Had to go back to the buffet breakfast again this morning so the kids could eat Vegas style. Same quantity consumed as the day before, only this time the ice cream cones were not available so breakfast was concluded with a bowl of snow freeze instead! Good grief! Being our last day in Vegas we spent it wandering the Strip and had a blast. Found a Coke shop that sold all types of Coke paraphernalia imaginable (kids had a field day) and an M&M shop where the kids also went nuts. First rain to hit Vegas in maybe 12 months then arrived, and boy did it pour. Vegas is not designed to cope with that kind of deluge and the strip quickly became flooded. Rain only lasted a couple of hours fortunately, and we were able ... read more

The original plan was to get up and watch the sunrise from Zabriskie Point, but a 4am start which was what was required to achieve this goal was not desirable for any of us, so a more leisurely start was had by having breakfast in the Hotel and then heading back into Deathh Valley. First stop was Zabriskie Point where the view was breathtaking. Colours were cool and whilst a view at sunrise would have been amazing, we were still able to appreciate the beauty. We then stopped in at the Furness Creek information centre before heading out to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at 288 feet below sea level. Stinking hot, and no wind, but very cool! Thankfully there is no humidity otherwise the 44 dc would have been unbearable. We arrived ... read more

We ran out of time yesterday to complete hike out from Glacier Point, so we returned early in this morning to do so. As described in yesterday's blog, Glacier Point is our favourite vantage point of the valley, and one trip there would never have cut it anyway, so we were pleased to have a reason to return for a second viewing. A short hike took us around to the right of the viewing area, and enabled us to see further round the point and into a different area of the valley floor. It was a lovely walk through the trees with the deer and squirrels for company, and at our vantage point we could take in The Cathedral, Sentinel Dome, and El Capitan, three of the spectacular granite peaks / monoliths of Yosemite which we ... read more

Today we decided to hike to Vernal Falls. Given that we are in Yosemite at the end of summer, most of the waterfalls and lakes, normally fed by melted snow, are completely dry and Vernal Falls is one of only two that still flow at this time of year as they are fed by the main river which flows through the valley.The Hiking guide chart rated the walk as "strenuous" with a walk time of 2 - 4 hours. However the chart also stated that the walk was only 1.4 miles each way, and an extra 0.3 miles if we wanted to extend our walk to take in the head of the falls, which by our standards didn"t make sense. We figured the time guide was for people in wheelchairs, so off we marched. Little did ... read more

Today is Emma's birthday, so a special day by any standards! Poor Emma had already had the majority of her birthday presents including an IPod from us, but it is not every day that you get to celebrate your birthday in a different continent, so a special day none the less! After breakfast, and a trip to the Apple Store to resolve our issues with receiving emails, we ventured by electric bus to Golden Gate Park to explore the Museum of Natural History.What an amazing building - complete with a butterfly filled rain forest, earthquake simulator for the 1906 and 1989 shakes for San Francisco... must admit the way the city has rebuilt after the quakes is truly astonishing!!! There was also an aquarium, planetarium and the albino alligator which was funny as anything to look ... read more