Los Angeles Part 2

We have had a busy couple of days in LA.  Yesterday (Friday) we spent the whole day at San Diego Zoo.  We got picked up at 8:30am and we didn't get down there till nearly midday.  Lunch was our first stop so we could see which way we were going to go around the zoo.  We started out down one trail with monkeys and birds on it.  Then we came to the panada exhibit, we waited half hour to see them but it was well worth it, we were lucky as one was sitting right in front of us eating bamboo.  It was so so cute, we got some great photos and footage of them.  There was so much to do and see at the zoo, it was just incrediable.  The monkeys were very cute and they even had koala bears and kangaroos.  We got lots of great photos and footage.  We got through most of the zoo though it was very rushed and we finally got picked up at 6pm to head back to LA.  It took 3 hours to get back as the traffic was just crazy.  We got back to the hotel at 9:15pm, luckily the hotel restaurant was still open so we had a late dinner which was pretty good.  On Saturday we headed to universal studios, we met up with a few other people from the tour so we spent the day with them.  We bought the front of line pass and it was the best investment we could of gotten.  We didn't have to wait for any of the attractions it was awesome.  We did the backstage tour and got to see the old sets from the movies and the current shows like Desperate Housewives.  We saw the Jaws set and I jumped and screamed like a little girl when the big shark jumped out at the bus. Katrina thought it was very funny.  The best rides we went on were the Mummy ride and Jarassic Park.  They were so much fun.  They had a ride called house of horrors, we all walked in and Katrina got so freaked out it was the funniest thing I have seen, she screamed quite a few times.  I laughed so much I got a sore stomach.  We were finished at Universal by 5pm and we saw everything we wanted which was awesome, so we all went and had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, it was really good.  What was even better was we were back at the hotel nice and early for an early night.

Los Angeles Part 1

We have so far spent 3 full days in Los Angeles.  We arrived on Monday 1st August at about 3pm so we just relaxed with the other people from the contiki group.  On Tuesday we left the Kyoto Grand Hotel and headed for our home for the next 6 nights the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn.  We arrived here shortly after midday and we were lucky enough to get checked into our room straight away.  For the rest of the afternoon we did washing.  For dinner we met up with the people from contiki and we headed down to Santa Monica Pier for dinner.  It was a really pretty place and the food was pretty good as well.  We wandered along the pier for a little while before we headed back to our hotel.  On Wednesday we did our hop on hop off tour around Los Angeles.  It was a really big day, we saw all the major sites like the chinese theatre, hollywood walk of fame, Madam Tussards, Rodeo Drive, The rest of Santa Monica and lots lots more.  We didn't finish doing that till 6pm and we made our way back to the starting point which was Universal City and we had dinner.  You don't realise how big the city really is until you are actually here.  We got back to the hotel pretty early as we were both stuffed from the day.  The tour we decided to do on Thursday was the Movie Star home tour.  We got picked up from our hotel and taken around to all the different areas the stars live in like Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and the Hollywood hills.  We saw the homes of Shirley Temple, Julia Roberts, Bob Barker, Tom Cruise, Orlando Bloom, David and Victoria Beckham and many many more.  It was very cool and for some of them we weren't just looking at the gate, we could see the mansions as well.  We also got to see the Hollywood sign, unfortunatly we couldn't go up to the sign but we got to see it from a distance and it was still pretty cool.  Once the tour finished we got dropped back off at the hotel where we had some lunch and walked to the post office to post yet another parcel home.  Tonight we are just going to stay around the hotel for dinner as tomorrow (Friday) we are heading to San Diego Zoo.  So stay tuned!!!!!

Las Vegas Round 2

We have finally reached the final 2 nights of our tour and we finish them off in Las Vegas.  Along the way we stopped at Zion National Park and it was really beautiful,  we spent a couple of hours there so we could go for a walk.  The walk we decided to do was up to the waterfalls,  we got to the first section and there was still a little bit of water running.  What was good about the trail was it went behind the waterfalls it was really pretty.  We decided to walk to the upper part of the waterfalls, it was a really tough walk up hill and in sand, I struggled big time.  I did eventually make it up there and the waterfalls had dried up so it was just a pool of water, it was a bit of a disappointment.  Once we made it back to the starting point we hopped back on the bus and headed straight to Vegas.  We arrived just after 2:30pm which was awesome as we got to go shopping before dinner and Katrina found a really pretty dress to wear.  For tonight Katrina, Katy and I decided to go see a show called Peepshow, it's the one with Holly Madison in it and the bonus was we got a 3 course meal with the ticket.  The meal we got was huge but amazing and the show was awesome.  The seats we got were just in front of the stage and we could see everything.  Once the show finished we met up with everybody else at the Palms and we went to Rain nightclub.   We both had an amazing night.  A few of us left at about 2am and we were lucky enough to get a stretch limo ride back to our hotel and even better was we only had to tip him.  There was no charge for the limo itself and that was awesome.  Once we got back to the hotel we decided to play blackjack for a while which was a lot of fun.  We didn't win much but we had a great time which is the main thing.  We all headed to bed at about 4:30am.  I woke up pretty early the next morning (Sunday) so I went and played the slots for a while until Katrina woke up.  We then went and had lunch at a grill, which was awesome.  We decided to go shopping again that afternoon and I found a really nice dress to wear that night which was awesome.  That night Katy and I had tickets to go and see Celine Dion, We ended up having dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and the food was completely amazing.  Celine Dion was also really amazing, we had great seats and she was amazing.  We couldn't of asked for a better show.  Katrina decided she didn't want to go to Celine so she hung around the hotel and had dinner at a steakhouse which she said was the best piece of steak she had ever had.  We met up with her after the show for the Limo rides up and down the strip which was a lot of fun.  The nightlub we went to after that was called Pure, I didn't stay long as my feet were sore from my high heels and I had a really bad cough. So I headed back to the hotel for some sleep.  Katrina follwed shortly after that.  In the morning (Momday) we got back on the bus for the last time and we headed back to Los Angeles. 

