Day 14 - Man its hot!

Well as expected it was basically one of the worst night sleeps we have all ever had! Not only was it just really uncomfortable lying on rocks and twigs in the dirt but it got freezing cold which i knew would happen but not that bad. We were all just tossing and turning all night, people we were walking past us a few feet from our heads and when i woke at 6am i just went and sat in the car for an hour to un-freeze my poor old toes! Soon after George and Sam got up and sat in the car for a short while before we all got ourselves ready to go do a massive hike, lovely. But really we were all excited about it. We popped to the grocery store first and bought some supplies for dinner, packets of tuna called "Chicken of the sea" for some weird reason to make sarnies and one of the best things ever, trail mix. Its just peanuts, raisins, nuts and M n M's.So good and they give you energy. 

Changing our minds last night we decided to not hike the south kaibab since we couldn't go to the bottom because i have done it loads before and went for the Bright Angel trail which unlike the south Kaibab has water stops every 1.5 miles. After a little bit of confusion trying to find the start of the trail we set off at around 9.30am. It was already 34 degrees. We set a steady pace overtaking people on the busy trail. Going down is easy its just coming back up thats tiring. We made it to the first checkpoint and plowed on straight to next one where we tucked into some sarnies and trail mix. After a quick break we set off again. We couldn't really go to far down because we couldn't camp down there sadly, and Sam said he didn't feel comfortable going down and back up in one day as he hasn't done all that much hiking which was the right decision anyways, i don't think any of us would probably have done without alot of stress and pain. However we said that we would get reservations and sort it out to come back in a few weeks. 

Making it 4.5 miles down at the "Indian Garden" we took a break in the shade for 45 minutes and ate our dry stinky sarnies. It was so much hotter down here as the lower you go the hotter it gets.

We set off back towards the rim, immediately realising the difference in difficulty. We plowed on up taking rests in the shade. It was hilarious. Every so often you could here Sam saying " Wow, i am never eating Domino's pizza again!" and George shouting at himself for smoking during his time in york " I have the lungs of a 13 year old girl!". But neither of them do much hiking so it was a bloody good effort.

 Just before the top some big american guy was walking with his 9 year old girl when he let out a huge long fart as if no one was around then starting blaming the girl. Bad man. We reached the top at around 3.20pm and gave eachother a little pat on the back. Some enthusiatic guy from Chicago agreed to take our photo so we all gave a tired smile.

After we got back into the car/sauna and on the road heading to one of, if not my favourite place, Flagstaff AZ. I lived there for 3 months when i did my volunteer work out here. Its just a picturesque place full of laid back, bohemian characters where you can find a place to do pretty much any sport you would like, surrounded by mountains and hot girls riding old fashioned bikes.If there's a heaven then that's mine. 

We pulled into town early evening and noticed a motel downtown so pulled in there. Wasn't a bad price. We  were all quite tired from the hike so got showered and went out to a place i lived in when i was here "NiMarco's pizzeria". Its so good and huge pizza slices. We all got a "13 pizza each and tucked in, it was just as amazing as i recalled. 

Our eyes were growing heavier by the minute so we drove back round to the motel. Lying down was just amazing, our legs were aching from the hike so we just laid and watched tv all night. Not exciting but we needed to get an early night after last nights terrible excuse of a sleep. 

Day 13 - Oh my god that's high!


What a way to wake up, apart from a slight hangover. The sun was shining bright at 6.30 when we woke. It was a good way to come round listening to the waves. It was to bright to go back to sleep so we got up and packed our stuff away and headed up the hill to the car. The car by now is an absolute tip! so we chucked our stuff in and got going, all a little nervous about this jump which we all HAD! to do.
Crossing a bridge you could see the jump we were going to do and it looked even higher then we had remembered. Changing into our swim shorts we made our way up to the top of the cliff and looked down. I knew going first was the best as ive done it before. Once someone has gone before you can see how high it is as the person in the water looks so small, however if you go first its just water, if that makes sense. So i scrambled to the top, took one look and launched off it. It was ridiculous! I landed after what seemed an age in the air and realized i had a nose bleed from the pressure of the water shooting up my nose. The adrenaline was amazing. Corny but really felt alive! I sat in the water looking up at the petrified faces of them two when suddenly Sam came leaping off with a face full of fear screaming bad words. He smashed down and came up laughing which was a relief. Now George remained peering down at us trying to settle his nerves. He vanished from sight for a few seconds then appeared, leaping off and letting out the most feminine scream before hitting the water. It was hilarious. We swam round and climbed back up the rocks which was scary itself and decided to do it again and video it which made it even worse as the pressure was on. We had to do it as the camera was rolling. George let out another fantastic yelp on his way down which cracked us up again, Sam some more bad language and i did the same which my mam wont be happy about, sorry mam. I have tried and tried to upload the videos onto here but its not letting me but they are on my Facebook so hopefully this link will work if your bothered.
https://www.facebook.com/sam.barron2/photos

Having the hangover absolutely smashed out of us we headed to McDonald's to get a coffee and sat in the carpark with some sarnies we bought from Walmart the day before.
After filling ourselves up we hit the road heading for the Grand Canyon! No big deal! By far the best morning so far. It was a lovely drive there through the pine trees and little traffic. We were heading for a place called "Desert view" inside the park which cost us $25 to get into which was annoying but well worth it. I worked in the the canyon 2 years ago and completely fell in love with it. I couldn't wait to see Sam and Georges face when they saw it because i remember what i was like. They loved it obviously! It was amazing. There is a tower you can go to the top of which gives you an amazing panoramic view. The river looked beautifully pristine way down in the distance.

