Our final day in NYC was spent frantically scouring the shops and touristy boutiques of Times Square and China Town around Canal St. Due to travel capacity it had been hard to pick up souvenirs beforehand, so we had to rush-buy all the presents - even if we knew exactly what we had wanted to get for a long time before.

A tip off from the guidebook suggested a store called Century 21, which happens to be directly opposite Ground Zero. James and I explored the shoe department first and I picked up a much needed pair of 'sneakers' (whatever they are). We then went into the main store and did the rest of our department store fishing.

I was keen on one particular visit while we were in the city. On the day we had travelled from D.C. I found a Apple Newsletter in my Bulk inbox advertising the new iPod nano. At first glance at the subject line I thought it was a wind up, a promotional thing, but on closer inspection (and a visit to the Apple site) I discovered that this was indeed the replacement to the iPod mini. At first I was very sceptical. Posters appeared on the subway and my first impressions were of a flimsy credit-cardesque design with a pathetically small screen. We went to Apple Store NYC (on the corner of Prince St. & Greene St.). I changed my mind.

This is a truly beautiful piece of design. Once again Apple excel and I find myself strangely drawn to this fantastically tactile object. The screen maybe small, but fits so cleanly into the layout; the ultra-thin layout, that I was overwhelmed.

Another great discovery by total chance was that The Doves were playing a live set upstairs by the Genius Bar at 3pm. Unfortunately this was not compatible with our flightplan/schedule, so I had to just settle for watching them go through pre-show checks. Still cool though.

China town and some late lunch was next. We then had a final stroll through Little Italy before jumping on the subway back to the Malibu Hostel and picking up our bags. We had to walk five blocks to the next 'blue' station, which made for sweaty backs and wasn't pleasant. It was then a straightforward metro ride to JFK.

Straightforward that is except that when the 1 week unlimited metrocard says it will get you to the airport you need to know better, as in fact it gets you to the perimeter of the airport, dumps you, then demands a further five bucks each to take you to the correct terminal (not walking distance). This was a point of annoyance for us as both of us had thought we had been safe to spend our last dollar; even extracting a last twenty to pay for a final souvenir (so incurring the ridiculous ATM charge once more). We put it on card.

And so we flew home. A hour long delay on the runway was illustrated and lightened by the pilot allowing the cabin to listen to the ATC radio on one of the earphone channels. I had always assumed the responsibility of controlling the world's airports fell to serious individuals, but all these illusions were shattered after five minutes of comedy eavesdropping. Something had held the whole runway up and there were planes stacking up everywhere. The controller was issuing messages as different pilots joked (totally dead pan delivery by some - some had to explain that they were only joking) and one participant even started singing about his love for New York. It was all a bit surreal really, but made the wait more bearable. We also had the gift of a fainting passenger, a over melodramatic camp air steward, and were kindly upgraded to the back row of economy for no extra cost (great).

We got in at about 9am, and I 've spent most of the day just chillaxing as flights mess with your head and your timescales. I've met the new cat (Alice) - seems nice enough, and also seen the final Tours4 prints with which I am very pleased. All in all, very good day so far, but I've got a list as long as my arm of things to complete/buy/set up/make contact with in the next couple of days. I'm going to need everything caffeinated.

Today didn't quite go as planned. Although we had great plans absolutely nothing we had expected occurred and everything we did, didn't; if you know what I mean.

We had thought that an early rise might have taken us back to Time Sq. for some tickets to go and see Spamaalot (the Monty Python Musical) but upon arrival discovered that the queue earlier in the day is much longer than in the evenings and the tickets for the main Broadway shows as extortionate as we thought they would be before we went to STOMP.

Instead we rounded on a few touristy shops along the street and was approached by a woman to join up with the Scientologists. We kindly refused her attempts to lure us in to watch the video, and I have Tom Roberts to thank for the information regarding ignoring these people; after all, who wants to end up like John Travolta or Tom Cruise..?

We then made our way to several other big NY attractions on our list and our plans had to be changed at every stop. We grabbed lunch from Grand Central station, and although we had then thought we would stop off at the UN building for a tour, we soon found most of 42nd-47th St. cordoned off with massive security. It turns out that we hadn't been the only people to pick today to make a visit - there was a full blown meeting of the General Assembly starting (a three day event) and with a full scale protest outside to match. In our adventurous spirited nature, we moved through the ranks of anti-Iranian Presidency protesters and the police to see what exactly was going on, but soon decided eventually that penetrating the assembled throng wasn't actually that easy and so headed back.

