April 3rd 2009 *Day 1* (Goodbye Orlando and Welcome to Miami)
The day begins with so many emotions, firstly, saying goodbye to our apartments before the 11am kickout time. I awake to a rubbish tip of an apartment thanks to the mess my ever so clean French flatmates leave. Honestly, i wouldn't have let a homeless person stay there the state the place was in. Typically enough, its absolutely pouring down outside, maybe Florida is trying to prepare me for the beautiful english weather upon my return, or maybe it was just a brief reminder of the mood we were all going to be feeling as the end had now arrived.
Its just after 9am and i still have loads to do. My washing still isn't dry, hung over all 6 chairs that are all placed around the air conditioning unit. Im praying theyre going to be dry in time as the last thing i need is to start this road trip with a bag full of wet clothes. I won't even consider the thought of cleaning the an apartment that looks like an atomic bomb has it.
As im routing round looking for my phone charger, Remi appears from his room with his suit cases. Time for my first goodbye of the day. I try not to drag it out for too long so i help him with his bags to the bottom of the steps, a quick shake of the hang and a good luck. Thats the quickest and least painful goodbye ive had so far during my time in Orlando. It needed to be, as i knew what kind of goodbyes were in store later that day.
I return to the apartment to check on my clothes, damn, still not dry and its around 9.30am by this time. Luckily, just in the nick of time, Marro arrives to say goodbye and notices that im struggling with drying my clothes. Luckily for me, she has some credit left on a laundry card and i race down to the laundry room to get my clothes dry once and for all. Thanks Marro, absolute life saver. I have 60 minutes to get my clothes dry, my packing done, and to grab a shower before its kickout time at 11am.
Lili calls me to see if i can pop round and see her and Gaby. I know im pushed for time, but i can't say no to these guys. I run as fast as i can to their apartment to avoid getting drenched by the torrential rain and i seem to have escaped a soaking when i arrive. Once inside, its just a relief not be getting drenched. We talk about the fact our time at Disney is over, the atmosphere seems quite somber. The mood is as despressing as it is outside. We also remind Ashley, who is also there, that her departure date will arrive a lot faster than she expects.
Its 10.30am and i race back to the apartment, again, trying to avoid a soaking as this rain will just not let up. I didn't think Orlando would be so sad to see us leave, it won't stop crying on us. I continue with my packing, as my phone goes again. This time its Rob, asking if i'm about ready. Ready?? Me? No where near. Fifteen minutes later he pops round to see how i'm getting on. His first reaction upon arriving is utter disgust at the state of my apartment. For those of you who know us both, you will have noticed that the difference between my apartment and his was like chalk and cheese. He leaves me to carry on my packing. Its 10.50am and its time for me to grab a shower before security come and kick me out.
I am finally ready at just after 11am, but with my packing still not complete, im still running round like a headless chicken wondering what i have forgotten. By this time, Rob, Doris and Gaby are outside packing up the car. I have one last route round the apartment and go routing through the cupboards to see if there is anything worth stealing. Foodwise, not too bad, i find a large unopen bag of M&M's and some Chocolate twig things. That'll do for the journey me thinks.
I finally lock the apartment and race to the laundry room for my washing. Please let my clothes be dry. Yessss they are, now i can finally get my stuff in the car and we're ready for the off. By this time, im very keen to get my key handed in before security see state of my apartment and collar me for it. I'm like a bank robber trying to get away before the cops can ID me.
Finally we hit the road. Lili and Salvador in their car, and the two Gaby's, Rob, Doris and myself in the other. We drive to the hotel where the rest of the gang will be staying before their sad departure back to Mexico. By this time, i can see the emotion written all over Doris' face. The girl is broken, and it only makes my anguish at the impending goodbyes that little more intense. We arrive at the hotel and head to the reception. We get 2 luggage trolleys to take out to the cars. Lili and Salvador V Gaby and Me. Bring it on. We race to the cars and just as we reach the turn, Lili appears to assume she's won. Nope, the finish line is at the cars guys. Victory for Gaby and Me. Champions!!
Upon returning to the hotel with the bags, we take them up to the rooms and this is when the emotions start to kick in. Rob and Doris become very emotional at the sudden realisation that it is time to say goodbye. The two Gaby's and me leave the room to leave them alone and we sit in silence outside just taking everything in. Rob appears, its time to leave. A quick hug with Gaby and Gaby, and as much as i wanted to cry, i couldn't. We head to Lili and Salvador's room and we all head to the car as Rob and I prepare for the off. This is when the tears start flowing as violently as Niagara Falls. We just can't stop. Its the hardest goodbye i have experienced and took me back to the night i had to say goodbye to Natalie, my good friend from the Haunted Mansion.
Finally, Rob and i pull away and in true Rob style, he unwittingly causes a comical moment when he stalls the damn car. No doubt our good Mexican friends are pissing themselves laughing. We pull away and the road trip begins.
The first couple of hours are very somber and as we decide to pull into a Burger King for something to eat this is when we can finally start looking ahead to our first stop in Miami. Whats the first thing we see when we pull into the place, a Mickey Mouse statue in the lobbey area of the services. We just can not escape the mouse.
After over 4 hours on the road, we finally arrive in Miami, and coincidentally the song on the radio at that point is Will Smith, Miami. The GPS thinks it knows where our Hostel is, butMiami has other ideas. It takes us a good half an hour to find the damn place, even though i have stayed there before. We finally locate the hostel and the next challenge was not a welcome one. Where do we park? There are no places anywhere as we drive around for a good half an hour looking for a place to park. Finally, we find somewhere, but it does not look ideal. We figure, however, that we will park here for 15 minutes just while we check into the hostel. What happens upon our return to the car? We get a damn parking ticket. fifteen minutes in Miami and we get a parking ticket. Great going!!
We take this on the chin and get settled into the Hostel. We head to a nearby shop to grab some beers and head back to the hostel to have a few drinks and to chill out. We meet two of my fellow countrymen as we settle into our room. One of which is down to less than £10 with still a few days of his trip remaining. How he is going to solve that problem i don't know, but i'm assuming he will be using his southern english accent to charm his way into getting what he wants so i figure he will be ok.
Later that night We meet a Polish guy and another English guy, who so kindly showed us the skill of removing a bottle top with a knife. We learn something new everyday. The Polish guy seemed very wise with the ways of the world. The english guy, however, i felt was full of bullshit, but Rob seemed to like him so i figured i would give him a chance. He goes on about the countries he had been to, the women he met, the things he experienced. Quite interesting, but for me, his credibility was zero to me so i took everything he said with a pinch of salt.
April 4th *Day 2* (Miami, Everglades, Boat and City Tour)
After our basic breakfast of toast and tea, or in Rob's case, coffee. Our tour bus arrives. I nearly fall on the floor laughing when the driver of the bus steps off wearing a shark head hat. You had to be there, but the guy looked like a tool, wolly, halfwit! I understand very little of what he is saying, but i'm just glas to be on the bus and looking forward to a great day. Who else is on the tour with us, the english bloke from the night before. He carries on with his tales of foreign experience. I try to remain interested and maintain eye contact, but damn, i am struggling. Luckily for me thought, Rob seems more interested than me so i leave him to do all the listening while i gaze out the window.
We arrive at the Everglades, this is going to be great fun. I finally get to see some real Alligators. We pass one of the airboats and the tour guide on that one is a legend. His voice is comical and..maaaan...i want to be on his boat. Unfortunately, i do not get my wish as we get some woman. In her defence, she wasn't that bad. She was quite witty and had us all believing at one stage that we would have to get off the boat and swim. During periods of the tour, the boat speeds up, and the experience just becomes even more thrilling.
We see a few alligators and after a while i feel ive seen enough and am keen to get off the boat get back onto dry land. Upon returning, we head to the alligator wrestling show. That is pretty neat. The guy pulls out one newly born alligator and a 6 month old one after. The second one i believe is called Randy. I never thought i would say this, but i thought the 6 month alligator was quite cute. Usually dogs, cats etc are seen as cute, not an alligator. The guy demonstrates the art of jumping onto the back of the alligator and pointlessly lifting up its head. Not sure what the point was in that but all part of the show i guess. By this point i am starving and ready for something to eat. Before we can get food, however, the running theme of these types of businesses start and something that will continue to be a running theme throughout
the trip. Tips....Yes.....as if we hadn't paid enough for the tour theyre expecting tips too?? No chance, and a few of the Mansion folks can vouch for my opinion on tipping. Point made!
After eating we head back into Miami where the city tour is next. This was a huge let down. Firstly, the tour bus has dirty windows so we can not even take decent pictures of the city while on the move. Not that there was many pictures to take. Rob and i came to realise that Miami didn't have much to offer as far as sites were concerned. I would get more enjoyment out of a city tour of Manchester or London, in my opinion, city tours are only ever enjoyable if they are of a city with a history. It could have been worse, we could have stopped in a Cuban area where old people were playing dominoes and poker. Oh wait, we did. Rob and i look at each other, confused, wondering why on earth this is seen as a good place to show us. Its safe to say that the highlight of my city tour was the fries i got from a Mcdonalds in the middle of it.
The bus drops us off in a shopping area of Miami as we are instructed to be back at that point in one hour so we can be collected for our boat tour. Rob and i head into the mall, passing a few stalls, all seems very touristy, but thats Miami for ya. We hear some latin music beaming from somewhere so we decide to check it out. Not bad, not bad at all. I was enjoying it until some middle aged plank decides he can dance like some guy whos feet have just caught fire. Nevertheless, seems a good time to take my first video as i had to capture that moment.
We head back to catch the bus for our boat tour and as we arrive the excitement builds. I'm looking forward to this. I can't wait to see all of the millionaires mansions. The trip doesn't start too well, however, as some idiot on a jet ski persists in riding and revving his engine right alongside out boat. Anyway, the guy eventually f*cks off and during the trip we see houses owned by Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias to name but a few. We also see the mansions used in films such as the Adams Family and Scarface. Definitely the best part of the day.
By the time we reach dry land, its around 5pm and this is when our parking ticket expires on the car. Shit, we are going to get our second parking ticket in Miami, or maybe even worse, the car may be impounded. This really would be a great start.
The bus arrives at our hostel and we are dropped off. First thing we do is run straight over to see if the car is still there. Miraculously, the car is still there, and with not even a parking ticket on it. Result! We get to enjoy the rest of our night drinking and relaxing. Its at this point we start making arrangements for our accomodation for Memphis. With all that sorted, we get some more beers in and enjoy another night of drinking and relaxing.
As the night progresses we decide to head out and walk towards the beach just to take in the Miami evening air. It was an enjoyable experience, and gave us a chance to think about the rest of our trip. We circle the block and head back to the Hostel with the intent of nipping back out to a local bar for a drink. On arriving back at the hostel, the 'the english bullshitter' sees us and asks if he can join us. Why not? Why not experience another night of total drivel! Adds to the experience i suppose. We head to this nearby bar where i order some fries as i am starving. Food aint up too much but at least it satisfied my appetite. After a couple of hours of me going off into my own little world and Rob's ear being talked off by this guy, we head back to the hostel where we hit the sack.
April 5th *Day 3* (Adios Miami)
The day for departing Miami arrives and in all honesty, i'm glad. I had seen of Miami what i wanted to see and felt it didn't have much else to offer. We have our usual basic breakfast outside and all i can think about is getting outa there and looking ahead to our future adventures. We pack the car up and take off. One problem though, the road we need to take to get out of Miami is closed. God knows why, but you know these road works guys. They will use any excuse to dig up a road. The GPS seems dead set on taking us through this route as it just keeps sending us back to the same point. Rob has an idea, drive so f*cking far to the other side of the city and maybe the GPS will give us another route? It works! Finally it is Adios Miami and Hola to the big wide road!
The journey back up Florida is a long and boring one. Nothing much to see but Disney signs and burger joints. We make another stop, yes you guessed it, for another Burger. I believe it was Burger King again. Gotta love it! And no i am not stealing Mcdonald's slogan, that is 'I'm lovin it'. After our hunger is satisfied we hit the road again and continue driving until we leave the state of Florida. Finally, we are out of Florida and now it feels like our road trip has started.
We hit the state of Georgia and on route we drive through the city of Atlanta. Beautiful looking city. The tall skyscrapers from a distance looks great and we even pass by the stadium of the Atlanta Braves. I use this moment as an opportunity to take another short video. Great capture.