We spent a good hour taking it in and set off to try get ourselves into the village campsite. We were unsuccessful. It was so busy and completely full. He showed us a campsite just outside the park. He also informed us you need to reserve a camp spot at the bottom of the canyon to camp there which we hadn't done, so the plan to hike to the bottom tomorrow and camp had gone out the window. Feeling a little cheesed off its got to be said we headed to this campsite which luckily wasn't far at all. They had space but were charging $26 a tent which is ridiculous, so we decided to just put the one tent up. This didn't take long and we went to go get some dinner in a Mexican restaurant round the corner.
We chilled out for a short while but soon got bored so headed back into the park and looked from some of the observation points and then headed over to the South Kaibab trail which i worked on when i was here. We didnt want to do much so we hiked a 1.5 miles down just for a little taster for tomorrow. It really is an amazing place and would say to anyone you have to see it before you die! It just looks fake. We walked back up to the top which is really steep and left us having to stop in the shade for a quick rest.

It was now getting late in the evening so we headed to the overpriced shop to buy some food and then headed over to Yavappi point, a great place to watch the sunset. It was rather busy but we found a little space to sit and watch a truly spectacular sight. The colour's in the sky on the horizon are just crazy. My camera really does not do it justice. Everyone cheered and clapped as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon, we are in USA after all. Everyone soon cleared off while we sat for a while. It was brilliant.
It was now about 9pm so we headed back as we

needed a good night sleep for our hike tomorrow. Setting up our camps, Sam with his paper thin roll mat and no pillow, George using his towel to lie on and no pillow and me with a flat roll mat and paper thin sleeping bag, it didn't seem like it was going to be the most relaxing night we have ever endured.

Day 12 - 3 states 


Well i havent been able to carry on the blog lately due to us camping and doing more outdoor activities so i am writing this trying my best to remember what happened a few days ago, so i will do my best.

We woke quite early and headed down for a quick swim in the indoor pool. Then once the 40st women left we got into the Jacuzzi to simmer in her leftover juices. With some time to spare we went headed over to get some breakfast in the dining room which was really busy. It wasn't bad but yet more plastic egg and bacon. Coffee's always good though. The storm from last night had clearly passed as we headed back onto the road  in the bright sunshine. The road was now taking us north west on lonely open roads through the orange wasteland. We began to enter the Native Navajo territory passing what basically looked like slums. It really is quite depressing around there. We stopped at McDonalds where George sampled his first beef in two years! We were definitely the minority around here and you could sense it. The locals didnt seem to fond of us but it didnt come as a surprise as last time i was here i was always told that alot of the Navajo natives havent forgiven the white man for taking over there America. 
We got back on the open, very open road again and crossed over the border into Arizona en-route to Monument Valley which is on the border with Utah. The journey there was absolutely spectacular. Horizons as far as the eye could see then sudden massive red rocks  touching the sky in the distance, it was amazing. We drove past a random group of donkeys just stood in the middle of the road, and lots and lots of roadkill.
Arriving at around 1pm we payed $5 each to get into the park and short drive later to the visitor centre we were awarded with an epic view. Wide open orange landscapes with nothing but a few enormous rocks. You cant really appreciate it until you are there, the photos dont really do it justice but we took a few good ones.

All in great moods after seeing such an amazing natural wonder we set off towards lake Powell which i hold memories of the last time i was over here. It didnt take to long and we stopped off at Walmart to buy some food to take to the beach. I was only going off memory to get us to the awesome spot i liked to visit so it was a little confusing, however after leaving walmart it soon became clear and i showed the guys a 40ft jump we have to do in the morning. We all felt a little nervous looking down off the cliff. 

Back in the car we drove a little further round looking down on the lake until we came to the entrance where yet again we paid $5 each to get in and drove on in. It all came back to me quickly and we pulled up in a parking space and grabbed our food and sleeping bags, aswell as a lovely crate of Bud, the main thing!

The beach was free apart from a lovely girl working out in a bikini which we didn't mind, its got to be said. It was around 40 degrees so we went for a dip. It was awesome. It was one of the best nights so far. The hot chick left after about an hour, we ate pasta and drank beers until the stars came out. Thats the one thing i got George and Sam excited about when we were England, the stars. They didnt dissapoint. We saw 10 shooting stars darting across the sky. Billions shone above us as the waves lapped against the shore a few feet from our feet. Perfection. We sipped beers until god knows when and slept like babies. 

Day 11 - $10 for mush! 