Kanab (Grand Canyon)

We left Salt Lake City at the normal time and we headed for Kanab.  Along the way we stopped at Bryce Canyon, it was really beautiful.  It is very hard to describe, it was lots and lots of erroded ground that formed peaks in the middle of the canyon.  There was lots of different colours of reds and oranges, really pretty.  We were there for a couple of hours and had the chance to go for a walk.  Katrina did the trail that went down into the canyon and I did the one around the rim.  The drop off the side of the trail didn't agree with me at all.  Once everyone had returned from the walk we continued on our journey and finally reached Kanab.  It is a very small town and the only thing it is known for is the wild west movies that were shot in the area.  Being so small there wasn't a lot to do so we all had a carpark party.  A lot of people went to bed early that night.  The following day (Friday) we headed into the North rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was very different to the South rim, there were hardly any trails down into the canyon and there wasn't much of a rim trail either.  A few people did the trail down into the canyon and they said it wasn't very good.  Katrina and I stayed at the top and just had a relaxing day at the lodge.  After spending most of the day there we headed back to the lodge and we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our room before another carpark party that night.  On Saturday we were headed back to Las Vegas.

Yellowstone National Park

We had a jam packed day today.  To start off we headed to the Grizzly and wolf discovery centre where we got to see Grizzly Bears and wolves and learn a bit about them.  The guide told us all kinds of information about how they came to be at the centre.  Once we finished at the centre we saw an Imax about the first discovery of Yellowstone park and all the pretty features it has in it,  It was pretty interesting.  We headed into the park after that where our first stop was Lower and Upper Falls.  We got dropped off at Lower falls and it was beautiful, the vantage point is on a cliff in front of the falls so we got fantastic views.  To get to the upper falls we hiked along a trail that cut really close to the edge of the cliffs, it was very scary for me I didn't like it much.  Upper falls were just as beautiful and we got some great photos of both of them.  The bus picked us up from the upper falls and we continued along to Mammoth Hot Springs, along the way we had to stop because there were some mountain goats on the road with babies, they were very very cute.  We eventually reached the hot springs and we got to wander around them, it was a really big walk with a lot of steps.  We didn't make it all the way to the top but we came close and the springs smelt really bad from all the sulfer and there was a lot of steam coming out from the water.  It was very interesting to see.  Once we finished at the hot springs we headed back to our hotel.  Along the way we saw Elk and deer out on the plains, it was very cool.  The only thing we didn't see was a bear and that was just fine with me.  We eventually reached our hotel and we all had a quiet night at the hotel bar with pizza and drinks.  It was good because the next morning (Wednesday) we had a massive 12 hour drive to do.  We stopped at Grand Teton National park which is a massive mountain range that was just beautiful, very picturesque.  We got some great photos.  We stopped in Jackson for lunch and it was a pretty little town set in a valley.  Other then those two stops and a couple of smaller ones we were on the bus for the rest of the time.  We eventually reached our hotel in Salt Lake City about 6:30pm.  We didn't really do much once we got here except go out for dinner.  Katrina did decide to go out for drinks so we'll see what time she gets home.  Tomorrow we head to Kanab for 2 nights.

Cody to Yellowstone National Park

We had a massive day of travelling to get to get to Cody. We stopped at Devil's Tower national park, we got to go on a hike around the tower which is basically the inside of a volcano that's been left over from errosion.  From there we did a quick stop at a field where all the priarie dogs live.  They remind of meerkat's they are very cute.  We made an unscheduled stop when we spotted snow on the side of a mountain and we had snowball fights with everyone, it was a lot of fun.  Katrina got hit in the head with a snowball, it was very funny. When we eventually got to Cody we only had an half hour to get ready to go to the rodeo.  It was heaps of fun, my favourite event was the bull riding and what was even cooler was a clown blocked a bull from a rider and he got flung up into the air, he was alright which was good.  After the rodeo was finished we got dropped of at a bar and it was super cheap. I bought a malibu and pineapple juice for $3.50, it was the cheapest drink I've ever bought.  In the morning before we left Cody we got the chance to go whitewater rafting.  It was so much fun, Katrina was up the front and she got soaked and the water was so cold it took your breath away.  I was laughing the whole the time.  After we finished rafting we did a quick change into dry clothes and got back on the bus and we headed to Yellowstone.  It was only a short drive and when we got into the park we made a stop at the mud ponds, it was boiling water that is so hot that it brought the mud to the surface, the smell was really bad. It was cool to see. Our second stop was at the lake, it was really beautiful.  The water in the lake was crystal clear and on the banks of the lake there were hot springs that were so hot there was organisms living in the water and they make the water a very vibrant blue colour.  It was awesome to see.  Our last stop before the hotel was at Old faithful Geyser, It's basically a hole in the ground that builds up pressure and when it releases it's pressure it shoots steam and boiling water into the air.  It's a really awesome sight.  After we saw the geyser go off we headed to the hotel to relax.  In the morning (Tuesday) we head into the park for a full day of hiking and sightseeing.

Mt Rushmore

We had an awesome day today.  We started out at Mt Rushmore where we had our group photo taken and we got to wander around the famous faces.  They are massive, we couldn't go all the way up to the top of them but we got right to the bottom.  It was awesome to finally see them, and they are out in the middle of no where.  Once we finished there we moved on to crazy horse monument, this one is still under construction and has been this way for the past 50 years.  The monument is being carved out of the mountain like Mt Rushmore, only this one is dedicated to a native indian.  It's going to be spectacular when it's finally finished but I can't see that happening anytime soon.  After there we went and did the horse ride.  It was awesome we went in through the woods to the base of the mountains and we saw deer with their babies and turkey's.  It was really pretty, definately a highlight.  Our last stop for the day was a little town called deadwood, it was a very small town and all there was to do there was gamble and eat.  So we went to a saloon and had a drink and then decided to have an early dinner.  We had steak and it was awesome!!! We are moving on tomorrow and heading for Cody.  Should be exciting!!!