We quickly leave Atlanta as we didn't intend to stop. As the hours pass, it is getting quite late so we decide to stop at a services to grab a coupon book to find deals on places to stay for the night. Rob and I also use the opportunity to grab a hot drink. He gets coffee while i get a hot chocolate. We look through the coupon book and after finding a place that looks ok Rob starts the engine and stalls. The sudden shake of car causes me to spill a little of my hot choc all over my jeans and on the seat. Not the first time Rob has shown a slight lack of control of the car when stationary. He will agree. I go into the store and buy some tissues to clean up the small mess. Rob can't believe what he sees. 'why didn't you just get some of the free napkins from the coffee machine?' Good point, i'm not one to think too much at times like that i will admit.
Anyway, we find a place to stay in a town called Macon. Place looks decent enough so we we check into there for the night. While getting the luggage from the car as Rob sorts out the room booking, i accidentally set off the car alarm as i can not figure out how to lock the damn car without the headlights coming back on. Why i hit the panic button on the key, only the hamster running on the wheel inside my head will know.
April 6th *Day 4* (Goodbye Georgia, and Hello Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee)
This is the first serious day of driving. We left Macon, Georgia, at 9am sharp and it becomes quickly clear that this is going to be one hell of a boring day as all we are going to see is roads, roads, and oh...more roads. After around 3 hours we finally make it out of the state of Georgia and into the state of Alabama. We would also make a point of stopping at each state welcome centre during the course of this trip. This became very important for Rob and I. There was a sense of achievement everytime we reached a new state welcome centre. The Alabama welcome centre was totally different to the previous two states. There were large trees everywhere and i felt like i was in an episode of Northern Exposure. Loved the feel of experiencing something new though.
We get back in the car and continue our journey and head towards Tennessee, passing through the birth place of Elvis Pressley, Tupelo, Mississippi. The state welcome centre is ok. I find the guy there a little miserable, but who cares. Rob got his free coffee, but as usual, no tea on offer, which i found quite annoying. Why does American assume everyone drinks coffee. Tea is where its at!
We soon arrive in Tennessee, the home of Memphis and we make it there in good time. The arrival into Memphis itself is pretty scary though. We fear that we are going to be shot at as the place looks like a 2nd world war bomb had hit it. All of a sudden, the comfortable surroundings of disney seemed a distant memory. Rob and I pray between us that our hotel is not going to be slap bang in the middle of this shit hole. The words, 'you have reached your destination' all of a sudden seemed a moment of dread for us.
We arrive at the hotel and luckily for us, we appear to have left the bad part of town behind us, never to return. The hotel seemed ok from the outside. We go inside and head for the reception. I have to say, the decor of the place was dreadful. I felt like i was in a hotel that aspired to be the tower of terror. Was so out dated and looked like it had been furnished by a dodgy antique dealer.
Rob seemed quite intrigued by the little bell on the reception counter. He rang it at least 3 times until i told him to behave himself. A young lady appeared, she didn't seem too bothered by the fact Rob had found a new toy, in fact, she seemed quite amused. Her accent was so strong, it finally felt we were out of Florida. It was so different. We checked into our room and while being given the key we asked the girl if she could recommend places of interest. She seemed keen to point out that there was an Irish bar around 5 minutes down the road, and from the fright we got when entering the area, anywhere close seemed a favourable option, especially on foot.
We took our bags upstairs, settled into our room. I checked my emails and was also horrified to find that my beloved Manchester Utd had drawn 2-2 at home to FC Porto in the European Champions League Quarter Final 1st leg. That put a dampener on my night, but i was keen to forget with a few beers. We headed back down towards reception where we asked for directions to the Irish bar. As the lady is giving us directions i can see look the of concentration etched on Rob's face. She finishes and asks Rob to repeat to her what she has just said. Rob immediately makes a mistake when relaying the directions. I look at Rob and make fun of him to which he responds, 'well do you know?'. My response is a quick no. The girl is in stitches at this point at how much of an idiotic pairing Rob and i are.
We make our way to the bar, but already looking over our shoulders for any potential mugger. The place really did not feel safe and we were glad just to get into the bar. The place was hardly swarming with people, my guess would be ten or twelve people, tops. Five of which were sat watching the College Basketball playoff. One guy in particular, was going mental. Off his seat every second shouting at the screen and clapping his hands. Kind of reminded me of myself back in England while watching last years Champions League final. To our right was an oldish couple. They caught our attention due to the outragious hair cut the guy was sporting. You could seriously have sat a coffee mug on his head. God knows how much hair spray he used to keep that in place. Anyway, i sneakily positioned my camera so i could take a sly pic of him. I had to, it would have been rude not to. It wasn't until later i found out these guys were Irish and staying in our hotel. On a whole, we were impressed with the place. The food hit the spot and the beer was cheap enough. A night well spent i say.
APRIL 7TH *DAY 5* (Memphis, Graceland Here We Come, Ahuh, Thankyou Very Much)
We took the opportunity to have a slight lie in on this day. I think we may have surfaced around 10am. While getting ready i noticed out of our hotel window a doughnut place called Donald's Doughnuts. That was my breakfast decided. We were gona hit this place before we did anything that day. I couldn't believe how cheap the place was, probably cost me around $3 for one big chocolate doughnut and two jam filled doughnuts. Value for money i say. Rob didn't seem too adventurous with his choice, he got just one doughnut and i felt he didn't take full advantage of it, but each to their own i guess.
After that, we hit the road and headed for Graceland and the home of Elvis Pressley. We kept expecting to see something more of Memphis, maybe the hidden part that would make us realise that we had been quite harsh on our judgement of Memphis. The place just could not prove us wrong. Even my home town looked far nicer in comparison. What on earth did Elvis see in this place to want to live here?
We finally arrived at Graceland and again, the place looked like a modern day red light district. Nothing to it at all. Maybe Graceland was some secret city buzzing with life? Nope. We arrived and as we entered i immediately felt like the whole thing was one big commercial con. $28 for a tour of Elvis' mansion, and $33 for a complete tour, which included his plane, museum etc. Didn't seem worth it to spend $28 on just the mansion so we went for it!! We paid for the whole tour!! Bring it on!!
One thing that struck me from the start was how miserable every employee of the place was. Not a single smile from any of these individuals. That annoyed me, maybe i had spent too much time at Disney, but then again, i worked in the Haunted Mansion so that couldn't have been it. It seemed like they would just take our money and then f*ck us off. I think Elvis would turn in his grave if he knew what was going on at that place. While queueing for the short bus ride to the mansion, two Graceland employees were offering photos in front of some hideous looking background picture. Why couldn't we just use our own cameras? We declined the photo opportunity and while they weren't looking, Rob tried his look with his outstretched arm in front of the background. Worked out a treat and he was laughing. Nice one Rob, that taught those opportunistic f*ckers!
We took a two min bus ride to his mansion and the place looked beautiful. Very modest looking mansion by todays standards, but i am sure that in those days, the place would have been deemed just incredible. We were given head sets and some tape recorder to take us through the tour. We entered and the place was your typical 1960's decor. I was a little annoyed that we had paid $33 and were not allowed upstairs. That was to be kept private in Elvis' honour apparently, but still, i didn't like that. We looked round each room and the whole place just looked very unique. The guy had style, well 1960's style anyway.
We continued looking around, out the back of his mansion, his shooting range, his awards museum etc. I got bored of it at this point. I am not an Elvis fan at all, but it was interesting to see where he lived, for all of five minutes. I took a sneaky video of the garden area even though video's were strictly prohibited. One thing that particularly annoyed me was seeing a Graceland attendant checking his phone right in front of us. If we had done that at Disney we would have been fired. Disgraceful and unprofessional, but again, maybe i am judging them by disney standards. The mansion tour was concluded with a peak at the graves of Elvis, along with his parents and grand mother. I half expected movement in Elvis' grave with the sound of him
turning over in disgust!
We went on to view Elvis' plane, named the Lisa Marie. Was quite neat inside, couldn't believe so much could fit inside. If i was Elvis i would have never got off the plane to perform. I could have lived in it.
We then went on to view the little museums and his car collection, which was cool. The only annoying part of that was some security guard started talking our ears off for well over half an hour. He was talking about his retirement. Rob and i kept dropping hints that we were ready to leave but he just did not catch on. Eventually we got away, but man, i was nearly comatised by this point.
What else has Memphis got to offer? Well we figured we would find the city centre, the happening place of Memphis. We headed towards Bale Street, which we were lead to believe is the most happening place in Memphis, especially at night. We figured we would check it out. The moment we park the car and step out, two guys shout over to us, 'is that your car?'. Rob and i are thinking, 'shit, why us?' Turns out we left the headlights on so we breathed a huge sigh of relief. Seconds later some crazy homeless guy who quite enjoyed talking to himself trys to call us over, but since Rob and i are keen to hold onto our wallets we carry on walking and head to Bale Street.
Once in Bale Street we take in the atmosphere, but are still a little wary as there appears to be quite a few dodgy looking characters hanging around. Within minutes, a black guy with horrible teeth comes over to us and asks us where we are from. 'You don't wanna be going this way man, follow me, i'll show you what you need to see' he says. It seems the locals can smell the tourists in us and we feel like sitting ducks. Rob is quick to say no and we carry on walking. In space of ten minutes, we have probably come close to being mugged twice. This place isn't for us, so we decide to leave, but not before seeing some crazy lady offering $5 rides on her cinderalla style carriage. What is this place all about?
On the way back to the hotel we stop at some discount supermarket to get a few bits and pieces. I'm still very wary of what im spending so i buy two cans of cheap soup and some noodles, and Rob buys some bread buns. This seemed to be the running theme of the trip, Rob would eat plain bread buns and i would eat noodles, especially while on the road.
We head back to the hotel where we chill out for a couple of hours, still comatised from our long afternoon at Graceland. Don't get me wrong, it was really nice to experience this as it isn't everyday you get to see where Elvis Pressley lived. We were just ready to leave the place after a couple of hours.
Due to the events of earlier in the day, we decided to give Bale Street a miss and headed for the irish bar once again. We felt we just wanted to get out of Memphis alive so wanted to stay close by our hotel for a quick get away. Once there, i order some bbq chicken nachos. Our server was some crazy guy who talked like he was a black gangster rapper. He appeared to be hard as nails, but he was awesome. He gave Rob and i so many laughs that night as he would make a point of coming by to talk to us every fifteen minutes or so. He even gave Rob his email address.
Our time in Memphis was drawing to a close and our highlight was probably the two evenings we spent in the Irish bar. The differing characters in there was just hilarious. From a crazy basketball fanatic to some lunatic server, can't get more random than that. Goodbye Memphis, but we won't be missing the place. Still, we have to consider our time their a success, we held onto our wallets and our teeth so not all bad i guess.
APRIL 8TH *DAY 6* (GOOD RIDDANCE MEMPHIS)
The day finally arrived for us to depart Memphis. I can't say we were going to miss the place, but there seemed to be a feeling of relief between Rob and i upon leaving. We depart and within half an hour have crossed the state border into Arkansas. The theme of stopping at every welcome centre continued, as we took a moment to take a couple of pictures. By this point, the flat land of Orlando seemed a distant memory as the area is so up and down and hilly.
As we continue our route, we pass through Little Rock, Arkansas and Fort Smith. We knew we were in for a long journey today, but we were determined to reach our next destination as quickly as possible, but within a realistic expected arrival time.
The next state border arrives and we are now in Oklahoma state. As usual we stop at the state welcome centre where Rob gets his customary cup of coffee, while i again, feel neglected by the fact there is no tea. We grab a few state maps and a hotel coupon book in order to plan our next place to sleep. Since our next stop was going to be Arizona for the Grand Canyon, we were looking at two or three days of being on the road. It was a daunting thought but the end reward kept us going.
Oklahoma City comes and goes, as we see a beautiful sunset. Hunger quickly sets in and we decide to make a stop for some food. We figure we are sick of eating burgers so Taco Bells is our choice this time around. I'm still concerned about my cash levels so i decide to get a couple of chicken wraps. It hits the spot and we hit the road once more, with our evening destination decided, we decide to head as close to Amarillo, Northern Texas, as possible to lay our heads for the night.
It is coming close to 11pm and we suddenly hit this long straight road, that feels very smooth. This is the road that would take us onto Route 66 and excitement was building for that. I know Route 66 is just a road, but still, it is Route 66! We find a motel and pull in. I jump out of the car to enquire as to how much it is going to cost for a room. $110 i am told. No chance, we were not prepared to be ripped off by some jumped up indian money grabber. We carried on searching, driving slowly through the town for somewhere else. We finally find a Budget Inn, and the price is to our liking. After asking the lady if they served breakfast, her response was a 'honey bun.' This seemed to confuse Rob, who looked at her confusingly and replied, 'Honey Bunny?' This set me off and in turn that sets Rob off, with the poor lady behind the counter wondering what idiots she is dealing with.