Not to much to report today. Sam and George slept in till about 10 so i watched yet more tripe about why we should repent and why we need Jesus in our lives on what seems like every channel over here! It cracks me up. You see so many signs everywhere warning non believers and what not. But enough of that jibberish.
We went down for breakfast which consisted of the worst watery scrambled egg and bacon, yogurts then about 4 cups of coffee, but at least its free. After that we went for a dip in the pool outside. The sun was beating down already.
After showers we set off heading for a place i had found on the internet called "Gecko's bar and grill" to watch England vs Sweden. 20 minutes later we made through the traffic of downtown Albuquerque and luckily found a single space to park up. We payed $2 dollars for 2 hours of parking and headed off round the corner. On the way round i was stopped by a guy who asked me " do you support gay rights?" which i answered "yes". He then went on to give me more and more info about what hes doing and why i should support the cause even though i said i had to get going, but as some people know i literally cannot just walk off, i feel to bad. So 10 minutes later he finally came to it. "So since you support gay rights will you sign up for a donation from your bank of $30 a month to help us get equal rights?" Once i told him 3 times that i would think about it but i had to get going he didn't seem quite the friendly chap that he once did when after my money.
We got round the corner to the bar and sat down where the end of the other match was on the tv. The woman behind the bar immediately asked for our ID's. I said i was having lemonade but that wasnt good enough so we had to leave. We tried next door which had a bigger screen and better seats and they sat us straight down so was for the best anyways.
The game kicked off and after 20 minutes we scored and ii managed to contain my scream. We had some food at half time and prepared for the second half. Just at the start they scored which wiped my smile away, and then again which made me actually want to cry. But with 20 minutes to go walcott scored a corker. I couldn't contain myself this time and jumped screaming by myself which echoed round the bar, met by shocked looks from the yanks in the bar. I apologized to everyone and sat back down, only to do the exact same thing 10 minutes later when Welbeck scored. It finished with an England win which made me very very happy.
We were 20 minutes over our parking meter so payed our bill and ran to the car. On the move again we were heading to Gallup. Once there we were going to heading directly north to the top left corner of New Mexico where we would enter Arizona and visit monument valley. However once we arrived at Gallup it was half past 5, thunder storm over head and big towns north for a good 100 miles so we decided to call it a day. It wasnt really a town but more of a strip of commercial fast food restaurants and big hotels. We checked a few hotels which were really pricey until we found the cheapest one "The sleep inn". I went in to check and think we just ended up here because i instantly turned into a little school boy when the amazing receptionist tried to sell the place to me. She was amazing. We settled a price and took our bags upstairs to our huge big room. From that point until we went out for food at about 8pm i sat there thinking of things to go ask her or things i needed downstairs to just walk past her. It was pathetic! But i couldn't help myself!
Driving down the road looking for food we found one place that was a restaurant and not a fast food place in about 2 miles so decided to give it a try. It looked really grubby from the start when we entered. The lady sat us down. 2 minutes later there we native american people coming past every 2 seconds trying to sell bracelets and earrings which i thought was weird. Never seen that over here before.
I argued with myself over chicken enchiladas or fish and chips, going for the first one in the end. Worst decision of the trip so far. When she put it down it looked absolutely awful. Im not a picky eater at all but wow. You could tell it had just been bunged in the microwave for 2 minutes. Half the plate was filled with some sort of brown sauce, still with skin on the top. And the wraps were soggy. God it made my stomach turn eating it but i ate most of it just not to be rude. George and Sam were loving the fish and chips which they offered me which was nice of them.
We made a quick escape and headed back to the hotel. The pool and Jacuzzi was open till 11 so we sat in there for an hour which was good as i nailed my back at the lake the other day so it felt good. We took one last look at the receptionist and headed off to bed.
P.S, sorry for no pictures. None taken!

Day 10 - Gina you Slut!


So had a great night sleep last night in our 50's motel, so comfortable. We all got showered and packed up at around 7.30 and headed over to the motel owners espresso shop to get some coffee that she said would be amazing. And she wasn't lying! It was the best coffee we all agreed we have ever had, not sure how but was awesome. We waved goodbye to her and took some tips of places to visit which we appreciated.
We headed straight to this place we had heard about which was called Blue Hole. It was about an hours drive and the temperature was on the rise constantly which was good. Once we got there we were told the disappointing news that the it wasnt going to be accessible to the public for a few hours as it was getting some work done on it. This was so frustrating as it was now 38 degrees and we melting. It looked absolutely amazing. It was basically just a huge 80ft deep whole that was filled with the most pristine clear water, surrounded by small cliffs to jump off. Paradise!

Someone mentioned a lake nearby we quickly found so we played there for a while instead. That was still really fun. It had a diving board and slides. I couldn't help but think about the people who just live near here and think how lucky they are. 40 degree heat and lakes everywhere to go in, and then i think of Newton Aycliffe in England. There is just no comparison! It soon became very crowded when about 20 school buses pulled up and lots of kids came screaming out. I was about anyways as i nearly broke my finger catching an american football. Its really bruised now and hurts but its not broken which is good. 

We decided to go get some food to pass some of the time. The place we choose was another little route 66 gem. It was actually called route 66 restaurant. Every inch of the walls inside were covered with route 66 memorabilia and the it the furniture hadn't been changed since the 1970's. Had so much character. It was thursday which was apparently burger special day so it would be rude not to. George carried on smashing the meat and Sam stuck to his veggie. I don't know how he does it when there is so much choice. For a tasty huge meal it was really cheap. We took a few pictures outside and went back to try our look at the Blue Hole.

Arriving at the Blue Hole again we were told that the hole wasnt going to be open for a good few hours again so we just decided to knock it on the head, as hard as it was! 

We got back on the mother road and began a 2 drive to Albuquerque. Driving through the town we were looking for a motel but everyone we seemed to go past looked like a drugs den. It was strange driving along, there was a strange atmosphere around that none of us could explain. We decided to check one motel that looked the best of a bad bunch. We were stood at the little booth waiting for the guy to tell us how much for 2 beds who could speak no english when suddenly some guy in a football top, baseball cap and swaggering about carrying some sort of drink appeared from his room shouting " Gina you SLUT!!" as he unloaded things from his pickup truck. George and i looked at eachother and decided to get the hell outta there. 

We kept driving around looking for somewhere to stay but couldnt find anywhere. It was a really rough part of town and everyone just seemed to looked like a gangster or drug dealer. We all thought it would be best to pay a little more for a hotel so we could sleep a little easier. This ended up taking us downtown anyways which was really handy. As we made our way towards the hotel things seemed to get a little nicer. We checked into the Hotel Blue for $30 each which wasnt a bad price at all. The hotel room is really nice and overlooks downtown. It has a pool which we shall be hitting in the morning before our complementary breakfast. 

We headed out at about 8pm all fancying pizza and found a place not to far from the hotel. It was a proper Italian restaurant and you could tell that in the pizza's we got, best in USA so far in my opinion. We decided that we would have a quick walk downtown to see if there was anywhere to get a beer. We didn't get that far really as it really just felt dodgy and like there was a bad atmosphere. Cars were cruising past slowly with music blaring, windows down and rough looking Mexican guys just staring at us. It was just all a little bit weird. Strange as it was probably fine but we just didn't feel comfortable. Family Guy was on the t.v which will do us nicely tonight anyways after a long day of swimming and what not, but a beer fueled night is certainly got to be on the cards soon, but my age seems to proving quite a problem at the moment. Roll on the 1st of July. England play tomorrow again so i better go as i have energy to scream at the TV for 90 minutes! Come on !!!

