Week 13 Gap Year: Week 4 and a half in the U.S.A

Now sitting in Atlanta, one of the more plain cities that the group has been to since arrival a month ago. I say this because I walked around it at twenty minutes at night and a long drive. 2nd of September and arrived on the 29th July. It seems quite unimaginable it has been that long and how quickly the time has gone by especially after arriving in Texas. After the ferocity in which we embraced Las Vegas it was at first depressing, but now slightly

unsurprising that the trip slumped for a few days. Scant sleep in Vegas, long distances travelled in days and relentlessly filling in a tight schedule and on a constant high on the west coast, Dallas and Austin (the latter of which we were all gutted about) were spent recovering and shifting from Dallas to Austin.

Dallas as expected we did not see in great detail, virtually seen in darkness on arrival at Dallas/Fortworth airport in a pricey taxi and then rushed to the train station in the morning. That was not surprising. At the train station things took a slight dip when our train scheduled to turn up at 11:15 turned up fifty minutes late. Never have I witnessed a train go so agonisingly slowly as our second Amtrak train journey to Austin. How can a train go that slowly. Countless delays and endless technical difficulties. Drive or take the plane, the public system of transportation is scandelous bar San Francisco and San Diego. Amusingly the group also failed to check the location of our hotel in Austin, the location in the fourth largest city in the U.S.A coming back to haunt us. We had forgotten that Austin was an urban sprawl and it turns our we were stuck in a Bosworth Hotel at a major junction on the Northern Interstate Highway, one full-hour bus journey away from Austin and 6th Street, a city and place well-known as the most liberal city in Texas, full of bars and showcasing plenty of live-music. For Ollie inparticular I felt particualarly bad because we all knew how much he had been looking forward to Austin. It was a bad mistake not to check location and one that shall not be repeated. We struggled to find anything to do in the three days we were there! Applebees and 7/11 provided our much needed food as there wasn't even a mall nearby, but we drowned our sorrows on several cheap but very good pitchers at Applebees' bar and were lifted by the Texas waitresses going 'Hey y'all!'. Our two days there was extended to three as Rupert needed a day to recouperate after being struck down by sickness brought on by a variety of factors (still Charlie managed to get quite a good impression of the dire straits Rupert was in for that day). Lots of TV, a dodgy swimming pool, bites on Charlie's leg from a likely invested mattress and a gym with no air-conditioning in the humid air of Dallas, and not much good food nearby to get to, it was a plunge from the highs of the Elara Hotel. However now I look back on it, those three days recovery were quite important especially after two days of intense travel from Vegas to Dallas and Dallas to Austin. I guess it all caught up with us.

The bright side was that last Tuesday was a good day, the group had decided after recommendations from locals that Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico was a preferable destination to Houston and still close to the Space Center/NASA coveted by Charlie. We booked it up and after shifting a few dates forward after the extra day in Austin and picking up our rented car from Alamo in Austin airport (Hyundai Genesis, our best car yet) we set off for the coastline. A fairly long drive but that was helpd by some passing by what seemed like the whole Galveston police force surrounding a particular district and passing by NASA and Houston signs and arriving at the Gulf of Mexico sparkling in the late afternoon. It was cool to think we had another chance to surf and catch some sun and sea for the last time before we get home. The Gulf of Mexico was really, really warm. I don't think any of us have ever been in water quite that warm. The Pacific coast water was decent at times, but still quite cold, the Atlantic untouchable in my eyes and the Mediterrenean okay. Waves and just pulling pranks on each other in the warm evening sunshine was a nice relief after a long drive and a long couple of days. It really felt like the trip was back on track. Me, Ollie and Rupert stopped by 'The Crow' in town, Rupert the designated driver as we checked out the bars in Galveston. We met our geniune first red-neck Jesse James who was quite the character who told us of New Orleans and the promises ahead, not to mention his occasionally extreme views. The bar was really cool though, a standard American bar which has on its wall a Jeager Meister surfboard. I wish I could I have had that but alas I am a poor surfer.

This day proved to be my most glutenous of the trip so far. A breakfast and a half at Denny's  (which included scrambled eggs, pancakes with creamed butter, bacon, sausages, hashbrown, water, coffee, Charlie's hashbrown, Charlie's eggs, Rupert's sausages and Charlie's muffins) was followed by a watermelon challenge in Galveston were I managed to eat half a watermelon. This was shortly followed by all-you can eat buffet which culminated in the devouring of several salads, four small steaks, chips, a large Dr. Pepper and some chocolate cake. Pig. All I can say what followed the night after made me glad I had packed myself with food.

Another day spent by the beach and surfing (which was not as good as California in all honesty) and some shopping for food in the local mall and Charlie delaying his trip to the Space Center for the next day. First things first though was a much-needed haircut, my conversation got me a student discount which was pretty awesome (I still tipped well though). It was refreshing considering I had start to slik back the hair and had been reminded so often by the group that my hair needed a cut to prevent a mullet or a certain stupid look emerging. I accidentally fell asleep by the hotel pool to awaken to a somewhat charred face but after a sandwich, a shower and paralysing the group with laughter on an unfortunate dropped towel we went back to 'The Crow' for a few more beers than the previous night. Ollie and Charlie made do with the pool table whilst me and Rupert chatted about gap year and Rupert's potential plans to travel Asia, work in Austrailia for a few months and possibly visit Japan whilst he was out there. I spoke mainly about cycling and Uganda and it was a pleasant evening in general and we were ready to go to New Orleans

That night though 'The Night of Sorrows', as the Spanish at Tenochticlan called it, I joined Rupert on the illness front, violently sick four times during a sleepless night out of nowhere to be honest. Poor diet, perhaps too much sun or fatigue? I don't know but it was first time I was sick from illness and quite frankly I was not missing out and hope it was my last time. It was karma I guess and it had been coming as I had jokingly been talking about leaving the sick and wounded behind in Austin and proudly talking about my 'perfect immune system'. Funnily enough and fittingly probably the tables had turned the next day asking to the group if we were 'still cool' and that they wouldn't leave me behind. I have to admit though it was a pretty wretched morning for myself, 7-8 hours travel ahead and stomach wreaking all sorts of havoc and pretty horrendous heat. We also had to skip the Space Center as well for time, another destination that we had wanted to see scribbled out to make for time. We crossed from Texas into Louisiana and I slept most of the way to compensate for a dismal night before and when we arrived the hotel, it was a few slices of pizza, nectarine and bananas and then bed. Still New Orleans at first glance was visually quite the drive through highways poisitioned on first swamps, rivers, lakes and finally ocean. It was hardly surprising however to see why the city has flooded courtesy of Hurricane Katrina a few years back, it is quite the spot for a good flooding.