APRIL 9TH *DAY 7* ('WE'RE ON THE WAY TO AMARILLO')
This for me was the most tiring day of the trip. We spent hours and hours travelling down a long straight road that never seemed to end. Within a couple of hours we hit Amarillo, and all of a sudden, i wondered just why there was a song written about it. I couldn't get over just how neglected the whole area was. There was no one about. We even lost reception on the radio and were forced to listen to some ridiculous Mexican music. No offence to our Mexican friends, but even by your standards you would have thought it was dodgy.
The most notable events of that day was passing what was claimed to be the worlds largest cross. The sign wasn't kidding. It was huge and i'm assuming was the pride of the town, although in majority of places it would have been deemed a monstrocity. Along the way we also passed what appeared to be little mini tornadoes. They didn't look destructive at all, but it was just strange to see something so small that it would probably only swipe you from your feet momentarily.
The wind was very strong that day. So strong in fact that it resulted in us going through our gas much quicker, which was a little annoying since we had got used to the $20 a day we were putting in our tank. The cruise control was not so useful for us that day as we were being blown all over the road. The most challenging part of journeys like this was my ability to stay awake, as i knew if i fell asleep it would make Rob's task of driving that much more difficult. The radio did not make it any easier for me to stay awake.
As the day progressed we passed through Amarillo and went through towns called Vega and Adrian before exiting Texas into New Mexico. The New Mexico welcome centre, again, had a different style about it. There seemed more of a Mexican feel to this place. We entered and Rob asked the usual questions, such as where the places of interest were. I remember while we were there, some guy was asking where the nearest gas station was. He was in trouble. The next one was nearly two hours away and he was nearly out. How he managed to get out of that one i do not know.
After keeping to our tradition and taking photo's, including one in front of a Route 66 sign, we continued with our journey with the aim of making it to our desired destination for the night, Albuquerque. After a couple of hours we made a stop at a gas station and could not believe the price of the gas. It was by far the highest amount we had paid so far. I went in to pay for the gas and as i stepped into the store, i walked straight back out, convinced i had just walked into the wrong place. It quickly became clear that i was in the right store.
I go back in, and to be surprisement and to be honest my amusement to, all i see is stuffed animals for sale, guns, knives, and loads of red indian stuff. Rob joins me and is just as amused by what is on display. I felt like i was in a movie, places like this didn't exist in my mind.
We paid for the gas and found that we got a free hot dog for filling up. That was cool, until we realised it was just one hot dog and we would have to share it. That was devoured within half a minute as we were both starving. We had one last look around the place, taking in all of the unusual things before leaving and hitting the road once more.
The remainder of the day would see us pass through places such as Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Moriarty and Edgewood before arriving in Albuquerque. It was a long day of driving and as much as i struggled to stay awake for the days journey, i can not imagine what it was like for Rob actually having to concentrate driving it.
APRIL 10TH *DAY 8* (WELCOME TO ARIZONA, THE GRAND CANYON STATE)
This was to be another long day of travelling as we still expected to face another full day of driving. The surroundings really did not make life easy for us as there was just miles and miles of nothing but road, and scorched land.
If we felt the day before was testing then this was to be even more challenging. The journey did not become easier from this point. We were so geared towards seeing the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas that i guess we just kind of sleep walked through this day.
As the day's journey progressed and we passed places called Grants and Gallup before leaving the state of New Mexico we finally arrived in Arizona. The welcome centre here was like no other. Mountains everywhere around us and as the sun was setting it created an amazing colour among the rocky mountains. Unfortunately, the welcome centre was closed as we arrived too late in the day, but we did find time to take a picture of each other in front of the Arizona State sign. I remember it was very chilly. This was something i could not get used to during the trip. The temperature in each place fluctuated so much that i just could not get used to be cold or hot.
We decided that our destination for the evening would be a town called Flagstaff. We passed through Holbrook and Winslow before arriving at our hotel for the evening. I remember while waiting to get the guy's attention, i was suddenly attacked by some mad butterfly. I start jumping around convinced it has got into my clothes and it appears to amuse Rob and the guy behind the desk.
We check in and i try to get online to check my emails, but to my disappointment, the wireless does not work. I spend the next half an hour down at reception trying to get the guy to help me sort it. To his credit he offered as much help as he could but he could not figure it out, so i gave up and just watched tv and went to bed.
APRIL 11TH *DAY 9* (GRAND CANYON DAY AND VIVA LAS VEGAS)
As became a common theme, i was last to get out of bed, as Rob had become used to the fact that i was not a morning person. I probably kept him waiting more times then he kept me waiting and as much as it embarrased me, this is a habit i just couldn't shake. The guy needed have the patience of a saint when dealing with me.
We figured out the quickest route to the Grand Canyon and hit the road, due to the fact that we did not have a free breakfast thrown in, due to the fact we got our room at such a heavily discounted rate. We figured that the quickest way to the Grand Canyon was through a place called Williams. The drive probably took around ninety minutes, maybe a little longer. All i remember was anxiously looking out of the window for any sight of the Grand Canyon. Neither of us could wait to see something we had heard so much about. This was probablythe most exciting day of the trip so far for me, maybe even eclipsing Miami.
As the journey continued, hunger set in, and we had our heart set on a Wendy's. Yes, another fast food joint. We found ourselves being sucked in by the American tradition of eating fast food every day. We loved Wendy's though. Those 99c burgers were amazing and really did fill us up so for us, nothing came close to that.
Upon arriving, we got out of the car and were nearly blown from our feet due to the sheer force of the wind. It was crazy, and so we made a run for Wendy's and a taste of their magnificent food. Inside, we saw pictures of the Grand Canyon, and this only heightened our excitement further. We were going to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world. I could not believe it, it was so overwhelming.
We hit the road again and headed for the Grand Canyon, the suspense was killing me. I just wanted to see what i had seen so many pictures of. I also had a bet with an old friend of mine that i would go closer to the edge of the canyon than he managed. This was most forfront of my mind, i didn't care if i was going to be blown off the edge. if i was going to die, at least it would have been doing something daring.
Finally, we arrived, but still no sign of the Canyon. We paid our entrance fee of $20 and in we went. The next challenge was finding a parking space. This was crazy, we could not find one. Eventually after 20 minutes of driving around we find a space and we can finally park up and see what we have waited so long for.
One thing that struck me once we saw the Grand Canyon, was how thin the air was. I felt so out of breath for the majority of the time, i wasn't sure whether it was down to my excitement or whether the air actually was thin. With getting close to the edge still the main thing on my mind i was annoyed to see so many railings and restrictions. This did not interest me in the slightest, i wanted danger. Rob did not share my views but he did agree to go to one of the areas where there were no railings.
Once at one of these points, i handed my camera to Rob at the top as i made my way down to this secluded rock that looked a tad dangerous. I get down there and wait momentarily as another guy is having his picture taken in this exact spot. After a while i finally get my chance to win my bet. I make my way across and once on the rock, my legs turn to jelly as i look up to Rob for him to take my picture. At this point, i feel a gush of wind will knock me off my feet and send me falling hundreds of feet to my death. I shout at Rob to get a move on and take my damn picture as i am feeling far from comfortable. Finally he is done and i can make my way back to the top.
Once at the top, it is Rob's turn as he is adament he wants to have a picture taken there too. He does ok, as he makes it onto the exact same rock, but with an air of caution. He won't quite stand on it completely, putting one foot on it as he aims to feel more secure. I take my time with the pictures knowing full well he is freaking out too, i enjoyed his moment of panic. Evil i know, but that is just me.
We make our way to another area of the Canyon and i find another edge i want to get close to. I head down with my camera and i ask Rob to take a picture of me stood on the edge. A couple of the other tourists can not quite believe i want to go to the edge, but despite their surprise they encourage me and watch as i have my picture taken. Rob on other hand will only go as far as the rock slightly further in, which is fair enough. Not everyone is as dumb as me.
After a couple of hours exploring the Canyon we decide it is time to leave as Las Vegas suddenly sweeps our minds. The only irritating aspect of this journey was that we had to go back two hours from where we had just travelled from in order to make it onto the right route. We knew it would be worth it though.
This part of the journey would be the most frustrating of our trip so far as we would find out later into the evening as we approached the Arizona, Nevada border.
In the mean time, we encountered hours and hours of the same shit. Rocky mountains and dead grass fields. Eventually the rocky mountains would turn into sandy mountains and it suddenly dawned on me that we had maybe hit a desert. It was something different and suddenly awoke me from my coma. How Rob was staying awake through all of this i have no idea, but it finally seemed like we were getting somewhere. At this point we had been on the road for around seven hours at least.
We were due to make good time, possibly arriving in Vegas by around 6.30pm. This is before we hit some heavy goods vehicle check point. From this point on, we were in a huge traffic jam that would take us at least two hours to break free from. I am confident that if i had got out and walked from this point i would have made it to Vegas a lot sooner than if we had stayed in the car. How could a city like Vegas have only one little road leading into it? In England, we have alternative roads if another is blocked, and this was one of the main irritations of the road trip. The route into every major city seemed gridlocked, or that was the impression Rob and i got from our experience.
Slowly but surely we start moving at a faster rate and eventually make it through the Hoover Dam. This was incredible. I had never seen anything so spectacular, as we saw the bridge that was in the process of being built. At this point it was dark and the worklights were projected onto the bridge. It was amazing and we felt we were finally on route to Vegas.
After another half an or so we make it past these dark windy roads, that appear quite dangerous. Rob at this point is feeling anxious as we do not feel safe on these roads. All of the anguish turned to amazement, however, as we make it over the hill and out of no where we see the bright lights of Las Vegas from a distance. We could even make out the Las Vegas strip, among all the bright lights of the residential areas. I could honestly say, and i am sure Rob would agree with me, this was the most beautiful thing i had seen in my entire life. It was just incredible to see this after hours and hours of driving through a desert.
One last test remained for the evening, however. Entering Las Vegas, this was a bitch. Rob was getting wound up by how badly organised the roads leading into the city were. I tried my best to keep things calm but i was not driving so i could not relate to how he was feeling. The GPS, as it proved to be through much of the trip, was behaving badly. It kept directing us down the incorrect roads and this began to become highly irritating. It certainly was not my fault or Rob's. We blame technology in this case, in true male fashion.
It was around 8.30pm before we finally arrived at Fabian's place, and to be honest, it was a huge relief. We were made to feel extremely welcome and after explaining to Fabian and his family the day we had experienced, they made us something to eat and drink. We were starving and this was extremely welcome and appreciated.
After we had eaten, Fabian, took us to a couple of his favourite bars. All i remember from this evening was just how overwhelmed i felt at being in a city as famous as Las Vegas. I was actually in Las Vegas, seeing the Vegas strip everytime we were out in the car. This was just incredible and i had to pinch myself to make sure i was not dreaming.
First bar we entered was a student bar that sold any type of beer from any country you could think of. I went for this British beer, and it tasted like crap. Was the worst beer ive ever tasted. Just finishing it was absolute torture. Fabian and Rob are ready to go as they watch me battle my way to the bottom of this ghastly pint. I can't do it and i believe Rob finished it off for me. Call me a lightweight if you want, i'm not ashamed of the fact i couldnt drink a disgusting pint of beer. I think i will stick to Fosters, Miller etc in future.
After that bar, we headed to a bar in one of the casino malls. We parked up at the top of the multi storey car park. The view from there was just spectacular. We could see the whole of the Las Vegas strip all lit up and i was just mesmerized. I preceded to ask Fabian and Rob to try and take a photo of me in front of the strip but due to the fact it was night, i needed them to keep the camera still for the night mode. It was freezing so the gits kept shaking and the photos kept coming out blurry. I gave up. Still though, i had a mental photograph of myself in front of the strip so it didn't matter.
We hit the bar, and for some reason, the alcohol was not going down well. Especially after that God awful pint i had in the last place. I tried to drink more but as the night wore in it just became impossible. I was ready for bed at this point as the day had just worn me out.
APRIL 12TH *DAY 10* (CHECKING INTO SIN CITY)
After spending the first night at Fabian's, it was time for Rob and i to head into the strip to check into the hostel we had booked, Sin City Hostel. The place looked ok from the pictures we had seen of it online so we were not feeling too anxious about it. Upon arriving we noticed there was a wedding chapel opposite, and an Elvis themed wedding was taking place. I found it quite amusing but as our time there wore on, we came to realise that these weddings were happening all over the place in numerous chapels all over Vegas, so by the end we didn't think it was such a big deal.