We were overwhelmed with vast numbers of black, blacked-out limos heading in all directions, many with police escorts and it was all amusing to watch. A heavy police presence allowed us to poke fun at the 'Secret Service' who clearly haven't come to terms with the first part of their division name. Maybe more appropriate would be the 'Slightly Obvious Service' or 'Quite Easy to Spot Service' with their big black flak jackets, branded in the boldest typefont 'Secret Service'.

We headed back in the direction we had come from and ended up at the NY Public Library. As we had nothing else to do we took an hour long tour of the library (with the epitome of the perfect 60 year old librarian stereotype) and got a rare glimpse at a Guttenberg bible (if that means anything to anyone else - its rare and significant in the story of print).

This cut another chunk out of the day and so we made a beeline to our next proposed stop - a renowned photography exhibit. Turns out that was closed for renovation of the exhibit, so we sat in Starbucks and watched the world go by until James suggested a round trip on the Staten Island Ferry.

We returned later to a very humid Manhattan - apparently hurricanes in North Carolina are giving us some poor (very sticky) and misty views. It's very good luck that we did all the sight seeing we wanted to do in the past two days.

And so we spent our last remaining money on a big meal out just down the road. Our last night in NYC and we have decided to relax as its been busy all this week. Need to take a breather before the big flight.

DDS has finally sent me a photo of our first production run. Looking good. Dandy is nearly set for launch...

Well James and I got cultured today. We got up early morning (ish), partially due to poor sleeping. Our room at hostel last night was sparse to say the least, even if it was private. We headed into downtown Manhattan again and went through the streets to find the NYPD museum which the guidebook recommends as a stop. A couple of hours later we emerged back into the heat and took the subway to Canal Street (cheers for the tip Oli) and ate fried rice/noodles for lunch before trawling the rows of tacky electrical and tourist shops.

DDS might be interested to know that The Trump Building on Wall Street was one of our many stops along the way for suitably posey photo opportunities.

We decided to walk back through Central Park, arriving at the hotel/hostel mid afternoon in time to book back into our room and get ready for our evening 'on Broadway'. Although not strictly budgeted for, we splashed out on 'TKTS' for STOMP, the acclaimed dustbinlid-banging, brush-sweeping and lighter-flicking theatre show (Good tip off Devito; knew you couldn't have been put on earth for no reason). Highly impressed, we watched the whole show on very little resources, and decided once everything was over to go and get some proper food. This roundabout trip extended until the early hours of the morning with stops being made at the Brooklyn Bridge (part 2, by night), Times Square and the highly impressive Empire State Building observatory. This is definitely the best time to view the spectacular skylines from above.

Overall another jam-packed day, and it looks like if we are mad enough (not sure where the money is coming from) we may end up on Broadway tomorrow night for another show... (not that our hotel isn't on Broadway either, but you know what I mean).

First thing's first, I need to apologise for spelling and grammar etc etc in all of these blog entries. before any more sticklers get annoyed at these garbled scripts, the reason mostly is due to the time limits and I need to let you know it frustrates me as much as you - especially as I don't get a chance to read it back until I get your comments :)

Well James and I are in the Big Apple. We moved out of the sober Washington DC pretty quickly after we had seen all the major sights - the Whitehouse was (typically) surrounded by a police cordon which meant we couldn't get very close until later in the day when it had been moved back. We were also denied the opportunity to take any photos by a cop-on-a-bike, who was unsuccessfully trying to marshal all the tourists. Most people realised if they walked back out of pedalling distance he couldn't stop them.

We then got hold of our tickets for the Washington Monument. It's a huge structure, and so is the queue usually, but we darted in due to reduced sales (Sept 11th?), but had to wait until our time came up so spent the next hour and a bit exploring one of the other wings of the mall. We walked towards the Capitol, and popped into the National Museum for the only bit of culture that DC can provide before heading back to the Washington Monument for our viewing. There is surprisingly little in the way of viewing space, but after out peer in all four directions we headed back down and out. The rest of the day was spent looking at the (huge) Lincoln Memorial and then taking a four hour Greyhound to New York.

After all the administrative and frankly boring austerity of DC (not worth another visit but for the three or four monuments and the Whitehouse) it was refreshing to reach a city with some life. James had been feeling pretty ropey all day, and Washington wasn't doing us any favours as the heat was stifling and there was little in the way of shade.