It was good to be back in a big city surrounded by skyscrapers and what was best was that we were one left and two blocks away from Bourbon street. The timing of my recovery was perfect, ill on Thursday and raring to go again on Friday for a night out on the best street in New Orleans. During the daytime we visited the street and were drooling at the amount of bars, clubs and shops to chill at for the day. How do you describe New Orleans and Bourbon Street? One massive party and just like Vegas but without casinos. People were clubbing, drinking and committing all sorts of tomfoolery as we did and then collected our laundry that afternoon. We could scarcely comprehend what awaited us from the evening to early morning. Charlie was hit by illness at a bad time but he managed to make a few hours out, but we started in the hotel bar with some quite lethal cocktails one of which was called the 'Firecatcher' and the other, a particular contributor to Rupert's eventual demise, 'The Freight Train' which had to be the strongest cocktail I had ever had,  a combination of something called 'Diesel' and some other ingredient which simply gave it a little colour. When we reached Bourbon Street following some spectacular street dancing, we headed for an array of bars and one which served us the 'Hand Grenande' and people showering from above with bead necklaces and an cheeky pouring of beer meeting some interesting characters along the way. Many hours later we returned early morning to the hotel  Rupert Arvidsson take a bow. It was a great night and it was a shame we couldn't do anymore nights. Our final day left us all feeling worse for wear and a hangover in which only endless episodes of 'Ink Master', Popeye's and two Mcdonalds in a row could cure. The latter was regrettable . After nearly 5 weeks you do grow frustrated with the lack of fruit in the damn country which eventually forces you to go to fast-food places which after a while become repetitive and inedible. When I get home I won't be touching fast-food for a while. Still if you go to the U.S.A, go to New Orleans and go to Bourbon Street, it was simply unforgettable and if we could of had more time there we would have stayed longer. Any city that reduces Rupert to religious conversion and rocking backwards and forwards on his knees in prayer to Mecca for a hangover cure deserves credit!

Today we awoke in Louisiana, filled the car with gas in Mississipi, ate lunch in Alabama and after this blog is finished sleep in Georgia after a fantastic meal at Noodles in Atlanta. It has been quite the day and quite a drive but still awesome and the Kindle has provided me with some great reads along the way. Two weeks to go and so much to do when I get home!

Quotes of the Week:

• "Oh look parachutes for the both of us" "Whoops not anymore!"
• Alejandro
• How jer fand me!
• "Weirdos!!"
• "Where are you guys from?" "England" "England?! DAMN me and the Queen gat something goin OWWWN!"
• "That's raaaght baby!"
• "Feeerrreeeeky"
• "Love that chicken from Popeye's!"
• "We're going to die"
• "Noooo, I clean"
• "Housekeeping" (so many damn times)
• "So give us a call, you'll be glad you did! Cannon Box!"

Matthew Williams

Gap Year Week 12: 3rd Week (and possibly a bit more) in the U.S.A

 

 (This may be a few weeks out but finding a computer and time has been a bit of a nightmare. This was written about a week and a bit ago.) As I write the team are sitting on a plane several thousand feet above the United States. We ran out of money and have decided after lavish spending on the glittering West Coast to return home whence we came.

 

Only joking (but we did contemplate the East Coast simply constituting sleeping in JFK airport the spending was heavy) we're on our way to Dallas in the centre of Texas. The group decided to skip the gruelling 18 hour drive across the harsh climate of New Mexico and Arizona for a decently price flight. Another week has gone and we are now half way through the trip having completed our adventure on the west coast. It has hit our wallets hard and supreme budgeting is now the order of the day.

 

The week previously we were on our way to the Grand Canyon and woke up to remember that the Premier League had started (yawns from Ollie and Charlie), but for me and Rupert's fantasy teams and football lovers we checked results before heading down for breakfast. We had awoken to freezing temperatures in our room. Ollie was recovering from a cold brought on by a combination of tiredness, lack of fruit and excess travelling. The group was a little under the weather but morale soon recieved a boost with a solid breakfast; which for once included milk, cereal and plenty of fruit. On top of that the drive, though short as we headed for the town of Williams, proved to be a memorable one along the fabled Route 66. Though we didn't quite make it the end of the route (Chicago),it was a great drive as searing, dry heat turned to driving through quite the thunderstorm which included rain, forked lightening and hail to boot, an immense relief to be perfectly honest. Temperatures dropped from 45 C - 16 C in mere minutes and afterwards I reflected upon how fortunate it was that I relieved myself before we hit the rainstorm along perhaps the straightest road you and I will ever see. Corners could be seen miles ahead and Charlie had to prepare himself for the mental test, the mere shock of seeing a corner (which as usual was greeted with drama). Straight roads, deserts turning bog in the storm and lenghty freighttrains passing through the mother of all wildernesses (a particular favourite of Rupert's) and driving along to American countryside music praising Jesus (we have to prepare for Texas), it was a landscape to behold that epitomised the heartland of American wilderness. It makes you realise how little of America, the U.S citizens actually live in. This was capped off by a B.M.T Italian Subway at the end of the route.

 

We arrived at Williams town nearby the Williams Grand Canyon and settled down nicely on the edge of town, walking distance from the restaurants and mall needed to supply with food the nights before and after the Grand Canyon. Whilst the others rested I took a stroll round the town named after my surname stoppin at a remarkable Native American shop after buying some homemade chocolate fudgecake). The shop was full of items and objects hand-made by Native Americans on the reserves. An assorment of bows and arrows (the latters made from razor-sharp stone and glass), battle axes, hunting knives (probably also used to scalp enemies in history past), drums, dreamcatchers and well-sculpted pottery engraved with and made with certain purpose. With traditional Native American music to boot, being in this particular shop was a real enjoyment. I did buy a few gifts but I passed on the oppurtunity to buy my dad a battle-axe; the iodea of him swinging the axe around on a sit-on-mower would probably have been too much for mum's stress, not to mention the issue of getting the axe through customs. I was joined by Ollie and Rupert and we had a chat with the store owner Don for a good hour.