With the car parked up we went into the main office to check in and get our room key. It was some Aussie guy who seemed to be running things. He informed us of a Limousine ride into the strip and VIP entry into Coyote Ugly nightclub for $10 each. We were tempted so informed him we would think about it. However, we felt compelled to do our own thing since we were only going to be in Vegas for two more nights. How we regretted that decision later on.
We checked into our room and found that we were sharing with some dodgy looking Vietnamese old guy with thin strands of hair. He seemed to get great enjoyment out of playing solitaire on his mini laptop. I didn't trust this guy. You do not come to Vegas and spend all your time in a hostel playing computer solitaire. I had my eyes on this guy. As we were getting ready, two incredibly beautiful Swedish girls came out of the room that was joined onto ours and asked us if we were joining them in the Limousine and Nightclub night. Reluctantly, we told them we thought about it but had decided against it. The moment they left the room, Rob and i look at each other in silence, to which i say, 'are you thinking what i am thinking?' Rob bursts out laughing to which i say in a sarcastic fashion, 'you fucking pr*ck.' We had to laugh about it and Doris, do not worry, it was all in harmless fun and banter.
Rob and i decided we needed alcohol in order to prepare us for the night ahead. Fabian planned on getting us VIP entry into this nightclub in the new Encore building. We make our way to a nearby convenience store to buy alcohol and on our way back, we cut across a grass verge. This is apparently jay walking, as police officer pulled over. Just our luck to get caught. The office was extremely rude and i could feel myself getting irritated by his less than respectful manner. I was so tempted to tell him to stick his lecture, but i was keen to avoud a Las Vegas police cell for the night so i kept my mouth firmly shut and just did what he said.
On returning to the hostel, we entered our room to finish getting ready, with the Vietnamese guy still playing solitaire on his laptop. Just before we leave the room, the guy falls asleep in a really strange position. Surely his arm will go numb lying like that, strange guy. Also snored like a Hippo with bad sinus.
Fabian arrived with one of his friends and we took off into town, firstly stopping by a gas station where i tried the first of three cash machines to withdraw money. As you guessed by the fact i said three, the first two did not work. I tried the third one and, again, no luck. This is when i realise something is wrong with either my card or my bank account. I figure i have no money for the night, but i refused to panic. I felt i could work something out.
We pull up in one of the multi storey car parks near the Wynn and Encore and as we get out of the car i suddenly wonder where my camera is. Shittttt!! Ive left it on top of the last cash machine i went to. We all get back in the car and head back. I am praying my camera is still there. It is already the second camera of my trip, i do not want to lose another one. We make it back, and i am relieved to see my camera still sitting on top of the cash machine. While i am there collecting it i suddenly see that someone has left their cash card in the machine. For some reason, i take it, i have no idea why. I have no intention of using it as tempting as it was considering the difficulties i had with my own card at that time.
We head back to the Encore, park up and head towards the club. While we are queueing it quickly becomes obvious that everyone there is dressed like movie stars. Even i feel out of place and i still feel i am dressed smartly. Unfortunately for us, the doorman denied that there was a VIP entry list and we were turned away. Not to worry though, we make it into another club on a VIP list.
Rob is smiling from ear to ear, he is loving the evening and is in his element. He has the moves and is just taking in the amazing surroundings of this nightclub. I, on the otherhand am struggling to get into the night as i have no alcohol and no money. I would be lying if i denied feeling intimidated by the people around me. Rob seemed highly amused by the sight of a girl no taller than 4'6 getting off with a guy over 6'. I have to admit, i was kind of amused to.
As it approached 11pm we decided to take off and head to a bar that Fabian and his friend knew quite well. I can't remember the name of it, but this place was legendary. It was a karaoke bar and everyone inside absolutely loved entertaining.
We quickly noticed an old guy, in his sixties. It became obvious from the start that this guy was going to get up and sing at some point during the evening. We heard some awful singers singing terrible versions, but it was highly amusing nevertheless. Then the moment arrived, the old guy got on stage. He wasn't too bad, but he was hardly Frank Sinatra either. A few more people come and go from the stage and the old guy gets back on stage. He sings a version of John Lennon's Imagine. Again, not a bad effort, but nothing to get Simon Cowell of his seat either. At the end of the song, Rob applauds so loudly that he comes over to our table starts talking. After Rob kindly informed him that he sounded like Elvis, he seems very proud by this comparison and responds, 'i dont mean to sound like Elvis,' and promptly sits back down. Less than a minute
goes by before he comes back to us and asks if he can have a ride home at the end of the night. 'Yeh sure,' Rob replies. I think he had forgotten he was not driving for a change so was not in a position to agree. From this point on we have to plan between us how we are going to get out of the place without being seen by the poor guy. After a few minutes of deliberation, we all branch off into different directions and make a runner for the door. The guy clocks us and follows us out, as we race towards the car and are pleading with Fabian to hurry up and open the car door. Luckily we all pile in and hide inside the car before the guy can see us, and we eventually take off. Poor guy, he wondered what he did wrong, but Rob, not a good move.
Once back at the hostel, Rob and i had no choice but to get ready for bed in the dark as the didgy vietnamese guy and another guy were already asleep in the room. I was surprised that the vietnamese guy wasn't sleeping with his soliatire friendly laptop. I finally settled in bed and within minutes the guy was snoring so loudly, it made a numatic drill sound like a sleeping aid.
APRIL 13TH *DAY 11* (EASTER SUNDAY IN LAS VEGAS)
This day began in worrying fashion as i was still completely out of cash due to the fact my cash card did not work. This was my first priority. After a little telling off from Rob for me to get it sorted, since he wanted to get started with his day, i made my way to Wallgreens to buy an international call card so i could call my bank. On my way there some idiot chancer thought he would come over and make conversation with me in order to get some cash out of me. That is what struck me about America, whereas people here in England would just come over and ask me straight for my cash, in America, they try to make friends and win your trust first. I found that very unnerving. I told him i wasn't interested and he became quite abusive, telling me
he was going to get me and to watch my back. I preceded to turn round and give him the two finger f*ck you.
Despite this little run in, i got my call card and called the bank and explained to them that i was in the middle of Las Vegas with no money at all and what were they going to do about it? Turns out their anti fraud office had blocked my card due to fact i did not explain to them i would be leaving Orlando. Luckily for me, it was all resolved and i finally had access to my account again. Panic over and i could get on and enjoy rest of my day.
I arrived back at the hostel much happier. Rob was relieved for me as he could tell it kind of spoilt the previous night for me. We set off into the Las Vegas strip and headed for the Las Vegas welcome sign. We went to look for it the previous day but another Elvis Pressley wedding was taking place in front of it so we had to knock it on the head that day. We arrived and despite a few people being there, we got our turn to take a photo apiece in front of the sign.
Our appetite once again took over and so we headed to subway and bought a sandwich apiece, even though we knew we would be eating soon at Fabian's as his family had kindly invited us round their house for afternoon dinner. Before heading there we decided to explore the Las Vegas strip, look around the casinos, shopping malls and just generally get a feel for the atmosphere for daytime Las Vegas.
We must have covered miles and miles of walking as by the end of it, my legs were killing me. I should have been used to the walking since i probably covered more miles on the Haunted Mansion coveyorbelt. I really enjoyed Mandalay Bay and Cesar's Palace was one of my personal favourites. I was disappointed with the Mirage as i felt the decor was a little out dated. All in all though, a nice afternoon and i took the opportunity to take plenty of photographs. One slight surprising thing, however, was these groups of seedy looking latin men trying to hand out exotic dancer/escort leaflets. I found that very distasteful, especially since there was a lot of children about, but maybe i just don't understand Las Vegas.
After leaving the strip we headed for Fabian's and we had worked up quite an appetite. On arriving we handed Fabian's mother some flowers as a thank you for having us over. It truely was appreciated and it was nice to experience Easter Sunday in another household. We spent a couple of hours there before Fabian took us back out into the strip so he could give us a proper tour of the casinos and the bars. It was also our intention to watch one of the many free shows.
On arriving, we were shown around MGM Grand and the Ballagio. Two of the nicest casinos i had been in while in Vegas. We stood and watched a couple of the fountain shows in front of the Ballagio and they were just incredible. I was especially pleased to get these on video as its not every day you get to stand where they filmed the last part of Oceans 11. Absolutely fantastic!
We went into another place called Treasure Island, this is where i momentarily lost Fabian and Rob. My cell phone was close to low battery so i panicked a little at the thought of not being able to find them and my phone going dead. Luckily after around twenty minutes i managed to find them and so the panic was over. We watched a few dice games, was interesting, but i wasn't tempted in the least to play a game. I had very little money so i certainly did not intend gambling any of it.
We went back outside and grabbed a spot to watch the Pirate show in front of the Treasure Island casino. We are waiting a while and as the crowds begin to gather, two middle aged women stand in front of us with a little child who was extremely restless. Probably not a good idea to bring a child to places like this as i don't feel there is anything for a child to do in Las Vegas. Very selfish of the two women if you ask me.
The show started and i start filming on my camera. To be honest, i wasn't really sure what all the fuss was about. I thought the show was poor to say the least. I thought i was the only one, but seemed Rob and Fabian agreed. There just seemed to be no storyline to the show and i was lost right at the start, or maybe im just slow to take things in. Either way, the show was crap and belonged in Blackpool rather than Vegas.
The time had come for Rob and i to head back to the hostel and as our last night in Vegas was about to end, we reflected on a good two days spent in the entertainment capital. I was just happy to experience being in the place itself. I wasn't there for gambling or to drink myself to death. I was just happy to take in the atmosphere and get plenty of photographs, so in my eyes, i got exactly what i wanted out of my stay there.
APRIL 14TH *DAY 12* (GOODBYE VEGAS AND HELLO CALIFORNIA)
After another night of little sleep thanks to the snoring old vietnamese man, it was time to pack up and move onto our next destination, Los Angeles. I was especially excited as i had always wanted to visit and sample Los Angeles. It was also a relief that we would make it there in one day, unlike our previous journey from Memphis to the Grand Canyon, which took over two days.
The journey from Las Vegas to Los Angeles took around five hours or so and the trip seemed to go by pretty fast, which was great, since i was sick of being on the road at this point and i'm sure Rob felt the same.
As usual, however, our route into Los Angeles was a painful one, just like every previous city we had entered. Rob was, again, cursing at the GPS. At this point, i honestly did not expect the GPS to survive the road trip. It was either going to get battered to death or thrown out of the car window. Rob was not it's biggest fan.
After taking the wrong turn off, our arrival time was delayed slightly, but this was, again, down to the GPS. I would say never trust a female voice when receiving directions, but due to my experiences on my trip to Miami with Kelly and Natalie back in January i do not think i have the right to make such a claim.
Finally, we arrived at the hostel in Santa Monica and the place looked really nice. It looked, possibly, like it would be the nicest hostel we would stay in during the course of our trip. Our next task was to find a car parking space and we were able to put it in the multi storey across the road, which was great and a huge relief.
After checking in, we dumped our bags and headed out to explore the area. It looked amazing, although it was a little cold. Once we had circled the block we found a British pub. Just what we needed after another tough day on the road. We also took the opportunity to have a long chat about the trip so far, over several pints of course. It made me realise even more that i couldn't have chosen a better person to share the road trip with. It was also cool to get a chance to check some of the football scores. One thing i found slightly suspicious, however, was the fact the price of the pints kept going up every time Rob and i returned to order another round.
We left the pub around 9pm and decided just to have a relaxing night in the hostel, especially since we had a long day planned the following day. It also gave Rob a nice opportunity to speak with Doris over Skype and i was happy to loan him my laptop to do so. I headed for the room and suddenly crashed out, i was so tired. I was woken momentarily as Rob returned to the room, but i quickly fell asleep again.
APRIL 15TH *DAY 13* (HOLLYWOOD)
This was an exciting day as it was the day we would explore Hollywood and look for the big sign on the hill. I was a little pre occupied with the thought of my lack of clothes as i desperately needed to do some laundry, but i figured i would sort that out at the end of the day.
We caught the bus near our hostel and our trip to Hollywood began. Although the start of it was very tense as some oldish guy tried to con his way onto the bus for free using some voucher. The driver was not impressed and would not allow it. A small argument followed and it resulted in the chancer being thrown off the bus. I also remember the roads were very bumpy and the bus journey was probably the most uncomfortable i have ever experienced. Probably not surprising though since the city does receive a lot of earthquakes each year, so maybe i'm being a little harsh.
After changing buses and another five minute journey, we were in Hollywood. I remember my initial reaction was, whether we were in Hollywood or not? It wasn't quite what i expected. The area seemed very run down, dirty and full of freaks. I also noticed the amount of idiots pestering you trying to sell tours, take photographs etc. I felt this let Hollywood down badly. All i wanted to do was read each of the stars on the walk of fame without being bothered.
