The second day in San Diego was possibly my favourite on the trip, although i have said that a few times. Me and Mike and a few others got up early to go to Seaworld. Apparantly its the largest aquarium in America, maybe even the world. The animals there were fantastic. We saw sooo many animals. First we saw otters. And then we saw dolphins. And then we went on a falling rapids ride where we all got absolutely soaked. And then we went to a shamu show. The killer whales were absolutely huge. Also we went into the soak zone as we were already soaked from the water ride. We must have got about 4 litres of water over each of us as it flicked its hugge tail at us. We have some good photos and videos of this which will be posted when we get back home.

And then we saw flamingos, stingrays, Mike went to the toilet, an underwatwer aquarium with loadsa cool fish and frogs. There was an illuminous blue frog which took my liking. And then we saw some kind of circus freak show. I say freak as they were all absolute tanks and were basically climbing 20 foot poles with one finger. OK maybe a bit exagerrated, but they held on with one hand 20 feet in the air. Also, another two guys came out and balanced themselves on the back of each others shoulder. So one was standing normally, and the other was upside down on the back of his neck. WTF!!!!!! And then we went to see some penguins, polar bears, manatees and some more ridiculous fish. The penguins were very funny as there was one who was trying to get out of the water and get up onto the ice and it just kept sliding back in. We refused to leave until it got up. After many minutes of laughing at it repeatedly falling, it got out and then just waddled himself around to dive back in again. What a waste of so much effort.

And then we went to a sea lion show which was my personal favourite. The dude who presented it was one of the funniest guys ever. As a bit of pre event entertainment he scared the crowd as they were walking in to get their seats. He then went onto the stage and had music playing. He did danced like JT and Had a batman suit on and so much more. You had to be there to appreciate how funny it was. The show itself was called SSL which was a pisstake of SNL, an american comedy show. At the start they introduced each sea lion as they would on the real TV show. There was also an otter which came out and it was the size of a sponge. It was so tiny and cute. They then did shows such as pop idol, dancing on ice and americas got talent. So good. They finished by dancing to Crazy in Love exactly the way Beyonce does in the video. Quite impressive for sea lions.

And then we went on a roller coaster which was fun. And then we finished the day by going to the dolphin show. It was really good as they had a VIP family consisting of a mum, dad and a 5 year old daughter. As they were introducing each other, the mum went to sit on the bench and fell and banged her head. What an idiot. Anyway, the show went on and the daughter went down and played with the dolphin. She stroked him and played splash with him, just the usual banter. Anyway, as this was happening, the mum was sitting on the edge of the bridge and was kinda telling her daughter not to get the dress too wet. As I looked up at her i noticed she was kinda hanging off the edge and i turned to becky and said that it would be so funny if she fell over into the water. Literally 5 seconds later, what happens, she falls in. All of a sudden everyone was in a panic. The mum was a very weak swimmer and was scared shitless of the dolphins. she tried to swim away from them. as this was happening all the workers there were freaking out and didn’t know what to do. The dolphins proceeded to swim towards her and took her underwater. The workers were crapping themselves. They then took her up and she kinda surfer between them. In the end the mum actually turned out to be one of the workers and was not actually the wee girls mum.

So that was Sea World. And then we went out for our last meal together. It was a pretty quiet night but very enjoyable. And then the next day me and mike played a wee joke and tied everyones zips on their tents together, so they could not get out. There were some very confused/angry/hilarious faces that morning. Sam/Eli Manning decided that he would rugby tackle me again and wrestle with me. Another couple of hilarious videos that have to go on the blog when we get back home. So it was off to L.A. However, it was not really L.A, it was the outskirts and it was a 2 hour bus drive to anywhere decent so we just chilled by the pool and had an internet party in my room. We lost our first member, Emma, which was very sad. And then we got food. 2 cocktails for 5 dollars was a lot of fun as well.

