The tricky thing about keeping a blog is the keeping of the blog. If you are doing so many interesting things that you don't have time to keep the blog, then you don't keep a blog - but if you have time to write it all down, you are probably not doing anything interesting enough for the blog. Perplexing.

The last item we put in was Fiona and I playing Crazy Golf, and she winning a game. I find it interesting that she did not mention she had a handicap, some extra shots, so as to make it fair. How odd. Nevertheless, it was good fun. After that, we went our seperate ways and I headed over to the Computer Museum in Silicon Valley. The most interesting bit of it was the Babbage Difference Engine on loan from the London Science Museum which I actually got to see being run! Very exciting.

In the evening we went to a Asian-Fusion restaurant which was very funky. Connor (Faye and Bruce's young son, 9 years old) was the star of the place - almost ordering everything strange on the menu and quite happily eating it all. We had Crab Martini, Fighting Prawns, Duck, Salmon it was very nice.

Bruce, Faye and Connor have been such gracious, generous hosts and we feel we managed to get a taste of what it might be like living in California.

San Diego

We flew to San Diego after getting very cheap flights from Virgin America - who were excellent (having flown Delta, United and Continental over the years in domestic flights, this was by far the best). Everything went smoothly, and we arrived in our hostel with no problems - the weather was so good we even managed to eat outside at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Then followed 2 surprisingly good days in San Diego. We didn't expect much from the place, but we had a few days so I suggested travelling down there as I'd played with a San Diego Zoo CD at school as a kid and loved it.

And so our first day was spent at the San Diego Zoo - and it was magnificent. The animals had lots of room and looked happy, the staff were very active and helpful, there were free shows with wonderful animals...it was brilliant! We got there at 9 in the morning and had to get kicked out the park at 5pm, there was just that much to see and do.

On the way home, Fiona got another piercing in her ear. She's been wanting to do this for a long time and so I made her put it as a New Years Resolution. We looked in a proper piercing and tattoo shop, but it felt a bit intense so she dragged me into a local 'Claires Accessories' shop. She sat down in a chair and they gave her a bear to hug, then the girl from the front desk just did it - bam.

We celebrated the fact with a few beers and a quick game of shuffleboard at a local New Zealand bar before heading to bed.

Our second day, we got up late and headed out - past an Oakley shop. I've always wanted a pair of Oakley sunglasses so we went in and had a look...and I ended up investing in a pair. I say investing, because it's that kind of money - but with the driving I'll be doing in New Zealand and all the time I'll spend in sunny Australia, I felt I could justify it to myself.

We wandered down to the shore and took an hour to lie on the grass and read a book while we waited for the boat taxi to take us to Coronado Island. On Coronado Island I got my head shaved - another thing that I'd wanted to do for ages. It just seemed we got the guts to do all of these things in 24 hours! Coronado Island and Beach was lovely and we strolled around enjoying the sunshine.

All in all, it was a superb break - it really felt like a holiday within a holiday in San Diego. I don't know if there is enough to make me go back, but to anyone who hasn't been I highly recommend it.

Las Vegas

We got the Greyhound from San Diego to Vegas and checked into our room in the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino This was the cheapest bed we had to pay for on the whole of the trip - £17 a night together! We didn't do too much that night, travelling on the bus always takes it out of me so we watched a movie, had some drinks and went to bed.

The next morning, we went straight down to the Casino to have a go...

Both of us haven't done much gambling, so we watched the games for a while to get the hang of it. The one that Fiona saw that she understood was a game called Casino War - and for the first time in her life, she put down money ($20) on the gambling table.

And won. And won. And won. And won.

She walked away with $65 in her pocket, and we both felt like this was easy! Whoops. After another wander round, she went back to Casino War and lost it all! I also lost $20, so we were already down $40. Owch. This was a super-strong sting for a couple who were both on a budget (and notoriously tight with money!), but it taught us a lesson. We went for a swim to chill out and breathe a little. Fiona was upset, as she'd already got an idea of going to see the Lion King show, but we regrouped and had a bite to eat before heading out to see the strip.

The first casino, Sahara, was our saviour. Instead of having to put $5 down every time, it was only $1 - and was the only casino on the strip that did it. $20 got you 20 games at worst, not 4. We didn't spend any money in there that night, but it became our local for the rest of the trip.

The strip is quite exciting, the façades of the casinos are fun and there are free shows outside (Fiona's favourite was the Treasure Island Sirens, I enjoyed the Bellagio fountains) but inside, every casino is almost exactly the same. I saw someone win $6000 on the slot machines, and we watched a woman make a great deal on the roulette - then lose it! We got as far as the Bellagio before we were just Vegas'd-out. The strip is a long way (especially from the Stratosphere) and we wandered for miles inside the casinos as well. We headed home and crashed out.

Our second day in Vegas was fun. In the morning we headed over to the Sahara with $10 each, which lasted us around 2 hours (and we got a beer out of it, before 12pm! Look what it's doing to us :S). I did quite well, but this was where Fiona's bad luck started. I even gave her $5 of my chips while I was doing well, but she lost them as quickly as I gave her them. Far more fun though, a great deal less stress and good banter with the croupier and people at the tables.

We headed back to the hotel room and took time out to plan our Grand Canyon trip. This was actually what we were here in Vegas for - it was the closest place was of any interest. We booked a car (Avis again, very good) and got our route planned. By this time, it was 4pm and we hit the buffet! So much food! We did the second half of the strip - again, shiny outsides (Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand) but the insides were very similar as what we'd seen elsewhere. Finally, another visit to the Sahara with $10 each - but this time, I came away with $25! (Fiona, again, nil point).

Our third day was our Grand Canyon trip. We got up very early (7am!) and got our car. We visited the Hoover Dam, stopped for dinner at a diner on Route 66 and arrived in the Grand Canyon National Park at about 1pm.

The views were incredible. We walked up and down the tracks for an hour or so then visited the visitor centre. This got us very interested - it seems you can actually camp in the Grand Canyon! The idea has been simmering, this might be a plan for the future. I wonder if we can get anyone else interested in 4 days of hiking in one of the most unique landscapes in the world then 3 days of Vegas? Hmm...

We drove to some other viewpoints, picked one and watched the sun go down. All the different colours and shadows were fantastic and the sunset was incredible. It was a long drive home in the dark, but totally worth it for the sunset.

One more trip to the Sahara on the walk home from dropping the car off sent us in with $5 each. Fiona put $5 on the roulette table, $1 at a time and lost all $5. I've never seen anyone with such bad luck! However, I took my $5 and got up to $42 at one point. I walked away from the table with $30 and a sense of smugness :)

It was a very interesting time in Vegas, I don't think we've quite digested it all quite yet. I plan to do a bit of an American Retrospective whilst on the plane on Tuesday, so hopefully I'll have got the hang of it by then.

Stu