Keystone, South Dekota (Mt Rushmore)

So We left Chicago on 20th July and we headed for a stopover in Madison.  Along the way we stopped at the Harley Davidson Museum,  it was ok. I'm sure the motorbike enthuist would of loved it, but I got bored pretty quick.  We both got a photo taken on a harley so that was a bonus.  We moved on after that and stopped at Miller Brewery for a guided tour.  It was pretty interesting to see how they package it all and send it out and at the end we got 3 free samples of the different beer they brew here.  We didn't drink it but we did hand our samples off to some of the boys and they enjoyed it.   We finally got to our hotel for the night and there wasn't a lot there only an included dinner and a hooters across the road from the hotel.  A lot of people went and had drinks there.  The next day we travelled to Sioux Falls, along the way we stopped at another museum that just happened to be the spam museum, yes they have a spam museum.  They had all the information you could think of about how spam first started to what it is today.  It was vaery weird and they gave out free samples, the smell was enough to turn me off.  Once we arrived in town of Sioux Falls, we headed straight to the falls to have a look and get photo's.  They were really pretty and there was plenty of water in them so that was good, we got lots of photo's.  There wasn't much else to see in town so we just had our included dinner and went to the saloon across the road for karoake and drinks.  I left at midnight and Katrina stayed on drinking and singing till about 2am.  She paid for it in the morning as she was super hungover, I found it very funny.  Today (Friday) was a massive day on the bus.  We stopped at a place called the corn palace, it's basically a hall that is covered in different designs and all they use is corn.  It was really well done and inside they had everything corn.  They didn't have any cobs of corn that had been cooked up. I was very disappointed.  I did get a popcorn ball that was stuck together with marshmallow, it wasn't to bad though had a very weird texture to it.  We did another stop along the way to Keystone and that was at badlands national park.  It basically was a lot of grasslands and volcanic ash cliffs everywhere.  We stopped at a few of the lookouts to take photos and wander around, though we didn't stay out for to long as it was stinking hot today.  It was really pretty the volcanic ash formations were beautiful and they had different colours in them.  We finally got to our hotel which is the gateway to Mt Rushmore.  Tomorrow we get to see them, We're looking forward to it!

Chicago

We had a slow start to the day today.  We didn't end up leaving the hotel till about 11am and we decided to wander around the shops.  After we stopped for some lunch we found a shop that sold Chicago Cubs jerseys.  I bought a jersey and Katrina bought a shirt that said chicago cubs on it. We decided to head back to the hotel after that and we wandered down the ritzy street of Chicago to the hotel.  We had a rest once we got back to the hotel we got ready to go to the baseball game.  We were both really excited about it.  We got our tickets and made our way up to our seats and it was way way in the back, we couldn't get further away from the field.  The good thing was we got a good view of the field.  We had so much fun watching the game and eating hot dogs it was definitaly the highlight of Chicago.  So the cubs ended up losing the game 4-2 and there was 38 400 people there so it was massive.  Once the game finished we were going to catch the train back to the hotel but the line was massive so we were going to catch cabs.  We happened to walk past a stretch limo and we got the driver to take us back for $60.  It was awesome we had a great time.  Everyone was so jealous when we told them how we got back to the hotel.  Katrina decided to go to the local bar and I decided to go to bed.  Well Katrina didn't get back in the room till 2am and just when I had gotten back to sleep we were hit with a massive storm and the thunder and lightening was just crazy.  It did cool things down a bit which was good.

Cleveland, Ohio

We finished our Canadian part of the tour and we are now back in America.  It took an hour to cross the border and we came out at Buffalo.   It wasn't very exciting today as it was just a travel day.  Lucky it wasn't a long travel day and we got into Cleveland about 2:30pm.  We were taken to the Rock and Roll hall of fame, it was pretty cool we got to see all this really cool stuff like the musicians stage clothes.  It started at the very beginning of rock and roll and continued to what it is today.  So after a few hours wandering around the place we got picked up and taken to our hotel.  Once we got checked in there wasn't a lot to do as everything was shut, so we got ready and went and had some dinner at an Irish pub.  There was a bowling alley close by the hotel so a lot of people went bowling after dinner.  Katrina kicked arse in the first game and the boys didn't like that at all so they tried to beat her in the second game.  I headed back to the hotel once they finished.  Katrina didn't get into the hotel room until 1am so it was another late one for her.  The next morning (Monday) we left at the usual time and we are headed to Chicago for 2 nights.  We got to the hotel early which was awesome, the only problem was our room wasn't ready so we had to wait for an hour before it was ready, so not happy about that.  Eventually though we got checked in and we had a couple of hours before dinner so I had a sleep and Katrina had a drink or 2.  For dinner we had the Chicago pizza.  It was more like a pizza pie, so you had a layer of pastry then a mountain of cheese and the filling in the middle and on top was another layer of pastry and a tomato sauce.  It was pretty good very cheesy though.  Once dinner was over most of the group went out to have drinks.  So who knows what time Katrina will get back to the room tonight!!!

Toronto, Canada

We had a massive day of driving to get to Toronto on Thursday.  We had to be on the bus by 6:45am, it was so early.  We stopped at Rockport to do a sightseeing cruise around the 1000 Islands and also Boldt Castle.  It was very cool.  The Islands that we saw had massive mansions on them and the only way to get to and from them was by boat.  It was incrediable to see.  It helped that it was a beautiful day so the water was really calm.  After the tour we all got back on the bus and finally arrived in Toronto at 6pm after quite a few stops that didn't seem neccessary.  We had dinner at the hotel and it was kind of average and after that Katrina decided to go out for a few drinks and I went to bed as I am having back problems.  Katrina rolled in at 3:30am, Luckily she wasn't too drunk.  In the morning we went up the CN Tower, I had a slight problem with going up the tower.  The elevators are on the outside of the building and they had glass panels on the side and on the floor of the lift.  I couldn't wait to get out of it.  The view once we got to the top was amazing,  It was a very clear day so we could see for miles.  It was awesome!!! We had to walk downn a level to get to the exit lifts and we found a glass floor so you could walk on it and see the ground.  I didn't go anywhere near it, Katrina did though and she packed her pants.  It was very funny.  Once we finished at the CN Tower we went to the shopping mall and had a look through the shops.  It was very impressive puts anything we have in Australia to shame.  For our night activity we had our Toronto pub crawl.  We started at an Irish pub and got into the Jager shots and quite a few drinks.  They had an Irish guy singing it was very funny.  After the second place a few of us decided to go back to the hotel as my back was playing up,  Katrina decided to stay on and drink some.  Once again she didn't get home till 3am,  It was funnier this time as we had to be up at 7am the next morning to make our journey down to Niagara Falls.  There were quite a few people hungover on the bus ride and it was very funny.  Once we got to the falls we did the Maid of the Mist boat ride.  It was a lot of fun, the boat goes right up to the base of the falls and you get a lot of spray of them.  Luckily they give you poncho's to put on otherwise you would get very wet.  We had free time after the boat ride so we wandered around the top of the falls and had lunch at the Hard rock Cafe.   In the afternoon we decided to do a helicopter ride over the falls.  I got the front seat and had an amazing view of everything and got some great footage of it all.  It was only a short filght but it was well worth it.  We headed back to our hotel after the helicopter flight.  It's going to be an early night tonight for both of us, as tomorrow we have another early morning and we head back into America. 