Day 9 - Welcome to the West

Well we survived the storm. I have never seen rain come down like that and so fast. You wouldn't have even known there had been a storm in the morning though, blue skies and the sun shining. We packed up and went out for some breakfast. We found a Denny's which have been meaning to go to since the start of the trip so we could nail some pancakes. We all got pancakes and eggs, hash brown. George who has postponed his vegetarianism while we are here even smashed down some sausages, cant stop him now. Sam is sticking to his guns and had pancakes and eggs. Our entertainment was guessing the gender of the waiter/waitress. We are still none the wiser.
 It was amazing stuff.
Feeling absolutely stuffed we headed off to a place we had read about called "Palo Duro Canyon" directly south of Amarillo. Didnt take long to get there and we quickly got changed as we saw you do a small 1.5 mile hike down into the canyon. We set off enjoying the scenery and the sheer heat, was around 35 degrees now and not a cloud in the sky. The canyon was really good. A much smaller version of the grand canyon but still good practice for when we get there in a few days. It was immediately feeling more like the scarce wild west which we had set out to see. Walking down the trail past cactus and dry shrubs we started to see lots of lizards scuttling around the rocks. We were about half a mile down when i noticed the most amazing little lizard i have ever seen. It was bright turquoise and a little bigger than the other ones and stood out on the rocks. I chased it through some rocks until i could sneak up on it and got a great picture of the little fella. It was fantastic. Sat still and posed for me.
We got to the bottom, refilled water and then started the journey back up. It was quite steep and still very hot so when we reached the top we were quite sweaty.

After a quick rest we popped back past Amarillo where Sam bought some books and then headed west again to try find a place i've been looking forward too since the beginning, Cadillac Ranch. Its basically a bunch of Cadillac's put upside down into the ground and put in a row in the middle of a empty field. Might not sounds good but it was really really cool. There was cans of paint left around so you can leave your own mark on them, which we did.

After cleaning layers of mud off our feet from the field we got back on the road and heading for a town we read about called Tucarmari, over the border into New Mexico. There was a motel called the Blue Swallow with an amazing sign thats mentioned in our route 66 book. We tried there but it was all booked up sadly, it looked amazing but they recommended another motel down the road. Turns out it was just a huge strip with lots of motels and restaurants. The one we ended up in was called the "Historic route 66". It was amazing. Best motel so far.It was only $49 for all 3 of us and it had so much character and charm. It was like walking into the 1950's when you entered the room. I suppose best of all it was just so clean as well. Outside under the motel sign there was a huge plane just sitting there. So random, only on route 66.

We had a walk down the street to a nearby restaurant "Del's" which turned out to be the best meal of the trip so far. I had steak covered in jalapeno sauce and cheese with jacket potato, with soup and salad to start. Was fantastic. George had chicken fajitas which he loved and Sam veggie quessadillas which he equally loved so turned out to be a good choice. We bought some beers and went back and sat outside the motel. It was still really warm. The woman who owned the motel with her husband came past and we ended up chatting for a good hour about everything from politics in the UK and USA to her getting punched in the face by guests. She was a really nice lady, but we never did get her name. Probably see her in the morning for breakfast as she runs and espresso shop also. Gotta get to bed as we getting up early to go find some Blue lagoon place.

Day 8 - Steers and Queers

Another night survived in a run down motel. Relatively quiet really apart from the guy above us. It was another really humid night. I woke at around 7.30am and stayed awake because i was so uncomfortable in bed due to the fact my bed sheets were literally wet from me sweating in the night. George and Sam slept in today untill 9.30am so i laid in my own sweat reading my Bear Grylls book.

After packing up we set off at around 11am for some brekfast/dinner. We drove past a old fashioned diner in downtown Oklahoma so parked up and headed in. We got yet more sandwichs, pretty much all we have had other than burgers. It kinda annoyed us that the girl on the till when we ordered printed off our receipts and gave us a pen to fill how much we would like to tip. Our arses hadnt even touched a chair and they were wanting tips! Crazy.

We didnt have a massive drive today. We were heading to Amarillo, Texas today. We checked out some of the attractions on the way and decided to check out a Route 66 museum in Clinton, Oklahoma. It was really awesome. It really did feel like we had stepped in to 1950's which i think is the coolest period of time. Everything from the corner dining booth next to the jukebox surrounded by route 66 memorabillia to the vintage cars with Elvis standing next to them. All the while top hits like Elvis himself and Buddy Holly playing in the background. It was also interesting learning about how the people of Oklahoma and surrounding states had to up and leave during the dust bowl due to lack of farming and headed on route 66 to California.
Just outside across the road there was a motel where Elvis would stay regulary in the same room. All in all a good $5 spent. I ended up buying a really cool cup/flask from the gift shop that i love but George and Sam arnt enthusiastic as i am about it.

After stopping for gas and a refill on my favourite drink, Arizona Ice tea, we pressed into Texas. The change in landscape and scenary seemed almost immediate. Everything was suddenly so open, distant plains on the with distant horizons. The sun was back out again. We pulled into to Amarillo at around 5.30pm and quickly found a motel in centre of town. It was $52 for two queen beds and the guy seemed really nice and helpful so we payed up. It is 50 times better than last night. Wi-fi is a big bonus to. The room actually smells nice and clean. It finally time to do some laundry also so we sorted that out, without detergent mind but better than nothing.