As we carried on walking down the street, and approached the Kodak threatre, i noticed a few people dressed up as characters from certain movies, such as Batman, Superman, Scream, and i also believe i saw the worst and most insulting lookalike for Marilyn Monroe. She can't have been any younger than seventy. Terrible is the word and i pitied any person who paid money to have the photo taken with her.
On the plus side, we did see the hand prints of Donald Duck and the stars of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. Made me think of Disney World all over again, good times!
After an hour or so of walking around we got a bite to eat in some Mexican Taco place, the food was great and after around half an hour, Rob and i noticed a few people taking their seats on the pavement outside as though they were waiting for someone. We decided to go out and ask what everyone was waiting for. It turns out some guy named Zach Efron was arriving in five hours time for the premier of his new film, 17 Again. I had no clue who this guy was. Apparently he was in something called High School Musical. I didn't buy all the fuss so after a few minutes or so Rob and i made our way up the street to look for the big Hollywood sign. We kept catching glimpses of it from a distance, and so we crossed the street and headed straight for it.
We figured it would only take around twenty minutes or so to get a good view of it, how wrong were we? Over an hour later and we found ourselves hiking up some steep hill of residential street after residential street. We felt like giving up as we made our way up the latest of the million streets we seemed to have been hiking. Rob had an idea, wait for a bus. So we did, and we waited around twenty minutes before one arrived. It only took us five minutes up the road and as that was as far as it went we had no choice but to get off. We continued making our way up and we figured since we had come this far we may as well carry on, even though we were gasping for air. The houses on the Hollywood hills looked amazing, as i had no choice but to admire them from a distance as we were making our way to the top.
I then saw a sign, that read, 'Beware, Rattle Snakes.' The energy just drained from me and i was shitting myself at the thought of one of those little gits sinking its fangs into my arm or leg. Nevertheless we continued walking and finally made an area that seemed close enough to take a picture. After all of the walking, it was worth it, for that photograph, most definitely worth it. The view from Los Angeles from that point was just amazing and made the walk up all the more worthwhile.
Afterwards, we made our way back down and headed back towards the Hollywood walk of fame, as the crowds at this pointed had gathered in their thousands waiting for the arrival of that geezer from the High School Musical film. The number of freaks dressed as characters increased and so did the money changing hands for pointless photos with these idiots. I decided to take a sly photo of the guy dressed as the killer from the Scream series. Unluckily for me, the guy saw me and started walking after me, but in true Liam fashion, i was too fast for the conning f*cker. The only decent lookalike was Sponge Bob, but that is hardly difficult.
Rob and i waited a few more minutes to see what all the fuss was about, but since we had never heard of Zach Efron, we decided to leave and head back to the hostel. Overall, a great day and a great experience, but extremely tiring once again.
We make it back just in time to see the sun set over Santa Monica beach. It was amazing, but damn it was so cold. I couldnt keep my hand from shaking while holding the camera, it was freezing. The sunset was amazing though and to capture on video was just amazing and filled me with so much excitement.
Once done with the sunset and the cold weather outside we were ready to head back to the hostel to catch the £3 all you could eat pasta. We figured this was an offer too good to turn down since we would only end up spending between $5-$10 on some bar meal in town somewhere. The decision was a master stroke, the food was incredible, so good in fact i went back for seconds and managed to get the last piece of garlic bread before Rob got to it. Unlucky Rob mate, you just were not fast enough.
Afterwards we decided to head into Santa Monica and find a bar to chill out and have a few drinks. We settled on Hooters, since this was a favourite bar of Rob's and mine. We had plenty drinking sessions while in Orlando so we figured we would sample a Hooters in LA to just compare notes. There was some birthday party going on inside when we arrived, some teenager's Sixteenth birthday. Poor lass, still another five years before she could legally have a drop of alcohol. Someone should have told her that celebrating in Hooters is just going to make her more envious of the people around her. I also still do not understand how people can
call Hooters a family restaurant. These places wouldn't last two seconds in England. As the evening drew to a close, Rob asked one of the waitresses if we could get a photograph each with her since we needed something to remember our Hooters experience by. She kindly agreed and so we left happy men.
I had made my mind up that i would spend the night doing my laundry and sending emails and catching up with friends back in Orlando. I knew we had to be up early the next morning so it seemed the perfect opportunity to get everything done so i could enjoy the rest of my trip without any niggling concerns. Seems odd to stay up all night i know, but i can be odd from time to time. I managed to make it through to 6am before i fell asleep with my head slumped on the table with my newly cleaned laundry piled up beside me. How that would have seemed to the other guys walking past the room, i have no idea.
APRIL 16TH *DAY 14* (WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!)
This was without doubt the most exciting day of my whole road trip, firstly we were heading to Disneyland and the thought of comparing that with my home of the last six months was just too exciting. Secondly, i knew our next destination was a Austin, Texas, and a trip to visit two awesome guys in Megan and Marissa, who we knew from their time at Disney.
First things first, we had to pack our things and hit the road for Disneyland. The morning wasn't without controversy though. I arrived back to the room to pack my bag to find Rob having what appeared to be a strong disagreement with some foreign guy. I later found out that the inconsiderate shit had snored most of the night, keeping Rob awake for half the night, and then had the nerve to complain to Rob for walking in and out of the room too frequently that morning. The place was very uptight as only the previous night some girl asked Rob and i to be quiet in the study room. Firstly, we had no idea it was a study room, and secondly, why the hell do you come to LA if all you are going to do is read.
The icing was firmly added to the cake when we went down for breakfast and found a little kid running around the place. It appeared that a couple were staying there with their young child. Somehow i do not think that a hostel is the best place to bring a child. Surely a hotel would have been more appropriate.
Our overall view of the hostel was that it was probably the nicest, most comfortable, hostel we had stayed in so far. However, it probably had the most uptight group of people staying there so we did leave with mixed feelings about the place. Facility wise though, by far the best place we had stayed in.
Now we were finally on the road to Disneyland and my excitement, as well as Rob's was building. I could not wait to see their Haunted Mansion although Rob was thinking more about their Jungle Cruise. Either way, the day was going to be a blast. The trip took around thirty to forty minutes and once there we seemed to be led on a merry go round for the car parking facilities. All we wanted was to get inside the park and play, but as usual, access was slow and the suspense was killing us.
We finally made it into the multi storey, to which we were greeted by a car parking attendant who gave us our ticket. 'Have a magical day,' Rob shouts out the window. It felt like we were back in Florida again.
Once the car was parked, we stepped out and Rob threw on his Graduation Mickey hat with his name engraved in the back. The guy was going loopy to say the least. He was skipping around in true Robbie fashion. To be honest, i do feel that any people that saw him will have guessed he was gay. Sorry Rob, but you gave off a real gay vibe at that point.
We get to the park entrance and we can smell Disney, but at same time we decided to keep the suspense by deciding to hit California Adventures first. I knew the wait would kill me but i was prepared to heighten my own suspense. We decided that come 3pm we would hit Disneyland. While queuing for our ticket we spent a little time talking to some old guy in an ECV, ya see, it didn't take long to meet our first Disney ECV guest. He was great, he told us all about the park and how he still worked there etc. He was extremely enthusiastic about the place and i thought it was great how someone could be so happy and enthusiastic about his job.
We entered California Adventures, and immediately headed for the rollercoaster, California Screamin'. We figured there would be a huge queue for it so decided to get it out of the way first. Unfortunately, in true Disney fashion, the ride was 101 and we had to come back in an hour or so to ride it. We would be back though, the ride looked awesome and we could not miss out. Due to this, we headed straight for the water rapids ride. This was not my idea as i am not a known fan of water rides. Those of you who remember my constant refusal to ride Splash Mountain can vouch for me on this one. In any case, i didn't take much persuading since it was a sunny day and i figured i would dry quickly anyway. We don't queue for long before we get on it, and maaaan, i couldn't have got any more soaked on it if i had tried. I was not a happy chappy, and i made sure Rob knew it.
Following that annoying episode, the Mike and Sulley ride followed and then the Tower of Terror. The Tower of Terror was a strange experience. Their cast member was amazing, he stuck to his part amazingly well and really did make the experience of that ride more realistic. Top marks to him, a true Bell Boy!
California Screamin' was next up, and nothing was going to stop us from going on it this time. The queue was reasonably long, but not long enough to put us off. While waiting we struck up a conversation with a lady and her daughter, who were stood in front of us. We were telling them how we had spent the last six months working in the Magic Kingdom and they seemed really intrigued as to what we did there. I loved informing people of my past job as an English Butler in the Haunted Mansion.
The queue quickly wittles down and before we know it we are at the front of the queue and ready to ride!!! We are seated and the safety bar is pulled down securely, we are off. Now what i did not realise is that this ride was a cross between the Hulk and Rock'n Rollercoaster. Not that it bothered me, but it would have been nice to have been prepared for the fast take off. I nearly left my head behind i was that surprised by the way the ride started. By the end, however, it was by far one of the best rollercoasters i had ever been on. It had everything, the thrill of the take off, the sudden freaking out of suddenly being completely upside down, and the shock of thinking we were going to lose our heads at any minute. Amazing ride, top marks there too.
Following this, we headed back for the car as Rob's contact lens' were irritating him. Was slightly
frustrating to put a hold on our time in the park, but i guess i couldn't allow Rob to go through the full day feeling uncomfortable. We went back to the car so he could collect his glasses and we headed straight for Disneyland. The moment had arrived.
It took just a few minutes to arrive back at the park and once there we walked straight towards the most magical place on earth, Disneyland! I couldn't wait to get inside and see how it compared. How big was the castle? What was their parade going to be like? What were their fireworks going to be like? So many questions needed answering and i was going to find the answers on that day. Once inside i walked at a speedy fashion towards the bottom of main street only to get the shock of my life. The castle was tiny, it was smaller than me for goodness sake. After a couple of photos each in front of Main Street, Rob and i headed towards the castle for a closer look at the castle. I still could not believe how small the castle was, it wasn't a patch on ours. I know their castle was Sleeping Beauties, but who cares, our castle is bigger and better and thats the end of it!
It was around 4.30pm and it was almost time for the Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it parade. This was going to be interesting. How was it going to compare with Magic Kingdom's, especially since their hub was so much smaller than ours so i was interested to see how this would work out. 5pm hits and the parade starts. The floats look different but still look kinda cool. Although the fact that half of the floats stop down main street rather than around the hub circle kind of hands the first round to Magic Kingdom. I didn't feel their parade was as good. A parade starting at It's a Small World just not seem right also.
Now its time to check out Jungle Cruise, and i can see the look of suspense on Rob's face. This is going to be really cool. We head for Adventureland and despite the insane amount of people, we manage to find our way to the Jungle Cruise. It obviously looks different, but it's still Jungle Cruise. Rob heads over to the Jungle Cruise sign so i can take a picture of him stood in front. With that over we enter the queue, or lack of it. I could not believe how short the wait was, usually the Jungle Cruise queue is quite long but this one was no longer than ten minutes. Once on the boat we are taken round by this old guy skipper. He aint very good, very OG, but we were more interested in the show scenes and how they compared with the ones in the Magic Kingdom attraction. Our biggest surprise was the attacking Piranhas. I nearly had a damn heart attack, but a few minutes later i learnt to appreciate the touch, great ride, but my only disappointment was there was no Shirley Temple. No 'Its a small world afterall' sung by the skipper. Damn shame! Even so, due to the fact that i feel the Jungle Cruise needed an international theme among its cast members, i would count this one as a draw. Magic Kingdom has the better cast members, but Disneyland had the better show scenes.
Next up it was the Haunted Mansion, by this time i was beaming with excitement. I think i was more excited by the fact that the mansion appeared different to ours. I heard that their cast members were not as good and i was keen to see if that rumour was true. I could see it in the distance and i began running towards the attraction entrance. I quickly turned round and asked Rob to take a picture of me in front of the main gate. I decided to do a combination of Kelly's two mansion faces. I must have looked like a true idiot, with the teeth and the clawed hand with no idea one of their butlers was stood right behind me getting in on the picture. Rob, the git, knew exactly what was going on and neglected to tell me. He felt i would be best off getting the fright of my life when turning round to see the guy in my face. Now i know how it felt for a guest to be freaked out by a Haunted Mansion butler. Many will say i got a taste of my own medicine.