 

Quite the conversation it turned out to be. Three years retired and a Vietnam veteran , Don was living quite the lifestyle as a hunter who came to Arizona to shoot, stalk and roam the area for wildlife and in the winter was a ski-instructor who lived with his wife in the North of Yosemite Park. He also happened to come from the best city as well (San Diego). He and Rupert had lots to share on hunting and shooting, both of them exchanging pictures of past kills (though obviously Don has quite some kills, one of which was a bull male moose that actually has to be cut apart to carry out of the canyon). The debate of hunting laws and gun laws emerged breifly and it was unnerving to think (though not surprising) to think that alot of people walk around the U.S.A carrying hidden weaponery. Nevertheless he did amuse us with one of his stories of when he and his group hunting were camping a bear came snooping in the middle of the night. It turned out that rather than doing the obvious and s**tiing themselves as we would have done, one of the group, a stocked butcher punched the bear, a big wild bear in the jaw and sent it scurrying. That was one ballsy butcher. After numerous tales of skiing, hunting and our own travels we left Don, Ollie reflecting how he could have sat with Don for hours in a pub drinking beer and chatting non-stop. Quite alternate views, but the conversation was pretty cool, a very traditional American.

 

After this the group was re-joined by well-rested Charlie and we went out for a great steak and chips in one of the local restaurants (I passed for financial reasons) and then contented ourselves with both Kill Bill movies to us in the zone for the Grand Canyon.

 

We rose after a good night's sleep, the double bed sharing disgruntling Ollie, indignant at how I took up the whole bed and being on the whole a bit sensationalist. After a large jam-sandwiches and a few bananas we set-off. Originally I was quite surprised during the one hour drive that the Grand Canyon would be in this particular area given the nature of terrain which was more foresty, mountainous and green than I previously imagined. I had always assumed that the Grand Canyon would have been a hole in the middle of arid desert previously seen when arriving in Arizona. After debating with Rupert about the dire state of our fantasy teams we arrived and were not dissapointed. You've seen it on films, heard about it from all and sundry. Is it worth the hype? The answer is a resounding yes. The Grand Canyon, a mass of red rocks and cliffs tanning in the sun for about 2 billion years, is vast and incomprehensible in age. Peer over the edge and you confront an awesome landscape with steep valleys and canyons that one man could not explore in one-lifetime. We stared munching on our mini-picnic on a precarious cliff-edge looking on as another awesome storm lingered in the distance, brought on by the high temperatures. This offered some stunning photography oppurtunities which we took in kind. Group-photos, selfies, pouting (possibly an exaggeration), normal pictures, looking adventurous; we practically hogged the cliff-face and made it our own, thinking screw the French tourists).

 

After this the group drove a scenic route stopping at different locations along the Canyon and left driving through some scenic plains quite similar to the Great Plains. Idiotic Custer making his stand against three-thousand furious Native Americans sprang to mind as I drove; the others reminding me occasionally which side of the road to turn out onto. Once again Ollie managed to exploit the tiredness adding to his sizeable album. On return to the hotel room, Tom Hanks in Cast Away was the order of the day. Vegas was waiting for us which would prove to be quite the opposite to what we had just seen. Williams and the Grand Canyon had spoiled us. Nevada and Vegas was about to do the same but break us financially and mentally in the process!

 

Bags packed, heads in the zone for a long, traditional Vegas night to come we piled into the car and set off for Sin City. We double-tracked Route 40 which had led us into Arizona and made our way to Nevada. It is quite hard to believe that a city existed in the middle of the desert, given life by the Hoover Dam. Though a overcast day, it became humid and hot, particularly at our visit to the Hoover Dam, but we managed to get a few decent shots and peers over the steep dam. It may have been smaller than the one from Golden Eye in James Bond but it was still pretty high. Skateboarding down it would be fun, but short-lived (quite literally). We left Arizona for Nevada to reach the Hoover Dam and returned to Arizona to park, we then left Arizona by foot and returned to Nevada to see the dam. Content by the view we strolled back into Arizona, got back in the car and drove back into Nevada for Hotel Elara. The complications of a dam being a border of states...

 

The drive into Vegas was naturally accompanied by several Hangover tunes including Kanye West's 'Can't Tell Me Nothing', Flo Rida's 'Right Round' and Usher. None of us were particularly huge fans of these artists, but on this occasion it fit the bill and it got even better when we found our room in the Elara Hotel. Situated on Floor 11 it was massive and exceeded all expectations. The room had a hot-tub, a view of quite a bit of Vegas, a big bathroom and a fridge in which to store excess amounts of beers. Clearly though we detected that as me and Ollie had a fold out bed, this was room was designed for couples (shit). The hot-tub was designed for two as well. Into shirts and smart attire we headed out for the casinos and glamour of Vegas and did so again for four nights straight.

 

Summary of Vegas:

 

• What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
• 0-00 was good to me personally :D
• What happens in Vegas will most likely emerge on Facebook and Youtube and stay forever.
• We ate alot of Panda Express, almost every meal.
• I sleeping patterns were completely screwed over by Vegas.
• No sleep.
• Vegas and the house won overall (particualarly on Charlie and Matt)
• Pool and Television was recovery.
• Money very, very, very well spent.
• Free drinks at the Roulette machines were great.

So now we head East. Texas, New Orleans, Atalanta, North Carolina, Washington, Philadelphia and New York beckon and if the first half of the trip is anything to go by we are in for a treat again. Perhaps a little cheaper hopefully.

 

Facts of the week

 

• American TV remains crap
• It was weird watching Premier League football in the morning.
• A girl we were chatting to believed that in England the lords ruled over pheasants as supposed to the correct term peasants.

Quotes:

 

• Just one more!
• Go on Lucas stick him!
• Hornbear and Matterhorn
• I have a direct shot at your head Mr. Bond, go sit on the bead JA? Pop your trousers on the stool to Ja! Dr. Kaufman.
• Names in Vegas adopted: Hector (Matthew), Glen (Ollie), Sven (Rupert) and Lee-Kee Wang (Charlie)
• Xerxes
• Persians!
• Xerxes stood aforth a gold hummer, with Gucci accessories that only a Persian would find cool!
• You can sit with me if you waaant! (Forrest Gump).
• Though contemplated we haven't as yet got tattoos on our arms which resembled a skull surrounded by chains and weaponery with an American flag as the background with word below saying 'Freedom! F**k Yer!'