After showering we headed into town and ended up in a italian bistro "Eddies". We supped on a few cold Buds which was good. Sam was ready to break his veggie run of 8 months tonight and had a pasta/prawn dish which he didnt really enjoy. They are both trying to break themselves in slowly as it seems the veggie options on the menu's are becoming more and more scarce. I was loving watching them eat meat though for some weird reason. Im gonna get them on the steaks soon. Speaking of steaks we drove past a place today that has the challenge of eating a 72oz steak with chips and salad. If you eat it all in under 60 minutes you get it free, if you dont you pay the bill. I would love to have a go but really dont fancy paying for it. 72oz of cow would be pricey.

After a couple of beers we headed around town looking for somewhere to get a few more but it was literally like a ghost town ! We decided to call it a night at around 10.30pm and maybe just in time. After 10 minutes back in the room cracks of thunder and huge bright flashes every few seconds light up the sky. It was a proper storm. Makes english thunder storms look pathetic. As i write this its still going on now actually. Storm warning keep flashing on the t.v. The rain is absolutely bucketing down. Hopefully our car will still be there in the morning. George is now asleep but Sam and i are watching the news. Warning that flash floods and thunderstorms are going to be ongoing until 4 am. Possibility of tornado's too. I dont know wether to be excited or scared. Either way we shall find out in the morning.

Day 7 - Tornado Alley

Well last night was the most humid sweaty night of all time. Didnt drop below 29 degrees!
 And this creepy motel didnt help to much either. But you get what you pay for i guess.
Woke at 7.30 am and laid watching the most horrific show about these guys collecting stuff for auctions.
After a quick shower we headed out to a local phone shop "At and T" to sort out a cheaper way to call home and eachother. George and i still havent spoke to anyone from home yet and im sure my mam is freaking out. The weather this morning was pretty dull but the humidity was still ridiculous. Black clouds were sat on the horizon to the north as we entered the shop. The clouds were getting closer and the chap serving us began telling us about a tornado that this time last year ripped through the town of Joplin and destroyed a thrid of the town. This was quite worring to us as this was tornado land. Feeling a tad scared we headed back out to find the storm clouds right over our heads and it starting to rain.We were heading 5 minutes up the road to wallmart and by the time we reached it the rain was pouring heavily and thunder and lighting was cracking right above us, it was awesome. Running in to the shop and back out we ended up being absolutely soaked.

It was nearly 11am here which meant time to watch England vs France so we drove back across town to the bar we at last night. The match had just started as we pulled up seats right under a huge flat screen showing the match. We were given a little sound box with the sound of the tv which was pretty cool.
Half time we ordered some baskets of nachos which were amazing. During the second half a lady came in and began talking to a local lady who was fascinated by our trip and plans. She was called Kelly, about 45 and dressed in a casual bohemian fashion, sporting a trilby. She began telling us about the tornado last year that came through the town. She was still recovering from the carnage. She showed a little picture book she had as she zipped on her cocktail at 11.30am. The pictures were what was left of her house. It wasnt much, just bits of debris and wood. There were no walls left and actually no furniture. Nothing. She has a job interview tomorrow so i hope she gets it and some luck. The girl behind the bar who us three were fascinated with gave George and i some free shots for some reason which was awesome. We felt like staying but we had plans and got going after saying bye to everyone, including a yankee liverpool fan and got back on the road after the match.

After a hour on the road again we pulled into a little town where they had huge cherokee totem poles which we got a few snaps of. Its little things like this making the trip really fun.

We arrived into to Oklahoma city at around 6pm and found another cheap motel to check into. 21 dollars each wasnt bad at all but no wi fi.  The place was yet again creepy and the manager seemed a little out there. After getting a shower we drove into town and parked up. Walking around the streets was really nice. Was a nice warm night and we came across a almost european style strip. There was a small canal running down the street with trees hanging over and bars and restaurants on either side. There was a nice restaurant with a talented chap playing guitar, a bass drum and a trombone and even singing too. It was a little pricey but we wernt bothered as we have lived on burgers for the last 6 days! George made the huge decision to get salmon. He has been vegetarian for 2 years so this was a big deal. Thankfully he really enjoyed it, even convinced him to have a little piece of my chicken. After that we headed back to motel room at about 11pm and sat nervously as the guy above who looked a little rough played music loudly. Its always fine but your imagination starts to run away with you. Tomrrow we will enter Texas. Yeeehahhhh!!!!!!!

Day 6 - Here come the meat sweats

Had a great night sleep last night. The hotel is bloody lovely, could stay here longer. There was an indoor pool downstairs so we woke at 7.30 and headed down to do some lengths which basically just turned into messing about like kids. The hotel came with a free brekfast so we headed into the dining area and tucked in. We started with these horrible plastic type omlettes with cheese in but could only handle one so went back to peanut butter on toast and yogurts AND a cup of english tea which was a treat after a week without any. After all showering we were out by 9.30 and headed into the downtown St Louis. We found a place and payed the meter giving us only two hours to explore. The huge arch structure looking over the city was visable anywhere so we headed that direction. We heard that you could take a lift to the top so we were quite excited. It was an amazing structure. 650 feet high and wide it stood mighty above the city and the famous missippi river.

We headed underneath the "gateway to St louis" and went through security checks which took half an hour so by the time we got through and had to wait for tickets we wouldnt have time to go up. So we looked around the free museum and then went back up to the surface. The misisipi was right there so we felt the need to walk down and just touch it. Walking back to the car we went through the park where loads of kids were playing in the water fountains and old rough looking dudes played guitar. It was a great place and one the best cities ive ever visited. But now it was time to start the journey on route 66!

We got onto the mother road and used our route 66 travel book for tips where to stop. Our first stop was a "Ted Drewes", a ice cream parlour that was supposed to be amazing. Pulling up it was booming with life and customers waiting to be served. A good sign. We all got something different but all had the same reaction " wow this f*cking amazing!" I had apple pie and ice cream, george strawberry and ice cream and Sam a strawberry blend thing. It was so good.

