Our final leg

So the final leg of our adventure commenced with a week of pure relaxation(obviously we need this with all the hard traveling we've endured!) in Tahiti. We choose the lovely island of Moo'rea, Mark had been here previously and had tempted me by saying it was here that he experienced the greatest sunset of all time- I was just being greedy and wanted to experience the beauty of this Island too. I promised I'd speak french, or attempt to, as a compromise.

Moo'rea was fabulous, the sun shone, the ocean was warm and the biggest decision we had to make was what to have to eat or drink. We did get off the sun loungers a few times during our week, we had fun(and crossed words) whilst kayaking- he blamed the current, I blamed his steering as we spent most of the time drifting hopelessly in circles. We also got to dive again, this time with the local sharks. There were 3 types, all "timid" but still looking as fierce as any SHARK! Whilst waiting for the other divers to join me in the water I spotted a fin circling me, slightly disconcerting but I was reassured(yeah right) by the guide that the black tip on the fin meant it was "friendly"! I preferred the turtles and smaller fish!

We also got to horse-ride again, Mark's horse did behave better this time, perhaps it was his constant rambling in "french" that the horse liked(note he did German at school and admitted it wasn't his strongest subject). Perhaps the horse liked his friendly rider, Mark's response to any question in french being "Bonjour". Seeing the internal part of the island was amazing, we got to eat freshly picked pineapple and passion fruit.

After pure relaxation in Tahiti it was time to pick up the pace again- Bonjour to Las Vegas! Oh my, 3 days was certainly enough. We stayed on the strip itself but completely underestimated distances as the hotels are so huge and we left completely exhausted but thankfully not too skint. We did have a wee gamble, don't worry folks we could be found by the 25 cent(12 1/2 pence) slot machines and even this made us nervous! I mastered Black Jack and the highlight was doubling my money- I made sure I cashed in at this point, all 3 pound fifty's worth! On the last night we did step up the gambling pace a bit and found ourselves playing the Black Jack tables, minimum bets of 5 dollars(big bucks in our eyes), we lasted perhaps 1 hour but made sure we accepted all the free cocktails on offer. I think it was Mark being mistaken for Rod Stewart that kept them flowing!

Gambling aside we made the most of the other activities on offer. We saw a fantastic show, "LOVE" by the Beetles and took a trip to the Grand Canyon by helicopter, landing to enjoy a glass of champagne in the canyon itself.

After Vegas we flew to LA and then collected our car and began the drive up the coast of California. Our destinations have included Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Big Sur, Monteray and Santa Cruz. The drive has been amazing, we've had glorious weather and the coastal scenery has been fantastic. Highlights being our hike through the redwood forest in big sur and eating our way through the many seafood dishes on offer up the coast, oh and the wine of course! The most challenging things here have been keeping the credit card under control(we have now had to buy a carry on case each- I just can't stop him buying more shoes!) oh, and the driving. There's no roundabouts here and our car is pretty big(like everything in the US). Poor Mark has done all the driving, insisting there's no point us both having to get used to driving the US way- I was thankful around the wineries but perhaps not when we were heading down the wrong side of the freeway! Who says men are better drivers!

Needless to say we were pleased to give the tank back and hit the streets of San Fransisco on foot, with the occasional bus and ferry ride. We're staying in a really lively part of the city and have enjoyed more shopping, more food and more wine! We walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, visited Alcatraz and on our final day visited the Napa Valley just so we wouldn't forget the taste of the fantastic California wine, no chance!

So we'll be flying home tomorrow and you'll all be pleased to know there'll be no more blog for you to endure! See you all back in England, au revoir from me and bonjour from Mark!