 

Matthew Williams

 

 

 



Week 11: Gap Year: Second Week in the U.S.A

The second week has gone by quickly since we arrived in San Jose. Now we are sat in the middle of Arizona in some pretty stifling temperatures (thankfully they have plenty of aircon in the U.S.A!). The late update was largely due to the lack of computers which didn't cost over 6 dollars to use for 15 minutes. The machine only took card and considering in less than two weeks I have managed to lose my debit card that complicated things a bit. Arizona averaged 47.7 C today and so far has delivered some pretty typical American countryside. It definetly reminded me of Red Dead Redemption and the Wild West seen in the movies, but the Grand Canyon beckons for the 17th and 18th before we set off for Vegas, which we have been told by numerous people is a wild place. 

  That is for next week though so how do I summarise the second and final week in California? Pretty incredible and a lot has happened so I better start in San Jose. We arrived in San Jose on the back of a tough drive from Yosemite Park, we made a mental note to take a navigation system except that would come back to haunt us when in our next encounter with Budget (now known as Fudget to the team) car rental, the naviagation system would infact be terrible and slow to keep pace taking us in circles around Monterey on Route 1. The lady escorting us endured a lot of slander from the driver and passengers (the lady's voice not an actual Budget employee). We have since made a mental note to use a map again until further notice. Anyway back to San Jose, we were picked up by David (Charlie's Uncle) and it is fair to say he had a Hank Moody look about him, the main character from Californication, so pretty cool. He'd returned after leaving when we got 'lost'. The reality had been that we were looking around desperatlely for a refill of a near empty tank that needed to be returned full).

San Jose provided a decent day off, good food, hospitality and chilled drinks in the warm sunshine and time for Charles to catch with uncle and aunt (Debra). The urban sprawl gave us time to catch our breath. Lots of football with Charlie's excitable young counsins Sidney and Eddie, perhaps an excessive amount but it was still enjoyable. Ollie got a little overexcited and tripped scrapping his knee on the concrete of David and Debra's backyard. Weezing and exhausted, a few chats, several lethal mohitos, a few beers alongside a cracking barbeque was certainly the order of the day. The Roe's never dissapoint it seems whatever side of the globe we are located. We telephoned Mark, our contact in Mammoth Lakes who had offered us the chance to stay at his place near Santa Monica. We managed to negotiate one night on the 9th August, a friday night which give an ideal two and a half days to travel down Route 1 and a chance to go out in Los Angeles on a Friday. Believe me you do not want to rush down Route 1. It could have taken us a week to go down Route 1 if we could have stopped in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Monterey.

The drive from San Jose to Santa Cruz was uneventful apart from Debra's watermelon and disovering that Ollie had created the album 'Matt Williams sleeps America' and that yet another photo had been added to the album. Hiring the car was reletavily straight forward, but we did not like the guy seving us the car. We stopped in Santa Cruz for a decent hour and wandered around the coastline Theme Park, finally seeing the beginning of Route 1 and the promise of blue sea and crystal clear sky to come. The theme park we strolled through provided our first corn dogs of the trip and the grotesque deep fried Twinkie then we hit the road our first stop being Monterey. Unfortuntely it was grey day with an awful navigation system, but thankfully the first day was a relitavely short drive. The motel (of which there are countless along Route 1) was very nice and we proceeded to....not visit Monterey, a very beautiful coastline town and instead contented ourselves with a chill by the poolside, watching Pawn Stars on the History Channel and only ventured in to stop by our one and only Mcdonalds supersize meal. I must admit Monterey certainly lacked the initiative sometimes required by travellers, but we did manage to purchase a 1.7 litre bottle of Vodka for $20! God Bless America! Okay we wasted Monterey.

The next day proved to be the best day of Route 1, the early morning fog lifting for the classic winding, bending roads, cliffs, and light blue Pacfici to emerge in the sunshine. We stopped for lunch at Lucia Lodge (a certain must if your're travelling the Route) where we ate chicken burgers (no surprises there...) and fish and chips (for Charlie) by a stunner waitress with a awesome view of Route 1 to boot. Expensive on a budget, but unmissable, sometimes money doesn't matter in these circumstances for such an experience. The largest fail of the day was our plans to stop at the Big Suur, a famous national park along Route 1. We stopped and hopped out of the car, and wandered around the Big Suur for a good fourty five minutes absorbing the natural beauty, possing in trees, climbing trees, taking scenic pictures and in my case falling out of trees. Charlie commented much like David Attenborough on the tranquil wild nature of the place. Content at the conquering of the park we jumped back in the car and drove on. We passed by a sign that said 'Big Suur National Park in 1/2 mile'. It turns out that we had been infact strolling around some random bloke's property and country road. Chumps.

Apart from that little mishap, it was certainly an unmissable experience Route 1 whilst listening to Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Biffy Clyro, Tenacious D and more, Charlie passing out with fish and chips swirling around his stomach courtesy of the bendiest roads on Route 1 being placed under my jurisdiction. We stopped to check out some elephant seal and when we finally left Route 1 joined a very stunning route on the way to Santa Barbara in the evening sunset with Rupert bricking it about petrol being at near empty and Ollie nearly very much doing a me thinking that he had left his shoes at the petrol station during the day. The motel at Santa Barbara was decent, considering we had all been fearful for our lives after a reading a review suggesting that tomato ketchup/ blood stained the walls of some of the rooms. The room was decent and the motel quite nice, we spent most of the evening chilling.

We arrived in Los Angeles (the city of Fallen Angels) listening to Kickapoo on Friday morning, the group once again fearing we were heading for our doom staying with a stranger we had just met. At first the taxi-driver at LAX airport stated that the street address did not exist which left us contemplating the worst, but it turned out Mark was a member of LAFD (Los Angeles Fire Department), married for a year and had lived in LA for five years. He helped tackle some of the terrible fires in Arizona that claimed the lives of 19 firemen earlier in the summer. He took us surfing, showed us the fabled Venice beach ten minutes from his house and took us all for a cycle up to Santa Monica which culminated in ice cold pitchers at Hooters. What a unbeliveable beach to cycle along, it was hard to belive we were cycling along one of the most famous beaches in the world. Rock stars, hobos openly asking for drugs instead of food, hobos that were infact just very weathly people messing themselves up on drugs, attractive women everywhere and some very strange people (the man doing poor impersonations of Michael Jackson, or the topless Mexican running around excessively oiled) and most obviously foreigners drinking in the atmosphere of Venice Beach Walk.