Montreal, Canada

We left Quebec at the usual time of 7:45am, luckily though it wasn't a long drive and we arrived in Montreal about 12pm.  We headed straight to a mountain lookout so we could see the whole city.  It was really pretty and it wasn't hot which was awesome.  After the lookout we drove around the city on a tour.  For lunch we went to the old port of Montreal and we found a nice little cafe and had a really nice lesuirely lunch. It was awesome!!  We got to do some souviner shopping before finally heading to our hotel.  We had an included dinner tonight and we were taken to a french restaurant, it was so so good we had a three course meal the starter was a vegetable soup, the main I had grilled fish in a butter sauce with vegetables and dessert was a chocolate mousse. Katrina had a chicken dish which she said was really good as well.  After dinner we got to do a ghost tour, our guide was a nut case it was so funny, some of the girls were trying to hide from him cos he would get right up in your face and just stare at you.  Very funny!!!  Once the tour was over we got dropped off at a club called college cafe, it was retro Tuesday so all they played was 70's ad 80's, it was a lot of fun.  I headed back to the hotel about 1am and Katrina rolled in at 5am. Lucky we had nothing planned the next day so we had a sleep in and left to go to the city at about 10:30am.  We went to see friends that own an Aussie pie shop.  We had pies and pavlova for lunch and it was awesome.  After we talked to them for a while we headed back to the hotel to chill out.  We met our friends for drinks and more catching up so it was a really relaxing evening.  We head to Toronto tomorrow (Thursday) and we have 3 nights there.  I'm looking forward to it.

Quebec City, Canada

We have reached the Candian part of our tour and we started it off at Quebec City, mostly french speaking city.  We left Boston on Sunday at the normal time of 7:45am and got to the Candian border about 2:30pm and finally got to our hotel about 4pm, so it was a long day on the road.  Once we got settled in our hotel we all got dressed up to hit the town.  We got dropped off in the centre of town so we have dinner and meet up at a club afterwards.  I can't remember the name of the club cos it was in French but it was interesting and had a very cool dance floor.  We left pretty early that night as we were all pretty tired.  We were lucky as the cab we got into spoke english.  It was an easy ride back to the hotel.  The next morning we did a city tour with 2 guides and they explained all about the city while we were on the coach.  The second part of the tour was a walking part and we walked all around the old gated part of Quebec city.  It is a very pretty place set on a hill beside a river.  We just can't read anything much because it's all in French.  Once the tours were over we had lunch at a cafe, bought some souviners and went back to the hotel for a rest.  Now dinner that night was an included dinner and we went to a place called the sugar shack.  The food was very odd, most of it had maple syrup in the dish somewhere so it was all very sweet.  We didn't eat much it was to weird for us.  After we finished dinner they took us outside and we tried maple syrup on ice.  It sounds very weird and it was weird to see but it tasted exactly like golden syrup.  It was pretty cool to try something so different. After our 2 nights in Quebec City, we move on to Montreal.  I can't wait!!! 

Boston

We have offically started our Grand Northern tour and our first stop is Boston we were there for 2 nights.  Our first afternoon we went on a city tour around the city which was fairly boring, but afterwards we had dinner at a place called dick's last resort.  The restaurant was very different, the job of the wait staff was to be as rude as possible and you could throw napkins and straws around.  It was very weird.  After dinner we came back to the hotel as we had a massive day the next day and we needed some rest.  Our first stop for our day in Boston was Harvard University, we got a guided tour through the campus, so that was awesome and the tour guide was a student of harvard.  The grounds were beautiful. After the tour we pretty much had the day to ourselves, we did get a ticket for a hop on hop off trolley tour.  It was the best way to see the sites of the city. I have to say though there wasn't to much to see in the city.  We did get to see Fenway Park (baseball field) and we did do a bit of shopping on an upmarket street.  I didn't buy anything but Katrina bought from Victoria Secret and Guess.  We took the trolley tour the whole way around the city and there were some really nice churches and the orginal cheers bar which was pretty cool.  But there wasn't to many interesting places.  We got picked up on the bus late afternoon and headed back to the hotel.  For the evening we just hung around the hotel and had a really nice dinner, I had lobster and it was amazing and Katrina had steak which she said was really good as well.  We have decided to have an early night tonight as we head into Canada tomorrow and tomorrow night is a big clubbing night so we want to make sure we're not to tired for that.  We can't wait!!!

Also I have put some photos up on facebook of our travels up until New York.

New York Day 2 & 3

Our 2nd day in the Big Apple was a very early start. Trina didn't get back to the hotel till 5:00am from being out all night drinking she was supposed to get up at 6:00am to watch the State of Origin with Bec.  But Bec was kind enough to let her sleep till 7am. We headed to the Statue of Liberty early to beat the crowds. We caught the ferry over and got great views of the city skyline. We didn't get to go up to the top as there were massive queues but the views from the bottom were amazing anyway. After that we walked down wall street and got to see the famous raging bull. We then headed to a half price ticket booth for Broadway shows, we were lucky enough to get tickets to The Phantom of the Opera for that night. On our way to our Sex and The City tour we went to a shop called Century 21 which had really cheap designer everything. We didn't have enough time to go through everything, Bec got a really nice Guess bag for half  price. The Sex and The City tour wasn't very good at all. There were lots of things we didn't get to see, like where Carrie lived and we didn't go to any of the bars they went to in the show. We were more excited about going to Broadway. The show and costumes were amazing. We had really good seats down in the bottom section. It was great to see a broadway show in New York.