After some funny conversation with some middle age american women we got back on the go. The book reccommended a stop to visit the biggest chair in the world. It was in a small town with nothing much else going on apart from this huge chair. Why its there i have no idea but its pretty cool.

We were enjoying travelling on route 66 alot more already due to the fact of the complete random awesome things you find on the way such as the chair. We were heading for a town called "Joplin" just near the state line of Oklahoma to spend the night. George and Sam swapped driving shifts and i got to ride up front, the new pattern at the moment and we headed on west. The road has some really funny billboards now and then that crack me up such as " Choose Jesus or burn in hell!" and so on, religous nonsense but its hilarious.

The heat again today has been crazy, topping at 35 degrees the sun was out often but it was just the sheer humidity that was getting to us. Sitting in the car was just awful as having the windows down was just way to loud and the air-con uses alot of Gas so we sat shirtless most of the way actually dripping with sweat. Burgers and pizza literally oozing out of us.

Arriving in Joplin at around 7.30pm we headed down the main drag and saw a motel advertised so decided to check it out. It looked okay but these places always make me a little un-easy, maybe just to many horror films. The room was only $60 for 2 queen beds, considerably cheaper than last night so we agreed and moved our stuff in, under the watchful eye of some whitetrash women smoking fags in her doorway.

I did some quick research on the laptop for somewhere to watch England vs France in the euros tomorrow morning and found a few names of places. Getting in the car we headed out to check them out to ask if they weree showing them and to my delight we found two so i was absolutely buzzing about that. On the way back we stopped in a sports bar for some food. The boys had some veggie wraps and i had fajhitas, strangely acompanied by mashed potato and gravy. It was quite nice, just weird.

The bar maids were all fancinated by our accents and we were loving the attention its got to be said!

So i need to get some sleep ready to cheer on England tomorrow! COME ON !!!!!

Day 5 - 500 miles until a beer

Well we are alive. Bit of a creepy night in the motel last night. Its just our imaginations running away but there were some shifty looking characters around outside our room, and being at the top of the stairs there was quite alot of noise going on. I woke at 3am some guys shouting in the hallway at eachother. We packed up at around 9 and headed out for some brekfast. Ending up in subway again we tucked into a foot long which went down a treat, but i think by the time we get to this farm we will have put on a stone!
Todays task was to get to St Louis. We have been driving quite fast through the states so far as we just want to get onto route 66 really as thats where we have read about alot of cool and interesting attractions. So it was 500 miles away, quite far.
There isnt to much to talk about really as we just drove all day. Stopped for 10 minutes at a mcdonalds where its crazy cheap! Cheesburger, strawberry sunday and refill on gatorade, $3!! Amazing. We stopped a few times for petrol which is really cheap compared to England also.
It was 7pm when we arrived at St Louis where the streets were full of people. There was a baseball game on where the stadium looked pretty awesome as you could see in from the street. We thought about getting tickets but the game wouldnt be on for to much longer. There was also a free street concert going on as it was a marines memorial day. So trying to find a hotel was tough. We typed different ones in to the sat nav but they were either to tough to get too as roads were closed off or just massive like the hilton, therefore to pricey. We finally found one just out the centre of town and told we were lucky as pretty much every hotel in the city was sold out this weekend! It was a little pricey but we had no choice. Turns out we got what we payed for. Two huge beds, flat screen and just a massive posh room. We quickly got ready and called a taxi to take us somewhere. The lady in reception recommened that we check out the " Delmar loop", which was a strip of bars and restaurants as we looked like the type who would enjoy it. Turns out she was right. There was a university campus just round the corner so there was people our age everywhere. We had a quick wander down the strip and found a nice pizza place where we were seated outside. It had been 35 degrees all day and was still 28, even at 9 o clock! Just so humid. A5 chap with a huge beer took our orders and asked we were having a beer. George and Sam are both 21, however im only 20 until july 1st so i was shocked when he asked but so happy! We orderd a round and sat back and amdired the american college chicks everywhere!

The pizzas were amazing, just like everyother meal we have had so far.
After being stuffed with what was called small on the menu but was actually massive! we walked down the strip and came across a bar with live music blasting out. We went in and tried our look and to our suprise he didnt ID us! So we bought a round and took a seat. We sat there and took in the atmosphere of the place, a real american bar.

We had a few rounds and decided to head somewhere else. I thought i might have been biting off more than i could chew and i was right. The first place we tried i was embaressingly turned down and on the second occassion also. It was so painful! It was now 12am so we decided to get a cab. We called one but he didnt turn up. We noticed a guy sitting in a cab and asked him, interupting him from his harmonica playing. He was such a sassy black guy, he was fantastic! As he drove us home we enjoyed listening to him tell us about things from gun problems with youngsters to being careful in town as all the women have sexual diseases. It was quite hilarious. We headed up stairs to our room quite happy with the night and hit the sack. Tomorrow we shall explore the city.

Day 4 - My word its Hot

Woke up nice and early at 6.30am to birds singing. We all had a decent night sleep but it got pretty cold during the night. The skies were blue and it looked like another nice day. After eating leftover pizza we packed up and set off again in Mary ( the cars new name ). A quick pit stop at walmart for some water and sarnies for the day and we were plowing on west again. We were driving on interstate 80 still and decided to aim for a town called youngstown just over the border of Ohio for a pitstop and maybe some tourist attractions. The sun was blazing down once we had reached youngstown by 12. We ate our food in a car park and studied the map. There was a huge lake, Lake Milton on our route so we thought we would check it out. After a short drive we exited the interstate and found our way to the lake. The water wasnt crystal clear but on a hot day like today it seemed to good. It was now 31 degrees so we stripped down into some swimming shorts and made our way to a little pier with unattended docked boats. It was bloody freezing. We took some pictures of us acting like 13 year old lads jumping in and some good videos. It was very refreshing and cooled us down.