"Venice, Holy Ground, stained with the blood of poets."

This quote could not be more precise on Los Angeles.Lots of swimming and surfing, the waves taking down my trunks at one unfortunate point and sunburns all round for the group. This was then followed by a bar crawl starting in Venice Whaler and ending in some club in Santa Monica. We didn't linger long since we had been up for nearly 20 hours after setting off from Santa Barbara. I lost my debit card as well that night which I only discoverd the next day, luckily online banking and transfers to Rupert's account has kept me afloat. Monetary stance is in check, dignity is certainly not. Jack-ass springs to mind. Only me...

Mark dropped us off at the Venice Beach Hotel where we took refuge for the remainder of our stay in LA, from which we ventured to Hooters, the beach, and bars in the vicinity and obviously to Hollywood (which we spent a few good hours searching for, amazing considering the sign is on a bloody hill). Amazingly to get to the Hollywood sign we were given a car by a complete stranger who we had a chat with while eating breakfast at the cafe (top pancakes). She threw Charlie the keys and just told us to return by the end of the day. Only in the U.S.A could this occur. So much trust. Not going to lie when we arrived in San Diego, most of LA is a unattractive urban sprawl, downtown Los Angeles is a bit of a dump, but Venice Beach and Santa Monica are a must in LA. The trip to Compton was postponed which was a shame. Sunday our final night out proved to be hilarious as we played drinking games with two Northern Irish lads, Craig and Kevin, and headed out to Venice Whaler for a few drinks. We all woke up worse for wear for our planned Greyhound trip to San Diego and after Kevin stated drunkenly that he would be coming to San Diego with us for the remaining days of his trip, he stated that particular morning after I asked him whether he was still coming "Am I f**k!'. Top guys though and I wish them well for the rest of their trip. Palm Trees and an excessive amount of curly fries and $1 hotdogs. LA did not dissapoint.

We set off for the Greyhound place and on arrival we didn't even leave the taxi. The lyrics from Lonely Island blazed out. "Book a greyhound" "PUSSY OUT!" "Like a Boss" The Greyhound bus stops located in downtown LA were located particularly close to County Prison/ a few jails and we had heard rumors before that people had got the Greyhound and been arrested the other end. It was surrounded by some very interesting people who geniunely looked like they would murder/ rob/ have their way with us if we had left the car and we quickly decided for $33 dollars on the day to get the highly reccommended train down to San Diego. What a decision that proved out to be, a train along the coastline of the Pacific and comfortable air condition with a pretty mean hangover was certainly the best option. Good suggestion Rupert Arvidsson. If you ever want to travel to San Diego from LA get the train! San Diego proved to be the favourite city so far, made LA look rather shabby and the weather far better then San Francisco. It is a very beautiful city and the locals clearly take pride in it.

Anchorman quotes galore followed for a bit, we managed to stay in a decent hotel just of the bay and very close to the U.S.S Midway Aircraft Carrier known as the Wyndham. For $33 dollars a night just of the bay of San Diego and very close to Coronado Island, it was a very good deal. Rupert and I got the chance to have a look at the U.S.S Midway Museum which offered a vast array of former U.S Military Aircraft and Naval equipment dating back to 1946 and few bad video impressions dancing to sailor tunes and impersonating American naval captains. 'Get to DA Choppa' was used a few times. The $18 fee was definetly worth it seeing as San Diego is the naval base for America's Pacific Fleet. San Diego's bars were packed considering after the meal at Gourmet India (the group had decided in-part to try and be slightly healthier after Los Angeles)the waiter said nothing happened really on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The group managed to have several good nights out in San Diego at the Whiskey Bar and another bar, which I can't personally remember the name of, proving to be excellent bars to go to meet locals, Rupert pulling the stings in the social settings and the 'Adios Mother F**kers' drinks (the drink was a mixture of four spirit) ravaging our livers and spurring us on. Rupert/ Rupert Hornbear got very snuggly with an unfortunate Charlie nestling his head on Charlie's shoulder while he was sleeping. The final day proved a write off for a few, but Charlie managed to get a good look at La Jolla Bay whilst some rotted back at the flat watching 4 hours straight of 'Pawn Stars'. Dominoes and a few films and we would set off for Arizona the next day.

After a terrible night's sleep for me, we woke up and packed our stuff for Budget and headed over to pick up the car. The next hour proved highly irritable for all, as Budget nearly messed up all our plans to go into Arizona, see the Grand Canyon and get to Vegas where we had booked flights the previous night for Dallas in Texas. They refused to give us the car because we didn't have a credit card and because they feared we would drive into Mexico. What a joke, luckily the Alamo car rental company saved our bacon the manager who had lived in London proving extremely helpful and kind in giving us the much needed car. The companies have such different standards from place to place. The drive along Route 40 was fairly smooth in a very good air condtioned Chevrolet Malibu which was to our vehicle in the deserts of California and Arizona. The hairdryer temperatures of Morroco returned in kind, after a much needed stop at IHOP where we treated ourselves to an epic breakfast of French Toast, pancakes, eggs, and extra bacon with mapel syrup in our coffees. Gluttony in the extreme on my part. Scorched mountains, hazardous terrain, desert wilderness, very straight roads to the middle of nowhere and intense heat. Certainly one of the hottest places on the planet at the moment and you could see the evidence of grass fires everywhere No one could survive in these deserts for long and we came up with some very gruesome theories of how to survive and what things we would do to survive. I shan't go into much more detail, it went from James Franco's film to unimaginable horrors that probably didn't have much to do with surviving Arizona's desert. But the drive was spectacular and we left California and entered Arizona to squeals of delight, the former state spoiling us. We even got a snap of Route 66 which we will drive tomorrow. The Grand Canyon and Vegas beckon before we head over to Texas! Oliver is preparing himself nicely with a worsening cold.