On our last day, we went on a bike tour around central park. We are so glad we didn't have to walk it as we didn't realise how huge it was. The park was really beautiful, it's hard to imagine something like that exists in New York, there was a massive dam in the middle of it and had baseball fields in it. The pathways were lined with massive trees that arched over the paths. After the bike ride we were walking to the American History Musuem when we walked passed a little church where they were setting up to film Gossip Girl. Was very cool to see the street lined with the actors trailers and all the equipment. We did a very quick walk around the musuem as all we really wanted to see were the exhibits that were shown in the movie Night at the Musuem. We did get to see most of them which was really exciting. We headed back to shop at Century 21 seeing as though we didn't get to see all of it the day before. We got great bargains, with all Trina bought she saved $182, Bec ended up saving $82, can't go wrong with that. That night we headed up the Empire State Building, the views were amazing. It was very pretty to see New York at night from up there. We got some great photos and footage. If you want to see some photos, Bec will put some up on her facebook page. We had some farewell drinks with some people from the Grand Southern tour, then headed back to the hotel to pack for our next tour.

New York Day 1

First thing we have to say is we both love New York.   We got into New York about 4:30pm on the 4th July.  After we checked into our hotel room a few of us decided to go to Carlo's Bakery, he's from the tv show cake boss.  We bought cupcakes and elclairs and they were awesome, we got back to the hotel and we had our pre-tour meeting.  Once we go that done we went and had dinner with a few of our friends and then headed down to the Hudson river to watch the 4th July fireworks.  It was awesome the fireworks went for half hour and they had ones I had never seen before.  We're so glad we were in New York for 4th July, there's no where better.  We didn't head to any bars after the fireworks cos they were all packed out and you coul hardly move so we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep.  The next morning we started our day by having a city tour and it was awesome to see the places you see on tv.  We saw so much it was awesome.  They took us down to the world trade center site and that was very strange, they are still building the new buildings and they are doing a memorial on the exact site of the two towers.  The building we were in was also destroyed and they had to rebuild it.  After the city tour we had the rest of the day to ourselves and we decided to go shopping in the trendy 5th Avenue district.  Let me just say we only made it Tiffney & Co and spent a small fortune in there.  It was well worth it though. I bought a ring with diamonds in it and Katrina bought a ring with a pink sapphire and a necklace.  They are all really beautiful.   We spent an hour in the store and we didn't have enough time to have a look at any other stores.  We had to head back to the hotel and get ready of dinner. 

Washington D.C

What amazing two days we've had in Washington.  We got to the city late afternoon and on the way in we drove past the Pentagon so that was pretty cool.  Once we had dinner we went on a tour around Washington.  We saw the white house, The Lincoln Memorial, The Roosevelt Monument, The Thomas Jefferson memorial, the capitol building,  the washington monument, plus heaps more.  It was a great tour and by the time we finished is was dark and all the monuments were lit up and it was beautiful. Katrina decided to head out drinking with some of the group but I went back to the hotel to sleep.  The next morning (Saturday) was a massive day.  We were getting dropped off at the Smithsonian museums.  Before we got there though we went to Arlington national Cementary where we got to see John F Kennedy's gravesite and also saw the changing of the gaurd for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  It was really good to see.  We then made a quick stop at the marine corps memorial statue which is the famous one where the marines are erecting the American Flag.  We then finally got dropped off at the Smithsonian Museums we decided to go to the Natural History Museum it was awesome. One of the highlights for that museum was we got to see the Hope Diamond. It was beautiful.  We got to see heaps of exhibits, it was hard to keep track of them all.  Once we finished we headed to the National Archive Museum, it took us 45mins to get in the door but it was well worth the wait.  We got to see the original Declaration of Independence, Bill of rights and the Consititution it was amazing, you could hardly read the writing it was that faded.  It was awesome.  Once we got picked up on the bus we got ready and we headed to Georgetown for dinner and clubbing.  We just went to a bar for dinner and we both had steak, it was awesome.  The real party started after dinner we had quite a few drinks at a club and had a great time dancing with everyone.  We got home pretty early as it was another big day on Sunday.  Once again we got dropped off the Smithsonian Museums and we headed to the front of the white house to get photos. it was pretty cool to finally get to see it.  After that we headed to the American History museum.  There was a lot to see there as well and was very interesting.  Some of the things we saw were the Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz, The Fonz's jacket from Happy Days and heaps more.  It was an awesome museum.  We were pretty tired after that and decided to head to the National Zoo.  It was so so hot and we struggled to get through all the animals, but I think the cutest animal would have to be a baby gorilla that was playing with one of the other gorilla's. It was so so cute.  We headed back to the hotel to get ready for our final contiki dinner.  We went to a chili place and I opted for a burger instead.  So tomorrow we finally get to New York and we finish our Grand Southern and start our next tour the New York Explorer.  We can't wait!!!

Savannah to Raleigh

After our night in St Augustine we headed to Savannah which is said to be the most haunted town in America.  Once we got there we had a group photo taken at one of the squares it was a really pretty it had a fountain in the middle.  We walked back from our hotel, walking through the streets was really pretty with all the old houses some of which looked really creepy.  It's a really pretty little place. We got back to the hotel and we had some lunch, I had a burger which wasn't to bad and katrina had nachos which were pretty crappy.  We were doing a trolley tour of the city after lunch which I thought was going to be really interesting.  Instead there was no air conditioning on the trolley and it was super hot.  The tour driver also was talking and driving past all the points of interest really fast that no one had the chance to get any decent photos, therefore it got boring pretty quickly.  Once we got back to the hotel we checked into our room and headed straight for the pool to cool down.  That night we were all heading out to a Karokoe bar for a 21st birthday party for one of the girls on our tour.  Things got pretty crazy for a lot of people, it was very funny though.  The bar had the frozen cocktails which were super cheap and we were all having a great time.  I left pretty early and got back to the hotel about 12am and Katrina rolled in at about 4am.  It was a good night overall.   We had another early morning on the bus and we headed to Raleigh.  It was a really long drive and we didn't get to our hotel till about 6pm.  We made a stop in charleston and we had 3 hours to wander around the town.  Most people were hungover again so we headed straight for a cafe for something to eat.  By the time we finished lunch we only had an hour to got so Katrina and I walked around and had a look at some shops.  It was a really pretty town,  and it wasn't to hot so we could wander around.  It was really good.  So when we checked into our room we had to get ready straight away to go to dinner which was a buffet.  It was really good, they had so much different food to choose from and even better was they had vegetables and salads you could make up yourself.  It was a really good feed.  After dinner there wasn't much to do in Raleigh so a few of us headed to a bowling alley for some bowling, it was good to do something different and not just drinking at a bar.  We headed back to the hotel about 11:30pm.