We begin queueing and while doing so i take the opportunity to take pictures of their carriage, pet cemetary etc. Just at this point, i get a text message from Emily, one of my old Mansion co workers. The text reads FC Porto 0-1 Manchester Utd. I nearly screamed the place down in joy. I was so sure we had blown it a week earlier thanks to the 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture. We were through to the semi finals and i was relieved and delighted. I could enjoy the rest of my day, get in lads!
Now back to the Haunted Mansion, seems i was a little distracted there. The queue appears to be moving in typical Haunted Mansion fashion, in other words, quite fast. As we approach the front door i am alarmed to see it remains open. This is not good. The best part of this attraction for me is the suspense of waiting for the butler or maid to open the front door to welcome you in. Or in my case, scare you with my creepy silent stance. We make our way into the foyer and i am getting confused at this point. Is this the foyer? If so, where the hell is the ageing portrait? The foyer was tiny and we could all barely make room for each other as we were crammed inside.
The stretch door opens and as we enter the stretch room the spiel seems out of time. The 'no turning back now' appears to be said so soon that not even the first ten people have made it into the stretch room by this point. I have to say, i am disappointed at this point. The doors close and we eventually start lowering to the floor underneath. I can definitely tell this is a real elivator, its kinda cool, but i still prefer ours. Call me biased but thats my opinion. The room goes dark and i notice the lightning effect lasts longer, which results in the hanging man being visible for a much longer period. I like this, and i wonder why we never had this effect lasting the same length of time.
The doors open and we enter the hallway. This is where their mansion differed to ours. Their portrait gallery is walk through, and the ageing portrait is part of their gallery. The man changes into the skeleton every time the lightening flashes. Cool effect, but i still think the portrait would have been of better use in their second rate foyer. We pass the moving head busts, this is also in the ride section of the Magic Kingdom attraction.
We finally get onto the ride itself and i notice their belt is a lot smoother than ours. There is no chance of some overweight guest falling on this belt. I was impressed with that, but i was not so impressed with the fact their cast members were leaning against the side wall while walking the belt. I was hoping this would not be a running theme throughout the ride. The show scenes were much the same, although there was no endless staircase and we immediately hit an up ramp upon getting on the ride. The remainder of the ride was exactly the same, but i did notice that their ride stop spiel was different. It somehow didn't seem right for the voice to come out as American. On getting off the ride at the unload area, i walk past the butler who i see
walking towards the side wall. Please tell me he is not going to sit on the side wall? I was disappointed and somewhat surprised by the fact that he was quite happy to be seen by all the guests doing exactly that. For me, the Magic Kingdom mansion wins hands down, not a patch on ours. I did like the little leota being at the exit of the ride, but that was one of the few positives i took from the ride. Overall, i found their maids and butlers to be lazy and i found it insulting.
We make it outside and head towards Pirates of the Carribean. I am very curious to see how this compares to the MK one. Although i am not expecting too much due to the disappointment of the Haunted Mansion.
I am surprised by the appearence of the outside of the Pirates ride. It, firstly, doesn't appear to fit with the pirate theme, but i figured i would reserve judgement until i went inside and experienced the ride itself. The one thing i liked about the Pirates ride in Magic Kingdom was the themeing of the queue. This version did not have that, so at this point i felt the MK ride was going to come out better also. I was to be proved wrong. Despite the queue not measuring up, the ride certainly made up for it. All in all, this version was longer, with two drops rather than MK's one. The show scenes seemed more detailed and i also felt that the restaurant inside the ride's load area was a nice touch.
Next stop was the the Matterhorn, as this was one of the rides Rob and i desperately wanted to experience since we had heard so much about it. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the attraction, we had found that it had gone 101 and so we had to leave that for now. Instead, we headed for the Submarine ride, which i was also very keen to experience due to the fact we don't have this in MK. By this time it is getting very cold and as i was naive enough to wear just a t-shirt, i am starting to pay the price. I feel a cold evening coming.
After at least forty five minutes of queueing we finally take our seats inside one of the submarines and the relief of just being somewhere warmer is great. The experience itself was pretty cool and the effects were impressive. I would probably say this Nemo ride was better than the one at Epcot, mainly because i feel the whole experience was much more impressive. It made more sense to have a nemo ride underwater than it did to have it as a ride on a track.
Once the ride was over, we wanted to give the Matterhorn one more try, but as we arrived it became clear to us we were not going to get to experience it as the queue was huge. Due to it being down earlier it seemed that everyone else was thinking the same as Rob and i. I was not prepared to wait ninety minutes as this would have meant us missing the fireworks at the end of the night. I instead, we decided to have one more go on the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion, as this would take us nicely through to the fireworks.
The experience of these rides was much the same. The Jungle Cruise was slightly better the second time round just due to the fact we had a younger skipper and i always felt the younger skippers were much more witty. This time, however, i was prepared for the attacking piranhas. The Haunted Mansion was no better the second time round, however, still lazy cast members leaning against things they shouldn't, but it was still nice to get a second opportunity to take some videos and pictures.
Now it was time for the fireworks, and this was going to be exciting since i had been told that they were ten times better than the ones in MK. Rob and i tried to find a good spot around the hub area but this was very difficult due to the fact there were trees and bushes impeding our view. Take my advice Disneyland, cut those trees and bushes down, they have no place there.
Eventually we settle down and find a half decent view, but again, problems develop thanks to some idiot putting their child on their shoulders, completely blocking my view. I shift a few metres to the right and eventually i can enjoy the show.
The narration begins and im shocked to hear it is Julie Andrews and not Jiminy Cricket. Not so bad i guess, still sounds cool. As the fireworks start im still struggling to see how they are better than the ones at MK. However, within a few minutes it becomes clear that a number of themes are included such as Star Tours, The Tiki Room, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of The Carribean, Indiana Jones and the Haunted Mansion. Tinkerbell circling the castle a number of times, while the fireworks were going off definitely handed Disneyland victory over MK on this one. Simply awesome!!
Considering it was now 10pm and Rob and i had not even arranged any accomodation we felt it was time to get going in order to avoid the mad rush of the thousands of guests. It probably took us around twenty minutes or so to leave and get in the big wide road heading out of Anaheim.
The journey began in a calm fashion, with neither Rob and i seeing the need to panic too much as to where we were going to sleep for the night. However, it soon became clear that finding somewhere reasonably priced was not going to be easy and considering i was on the verge of falling asleep in the passenger seat completely this made things increasingly more difficult for us both. Looking back at that, i hold myself responsible as i feel we would have found somewhere to stay much sooner had i kept my eyes open. We made a stop at a gas station and picked up another discount voucher booklet, but while looking through it there was very little available. By this time it was coming close to 2am.
This was probably the moment Rob and i had our first major fall out, to the point tempers were fraying. A major disagreement over a certain motel was the cause of this fall out, as i was not prepared to pay over the odds, and Rob not prepared to keep driving for the fear of falling asleep. Looking back, i was wrong. A few extra dollars was definitely worth more than dying in a road accident due to tiredness. In the end we found a place that we both agreed on and we so we finally got off the road well after 3am. The panic of driving down these lonely dark roads with no accomodation in site was probably the most frightening part of the trip for me, as i am sure Rob would not disagree there either.
APRIL 17TH *DAY 15* (HELLO AGAIN ARIZONA AND TEXAS)
Fourteen days had now passed and so far, the trip had been planned out to perfection. We were set to make it Megan's and Marissa's in good time and our planned arrival was still bang on target. Excellent job so far. This next part of the journey would be a real test for both of us. Megan had warned us that the drive through southern Arizona and NeW Mexico would be the most boring we would encounter. She wasn't kidding, this was without doubt the most boring part of the journey for us. The biggest challenge was staying awake and keeping Rob occupied as he would virtually be a passenger just like me with the cruise control in full use.
By this point we had passed by Tucson in southern Arizona and were heading towards El Paso, our desired destination for the day. However, as the day's journey progressed we felt we could go that little bit further and, as a result, earmarked a small town in southern Texas called Sonora as our evening destination. This would leave us with around a four to five hour drive up towards Austin, which for us, was nothing compared to what we had been used to previously. We made it to Sonora by around 9pm and as we were absolutely starving we figured a trip to a nearby Pizza Hut was in order.
To my surprise, when asking the waitress for a Margherita pizza, she had no idea what i was talking about. In fact she thought i meant the alcoholic drink. What is all this about? Have these guys not heard that a margherita pizza actually means cheese and tomato? Probably the old lack of understanding of the real english language, such as chips and fries, rubbish and trash, and holiday and vacation. You get the general idea. Rob at this time thinks i getting envious of the fact he is eating his crappy salad while i am waiting for my main course. I wasn't bothered in the slightest, although i did steal his plate of salad on a couple of occasions and kept on hiding it.
We were soon back in the hotel room, and while i was checking and sending emails again Rob settled in front of the TV for a relaxing night. At this point, our decision to drive that extra two or three hours was completely vindicated as we now had the luxury of having an extra hour or two in bed the next morning. Excitement for seeing Megan and Marissa in their home town was now setting in, this road trip could not have been going plan more perfectly.
APRIL 18TH *DAY 16* (ROLL ON AUSTIN)
The day was finally here, Austin was just a few hours away and we would finally get to see Megan and Marissa in their home town. What seemed very strange, however, was that only two weeks earlier we were in Texas and we were so close, yet so far from seeing them. Just goes to show how crazy in size the country is and how unusual our road trip was.
After yet another bad morning for me on the getting out of bed front we finally packed up the car and went on our way. The GPS had the journey down as around four and a half hours, although we expected it to maybe be a little more if it continued to be disobediant to us while entering the city. So far it had proved far from reliable while entering the major cities and we expected Austin to be no different.
This for me probably seemed the quickest journey of the lot as before we knew it we were within an hour of hitting Austin. It seemed a pretty smooth journey as there was no real issues. The traffic seemed to be behaving itself and we were making good time. Another bonus was the fact we appeared to be back among civilisation as we had been used to driving through hours and hours of nothing. That was slightly unnerving since i had visions of some desert slasher lying in wait for us knowing we were in such a dead area. Me and my overactive imagination i do not know.
Austin was in sight and our predictions of difficult access to the city were yet again proved, although it was not quite as bad as Los Angeles and no where near as bad as Las Vegas, which i believe was the worst in gaining access. We missed a couple of turn offs but it was no big deal. The GPS got us nicely on course towards Megan and Marissa's. We were finally in town, and with my phone going off once every so often with messages from Megan saying, 'where are you?'
By 3pm on the dot, as predicted, we made it outside Megan's and it was great to be finally there. This was the part of the journey Rob and i were looking most forward to. It was great to see them again, as it had been over two months since i had last seen Megan and even longer since i had last seen Marissa. As for Austin in general, i was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of the place and the surroundings. It looked really nice.
Once in their house, we met Megan and Marissa's parents and their younger sister Miranda. We spent the first couple of hours settling in and filling them in on how well the trip was going so far. We also thought we would share a few funny stories just so we could loosen up and feel more at home. I feel we succeeded in making everyone laugh and from that point on i felt very comfortable and at the same time, very excited for what the next two days would bring.
The day was not over, as only the previous night, Megan had informed us that we would be going to a family wedding with them. We agreed and were looking forward to it, especially since it would be another adventure to talk about after the road trip was over. My only concern was finding something suitable to wear. I am not noted for my smart attire. I managed to dig out a pair of trousers and a shirt. I tried a tie with it but i looked ridiculous so i scrapped the tie.
We eventually set off for the wedding and i have to admit, i was feeling very nervous and a little anxious as to what their family would think to them bringing two total randomers to a family occasion. On arriving, everything seemed ok. I was still feeling nervous but i knew after a couple of drinks i would start to loosen up.
The wedding itself was really nice. I had never attended an outdoor wedding before, in fact, it was only the third wedding i had ever been to. One of the previous two of which ended in a divorce anyway, with the other being a double wedding of my twin cousins. So you could say three totally different types of weddings. The only thing that didn't go to plan was the part where one of the ushers passed out on the stage and had to be carried away. I found out quite funny how the vast majority did not even notice, even Marissa. I had to laugh.
Once the service was complete, i finally had the opportunity to get some alcohol down me and loosen up. I felt like i was in the movie, Wedding Crashers. Rob, meanwhile, was inviting the world and his wife to visit the Netherlands. We found that highly amusing as it was typical Rob. He had the ability to cope with these situations in a much calmer fashion than me and in some ways he embraced it and just went all out to enjoy the night and create a good impression.
Now the food was being served and i was starving, and the food really did smell good. I love Mexican food and always have. In fact i would go as far as to say it was my favourite food. I would even put it above my good old national dish of fish and chips. I wasn't disappointed, as the food was amazing. I cleared my plate and managed another couple of drinks while eating.