Highlights/Quotes of the week

- Buttslicer another name to add to the quotes conjured up by everyone to describe my overtly large buttocks. Thanks Sidney...
- Climbing Palm Trees is not recommended.
- 100% get the train from LA -> SD, not Greyhound.
- Take your time along Route 1. We missed out on some quality time in Monetrrey and Santa Barbara. Motels and Hotels everywhere should sort you for 3-4 nights.
- Last week I strongly condemned American advertisement and television, now I target Fox News, a media braodcast more interested in a fat man winning the lottery and Beyonce's haircut rather than the Arab Spring and their own foreign policy recently in Yemen. Priorities.
- Amish Mafia the programme though = fairplay.
- Craig and Kevin should create their own travel programme. The former will be at Nottingham University studying medecine, they will both fit right in.
- Fruit and Vegetables are swiftly becoming a luxury. Rupert and me are sick of Burgers and Fries.
- "Papa Dragon, lets keep this high and tight, I wanna be
home in in time for dinner!" = the favourite quote of the week. Avatar
- Get some!
- "Honey Boo Boo quite appealing Mother: "Our weight makes us sassy!"
- Hey Imperial Fleet get ready to suck some Dac!" (Family Guy)
- The beggar on the bus complaining about the air conditioning. "Gawd its so hot in here! We pay taxes for s**t air conditioning....you ain't seen no white boy like me before." This topic continued for 30 minutes. He was a very passionate individual.
- The beggar who did an impression to Rupert of slitting a throat when Rupert responded to his rock symbols with a peace sign.
- It is clear to the guys that I am in fact hoping to do International Relations and going to Uganda, prepared for my first pay-check in 2015. These words shall haunt me for the rest of trip when repeated so many times.
- Adios Mother F**kers have to be introduced elsewhere. They are lethal.

Food:

The Good: IHOP, In N Out, Dominoes, Vegetables and Fruit, Gourmet Indian, Mexican Burrito's in San Diego, Hershel's Chocolate Bars, Wendy's, Mammoth Lakes Pizza, Dominoes' Ranch Sauce, Whiskey Bar food in San Diego, 7/11. Hooters. Pancakes in Los Angeles, Del Taco, Panda Express

The Bad: Twisslers (Bland and Tasteless), Dominoes Garlic Sauce.

The Ugly: Dominoes Garlic Sauce (basically butter), Charlie's bedside plug on the 12th August, Excessive amounts of fast-food and spicy foods. Bad for the bowels! Mcdonalds and Burger King.

Matthew Williams

Week 10: Gap Year: First Week in the U.S.A

Team America

The first week in the United States has gone in a blur of fun, tiredness, and rewarded us already with some absolutely incredible sites. Essentially the single point that the group has come to realize is that the Americans think BIG. Portions, transport, geography, architecture, distances. As a group we have barely scratched the surface of the magnificent state that is California and that of the U.S.A. Even so it still makes for quite an experience which now taking a day of relaxing in San Jose is difficult to explain in one post.

Monday to Thursday in San Francisco has gone in blur. I say blur so far, particularly in the beginning of the week because of some severe jet lag, such that me, Charlie and Rupert have never been accustomed to (whilst Ollie has already done his gap year in Australia which is intense mileage). Originally and inevitably the jet lag hampered the group on arrival and for a couple of days. The 10 hour flight, despite the 3rd season of 'Walking Dead' and 'Django Unchained', was fairly ruthless psychologically and physically not to mention the agony of being surrounded by a large group of French/ French Canadians who loved having their seats back but did not appreciate it when Rupert wanted his seat back (typical). Six Amstel's between me and Ollie and one small bottle of wine for Charlie and one eternity later (accompanied by Patches O'Hoolehan) we finally landed leaving the plane out of relief rather the short-lived excitement and adrenaline which accompanied us when entering the plane.

Arriving though, once we had passed through security who grilled a large majority of group waiting for them to crack under the strain of tiredness, was amazing given the hard-work that we have all done to make this trip a possibility. Normally the destination for students or graduates would have been Asia but seeing and being in San Francisco was a reminder that we had finally arrived. The traditional America diner nearby the hostel and the Moon Doggie's, Cheeseburgers, teeth-rotting cherry coke for Ollie and an epic banana milkshake for Charlie were the first orders of the trip which was then followed by a well-earned rest, once obviously a few pints of Budweiser and Guinness had been consumed in the Irish pub down the road. 

Numerous early wake-ups between 4:30 am and 7.00 am was quite uncomfortable but it meant we could get out early and see things rather than waste time.  Tuesday (the day after arrival) was simply an incredible day as the group explored far and wide in San Francisco, bustling locals rushing to get to work and quickly grabbing a coffee from the seemingly endless availability of a Starbucks coffee on every single street. During the week it was a bit more difficult to go out because many of the locals our age, like us, are most likely traveling or hurrying out the city during the heat. To be fair however the weather in San Francisco was very mild when there was cloud cover, but it became hot as soon as the sun came out that quite easily matched the heatwave we left behind in the United Kingdom. The plan to go out on Tuesday backfired hilariously with all of us suggesting 'Boys, lets go to some bars!' at 18:30 only for for us to fall asleep at 19:30 and sleep till early morning. As Charles Roe correctly pointed out after our 'heavy night' of staying in; jet lag is and always will be a cruel mistress. It did not takeaway anything from a great first day in the U.S.A with walks across some signature steep hills in San Francisco, along the famous piers (including the pier that accesses Alcatraz island) where we managed to eat some clam cowder from a bread bowl, and the beginning of and the continuation of, during our stay in San Francisco, of frequent flirtation with American Eagle.

San Francisco

We did not book in advance for Alcatraz so it left that plan floundering and the only real opportunity we got to see Alcatraz Prison was obviously from a distance and admiring painfully the large model on the pier before tourists boarded the boat to the actual prison. We still got awkward pictures of the model though, which when edited makes us look like we got a helicopter over the island. Desperation is damned unfortunate. San Francisco is very touristy and international and many of the locals did not seem surprised to see four young Englishmen on the road in the U.S.A. However the Adelaide Hostel I strongly recommend for anyone planning to stay in San Francisco on a budget and if it is your first destination. Free breakfast and very comfortable beds was the order of the day especially when you want some comfort when you originally land after a long flight and for about $200 dollars for about 5 days (considering hostels are a rarity in America) is a pretty good deal with several good bars to chill at in the evening including the very American 'Saloon' (the oldest bar in San Francisco) and on with the shape of an owl right round the corner from the hostel where on a Friday lots of people hang out after a long week at work. Let us not forget the size of the shots they give you there, the whiskey Charlie consumed being cheap, double the size of the drops we receive back in the UK and naturally double effective.