Cocoa Beach to St Augustine

So Luckily for us Cocoa Beach was only a short bus ride away.  Everybody was hungover and it was very quiet on the bus.  We got to Cocoa Beach in the early afternoon and we had the rest of the day to ourselves.  We went for a walk to look at the beach and a few of the shops, and had an early dinner in a bar on the pier.  It was a pretty good meal.  I had my first seafood basket and it definitely wasn't the same as we get in Australia.  Katrina had a chicken dish which she said was good.  After dinner we went back to the hotel as Katrina and a few others were going to club next door called cheaters, I decided to stay at the room and have an early night.  We had another early morning as we were going to the Kennedy space Centre.  A lot of people including Katrina were very hungover during the visit to the space centre so it was quite funny watching them walk around aimlessly.  We had a massive 5 hours at the centre which we all thought was way to long.  I will say it was pretty cool to see the place and the old rockets and spaceships.  When the 5 hours were finally up we hoped back on the bus and headed to our next destination which was St Augustine.  The city is the oldest city in America so there was a lot of old buildings and history to the place.  Once we checked into our room we had to pay for all the optional extra activities we did.  We had an included dinner that night which was pizza and pasta.  It was pretty ordinary but it was food.  After dinner we went for a walk into the old part of town to have a look around.  It was a nice little place and everything was close by.  They have an old fort on the riverside it was a pretty sight.  Once we got back to the hotel a few of us hung out at under a massive tree they had in the hotel grounds and have a few drinks.

Miami

So we left Orlando and headed for 2 massive days in Miami.  When we got there we went straight on a jet boat ride, they took us up the canals to see the famous people's mansion and they took us alonng south beach as well. It was pretty good.  I thought the boats were going to be faster, but it was still pretty good.  Once we finished there we headed to our hotel to chill out before our night out.  For dinner we went to a place called Mangoes for dinner and drinks.  Once we finished there, Bec headed to a nightclub called Mansion, that was an awesome club.  There was just one problem with it, the drinks were super super expensive, I paid $11 for a bottle of water. Needless to say I didn't drink anything else after that.  I got home at a reasonable time.  We decided to do some shopping,  we didn't buy much though I got a pair of shoes that I got for $40 which I thought was pretty good.  We didn't do much else that day when we got back to the hotel we had to get ready for the massive night of partying.  We had dinner at a place called Bubba Gumps which is a seafood place.  After that we had the best part of the night a boat criuse along the canals of Miami, as well as a 2 hour open bar of anything we wanted.  It got really crazy and both of us got pretty drunk.  We both had an awesome time.  We went on to another club after the boat called Nikki Beach, Bec doesn't remember going there, But Katrina remembers and it was a really good club and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately we had to get on the bus the next morning.  Bec had a raging hangover and didn't really enjoy the bus ride to Cocoa Beach.  Overall Miami was an awesome place, It won though.  We both would come back here.

Orlando, Florida

We made it to Orlando early afternoon, so when we got to our hotel our room wasn't ready so we decided to head to an outlet mall.  After reception stuffed us around for 45mins our tour guide told them not to bother and they dropped a whole group of us off at the mall.  They had heaps of good shops, like Guess, Banana Republic, Nike and heaps more.  We both managed to find dresses to wear on our Miami Party cruise which is awesome and they were under $100 which was even better.  We didn't hang around for very long and we headed back to our hotel where our room was finally ready.  We decided to have Mexican for dinner and I had Tacos and Katrina had Fajhitas. It was pretty good.  After dinner we had to do washing that wasn't so fun, but it had to be done.  We headed to bed after that we were both so so tired.  The next day (Friday) we headed to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  We got into both parks with our ticket and we decided to buy the front of line pass.  It was well worth buying it.  The longest ride line we had to wait in was 1hr and 15mins and that's the only ride we couldn't use the pass on.  Every other ride we went on we waited no more then 10mins, it was Awesome.  Our favourite rides that we went on were, Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey, there was a Harry Potter Dragon rollercoaster, Jurassic Park River adventure and The mummy returns (Bec's favourite).  We did go on a few others but they weren't as good.  We did a bit of Souviner shopping as well and Bec found an entire store dedicated to Betty Boop, she bought quite a lot of stuff. We had an awesome day and we can't wait to go to the Universal Studios in LA.  For the rest of the evening we had a contiki pool party we had pizza and alcohol (not a lot though), the theme was white trash it was a lot of fun.  Pretty much everyone ended up in the pool in their clothes it was very funny.  We got to bed fairly early as we are heading to Miami in the morning, which we both are looking forward to.

Tallahasse

Today we got spent another long day on the road, we are spending tonight in Tallahasse. Tomorrow we are heading to Orlando. Unfotunately as we are only here for the night, we didn't get to see much of the town. We went out for dinner which was really nice. When we got back to the hotel we went for a swim and chilled out by the pool. Tonight we are going to bed early, thank goodness its not that far to Orlando so we should be there by early afternoon. The next post will be longer as we are spending in Orlando.