At this point i got into an interesting conversation with Megan's and Marissa's grandfather. At first i was a little uncomfortable but within a few minutes i loosened up and started to really enjoy myself. I have to say it, the guy was a legend in my eyes. He was telling me about how he lost his leg due to an illness some time ago, but how it just made him value life even more. I really respected that and it was great to see a guy who really was enjoying life and being with his family. Marissa was under the impression i was stuck in a conversation i was reluctant to be involved in, but i guess she was just worrying as friends do.
Rob was eager to get onto the dance floor as he was well on the way to having a good night. It all came so easily to him and it was up to me to make an effort to do the same. We all headed for the dance floor, even though i was convinced i had not drunk enough. I know i am a shit dancer, but i don't mind dancing if i am drunk. At least i have an excuse. After a couple of songs and nearly getting cleaned out on the dance floor by one of their relatives, it was time to head back to the table and to get another drink.
All in all it was a great night, not just due to the free food and drinks, but also having the chance to meet members of the Alvarez family. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the chance to get to speak to their grandfather one to one was also an honour.
APRIL 19TH *DAY 17* (TIME TO EXPLORE AUSTIN)
This was probably the longest lie in we had of any day so far, as i did not surface until well after 12pm and Rob was not too long after. I was pleased just to be up before Rob for a change. I went downstairs to the kitchen, which is where i found everyone.
Now only a few weeks previously i was giving Megan a hard time by demanding a birthday cake be made for me for me impending arrival. I know by this time my birthday was long gone, but why not milk it. To my surprise, out come Megan and Miranda with a birthday cake for me singing happy birthday. It was great, and really appreciated. I was adament at the time that no one but me was going to eat that cake. It was Liam size and anyone who went anywhere near it would lose their fingers. I was joking of course.
Once we were ready we headed outside and after a little confusion over who was going to drive, Megan's father kindly offered to drive us around the city along with their mother. I am so sorry i do not remember the names by the way, i am terrible with remembering names.
I really liked the feel of the place, it felt like my kind of place. Obviously Vegas, Los Angeles and Miami are world famous places, but there was a feeling of fake surroundings and people in these places and for that reason i would never wish to live in these places.
We were driven around the neighbourhood and eventually taken towards the Oasis. This was beautiful, and the amazing weather made it look the way it was supposed to. Everything was so green it kind of reminded me of home. Strange i say this since there was nothing else about home that i missed. We continued looking around the Oasis and, of course, took a few pictures to capture the memories. It was really nice.
Next stop was the highest point, which was exciting since we would get to see Austin from a high distance. The treck up there was not so easy with the incredibly uneven ground but it was worth it. I went speeding on ahead while Rob and Megan trailed. How did they get so slow? Must be a skipper thing.
The view once we got to the top was just amazing. I did not realise how beautiful Austin would be, but i was very pleased we chose to come as it offered something different to what we had seen in the other cities. This is what the road trip was about.
We took a few more pictures before hitting the road once more. We were driven to centre of Austin, where we were shown around the Capital building. That was pretty neat, as the building was so old, yet it appeared to look so new.
The next stop was the Texas University Football store. Once inside, i knew Rob was going to buy something in there. The place was filled with orange merchandise, just his colour. It was only when we reached something i can only describe as something a painter and decorator would wear that i knew Rob was going to put his hand in his pocket. He went looking for his size and eventually on trying it on, i have to say, he looked like a tool. I figured, though, that since that was the case it would suit him well for Queens Day back in the Netherlands. The outfit cost him $50 and to him it was $50 well spent, to me, he looked ridiculous. I guess that was his main motivation for spending the money anyway.
The next place we headed was this Mexican restaurant, it looked nice and as i said earlier, Mexican food is my favourite so i am sure i was not going to be disappointed. We find a table and have a look through the menu and order our drinks. I decided to go with a margherita to see what all the fuss is about. It wasn't too bad, but i get more satisfaction from a nice cold beer. Megan was racing through her margherita, it was crazy. I am still struggling to get through mine since it is very sweet and sickly, but i am determined to drink it since i didn't pay for it.
The food soon arrives and as we continue eating so do a few home truths. Megan informs everyone how rude i was to her when we first met, while doing parade. I guess i was, but it was all in good humour. I made it known to her how incompetent she was while trying to deal with the wheelchair section of the parade route and how i had to get her out of a stick situation with a particular party. Good times, i miss them. Meanwhile, as time gets on, Megan is giggling like a child who has eaten too much candy. Those two margheritas have definitely gone to her head, and im cracking up while try to secretly film her slurring her words.
We head back to the house and its Wii time. I had only ever played on a Wii twice before, with the first of those nearly resulting in me putting my mate in A&E. The poor lad never knew what hit him, and he wasn't going to remember either since i cracked his skull so hard it nearly shattered. My main aim, therefore, this time around was not to hurt anyone.
This is where the night got fun, as i was able to be my typical sarcastic self. I was talking up my chances of winning every game, even though i knew there was a strong likelihood that i was going to lose every game. Miranda was the top dog in every game as it turned out, she was the Roger Federer of the tennis and she kicked ass in every game. My personal favourite moment was getting my ass whooped by Megan at the boxing. No one thought to tell me that the first minute or so was a practice round and that i should quit trying so hard. By the time the first round started, i was exhausted and as a result, Megan knocked me out before the fight had even gone the distance. Not something to shout about being beaten in a fight by a girl.
As the night drew to a close, Megan just began to get more tipsy. She had a few more margheritas and it wasn't long before she spilt half a glass all over the carpet. We all knew she was pissed, but she of course denied it. We played on the Wii a little more before we eventually all just vegged out on the sofa and floor. Throw in a few cushion fights and the night was pretty much complete.
APRIL 20TH *DAY 18* (LAZY DAY)
After a late night, Rob and i again slept in until well past lunch time. I awoke first, yet again, which was great. I was getting good at this now, now who is the morning person mate? I walk past the landing and see Megan in the games room as i head to the bathroom. This is where disaster struck. I flushed the toilet and the thing overflowed with water and before i knew it, the bathroom had suddenly become one huge swimming pool. At this point i am wanting the floor to open and swallow me. I have no idea what i am going to do. I have just flooded their bathroom. I refuse to panic, and so grab as many towels as i can see and throw them to the floor in a bid to soak up the water and to stop it reaching the door.
A few minutes pass and after seemingly getting it all under control i leave the bathroom with the intention of coming clean to Megan. You can imagine her face when i broke the news to her that i had just flooded her bathroom. All she could do was laugh and i was adament it was not funny. She follows me to come and inspect the chaos i have caused. At the same time i am begging her not to tell Rob as i can just imagine the jokes he would come out with.
After a good half an hour i finally manage to get the bathroom back to its original state, but my next task is to get the millions of towels i have used downstairs and into the washing machine. Not the easiest task since they are all dripping wet. I eventually find a way, with the help of a bucket from the garage and finally, the panic is over. Thats until i get a little fright when i see drops of water dripping from the ceiling directly below the bathroom. Megan is quick to assure me it will be fine, when she finally stops laughing. Not the start to the morning i had imagined.
Rob finally surfaces and Megan just can not wait to inform him of the morning's events. I could have killed her, but i knew she was never going to keep something like that to herself. Rob seems more interested in stuffing his face of sandwiches anyway so i guess ive escaped the mickey taking for now.
An hour or two pass and Megan heads of to her class, and leaves Rob and i to laze about in the games room watching TV. I check a few emails and mess about online for a couple of hours while we watch Twilight. I was not so keen to watch it at first, but it actually was not that bad. I do not do blood and guts in movies so i was convinced this was going to include a lot of stuff i was going to be closing my eyes and blocking my ears for.
It is now between 6pm-7pm and Megan returns from class and we head down to the kitchen to grab some food. I believe it was lasagne that Miranda had made. I can't remember if she had just heated it up from the box or made it from scratch, but i thought it was pretty good. It certainly satisfied my appetite, even if Miranda was not so keen. There was also still some of my birthday cake remaining so after devouring the lasagne i quickly finished off my cake. I must stress that i did let the others have some of the cake too, so no i am not a greedy fat git.
Next up was a game of Texasopoly. For you slow people out there, thats just like Monopoly but the Texas version. This was my kind of game, since i had a history of cheating in games like this. I generally liked to be the banker so i could keep adding more money to my account without my opponents seeing. This would become the longest game of Monopoly i would ever play as we played right through until 11pm. Rob, by the way, was out of the game by 8pm. He had horrendous luck and by the time he was finally able to buy property, it was all gone. Not to worry though, since he used the time after to call Doris on skype and have a good catchup with her.
This left Megan, Miranda and i to battle it out with me seemingly the next one favourite to be knocked out of the game. No way, this guy was not giving in and within another hour or so Miranda was finally out of the game leaving Megan and i to do battle for overall winner. I knew inside i was getting my ass kicked but i refused to throw in the towel as i remortgaged all my property then sold it back to the bank to keep the game going. I knew eventually Megan would win but i needed to make the girl work for the win. She was not getting it on a plate from me.
Finally the game was over and we played a few more games on the Wii, including Mario Kart, which i just could not get to grips with. I was terrible at it, but Rob was not much better. By this point we were all pretty tired and were just lazing around the room watching Family Guy and messing around online, oh as well as having more cushion fights with the M&M cushions.
As the night drew to a close Rob and i browsed about online to find a place to stay in Houston as this was still not arranged. We certainly did not want a repeat of the night we had after Disneyland. We managed to find a place and made the online booking so that was that out of the way. I just had a feeling, however, that as all of our previous accomodation had been masterstroke choices, this one was going to be a shit tip, it had to be. A rule called the law of averages was going to apply here.
APRIL 21ST *DAY 19* (ANOTHER EMOTIONAL GOODBYE)
Geez, these last two days had flown by and before we knew it, another goodbye was drawing ever closer and i was not looking forward to it. I'd had many difficult goodbyes all through my time in the States but this was not going to be any easier. All i could hope for was the fact i was so physically and emotionally drained from the trip that this would make it slightly easier for me.
As Houston was no more than three or four hours away from Austin, we did not need to leave incredibly early so this was a relief. We had yet another sleep in, and i believe, yet again that i was first to surface out of Rob and me. Megan was, again, in the games room and i went in their and chilled out and watched tv with her. I was not particularly keen on the idea of leaving as it had only felt as though we had only just arrived there. The thought of heading to Houston, when we could have possibly spent another day there did not appeal to me.
In saying this, maybe Houston would surprise me and we would have a great time there. Only one way to find out. Rob surfaces and asks me to go and clean out the car, which i had promised him for some time i would do but had never got round to it. Maybe laziness on my part, i am very laid back and expect everything to take care of itself. I head to the garage to get rid of the millions of maps we had accumilated during the trip. The car was truly a mess and needed sorting.
After an hour or so the car is spotless, with all the loose rubbish, not trash, out of the car. I also
vacuumed it to perfection and it was ready to hit the road once more. We figure we still have a little time before we have to leave so Megan decides to compile a CD of music for us to take on the rest of our journey. Rob and i have a couple of disagreements over what tracks were going on. Why i allowed him to put an Elvis Pressley track on there i will never know. That song was most definitely going to get skipped while back on the road.
The time finally came to leave and i just wanted to say a quick goodbye and leave. I'd had to deal with so many difficult goodbyes i was not ready to deal with another one. Just before we left, Rob kindly gave Megan all of his Mardi Gras beads and his Santa Claus outfit. I have to admit, the outfit and the beads combined looked ridiculous and the vision of Megan wearing both at the same time made it a lot easier for me to leave with a smile on my face, rather than a face full of tears. We said our goodbyes, and although i did not show my emotions i was feeling very sad inside at having to say goodbye. This was another painful goodbye for me, although i did not show it. We were literally thirty seconds down the road when i thought the CD was missing
from the case, so i instructed Rob to turn back round and head back. As we pulled up alongside the house, i realised the CD was in the back so we certainly left looking like a couple of wollies as Megan and Miranda looked confused as to why we had reversed back up the street.
We finally hit the road and the next destination was Houston. We had no idea what to expect and were praying that the hostel was going to be as nice as the others. The drive again was pretty smooth and there was no real issues. Rob seemed to have more energy for the road due to his two days off from driving while in Austin.
Before we knew it, after roughly four hours we arrived in Houston. In all honesty, by this point i was not even looking forward to it. I guess i was ready for arriving back in Orlando and was just keen for the next two days to go over as quickly as possible. I just sensed there was going to be nothing to this city and so was praying we were going to get off to a good start by pulling up to a decent hostel.
