back to Downtown through South Central to check out the Watts Towers and on to Bel Air, where the rich and famous come to play. We saw lots of huge houses and a tonne of sports cars, but no celebs, we thought we saw Morgan Freeman in a Bently, but turned out after a mad chase through Bel Air it wasn't him.

The next day we did Universal Studios a must do for any tourist in Los Angeles. We did the Studio Tour and did all the major rides, and had a great time. We also ran into some friends from Fiji who where due to fly home the next day. Alarm bells went ringing as we only had 2 weeks left. After a quick BBQ at the hostel we checked out the local comedy club, Improv, which was supposed to be one of the best in LA. It was a great night and everyone was amazing at stand up, Ralphie May even made a guest apperance to cap off a great night.

On Friday we left for Escondido, about 30 mins North of San Diego to stay with my Aunt and Cousins. We rented a bigger car, Deano a Ford Fusion so we could fit all of our bags in the truck, we decided to do the whole America road trip thing. It was an awesome drive. Straight down I 5, getting away from the smog of plasticity (if its not a word, it should be) of Los Angeles, I enjoyed the city, but couldn't spend much longer there. Driving down the freeway listening to Queen, Lostprophets and MGMT. It was great. We arrived in Escondido at about 4pm and pulled up outside of Debra's house. Debra is my Dad's younger sister married to Dan, and Brooks and Brianna are her children. As we stepped out of the car, the guys were grinning and asking is this it. The house is fantastic and really nice to stay in. After the formalities and introductions were over with we sat outside on the patio looking over the valley below, the sun shining with a cold beer in hand. Life was good. Debra and the kids were talking away with my friends and I felt it was really cool that firstly Debra and Dan had agreed to take in 5 teenagers who'd been travelling for 5 months, and also that these two parts of my life had met. My friends from home and my Aunt and cousins in California. Debra was great and had been reading these very blogs so had a rough idea of who everyone was. We had steak barbeque sat outside for dinner, it was the best meal we had eaten in a long time.

The next day I did my best to cook an authentic American breakfast for everyone by cooking pancakes, unfortunately until Debra showed me an amazing piece of cooking equipment that cooked pancakes better, it all went a bit wrong. Anyway we had pancakes, bacon, muffins and cookies for breakfast, I guess the American breakfast worked. The afternoon we went to San Diego to check out the city. It was alot nicer than LA, and more walkable. We walked down the main street and the waterfront. The best food to have in Southern California is Mexican so we treated ourselves to a huge burrito each and then went to watch the Great American Pastime. Baseball. The San Diego Padres played the Seattle Mariners, and although the seats weren't great and San Diego lost 4-2, we all got free jerseys and Brooks had fun explaining the rules to all the guys.

Our last day spent with Debra, Dan, Brooks and Brianna we chilled out in the house playing pool, watching the Euro 2008 final in the morning. Debra was going on vacation to Hawaii the next day so had to get ready for the trip, so to give them some time to sort themselves out I took Brooks and Brianna to see a movie, Get Smart, and the rest of the guys played some golf. The movie was really funny and I throughly enjoyed just hanging out with my cousins. I don't get to see them very much, but both of them are so cool and got along with all my friends great. I think that it is nice that even though we live each on the other sides of the world they still know who I am and my character and personality and I know theirs. We treated the family to a meal that night, because they had been so awesome to us and treated us so well. I cannot thank you guys enough for everything you did for us and letting us stay with you. The next morning we embarked on a 10 hour 500 mile journey on US 395 across desert, mountains, woodland and a bit more desert to see my Grandma, Aunt Carin, Uncle Paul and Cousins Nick and Katy in Carson City, Nevada.

The journey was long, and the first half was incredibly boring. Miles and miles and miles of desert like you wouldn't know. The second half was better and we saw some trees and some bends in the road, this was the best excitement of the journey. But we arrived and Rick, Nick, Jonny and Ross met Paul, Carin, Nick and Katy, who are my 8 year old twin cousins and my Grandma. After the introductions and playing on the Wii, which Nick and Katy were clearly much better than any of us, it was clear that Nick and Katy had found 5 new toys and we had found 2 very exicitable kids we never get bored of being with. Nick and Katy had a great time playing hairdresser with Jonny, almost as much as Jonny who left with a funky new style. The cool thing about staying with Carin and Paul was that they live in a huge old American house with a porch so we could sleep outside under the stars. We played football and basketball and played with the llamas and then had a great meal of Spaghetti before we sat around talking with Carin and Paul and the kids jumped on us and we threw balls at them. Nick and Katy have so much energy and zest for living. Nick is already speed skiing for the local ski team in a higher age group and Katy is an amazing swimmer and competes in loads of competitions. They are so active and play football, swim, ski, baseball, run and even wakeboard. That's the best thing about living in Carson City, it is a 30 minute drive from Lake Tahoe, one of my favourite places in the world. It is a lake surrounded by high mountains, with beaches and it has beautiful blue water. In the winter the mountains become ski resorts, and offer fantastic views of the lake and the area whilst skiing. In the summer the lake is great to take a boat out on, go Jet Skiing or simply chill on the beach and admire the views. Oh, did I not mention Carin and Paul have a boat and go wakeboarding. And we were going to go to Graeagle with them on a 4 night vacation and take the boat out.