We went and sat on the grass and chilled out for 20 minutes starting on our sun tans. I ended up burning my shoulders abit so sun tan cream will be needed from now on. There were some big kids swings in a little park and we ended up on them for a while. I hadnt been on swings for years. I felt like a child again.


Back on the road again for around 2pm we headed west past a town " Akron" and the southwest on interstate 71 and headed for a town called mansfield. George started to get tired from driving after a good full day behind the wheel, a first for him so we decided to call it a day and look for a motel. The first one we checked out looked like a crack den. It was absolutely horrible! We swiftly moved on and went into the centre of mansfield where we saw " Merrit inn". It was cheap enough so we checked in. Whilst sat in our room there was suddenly a massive smash outside the window. We ran too look and saw 2 cars smashed into eachother under our balcony! Thankfully nobody was hurt, just shook up.
After a quick wash we headed out to look for some food. We wandered around but with rumbling stomachs we gave in and decided to hit and indian buffet. It was fantastic and we managed 3 plates each ! Getting our moneys worth! The waiter Don was really friendly and was good conversation. As we were leaving he invited us out for drinks in town later in the night. I took his facebook and we took off. George was exhausted though so sadly we had to pass. We ended up, or as i write this we are sat in bed watching crap tv but we are all tired so its all good. So tomorrow we should hit our target, St Louis! Good times. Thats if we see the morning, this motel is very dodgy!

Day 3 - Pot aint a drug, its a plant

Well another long day. We woke up for our last morning in NY and quickly gathered all of our belongings thrown across our hotel room and headed down for brekfast, a little earlier than yesterday. We managed to get a seat and forced down lots of watery scrambled egg to fill up for the day. After blasting a few coffees down we went over the plan for the day : take train to times square, another to penn station, take train to newark airport and then monorail to pick up our car. We checked out and loaded up like little work mules carrying our bags down the streets of queens. We managed to get an early train into times square without confusion like the days before and quickly got into conversation with an interesting chap. He began speaking to Sam first asking him where he was from what was he doing, then got myself and George and a few other passengers into an awkward conversation. Turned out he was a homeless guy. He said his wife had left him after 20 years together and now he has lost everything. Quite sad really. He was a really nice guy. He was determined to convince us pot was good for us though. We parted ways after he showed us the direction to the train we needed and watched him wander off down the subway on way to atlantic city, i hope he won some big bucks.

After two other trains we made it to pick up the car. We went through paper work and were shown the car. A silver chevolette cruz.Was a bit better than we thought it was gonna be. Quite posh. We fiddled with the buttons and decided Sam would drive first. I cannot as im not 21 yet sadly. We tried our sat nav that we had bought in NY city. The thing wouldnt find a signal. We tried for half an hour and to our frustration could not get it to work. I swear if i ever have the pleasure to go back to times square i will take that sat nav and shove it up the guys ass who sold us it. Completely ripped off.

We walked back inside and sadly had to pay another large fee to rent a sat nav from the car hire, but it was needed. We were all a little nervous and as we should be. Not one of us had driven in USA before, or a automatic car ! So Sam sat for a while trying to pump himself up in the garage. He finally started up and we began to move forward to our relieve. Taking it slow we made our way out onto the freeway. The stress of finding our way around the huge roads began. At a toll road Sam nearly smashed staright through the barriers, it was hilarious. For that first our i really was fearing for my life! But well done to Sam. He got us on the go in one piece. We made our way on interstate 80 northwest through New Jersey. Soon enough we made it over the border into Pennsylvania to a sign "welcome to the Pennsylvania wilds". It really was we drove from 1.30pm untill 7pm through endless forests and trees. It was so beautiful, apart from the roadkill that littered the roads. The main target sadly seemed to be deer. During this drive through the mass of green we stopped off for some dinner at a mexican place " Moes" at a rest stop. We had vegetable quesadillas and nachos, washed down with unlimited gatorade from the machine. We carried on listening to good tunes speeding west. The weather started off very sunny on the morning but by 3pm it was raining and we were looking to camp for the night. We decided to keep going hoping that we woukd drive out of the storm. Thankfully by 6ish we had and sun was beating down again. We saw a sign for a campsite and followed directions into a a quiet town and onto a shady campsite. We parked outside a small cabin and went in pushing past a squeaky door to find an elderly old man and woman greeting us. They were very charming and looked like they had been here forever. We settled a price and drove down to the campsite. We quickly set up camp and went back out in the car searching for food. Only 2 minutes down the road we found a italian place " Sweet Basil". We headed in to be greeted by several hot waitresses which we loved straight away! We ordered 3 pizzas. Three enormous pizzas arrived and we tucked straight in. We took leftovers in a box and after some funny banter with the girls we headed back to the camp with. Cracking a six pack open,  of newcy brown ale ! we sat round looking at the stars and toasted to making it alive for the first day !!

Day 2 - Wassup Big ZEEE

So, what a day today has been. We must have walked 20 miles and covered pretty much all of Manhattan. Waking this morning feeling refreshed from a night in a big queen bed we pulled the curtains to see a beautiful blue sky. Perfect for a day of exploring. We headed downstairs for some brekfast in the hotel. The room must have have been no bigger than the average living room and only had ten tables so was a little cramped for the whole hotel. We managed to get some eggs and yogurt which was pretty tasty before we went and waited for our ride into Manhattan. A huge SUV wwith blacked out windows pulled up and we saddled up for our journey into the city. Was so exciting on the way there, like wacky races watching the cars flee from lane to lane. We were dropped off at the famous times square. It was absolutely outstanding. The size of the buildings and amount of huge billboards and electronic advertisements was crazy! It was "visually noisy" as George said. We walked down the street opened mouthed and couldnt stop laughing at the sheer size of this place. I had only walked about 300 metres when a african-american guy jumped in front of me, shook my hand and shouted " Wassup Big Zeee!!  Was just epic!