Budget Rental!?

The next stop was Yosemite Park which considering the closeness to departure (the day before) was relatively cheap when choosing accommodation and transport. A top tip to consider would be bringing a credit card under your name, because when you are under-21 traveling by car, it creates a few issues when attempting to pay by debit card. The squeal of delight driving up and down San Francisco's hills caught the eye of many disapproving locals as 'American Woman' blazed out of the car windows. Going down the hills felt like a rollar-coaster and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (Tenacious D blazing out on the latter crossing) were great highlights on the long road to Yosemite, not to mention the car we rented from Budget was the automatic VW-Passat, the type of car we should really have earned in our late 20s.  Also when trying to get to Yosemite, it may seem fairly simple but take a navigation system to save time. Rupert made the best possible misreading of the map ever, accidentally taking us down Yosemite Valley itself. Though it extended the journey by three hours circling the valley it was quite a sight to behold driving to and through the valley, winding roads, endless and varying landscapes and some quite spectacular views of forests and mountains in Yosemite. It felt like you were going through several different countries in one state; very dry Scottish highlands, dry deserts and mountains near Mammoth Lakes similar to Morocco and the Middle East and typical American routes with endless tarmac and copious amounts of forest similar to the Black Forest in Germany. Heaven help the person who had to paint the lines on all these roads. If there is one destination that you must see before you leave it is Yosemite National Park. It was money very well-spent. Yosemite is internationally recognized for its epic granite cliffs and faces(some of which some slightly unhinged people sleep on), waterfalls and clear mountain streams. We managed one walk and saw several stags, deer, squirrels and the once in the life time sight of a wild black bear cub. We could not believe our luck, the cub springing out of nowhere and working its way across a fallen tree trunk with Ollie exclaiming 'Holy s**t that's a bear!'. Whilst Charlie caught some decent camera shots, me, Ollie and Rupert weren't waiting around for the mother or father bear to tap us on the shoulder and ravage us. One walk in Yosemite National Park, one wild bear sighted, some tourists never see them so it was privilege we shall not forget to soon. Numerous great photos including Ollie's signature 'selfies' (sigh) and lots of uploading of photos to Facebook which leave most of you guys back home sick of us, it was a shame we had to leave so soon. It looked like the ultimate place for cycling and skiing in winter and it is a place where the journey though long, is never tiresome, especially when you have a good playlist and Rupert Arvidsson doing Sin City impressions of Marv and White Goodman from Dodgeball and telling Yosemite Park, while photographing to 'work it' like he was photographing some model.

Class Photography in Yosemite National Park courtesy of Mr. Arvidsson

The place we stayed at was two and a half hours from the Valley,  a decent travel lodge with an awesome hot-tub (which after long drives and walks was a very welcome dip with cold beer in hand). The mosquito net took a bit of a beating which I inexplicably in a typical 'Matt Williams' moment blundered through and knocked to the floor. The other guests were amused, the guys in hysterics, Rupert face-palming in embarrassment and I was left questioning my eye-sight and the new laws of physics. The breakfast was included, albeit slightly plain but enough to keep us alive for the majority of the day. It was the bar/restaurant down the road which was really good.  33 inch giant pizza's two evenings in a row and three pitchers each night and the first group of young British people to probably stay in Mammoth Lakes. The one British person we encountered who had lived in the U.S.A most of his life someone evading the system of the U.S.A said he had never seen any British people in the restaurant and harped on about how the experience of the U.S.A is something else, that while we were in LA we should try and convince some head over heels America women to road trip around the West Coast with us and that American cars per gallon, particularly pick up trucks are ridiculously expensive. Glenn and Rupert's newly purchased and large vehicle would have been crushed under the wheels of a unaware truck. Ollie was unfortunate enough to be hit on by a quite intoxicated and unpleasant woman who accused us of stealing her handbag; Ollie was not amused, we were not amused. This annoyance increased when some of them said we were German. Nevertheless the previous night we met some people from LA/Santi Monica and within two minutes they were offering us to stay in Santi Monica, (I'm contacting them by phone today) and show us an epic time on the LA beaches and nightlife, saying that apparently the ladies love a good British accent. Haven't heard that before.. To be fair though if someone offered you to stay at their place within two minutes of meeting, they would think you were too keen, here however it is a completely different but awesome story. The big question of the night in a typical American accent was 'What are you doing in Mammoth?!'.

"Essentially the single point that the group has come to realize is that the Americans think BIG."

Conclusion to this week staying with David Roe and his very hospitable family in San Jose, having a day off after a hectic but unforgettable week, with six and half weeks to go.

• The U.S.A is incredible
• Taco Bell is average, Del Taco is incredible.
• Don't walk to Golden Gate Park from the centre of San Francisco it is a trek, worthwhile but a trek, take the bus.
• The group has began a prosperous relationship with Wendy's
• When we return home every portion will be tiny.
• When we return home we will, WE WILL be chubby.
• American hospitality, though varying from place to place, is amazing.
• Yosemite National Park is a must see destination before you die.
• We still need a Supersize Me Mcdonalds meal.
• American TV Adverts are simply terrible, overly frequent and corny. 'Thanks Kelly!' 'Thanks Rupert!' etc. 
• Americans live big, eat big, drink big, shop big, build big.
• Patches O'Hoolehan can in fact become 'Patches O'Roelehan'
• Twinkie's have by-enlarge gone bust.
• Never ever set your loud profile ringtone on the Japanese War Cry 'Banzai'; it scared everyone involved in the middle of the night. 
• Book Alcatraz Island in advance of arrival in San Francisco.
• 'GOOD OBSERVATION!'

Good America = 'God Bless America'

Bad America = 'I thought this was America!'