However the following day we just drove up to Tahoe to Zepher Cove and chilled on the beach. We threw an American football around and just hung out. We moved onto South Lake Tahoe and had lunch taking in the beautiful scenery and drove up to Emerald Bay which was spectacular. Just look at the pictures. When we got back to Carson we had a great BBQ sat on the drive and played football, baseball and basketball with the kids. We helped Paul get some stuff out to take to Graeagle and it seemed like we had every sport going. Football, American Football, Basketball, Baseball, Tennis, Bikes, Skateboards, Badminton, Golf, Frisbees, Tubes and a boat with Wakeboards.

A short trip to Costco later the nest morning and after sampling all the food on offer we were on our way. An hour and a half later we had arrived. The condo was luxury, 4 bedrooms, backing out onto a golf course, green trees and grassy areas everywhere. It was awesome. We unpacked and took the bikes out to the driving range, where even I hit a few balls straight. We then back and played a game of football with Me, Jonny, Paul and Nick Fischer Versus Carin, Big Nick, Katy and Rick. We won thanks to Nick F scoring like 9 goals. We had a lasagne for dinner and went to bed excited to take the boat out the following morning.

After getting the boat on the water and sunscreening up, it was wakeboarding time! I was up first and after a few faceplants in getting up managed to get a couple of times, I was happy with this result. Ross and Nick took a while to get up, but once up managed to stay up alot longer than me, Ross looking like a natural. Paul had a turn and showed all of us youthful 19 year olds how to Wakeboard, going back and forth across the wake like a Pro. Up next was the tube. An inflatable rubber ring with enough , room to fit three people on. Jonny, Katy and Nick went on first and Nick flipped out. Although it sounds quite tame, it is extreme. You get whipped round the side of the boat so fast and fly over the wake, it's possible to flip out and get a few feet of air. So when me, Rick and Ross stepped up, Paul was in his element whipping us round the boat, over the wake, it was awesome. All of a sudden eveything went black, I got wet and didn't have a clue what had happened. All three of us had flipped out. A first for Paul. We couldn't stop laughing. It was extreme. Nick, Nick and Katy went on, then me Nick Lees and Katy which resulted in Nick tumbling out. We all had one more shot at Wakeboarding even Nick and Katy who managed to get up, they did awesome. There was enough time for a few fun and games which saw me Nick F and Katy all pushing each other into the Lake before heading back to Graeagle for a nap before dinner. We took the Fischer family out to dinner to say thank. They had treated us so well and had looked after us like family. Again just as in Escondido I felt proud to have my friends meet my family in America and get along so well, it was awesome. That night we watched Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers and everyone ended going to bed before the movie was over. The following day was 4th July

4th July 2008, Stars and Stripes

In the morning Nick L, Rick and Ross all went to play golf early, so I got up early too and finished wathing Lord of the Rings with Nick F. Me, Carin and Jonny went down to King's Beach on Lake Tahoe and met up with Nick, Jonny and Rick later after they're game of golf. Carin went back after sorted some stuff out and the GYC ate a 5 star meal at Jason's right on the lake. It was cool to have a meal on July 4th and look over the lake, somehow we all felt closer today. We drove back under the setting red sun through the Sierras. When we got back we hung out with the Fischer family who had had their own July 4th meal. The fireworks traditionally were on Saturday at Graeagle so we waited for tomorrow night to see the displays.

On Saturday Al and Mary, Pauls Mom and Dad and Cathy, Pauls sister, with her children Logan and Natalie and their cousin Kaylie all came down to spent day and evening with us. We played football, and all the guys were talking and getting on with everyone, we went swimming and played tennis before a big American BBQ and then we went out to the fireworks. We parked up and the field was full of familys and kids playing football and baseball, parent's talking together, and a band playing music it was like a festival atmosphere. The fireworks were amazing and we had prime seats. The finale was so spectacular. The guys had all now experienced 4th July, I had experienced my second. When we got back everyone was wiped out, but me and Carin had a game of Cribbage which was cool because we got to hang out and talk. Carin and Paul were great and had treating us all like their own kids, Nick and Katy were awesome to hang out with for a week and I think they enjoyed hanging out with 5 19 year olds as well, even if Nick didn't like the accent.

In the morning we said an emotional goodbye, packed up and left for our final destination. San Francisco. The drive took about 5 hours and we got to drove through Sacramento and Woodland which is where I was born and spent the first 2 years of my life. The drive over the Oakland Bay Bridge signaled our arrival in the city, with the skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distant fog. This is my favourite city which I have been to. After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, back to bunk beds, we drove to the Golden Gate and snapped a few pictures. That night we ate at the famed Uncle Vitos, which I had insisted as one of the best places in the world for pizza, it did not disapoint.