How wrong we were, as the moment we pulled up outside our hostel we realised we had made the first bad move of our entire trip. It looked like the home of a psychopath who lived with his mother and ate raw meat for a living. There were a few cats in the front porch and it looked like your typical creepy hillbillies house. All Rob and i could do was laugh about it and so we walked up to the hostel and checked into our room. The lady at reception scared me, as she looked like the type to stick a razor into your neck if you ever pissed her off. I did not trust her and all i could do was smile nervously in the hope i would not become her next victim.
We were shown to our room and it looked clean enough, which is more than could be said for the kitchen. There was no way i would be making food in there. Disgusting is the word, how was this place allowed to even take bookings? As we did not want to spend any more time than we had to in the place we went out to look for one of the free museums. I mean it was the museum district so why not find something that would cost us nothing. I certainly did not feel Houston was worthy of anything that would cost money, apart from alcohol.
The museum itself was boring as hell, it was that bad i do not even remember what was inside it. We only went in to kill time and because it was free. I was pretty much certain at this point that this place could, potentially, be the most boring place we had been to on the trip. There was only one thing for it, we had to find a place to drink and make the best of it.
It takes a little while to find the place we're looking for, but we eventually come across it. Upon arriving, we order a pitcher and start drinking. This was another good chance for Rob and i to reflect on the trip and what better than to discuss it over a few drinks. As the night wears on, a girl who is sat a few metres from us at the bar notices our accents are not local. We explain to her that we worked for Disney and have been on a road trip, which seems to interest her as she appears to be keen to escape Houston and try something new. We spend a great deal of time talking with her about our experiences and that she should do the same. As we get a free shot from the bartender to go with our increasing number of pitchers, it becomes increasingly
difficult for me to string a sentence together. The room begins to spin and the walls jump from side to side. I think its time to leave as i can not drink another drop and i am starving.
Once we had left the bar we went looking for a place to eat with a Wendy's our top choice. We remember seeing one on the map the lady at the hostel had given us, but we could not figure out exactly where. It seemed we were prepared to walk miles to find one as it had been days since we had last had a Wendy's, which i hate to admit, was our favourite fast food while there. Unfortunately after over half an hour of walking about and asking at a local gas station, it was going to be too far away. We instead settled on this asian takeaway/restaurant. I do not remember much from this point, but apparently we caused quite a stir when we walked in as
we could not stop laughing. This is what Rob told me anyway. Once the food was served, i was suddenly not hungry anymore and all i could do was stare at the food. I could not bare to eat any of it for fear of it all coming back up again.
Afterwards, we head back to the hostel, and it was quite a treck back. Must have been at least half an hour back there and two drunk Europeans in the middle of a strange city was probably not a great idea. We had no clue what we were doing or where we going, we were just following our noses.
Eventually, we made it back to the hostel and maaaan, the place looked even scarier at night than it did during the day. Our only remaining concern of the night was who we would be sharing our room with. Once in the room we found that no one else was in there. Result!! No chance of some serial killer sharing a room with us tonight then so we could sleep safe in the knowledge that our throats were not going to be cut in the middle of the night.
APRIL 22ND *DAY 20* (HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM)
We awoke this particular morning knowing we would be kicked out at 10am, as between the hours of 10am and 5pm we had to vacate our room. I did not agree with this, mainly because it meant getting out of bed early and i would have rather have slept half the day away. My head was still spinning from the night before so i did not appreciate the lady coming in our room and asking us to leave. Just before leaving, i went into the bathroom and discovered that it was more gross than the kitchen. For this reason, Rob and i decided not to even shower as we would probably come out dirtier than when we went in.
Anyway, we got out of there and made our way to the Metrolink stop to catch the Metro into the centre of Houston. As we are moving towards the city we see very little that interests us, apart from a Wendy's. Finally, we see one, but it is no where near where we had planned to get off so we gave up on that one.
We eventually get off at the end of the line, which appears to be the University campus. We make our way inside and head towards the cafeteria area. There is a Chic-Fil-A so i figure that will cure me of my post drinking hunger, especially since some idiot in the hostel thought it would be polite to throw away my boxed up food from the night before. I have to say, i found the women to be very attractive in this particular campus. They were everywhere, and if i had known, i would have gone to University there rather than back home in England.
Once our appetites were satisfied we made our way back out and walked further into the city with the intention of finding something to do. We were quickly disappointed as we just could not find any places of interest. We circled the block a couple of times and baring in mind it was roasting hot this particular day this made the day ever more difficult.
We figured we would try and find a movie theatre somewhere as this would kill the time. By the way, we were clockwatching at this point as we were bored out of our minds. All we could find was tall government buildings and restaurants. Anyway, we made our towards where we knew there was a movie theatre and i figured this would be a good opportunity to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Finally, after a good twenty to thirty minutes of walking in the baking heat we found the theatre. Problem solved, we could not kill at least two hours of this disastrous day. Oooooh no we couldn't. The movies were not due to start until 5pm at the earliest and it was still only 1pm-2pm at this point. Now what?
We carried on walking around, this time looking for some shops as for some reason we could not find any in the area we were in. We made our way to an area that looked like a shopping district, only to discover that once inside, it was a shopping mall in the process of being built. In other words, no shops yet. We asked the security guard if she knew where there was any places of interest. We did not like her answer as it would have meant another train ride away. This day was turning out to be incredibly tiring, boring and frustrating.
By this time it had hit around 3pm and we decided to go into a tourist welcome centre to see if we could find out anymore information as to what the hell to do. Finally, we were told there was an underground shopping mall. We were also told about a building where we could go up to the 70th floor and see a birdseye view of the city. This sounded cool and we figured these two things combined would kill another couple of hours.
On finding the underground shopping mall, we were disappointed. There was, again, nothing but restaurants. There were no shops down here, and what was it with Houston and its restaurants. Word of advice, if you ever want to go into the catering business, never open it up in Houston. There is far too much competition.
Only thing for us to do now was go up to the 70th floor of this building and get a load of this birdseye view of the city. Now this was worth it, it was amazing. I took the opportunity to take some more photographs and i was pretty sure i would never see anything like this back in England. We do not make skyscrapers like the Americans do. Its a pity thats all this city had. Good thing for us, though, was it was coming close to 4pm and the end of the day was finally in sight. Wishful thinking huh.
We grab the Met back towards the museum district where we decide to hit another museum. Yet again, a total waste of time. I have never seen so much crap in all my life. As it was not 5pm as yet we carried on walking further down until we found a movie store, so we figured we would kill a little time in there and maybe look for a movie to watch back at the hostel. I figure that i can download some movie online later on so we don't bother buying one. Next thing we find is a bar and i am thirsty to the point i feel i am dehydrating. I need a drink badly so we pay it a visit. I order the coldest and nicest coke i am ever going to drink and man it was amazing. Really hit the spot. Rob is still deciding what he wants and by the time he is ready to order the girl behind the bar just disappears never to reappear. He actually gave up and didn't bother ordering. It
wasn't long before we upped and left as the service in there was pretty shabby.
Next thing we know, we come across a Wendy's. A Wendy's i say!!! Get in, i am pretty hungry and our eyes light up with the thought of another 99c burger. While ordering our food, yet another scrounger comes in trying to befriend us for our wallets. No mate, is my swift reply. All i want is my burger and for you to piss off out of my face. The food was ok, but since it was probably the millionth time we had eaten a Wendy's it did not taste as good. Was i actually getting sick of Wendy's?
It was finally 5pm and we could head back to the hostel and chill out as we had given up on the city offering us anymore than people begging for money, pointless skyscrapers, malls with nothing but restaurants and baking heat. I have to say, though, that the people were very nice. Always helpful and giving us directions, even if we didn't ask for any. I pity these people though, if i lived in this city i would be looking to escape the first opportunity i got. I would die of boredom.
We make it back to the hostel where i look on youtube for a movie i figure Rob will appreciate. I search up one of my personal favourites, Sexy Beast. This is a british gangster movie with an actor called Ray Winstone. Basically, in a nut shell, Ray Winstone plays a retired bank robber who is lapping up a life of luxury in Spain. That is until a psycho ex partner from England turns up ordering him to come back to England to do one more job. Awesome movie, but very difficult to understand if your first language is not English. Unfortunately, this is a movie that Rob could not work out and by the end of it his only words were, 'i don't get it?' Why he didn't tell me this in the middle of the movie or even at the start i do not understand. I guess in his defence he probably assumed i wouldn't change the movie even if he had said something.
By this time it was around 8pm and so Rob and i browsed through the internet showing each other pictures from home. He showed me where he worked before he came to Disney and it was all quite interesting. We also had a disagreement over how many people in the world we felt had the exact same name as me. I was adament that there were none, as Steed is a very rare name, but to have another Liam Steed i felt was impossible. Quite a pointless argument but i guess we were driven to it by the boredom. We also came across an article about Disney on google that just so happened to have a picture of Skipper Rob on it. We couldn't believe it so Rob sent an email to Doris showing her what we had just found.
It was time for bed in Rob's mind so he headed off while i stayed to mess about online and check my emails etc. This is when some strange folk started to show up at the hostel. Some guy was going round asking people if he could use their cell phone. I figured he was going to ask me so since i did not trust him i grabbed my phone and stuck it down the side of the sofa. There was a smelly, obese lady lying on the sofa opposite me snoring her face off. That was nice, not!!! I also noticed another couple of people making food in the kitchen. Good luck living if you're going to eat in there chaps, that is all i have to say on that matter.
Around half an hour later, Rob comes back out and taps me on the shoulder in a slight panic. Apparently, the guy who was asking for the use of a cell phone was sharing our room, along with another couple of dodgy characters. Rob was convinced he was going to kiss his life goodbye that night, but i told him not to worry. Everything would be ok and we would soon be out of Houston first thing in the morning. He could not stress strongly enough that we were definitely leaving at 9am the next morning and no later.
I decided that since we were sharing a room with potential killers i would stay up for as long as possible as i was keen to hold onto my life for that little while longer. Eventually i went to bed around 3am and Rob seemed safe enough. One thing though, if you have a top bunk, do not try and climb into it in the darkness. You are guarenteed to create a little noise and wake everyone up. Not a wise move on my part.
APRIL 23RD *DAY 21* (GOODBYE HOUSTON AND THANK GOD)
The morning of our departure had arrived and we couldn't have been more relieved. We were up and ready, but again, refused to use the bathroom as it was even worse than the day before. Ok, we felt very unclean but the thought of finding a motel later in the day and getting a good wash there was much more appealing.
We packed up and got out of their as fast as we could. The hostel was utterly disgusting, as were the people who were staying there. There were no other foreign people there, only people who you would find on the street asking for your cash, cell phones, wallets etc.
This was going to be a long drive as we were aiming to make it back into Florida by the end of the day, although we did not expect to make it back into Orlando until the following day.
There was a funny occurance while on the road at this point, although i appeared to have been asleep the moment it happened. According to Rob, some guy came so far up behind us trying to get by us as we seemed to be going to slow for him. Rob seemed amused by the fact that this guy was cursing at us as he tried to make it past. Obviously, Rob thought nothing more of it until a few minutes later he passed him on the hard shoulder being given a ticket by the cops. That taught that git, speeding gets you no where mate.
On route to Florida we passed through Baton Rouge Louisiana before heading onto Mobile in Northern Florida. It was such a relief to make it back into Florida and of course, we had to stop at the Florida welcome centre and get a photo with the Florida, Sunshine State, sign. It was so good to be back, we felt like we had come home. I was surprised at how pleased we were to be back, but the trip had taken so much out of us, both physically and emotionally that it was hardly surprising we felt that way.
After a few more hours we made it to Tallahassee, which would be our stop for the night. We could not wait to check in and grab a shower as we felt like a couple of tramps from a London main street. One thing we needed to do first, however, was grab some food from a nearby Wallmart and take it back to the hotel room. One thing though, do we remember there being a microwave in our hotel room? God knows, but we go ahead and buy a frozen pizza apiece anyway.
Turns out, on our return to the hotel room, there was no microwave. Damn, seems we've wasted our money there. I decided there was no time like the present to sort out my laundry again so i grabbed all my clothes and took them to the laundry room. I figured since i would be in the Orlando for the next five days i needed all my clothes to be clean and fresh again. On returning back to the hotel room i find Rob chomping away at this frozen pizza. He claims it is really nice and it doesn't need a microwave anyway. I've never tried a frozen pizza before but since i am starving i will try. It was actually really good, so sod the microwave!
Eventually after a couple of hours my laundry is complete and i relax in front of the tv with my internet on and a few beers to see the night out. At this point i felt the road trip was finally at an end and i just could not wait to see the guys in Orlando again. I had missed them all terribly. Orlando here we come.
