We arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana at around 4.45am and decided that it was not worth getting a hotel room for a few hours. We slept in the car until about 9am. Then we walked into the visitor centre, which had very nice toilets, to brush teeth and clean up. The first thing we did in New Orleans was visit a cemetery. Ace noted that New Orleans was famous for their cemeteries, and since we were nearby one we should visit it. The cemetery was far different from anything I'd seen, each person had their own stone hut built which was apparently to help the body decompose faster with the humidity New Orleans experiences. After walking through one of the world's most scenic cemeteries and beginning the day with a depressing start, we walked to a ... read more

I woke up at 7am, a little later than I wanted to, to prepare and get ready for a long day ahead at the Keys in Florida. I headed out to the store to get some sandwiches, orange juice and water - which were surprisingly cheap compared to the places we had been. It wasn't as warm as it was the day before and I felt that just wearing a t-shirt and swimming trunks was maybe a little inappropriate or too little. We left Miami at 8am and drove for 3 and a half hours down to the southern most point of Florida (and mainland USA). The drive was beautiful. After we passed the Everglades national park, where there are is supposedly crocodiles and other wildlife, we came to the tip of Florida and started to ... read more

I woke up at 5am as we were driving down to Miami. It was a long drive and most of us in the car were sleeping. I caught the beautiful colours in the sky for the sunrise and the great temperature hike as we drove down the east coast of Florida. The drive down Florida was around 1/3 of the time for the total drive. When we were around two hours away from Miami we got out the car and changed into summer clothes. We were wearing big jackets, jumpers and scarves from the below freezing weather we had experienced the previous two weeks. We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and then proceeded onto Miami. On the way, we saw a really cheap buffet lunch deal so decided to stop at the casino that it was ... read more

We woke up early and amazingly, had checked out and left New York City by 8.30am. The weather was really good with a clear sky but very cold. We crossed a bridge over to Manhattan which was astounding with views of the city from the bridge. We encountered our first driving experience through Manhattan which wasn't pleasant, as the drivers there aren't good at all. We left New York and headed down the highway towards Philadelphia. It was only a 2 hour drive, which turned into 4 hours by the time we included traffic and stops for breakfast. We arrived in Philadelphia around 12.30 and planned to spend the day there. It was very cold, around freezing and the wind made it seem even colder. My first impression of Philadelphia was a good one. The skyscrapers ... read more

I woke up later than normal because I went to bed so late the night before. New Years Day and everyone else was sleeping. I woke up, showered and tried to get my currency card loaded for the first time in two weeks. I wasn’t able to get it done quickly and I was on the phone for over an hour, which really ate into my day after waking up late. I was still waiting after the phone call for people to get ready, so I went into Queens with Tom to Target (a local department store). The food was so cheap compared with Manhattan and even California. I bought coffee and a muffin for $2.50, which was the best value I’ve had since visiting the US. I forgot my metro travel card, so had to ... read more