The next day after me, Ross and Nick dropped the car off at SFO which involved driving past the hallowed Candlestick Park which I'd never seen before, we walked through Chinatown, Little Italy and up the Coit Tower to get the best views of the city. Then we went down to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 which is the main tourist area of the city. That evening we also decided to eat out at Hooters, which was a novelty and something which we said we should do in the US. As we walked back to out hostel, the excellent Globetrotters in Downtown, we passed Lombard Street, the crookest street in the world. That night due to not being able to have a beer at a bar we watched a couple of movies, which was enjoyable.

On Tuesday we walked down to Haight Ashbury, the old hippy district in the 1960's which still has loads of alternative shops and houses as well as the people to match. We ate lunch and chilled out at Golden Gate Park and reflected on the last 6 months, which were drastically coming to a close. The park was chilled and the sun was hot I ended up falling asleep. That night we decided to eat late and at a small cafe on Mason Street. Whilst eating we were approached by 5 American girls, evidently charmed by our accent who asked if we like to hang out after our meal. We were flattered. We hung out and talked until 1am at Union Square. The girls were from Orange County, south of Los Angeles and were all going to College in September, we arranged to meet for dinner the following night.

The following day was our last full day of the trip so after a traditional American breafast of pancakes, bacon, sausages and egg at a diner we did our own thing. Nick, Jonny and Ross went for a cheeky shopping spree to take advantage of the cheap dollar. I meanwhile took a stroll towards the bay and AT & T park, where the San Francisco Giants play baseball. It was cool to see since the Giants are my team and I even got to go inside and seat down and look over the field which I didn't expect. I left very happy I'd been able to see the field. I headed down to The Port of San Francisco to chill out and people watch. Rick went for his usual wonder agmonst the city to admire the buildings and people watch and it just so happened we ran into each other at the port. We sat and talked for a an hour or two about the last six months and going back to reality. That evening we met the girls for our last meal. It was a nice place and I enjoyed the meal but at the back of my mind I wanted just the 5 of us to be hangning out together. After the meal we went back to the hostel used some means and ways of getting our hands on a 6 pack and just chilled. The Last Night.

This morning as I'm writing this we fly back to the UK in about 10 hours. The last six months have been the best of my life. Someone once said 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened' It will be bittersweet returning home to face normal life again. I cannot wait to see people, but the adventure and challenges we faced everyday travelled and always seeing new things and meeting new people is hard to beat.

From the winter chills of Beijing, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army in Xi'an, Pandas in Chengdu and the longest train journey of my life to the Bund at New Year in Shanghai and walking out with our heads held high to Hong Kong and Victoria Peak and the best skyline of the trip and climbing Lantau peak for sunrise at 5am.

From Hong Kong to Thailand and Bangkok, Khoshan Road and the energy and rush from just being around the city, Chaing Mai and trekking with elephants and rafting with bamboo and Khanchanaburi, the bridge on the River Kwai and Tiger Temple to the white shores of Ko Tao and diving and the all night beach parties and Ko Phi Phi with the Beach.

From Thailand to Malaysia and crossing the border with our bags wrapped in Cling Film and Georgetown and the beautiful and surreal Cameron Highlands and spectacular rainforest of Tamen Negara where we nearly lost Ross. From Kuala Lumpur the city of doing nothing for a week but watching movies and having beers and meeting the 3 best friends I've made on the trip and Nick and Jonny getting fooled to the max. From Singapore the Western city of the East and going out to Zouk to meeting Holly and Jane and the best football match of the trip and seeing more passionate Arsenal fans in Asia than in North London.

From Australia and the land down under, partying, playing cards and Cape Tribulation to the Whitsundays and the outback and Fraser Island and Brisbane and surfing in Byron Bay.

From Sydney to Christchurch and the beautiful New Zealand with all it's adrenline filled activities.

Three bungys, two canyon swings a 12,000 foot sky dive a power boat a Glacier hike and the best nightlife of the trip Queenstown.

From Wellington and getting soaked watching the All Blacks and Taupo hot springs. From Auckland where I turned one nine and eating some stuff for a bar tab and walking the sky tower.

From the fantastic islands of the Yasawas in Fiji, shark diving in Quata, fishing in Long Beach and the caving in Sunrise and the blue lagoon and the Wana Taki cruise and backflipping off the boat to Manta Ray beach volleyball and finally South Sea Island and the Seaspray cruise.

From the City of Angels and the walk of fame and San Diego and a baseball game and an original Californian road trip. Driving through the Sierras and up to Lake Tahoe and Graeagle and wakeboarding and King's Beach a five star approval. Driving through my birthplace down to the City.

To San Francisco. The last stop.


What a six months thanks for reading. I'm about to go out and enjoy the last few remaining hours.

xxx

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