New Orleans

We got into New Orleans and we did a little bit of shopping before dinner. For dinner we got to go on a paddleboat down the Mississippi River which was very beautiful at night. We spent a few hours on the boat. After that we went to the famous Bourbon St, which is party central. Katrina started off the night with a drink called the Hurricane Bec started off with a Rainstorm, it went downhill from there. Won't go into to much detail, however lots and lots of shots were involved wasn't pretty at all. Bec was smart and got back to the hotel about 2:30am and Trina wasn't so smart gettting back after 4am. Bec was a bit sick the next morning. Needless we didn't get up to much the next morning. In the afternoon we went on an airboat swamp tour, which was amazing. Our guide fed the alligators marshmellows and was touching and kissing them. We were lucky enough to hold a baby one which was awesome!!  A group of us were craving red meat for dinner so we managed to find a steakhouse where the steaks were the best ones we have had in ages. We were also very happy to have vegetables as sides, we haven't had any vegies since we have been here. We went to bed really early as we had another long day on the road ahead of us.

Memphis

This morning we got to go to Graceland!! Was great to walk around Elvis's house!! Unfortunately we didn't get to go upstairs to his room, but we did walk around the bottom part of the house. We got to see all his awards that he won and most of his costumes that he wore. At the end of the tour we got to see where he was buried, which we didn't expect!! The house wasn't as big as we thought it would be, but it was beautiful to see all the original furnishings. On the way back to town we stopped off at Sun Studios, that is where Elvis and Johnny Cash first recorded their song. After we finished there we went to the Rock N Soul Musuem, which was interesting all though we didn't know who anyone was besides Johnny Cash and Elvis. We went back to the hotel for a bit of rest because it was so hot. This evening we were lucky enough to go see a baseball game wasn't a major league game but it was great fun anyway. We had our own little private section where food was catered. Tonight we are heading to bed early as we have another big day on the road tomorrow.

Amarillo, Texas to Memphis, Tennessee

Well we have done a lot since our last post, So we'll try to catch you up on what's been going on.  So we left Albuquerque and headed on a very long drive to Amarillo, Texas.  We only stayed one night there, the hotel rooms were set up in different themes.  Ours was western themed one, it was very different.  So we didn't do much there but for dinner we had our first taste of a Texan BBQ.  We both had the steak and it ws the best steak I have had in a very long time.  It was awesome.  Now three of the boys wanted to do the restaurant challenge and that was they had to eat a 2kg steak plus 4 side dishes within an hour.   If they completed it, the entire meal was free. If they couldn't do it they had to pay over $70 for the meal.  None of them completed it but two got very close and one threw up.  It was pretty entertaining.  The next morning we headed out pretty early to go to Dallas.  It was so hot there, it was unbelievable.  We had a contiki dinner set up and we went to a place called Gator's.  It turns into a karokoe bar after 9pm.  The drinks were awesome there.  We had frozen daquiri's,  So we got pretty drunk drinking them.  we also got up and sung a few songs in a group.  All in all it was a great night.  When the bar closed we headed to another one which I can't really remember cos it had a very weird name, we caught up with some other contiki travellers and I decided to have Soft drink and water.  We got back to the hotel about 3am which wasn't to bad.  We woke up about 9am the next morning and we decided to head to the JFK Muesum,  They set the muesum up where the guy shot the President. It was slightly creepy but interesting at the same time.  I wasn't feeling the best at that stage so I spent most of the time sitting down.  I even had a bit of a throw up when I reached the toilet.  Not exactly cool but I did feel better afterwards, which was just as well cos we headed to the Dalla's Cowboys Stadium tour.  It was totally awesome an incrediable stadium, the whole thing is air conditioned and we got taken to the private boxes, down to the cheerleaders locker room and even the Players Locker room.  The highlight though was we got to go out onto the field and have our photo taken on the 50yrd line.  It was a very cool experience.  the stadium can hold a total of about 95 000 people. so it was just massive.  Once we finished there we headed to Fort Worth for the rodeo.  For dinner we had our first taste of Texan ribs and they didn't dissapoint at all. so yummy!!!! Lucky the rodeo was inside and had air conditioning cos it was stinking hot.  We got to see bullriders and even one From NSW so that was cool. there was barrel racing and a whole heap more. It was awesome.  We never got back to the hotel till 11pm so we went straight to bed.  it was another early start this morning and a long drive we made it into Memphis.  We are spending two nights here, it should be an awesome time.  We are going to Graceland tomorrow as well as a baseball game.  We are both very excited and can't wait.  I think I have caught you all up on what we have been up to and I will write again soon.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

We left Cortez at 8am this morning and headed to Albuquerque.  Along the way we stopped at Durango, Colorado so we could do an optional extra and it was between White Water Rafting and Jeep ride through the Rocky's.  We chose the Jeep and it was awesome.  We were sitting out the back of the jeep in the fresh air with the backseat higher then the rest of the car so we got awesome views.  They took us off road and high into the mountains.  When we reached the top we got to see an old mine shaft and even snow lying on the ground.  It was an awesome view, we were surrounded by mountains. Jut beautiful!  For lunch we had our first Denny's Experience, it's basically like the coffe club only a heck of a lot cheaper. It's awesome.  Then it was time to hit the road again and we headed for a pit stop in Cuba, New Mexico.  It wasn't a long stop but it was good to stretch our legs.  Then it was back on the bus for the final leg of the trip and we finally got to our destination about 6pm.  So it was another massive day of driving and tomorrow will be the same.  It will be good when we get to Dallas cos we'll be there for more then one night.  Can't wait!!! Tonight for dinner Bec is going to have a shrimp and Scallop penne pasta.  it's going to be a first so we'll see how we go.

Cortez, Colorado

Today we left the Grand Canyon and drove to Monument Valley which is in Utah. We went on a tour to see the different rock formations, the little bus we went on didn't have windows and I don't think the suspension was working because it was very rough. The formations were scattered around, they were massive and was well worth checking out. We then drove 3 hours to Cortez where we are just staying for the night. Today was more of a transit day, the whole trip from Grand Canyon to Cortez was about 8 hours. We are looking forward to spending more than 1 night in a place so we can sleep in!!!