New York on the other hand interested me from the moment we arrived, but I think I was/still am expecting a lot from this place, so it may just be childish excitement. We booked into what seems to be an oversubscribed youth hostel, grabbed some subs for dinner and chowed down to Oceans 11 (one channel only) and an early night.

This morning we awoke of our own accord and headed down to South Ferry at the bottom of Manhattan to explore the area (Battery Park, Wall St), find a Starbucks for coffee (living the American dream) and then get a trip over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. A few hot hours later we arrived back. It had been a really good chance to explore some of the offshore attractions and see the skyline from the water. Plenty of photos too. Back on land, we made a beeline for downtown (more food needed) and ended up at the vast expanse that is ground zero. Although we knew we were heading for it, it eerily arises as you approach, as one of the major features of NYC seems to be an overcrowding of towering buildings, then suddenly, in the middle of this metropolis, there is nothing. Even before you see the signs and the displays you know where you are.

After some more subs (James is sick of them) we took the subway back to the hostel and checked back in. (room change). I also did some haphazard sewing repairs to my backpack which has started to break at the top, a new type of stitch called Limping Stitch was used.

And so we have just got back from some wholesome American food (pizza) and will be having an early night to see the further delights of the city tomorrow.

We arrived in Washington last night after a one and a half hour flight. The place is clearly what I expected and we won't be spending more time here than we have to. Just a quick round of the sights and then off on the Greyhound. Our next destination is not set yet - we are aiming for NYC but may delay depending on time.

Before we departed yesterday, Alex showed us his new house (or the start of it) and we called around to see Krissy and Matt's child-infested house (there were four kids over, including Joel). Once we had finished we upped and offed to the airport, and once in DC contended with the most surreal and complicated arrivals system we have ever encountered.

Apparently we have a cat called Alice, but nobody told me until today. Nice.

Betty and Rusty's smells of the old-style USA. From the beat up caravans to the long, thin and sharp cacti, the whole thing is genuine John Wayne (without the Hollywood factor). Betty married Rusty a long while back, and she was a third of his age and most certainly not his first wife when it happened. They have an interesting collection of stories and a very forward attitude to talking about 'personal things' considering they are surrounded by 20-something year olds and are both (well) over 50 (Rusty is nearer 80).

We arrived and were quickly assigned to horses for a late evening horse trek through the desert. I have never had any desire to ride horses, however if there had been any opportunity in my life where I would have wanted to have started it was here. And so I was acquainted with Mitsy. I don't know what you can say about a horse, but Mitsy was a good horse and tended to life to walk of her (?) own accord. Apart from this tendency to wander, I enjoyed the ride a great deal and will definitely try it again sometime in the future.

Half way through the ride we stopped for a bathe in a nearby lake. Extremely warm it was very refreshing but also bearable and after our short break, dried off and headed back to the camp where Betty, Rusty and nephew Joel sang cowboy songs while we scoffed down a shoulder of beef, cowboy style.

Rusty certainly had some funny stories and funny opinions. We were all enlightened to hear how he defended himself in one court by explaining that he had stolen a rope and the horse had been attached to it. The laughter and commotion that this had caused meant the judge had to adjourn the hearing an it was never recommenced. Also his views that he could get a new doll in the blink of an eye if he wanted, his games of body-shots with previous trek groups and his one liners on how the grand canyon was formed (Betty dropped a nickel) or how he'd had running water all his life - 'she just had to run and get it'.

We drank the night away until we ran out of alcohol, except for Kristie and James who polished off a bottle of vodka between themselves and clearly had much to show for it. I had the honour of sleeping next to them and the conversation was more than interesting. Pete managed to scare the crap out of the two drunkards with his cow skull/wild donkey routine, and all in all we had a fantastic night finding out about each other. James and my drinking game compendium certainly was appreciated and led to many a revelation.

The next morning a number of us went off in search of the showers (at a local redneck campsite) and James received the final instalment of his haircut which had been started in the pitch black of the night before. After all this was done we set off on the final leg of the tour - the road to LA. A number of hours later (in the evening) we arrived in Beverley Hills.CA. All the major 'drives' had to be experienced and so Joe took us on a roadtrip including Rodeo Drive, Bel Air, the walk of fame, the Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre and finally the Hollywood hills/sign. This was the end of the tour officially. We drove to our hotel and then went our own ways. James and I stayed in the end hotel (the Haceyenda) along with Joe, John and Laura, so we met up for a bot to eat at a nearby cafe with Ellie and Kerry for a final time before properly parting.