We made our way to the Rockerfella Centre building taking in the sights and atmosphere around this amazing place. Once there we payed for a ticket to head to the observation point at the top. We were sent to a elavator and began heading up, 70 floors in 42 seconds it was like a space shuttle nevermind a lift. Once at the top we walked out and were met with one of the most amazing views i have ever seen. 360 degrees around us was the never ending horizon of New York city. One side you could see all of Central Park, the other the hudson river and statue of liberty, the other empire state building. It was bloody amazing. We stayed up there for a good while taking photos.

We took the lift back down to the street and decided to head towards central park. We stopped on the way at a food vender and got some burgers, pretty much all we have eaten so far. As usual they were very tasty. We then headed into central park and noticed a zoo so got tickets. It wasnt the biggest but still awesome range of animals. We watched seals, red  pandas, snow leopard and luckily saw a polar bear emerge from his little cave. All in all a well spent $12. After we walked through the park in the sun and breaked for an ice cream. After a short sit down people watching ( mainly the hot chicks) we walked back into times square and bought a cheap sat nav for tomorrow when we pick up our car. Hopefully it'll work! 

We headed over to Grand central station in rush hour madness and managed to sort out some subway tickets to take us downtown to Bowling Green, where we walked to take the ferry to the statue of liberty, however once we arrived there the smiles on our faces we soon wiped away. We had missed the last ferry by 5 minutes so had to look at the old gal from a far. It was still amazing to see but could have been even better it we got over to the island, but we gave it a shot. We headed back to subway station still loving the atmosphere around the city, guys playing drum sets, small bands playing on street corners and enjoying conversations with random strangers. We took a tube ride back to queens. After popping back to the hotel we decided to have a walk for some food back to Van Dams diner where we ate last night. We were treated by the same fantastic food and epic portions. You guessed it, the veggies got veggie burgers and fries and i went for a ranch burger, otherwise know as a heartattack in a bun. It was so good! We had a chat with the owner again and told her our plans then said bye and headed back to the hotel. So tomorrow we have got to get back to the airport to pick the car up which should be interesting, then the adventure will surely begin.

This blog is a record of hopefully what is going to be an epic journey taking 3 friends across the USA for the summer, New York to Los Angles, with a little bit of work on farms and ranches. 2500 miles of open road. So hopefully the adventures we find ourselves on will make for for an interesting read. Enjoy !!


DAY 1 - Are we there yet?
So here we are. We have finally made it to New York to begin this journey west. After setting of yesterday from York, England we have barely slept and are all completely zonked! We took a bus from the centre of York to London which was currently caught up in the diamond jubilee madness. 6 hours on the bleak british motorways we made it to heathrow airport. We had all decided that when we arrived at heathrow to save money we would just crash out in a quiet corner somehwhere and avoid paying for a overpriced hotel room, however once we arrived we quickly decided against that due to the amount of people buzzing around and all feeling quite rubbish from the journey down so we ended up checking into a japanese - spacepod style hotel. Charging £65 for a room we thought we would all just cram ourselves into one room. We were shocked to realise how much of a tight squeeze it was going to be, but saw the funny side!

Looking like complete sweaty scruffs we headed into the airport to get some food and ended up paying £12!! for a sandwhich. Madness. The veggies had some pasta. We went for a few pints in a pub near the hotel and headed back for an early night. George and Sam M spooned in the bed, i took the floor with a broken, useless roll mat. I would say we all had around 2 hours sleep that night if we were lucky. Was soo tight.

We finally lifted off from bristish soil at 10 am and were treated to so pretty sweet meals and choice of movies to keep us occupied on the flight. We landed at around 12.30pm NY time. With smiles on our faces we headed to customs to get our bags. This smiles were wiped away when the annoying chap behind the passport checking kiosk would not believe that we were coming to the USA to do volunteer work and not recieve payment. We were sent downstairs where we were told we were to be questioned further. I've never felt so sick in my life. George and Sams faces said the same. After around 40 minutes we were called one by one to tell our stories, and after explaining over and over what we were doing they finally let us go. Such relieve ! We gladly collected our bags and made our way to the mono rail. After riding the mono rail for a short trip and swapping onto the subway we made it into Manhattan. Sadly we had to swap onto another subway train so didnt get to see any of the NY world above us. We got onto the next train and quickly ended up in coversation with two locals who were interested in us. They were very friendly and helped us relax a little more. After they departed we got into conversation with a really nice chick called Jacquline. She was 21 and studying fashion in NY. After chatting all the way to our stop she decided to get off and show us the way, she was a massive help. We shook hands and she wished us luck. It was a really good start. But once good old Jacquline left us we were utterly hopeless. We ended up getting off a few stops to early and wandering around in what looked like the wrong part of town. Not wanting to look like a tourist wasnt an option really, with huge backpacks, tents and rucksacks we all felt quite vunerable. We asked a few NY cabbies for a lift to the hotel but not one of them knew where to go. It started to get bloody worrying. We realised we had got off to early and eventually made it to the right part of town after taking yet another tube ride. It was then a short walk to the hotel which at this point seemed like the greatest place in the world. We checked in and and all got a well needed wash. Sam M was starting to scare children with his stench.

We then went in search of food! We were all very very pekish. We ended up in "Van Dam Diner" not far from the hotel. It was fucking magnificent (parden the french) !! The perfect way to start the first meal in USA. I ended up with a crazy sized Philly steak sub and fries, the boys got some massive veggie wraps. It was just awesome. The nice spanish owner refilled our cokes and was really friendly. As i keep mentoining, New Yorkers, or atleast everyone we have spoke to are so friendly.

We had a walk back to hotel and sorted out the shuttle to Manhattan in the morning. All gonna get a much needed early night. Tomorrow is when the clichy touristy stuff starts !!