Grand Canyon

We finally arrived here after a 6 hour trip and it's completely amazing.  It's very hard to describe the sheer size of it.  We are lucky enough to stay in a lodge right beside the canyon rim.  We got to go on a helicopter ride over the canyon and it was well worth the money and the only way to see.  Just awesome!!! we had a pretty cruisy day and went for a walk around the rim. We were going to go down into the canyon a bit, but when I saw that there were no handrails I chickened out cos it is a sheer drop to the bottom which is 1.6miles down.   In the afternoon we went on a 5mile bike ride along the rim and it was scary stuff.  But we're glad we did and it was well worth it.  For dinner we found a restaurant that had steak and vegetables, it was our first taste of vegetables since we've been here and it was awesome.  Tomorrow we head to Cortez for the night and it's going to be a 8 hour bus ride. Can't wait! not!!!

Las Vegas!!!

So we made it to Las Vegas after a 5 hour bus trip.  It is completely unbelievable, nothing like we expected.  We stayed at the Harrah's Hotel and Casino, located right on the strip and we were on the 27th floor.  The room we had was awesome we got a small view of the Mirage hotel.  The first afternoon we got there we had most of the afternoon free and we wondered around the Forum Shops which is part of Caeser's Palace.  Most of the Shops were Designer like Guess, Harry Winston and Victoria Secret.  The prices were also amazing nearly half the price in Australia.  Our first night we went on a strip by night tour and we got to see the welcome to Las Vegas sign.  The lights on the Casinos were incredible.  We had a massive treat and got to see a wedding in one of the many chapels though it was a mock wedding preformed by Elvis.  It was pretty funny to watch.  So after that we had an even bigger treat by going to the Palms Hotel and going to the Playboy club and Moon bar, which was located on the 52nd floor of the hotel.  It was completely amazing we had awesome views of Vegas.  The second day in Vegas was ours to do what we wanted, so we wandered down the strip and made it to the MGM grand.  It was equally amazing and they had a Lion Exhibit in the casino.  We got to play some slot machines, we didn't win but we had fun playing them.  For the rest of the afternoon we just relaxed in the Air conditioning of our hotel.  For our night time activity we went to a Variety show and that was very funny, they had all different kinds of perfomers.  After that we got to go in Hummer limos and take a ride down the strip drinking champagne it was totally awesome.  Haze nightclub was after that and it was awesome as well. I left at midnight and Katrina stayed out till 2:45am and came back to the hotel blind rotten drunk.  She spent the next 2 hours over the toilet bowl.  It was very amusing to me.  We had to get back on the bus at 8:45am so she wasn't in a very good state.  I still thought it was funny and so did a lot of other people.  So that's our Vegas experience can't wait to go back on the Grand Northern cos we Loved it!!!

Los Angeles

Well we have finally hit LA,  We spent yesterday at Knotts Berry Farm.  We went on most rides but we did skip a few because they were extremely scary and we chickened out.  The rides we did go on though were lots of fun and the lines weren't to bad.  We tried funnel cake as well I don't really know what it was it was yummy though, we had Strawberry topping and Ice cream on ours and it was well worth trying.  Once we got back to the hotel we went to the Rainforest cafe for dinner.  It was a really nice night, dinner was just beautiful and the inside was set up in a jungle theme so there were motorised animals and trees everywhere, it was great.  Katrina had a cocktail and got to keep the glass so that was an added bonus.  So now for today,  we packed everything up and checked out of our hotel, we had lunch at an Italian place and had to wait a few hours for our transfer back to LA.  We arrived at our hotel at about 3pm which is check in time, however our room wasn't ready and we had to wait 40mins for the room to become available. Not happy Jan!!! We have now checked into our room and we are biding our time till our Contiki meeting at 7pm.  Can't wait for that. well that's all for now, I'll try to post once we get to Las Vegas.

5 days down, 62 to go!!!

Ok so we finished our 4th day at disneyland yesterday which was a massive day, we started it at 7:30am for our Goofy's kitchen breakfast which was awesome, it was a buffet and the characters came around to the table to have photos and chat. we got some really great photos.  We headed straight across to Disneyland to finish the rides we hadn't been on and went on a few again that we particularly liked like space mountain and Indiana Jones.  We watched the main parade and I filmed the whole thing it was great to see. We watched the fireworks as well and it was awesome.  I got sore arms from holding the camera for so long.  We never got home till 10:30pm so a massive day.  Well must go now I'll write about Knotts berry farm in my next blog. bye

Disneyland

So we have just finished our third day at Disneyland, and it is awesome.  We have been going on lots of rides and went and saw a show called World of Colour, it's basically a laserlight and water show.  It was one of the best shows to watch like nothing we have seen before.  Tomorrow is our last day at Disneyland and of course so much more to see and do.  We are also doing our Goofy's Kitchen breakfast tomorrow and we are both looking forward to that.  We have had our photo taken with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy so far, we're going to hunt the rest down tomorrow. Wish us Luck we're going to need it.  That's about all for now, we'll post again soon.

Finally Here

Hey everyone we have finally made it safe and sound!!! We spent the first day wandering around Disneyland waiting to check in to our hotel room, we finally checked in at 3:30pm which means we weren't able to get any sleep for 30 hours!!! Absolutely killed us!!! Disneyland is amazing so far, haven't been on any rides yet, we saved that for tomorrow and the remaining 3 days!!! Surprisingly enough the merchandise is dirt cheap so we will be stocking up before we leave!!! Look out dad more stuffed toys!!! Ha ha ha ha!!!! The meals are also cheap and they haven't been oversized yet, thank goodness!! That's about it for now!!! Our hotel has free internet so we should be able to update tomorrow after churning up our stomachs on the rides!!! Hope everyone is safe and well!!! Talk to you all soon!!

Our American Trip

Katrina and I leave for our American Journey on Friday 3rd June.  We fly into LA and head straight to Anaheim and spend 4 days in Disneyland.  On the 5th day we go on a tour to Knotts Berry farm which is another theme park.  Our Journey really begins then and we start our first Contiki Tour called the Grand Southern and it takes along the southern states up to New York.  Once we reach New York we start our second Contiki tour called the New York Explorer, I think the name speaks for itself.  Our last Contiki Tour is called the Grand Northern and this one takes us from New York across the Northern States and into Canada and back to LA.  We then do our own tours around LA for a week and finally head back to Brisbane.  In all our trip is taking us 67 days and is expected to be a trip of a lifetime.  So as we travel around America we will be blogging about all of our experiences as much as we possibly can, so we hope you enjoy.