The next morning James and I decided to see what available routes were obtainable using free hotel shuttle connections, but after reaching the airport (LAX baby) decided we had been outwitted. Instead we went to the Air Canada desk and asked if we could have our flights brought a day forward as LA really was rapidly losing all sense of appeal. They obliged, and at no extra cost we arranged for our Toronto flight to be moved, much to our pleasure. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and got in touch with Pete and Kristie who were still in the area and whom had hired a car. The text we received was to pack our beach stuff and met them outside the hotel at 2.30pm, which we did and took the long cruise to Santa Monica. Considering LA is one city it is absolutely sprawling, and it took a good 45 minutes to cross to the coast (in very easy traffic).

Santa Monica is not a beach with highly sung praises (apart from by Sheryl Crow) as Venice is the preferred tourist destination, but us pasty white Brits love nothing more than a bit of cold water and sand to indulge our wildest passions of being somewhere vaguely tepid and polluted with just a pair of swim shorts on. So while tyhe Aussies moaned about the lack of good waves and the coolness of the sea, James and I indulged in the lukewarm millpond. A couple of hours forward and we decided it was probably advisable to inform my Canadian relatives of the change of flight plans, so dried off, took a short walk up and down the beach, went to the Apple store, browsed the farmers market, then phoned to to tell them of the 24hr change in plan. See you in 12 hours type of thing.

Pete dropped us off back at the hotel and we said our goodbyes. We really hope to meet with out Australian friends again in the next few months, and so we said farewell and left them to go off to discover the delights of Disneyland. The next morning required a breakfast then speedy departure to the airport where we finally caught our flight to Toronto. Disappointingly I didn't strike up a conversation with the woman sitting net to me, that is until she offered me a SpongeBob Squarepants carrot, when I discovered that although on the first day of her new job, she was in fact the personal assistant to the Vice President of Promotions at Disney and there to promote their three new films at the Toronto film festival - ShopGirl (Steve Martin, Clare Danes), Flightplan (Jodie Foster) and The Greatest Game In The World (Which neither of us had any idea about what it was about, except she had to read up on it as she was meant to be selling it to the critics). Too late to ask for a ticket.

Ata the airport we were greeted by Auntie Kiki and Uncle Garry. We were whisked back to the house where we soon bedded down for the night. Next morning we got up and went for a swim. Today was to be our 'chillax' day and so we strolled down to the local mall for a Timmy's and to get our photos burnt onto CD. On arriving back a couple of hours later we met up with my cousin Matthew, wife Krissy and newest addition to the family Joel, age nearly two years. Unfortunately Joel was a little shy (apparently something which only started in the past couple of weeks) but at least it gave me my first chance to see my cousin-once-removed. After more swimming, Alex and Matthew took us to the Kings Arms (authentic British pub, cough cough) for some food and a drink. It was here I rediscovered Keith's, which is a drink we haven't had in over two years, but still remains a favourite of mine. A large portion of food later and we headed back to Lakeshore.

Another morning and this time we had a day in Toronto. Auntie Kiki dropped us at the GO station and we caught the slow moving train into Union Station. We had planned to meet with Alex for lunch, but despite out contact attempts this never happened, and instead James and I grabbed Subway for lunch then headed to the cinema for some post-dinner entertainment.

Despite some initial confusion (James had forgot to adjust his watch and we turned up to watch the 40 Year Old Virgin three hours ahead of schedule) we swapped our tickets and got to see Batman Begins on the IMAX screen. For me the best movies on IMAX are the action ones, and despite not being a comic fan in the slightest, this really was a good film and best watched this way. Little did we know that 24hrs after the end of that one we would be back in another IMAX thatre watching another film, this time Charlie and the Choclate Factory.

Back home we had a pork roast (rudely interrupting my dosage of Season 3, the OC) before showing off our vast photo collection and heading to bed. And that finally brings me up-to-date, or at least, up to today.

Today was another late-ish rise and was spent down at Woodbine, the famous racetrack about 40 minutes from Oakville. The last time I was there was probably 6 or 7 years ago, but I remember it clearly as it is the first and last racetrack I have ever been too, let alone the first or last I Have ever made a bet at. I came away about fifteen bucks down, but Uncle Garry made a killing on the slots, taking 700 at his best, and walking away with 500 bucks at the end. I was amused by our attempt to order food at the track when Uncle Garry asked for 'three meals' to be presented with a bill for about five bucks. All was soon revealed when the oriental cashier presented us with three cartons of milk and we had to explain that 'meal' and 'milk' are not the same thing, and although we appreciated the calcium, we'd rather have three hamburgers and fries.