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park

http://www.adelaidehostel.com/

http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/home/home.ex

Matthew Williams

Week 9

Without the laptop, a notepad and paper will be required there with plenty of updating needed when we return from the U.S.A in seven weeks.  Or maybe an Internet Café perhpaps, it isn’t exactly a Third World country I go into just yet. The packing is going excruciatingly slowly and doing the packing early has left some clothes being re-used.  I am a bit late with this one, but with only two days to go until we depart, I guess the update is required.

 

There was plenty of cycling around Canterbury and to Whitstable, a great route along the Crab and Winkle Way, the latter battering my wheels somewhat. The top tip would be to not have a road race bike, but a mountain bike with slightly thicker wheel on this sort of bumpy route. Gallons of water in this heat, the first cycle back I took a large bottle of Ice Tea. Stifling, muggy heat even when it is not sunny is brutal to cycle in on occasion, but the several rainstorms with an excess of thunder and lightning have eased the cycling conditions. Had a race two day ago with some kid who demanded a race along a narrow path in which I could not overtake, no excuses nonetheless I lost.

When the final week approaches before your gap year starts it is a bit mind boggling, each day has gone by at an exceptionally low speed, with several late nights peering at roadmaps, transport difficulties in the U.S and the excess amount of money that it likely to go down the drain. The top tip the doctor said though, the number one priority was to enjoy it and I’ll keep that in mind. Saying goodbye to a few friends for a while; Geoff, Lucy, Tom, Clare, James, Nick (etc.) It will be a while, particularly getting back I only have three weeks before Uganda. Opportunity to meeting new people will arise, something I haven’t done for at least a year by enlarge at University. One more family meal to go.

Catching up with Shakey after nearly a year was pretty epic, plenty of COD of with James and two nights out, one of which after the Cuban we got caught in a pretty epic thunderstorm, fearful for our lives as forked lightening lit up the skies around us in the middle of Fordwich and a countryside field, James desperate as per usual for some more blasted cigarettes.

Back in seven weeks. Perhaps I’ll update along the way if I get the chance.

Top tips for planning for U.S.A (6-8 weeks)

-          Book flights in serious advance. (6-7 months) Saves plenty of hassle and money.

-          Come up with a plan early and be prepared to edit the destination, particularly the ambitious ones.

-          Decide if you want to drive, coach or fly across the United States.

-          It is easy to underestimate the vast expanses of land you have to cross.

-          Be prepared to do months of work or saving to make it worthwhile.

-          Prepare transport a bit earlier on. (1 month)

-          For 6-8 weeks you can plan half the trip in the States so not everything has to be precisely formulated I have found as planning has gone on.

-          Get ESTA forms done within a decent amount of time.

-          What our group didn’t do enough of was meeting up every so often to make sure we are all in the same mind on transport, accommodation and destinations. We will be in the dark sometimes when we are there. When did spontaneity ever hurt?

-          Lonely Planet Books have everything you need.

-          Book places such as Yosemite Park and the Grand Canyon in advance.

 

Matthew Williams

Gap Year: Week 8

It is nine days to go until the Gap Year truly starts. For now though German lessons have finished and numerous things have happened since the end of the lessons, the full onset of a major heatwave being one of them. Fingers crossed I won't leave England and arrive in the U.S.A and it will be wet, that would be a slight dampener on flying in to San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. However with scorching deserts there I'm pretty sure it will most likely be hotter in the U.S.A, so winners all-around.

The most important moment of the week was graduation, which was in this heat, rather uncomfortable and a bit frantic than imagined in all honesty. Barely any sleep the night before in London, night temperature rated at 25 C made sleeping, coupled with nerves very difficult. The wake up at 6 AM added to the energy required to see people, graduate, change left me mentally drained for days afterwards, so it was nice to be able to head down out of London and all the way back home to Canterbury for a few days to recharge and plan U.S.A, Uganda and have a look at the few Universities I would like to apply to come September. The list includes UCL, KCL, SOAS, St. Andrews and possibly Nottingham. The latter is certainly a maybe given  a new challenge in a new city is always a welcome new experience. The Graduation was good though, shaking hands with a couple of people I'd never seen before, and picking up that piece of paper that proves all the hard work you have done is very satisfying. Although my Dad was perplexed as to why I chose not to do English when he saw/claimed that 75% of people that picked up English degrees were women. Nevertheless I am proud of what I have accomplished and it will spur me on, the results in particular, to do a the difficult challenge of applying for and doing a Masters. Numerous pictures, several of which I looked like a bit of a fool, pulling some pretty ridiculous faces. The official photographer got the most embarrassing picture of me shaking hands and picking up my degree, whilst in the photograph with the family I managed to look at the flash not the lens rendering me a rather special looking man child. The hat on my massive head added to the moronic look on occasion, but overall it was a great day and one I will look back on with very fond memory, despite the prices.

Graduation

Back home, reading a harrowing book on Rwanda by Romeo Dallaire and also had the chance to watch the film adaptation on Youtube. Really eye-opening stuff on the Rwandan genocide, the book obviously providing more insight into the failure of humanity in Rwanda in 1994. Great holiday reading added to my grim list prepared for the Kindle in the United States. 

One cycle in dusty and unbearable conditions and trying to advertise the Cycle to Spain to various people, most seem pretty keen so far. All I need is 6-7 people and it could go really well, with us all set to wear an array of British advertisements cycling tops that will likely leave many Spanish going 'Que?' bemused as Pukka Pies, Marmite, Cornflakes and Iron Bru zoom by them in the Basque Region as seen here. http://www.foska.com/cycling-jerseys/road . Team Kellogs would give Team Sky a run for their money. On a serious note though the cycle will be done for a cause and that is for children destabilized by war, conflict zones, civil war and all the horrors that accompany the consequences of violence. http://www.warchild.org.uk/

Finishing with some sad news that I have to, from Thursday onwards, wear glasses permanently as apparently since 2010, my right eye has worsened. Probably my lack of discipline is to blame and squashing/breaking my glasses with my abnormally large arse will likely be the reason during the University years. The eye-drops today left me blundering home with blurred vision and severely dilated pupils (the look of person on drugs), without a car, and bike. For those who take pleasure in my pain and suffering you missed out, particularly my old revision crew in Hallward (Holly, Saz, Patrick, Ollie, Steph (when she was there :P) ) A dark day to join the rest of the family on the glasses front. Time to go for the Clark Kent or Peter Parker look. Damn.

Matthew Williams