We arrived home in time to meet Sue, Alex's new girlfriend, and then headed out to catch the second film of the holiday. After this entertainment we called at a house to meet up for a sly beer with some of Alex's friends (Stacey, Dutch, Chad - not present, Laura (?)) before going to Shoeless Joe's to pick up a evening meal and the rules of NFL/CFL. All in all a good night, and a couple more Canadian beers sampled.

Wow. That took a while. Hopefully next entry I won't have to catch up on so much - considering that these last three instalments have only just scratched the surface of what went on in the USA this summer... Will speak soon.

Although I left the last entry hanging at 8pm (Canadian Time), it wasn't until 10pm that James, Alex, Matthew and myself actually left for food. However this left a significant gap in the adventures of me and my sidekick James, so here is the next part of the chronicle:

We spent the night cruising the Strip, and after our investigations, we headed back to the Golden Palm. By this time the heat was nice, although the walk home was fairly long - part of me wished the pool was still open (we had had a social gathering there earlier before we went out) but being closed we simply got back and went to sleep.

The next day we were allowed to 'lie in' although we made an appearance down pool-side at about 11am where we met with some of the others and made arrangements to meet for a shopping trip to a nearby mall. At the mall we grabbed a sub and then visited as many surf clothing shops a possible (a number of purchases were made) before making moves to go back the hotel. James, Pete & Charley (who by now were getting pretty friendly) and myself walked back onto the strip checking some more venues before eventually meeting everyone in the eyeing outside the fountains at Bellagio and watching two fantastic water shows.

As we all were hungry now we decided to go and get a buffet dinner as recommended by Joe. Despite what we initially thought, this type of dining isn't that cheap - no matter how far you walk, and we settled for some exclusive but overflowing meal at the Flamingo in true Vegas pomp. Was mightily impressed/filled.

After the last of the dessert was polished off we split again and spent the next few hours mopping up the sights and attractions, including the free shows down the unexplored part of the strip. We got up as far as Treasure Island, but were so bitterly disappointed that the 'Sirens of TI' show had been cancelled due to 'high winds' (a mere Zephyr) we headed back along the strip and saw the last of the big casinos with plenty of photo opportunities. Major attractions of the night included

• Caesar's Palace (why a dog that small needs such a big palace I don't know)
• The Mirage and the volcano
• The Luxor and it's 'inclinator'
• The Excalibur
• The Hard Rock Cafe & Hotel
• The Bellagio Fountains by night

The next morning we moved on once more (yet another early start) and I was able to reflect on my time in Vegas. Although initially unsure of what I would make of the place I was pleasantly surprised and will one day visit again (this time when I can bet myself). The place is not tacky. Tacky is when you attempt to do something pretty grand or glitzy on a budget and screw it up, Vegas may well be bright, neon and glitter-coated, but it has been done at expense. This sort of grandeur is open to the masses and I cannot think of another example since Roman times, where so much money has been spent on impressing the general population who can freely roam as they like.

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon. As predicted by Joe, we ended up getting caught in the micro-climate that surrounds this great natural monument, and were drenched on occasion. Our first stop after setting up camp was the heliport where we took 35 minute flights over the area, and it was truly stunning. The canyon has to be seen to be believed, and even then it was hard to grasp the size of the thing. Later that night Joe took us to a viewing point for photos, and after we had food at camp (utilising the cabbage I bought in the coleslaw; turns out that I can't tell the difference between a lettuce and a cabbage) before retiring.

The next day would be our earliest rise - 4.30am for sunrise over the canyon and a 2 hour hike. There is a rule of thumb that it takes twice as long to come up as go down, so when we darted back up faster than we had descended Joe was more than surprised, but I think the motivation had mainly been in the thick red mud and puddles that had occurred we got caught in a rain storm at the bottom of our descent which prompted our fast return.

We dried out in the canyon shop and warmed ourselves with soup. More travelling today meant it was back in the bus to travel to our next Arizona-based destination, Betty and Rusty's out in the desert, about70 miles outside Phoenix.

Once again, I am going to terminate this blog entry for a while as something more important has arisen - season 3 of the OC starts here in about 5 minutes and I'm not missing it for the world... (how sad).