Anyways we got up the next morning thinking we were on the same flight as Ana at 1735, however, when we double checked just before, we were on a later flight with keiran. So Eli Manning was the first to leave that morning closely followed by Ana. Bad times. Once again we just chilled on the internet and did nothing as we were all broke and almost in tears all day. It was one of saddest moments of my life saying goodbye to everyone. Being with the same people for 35 days, basically 24/7 has brought us so close. Like, I dont see anyone that much back home, not even my family. We are all so close and I hope we can keep in touch. Anyway, Im just typing this up in Heathrow at the mo after a long few days and we have just been called so i better go.

See ya. Andy

Sad Sad Day!

Ok we apologise for no updates.  This is due to the fact that we have been having the time of our lives in Vegas and San Diego.  But after the party barn in lake powell we went to Zion.  Another lovely place to go for hikes.

In fact, here’s a video blog we recorded the other day and we just havent had a chance to put online. Deal with it!

Las Vegas -> San Diego from Kyle Murphy on Vimeo.

Right so, it’s been a few days without interwebs, and just as i type this, the lady from the office walked past and told me that ‘being on the laptop all day will ruin our system’, eh?

Anyway, back the blogging. So its been a manic few days. Firstly, i guess i should sum up the native american sleep over experience. We arrived early evening in monument valley and met our navajo (nav-a-ho) tour guide in his wicked pickup that he clearly likes to drive fast, and we soon discovered the terrain he likes to drive fast on. The reason we had to meet the navajo guy is because technically we left American soil that night as we entered a native navajo reservation known as the four corners. You can read more about the people here.

The adventure started with a tour on the back of the navajo dudes pick up deep into monument valley to see things that just regular visitors dont get the chance to see without a navajo guide. There isn’t really much point listing what we saw, the pictures will do that for me. On top of the sights, our guide sang a beautiful song for us inside this natural amphitheater formed in the rocks. We then went and watched the sunset.

After the tour, we went back to camp and had a traditional navajo meal, called navajo tacos which was pretty much a big flat bread called fry bread, loads of chilli beans, lettuce, tomato, onion and then a big whack of steak. Delicious! After dinner we then had the privilege of some entertainment, witnessing a traditional navajo dance/performance with the three lead people wearing the full native american regalia. Absolutely awesome experience.

After that whole shindig it was bed time. We were meant to stay in the Hogans, but it was such a beautiful night, so we just slept outside on the ground and on benches and just lay in awe at the stars overhead and just how bright they were without any light pollution around. Me and Jen saw about 7 satelites, a shooting star and a massive meteorite type fire across the sky.

The next morning we all got up at like 5am to watch the sun rise over monument valley. From where we were lying, the sun came up perfectly between a monument called the totem poles. Epically beautiful! Next stop, Grand Canyon.

We arrived at the campsite around lunch time and set up all our stuff, chilled for a bit, threw some footie with Sam and then got our stuff together in preparation for the helicopter flight over the Canyon. We flew with a company called Maverick who had the best choppers in the Canyon with a price tag of $2.5million per chopper. Each chopper also had pretty much a full glass cockpit for maximum visibility over the Canyon. By the way, words cannot describe how beautiful it is and photos do it no justice at all.

Back to the campsite for the usual evening routine of beers and dinner and chill time in prep for the next day which would be one of the toughest of our lives, hiking in the canyon.

Half of the group went for the larger 12 mile route which presented them with a 4am start to allow the hike to be completed before the hottest part of the day. The other half of the group got a lie in until 9am and went for the shorter 4 mile route down to a place called Ooh Aah Point, which is aptly titled.

Back to the campsite for more chill time/showers before heading out for pizza and then onto watch the sunset in the Canyon. Im being honest when i say that there is nothing more beautiful than watching the sky turn 15 different colours as the sun sets over a red rock horizon.

The next day we ventured off to Lake Powell for swimin’ and sunbathin’, which is named after the first chap to travel the length of the Colorado River, the cause of the shape of the Canyons today. Powell is such a lovely place, and the water was so cold, just what we needed after cooking in the hot Utah sun in prep for the party barn.

I’ll be honest when i say that there isnt much to type about the party barn, not because nothing happened, just because my memory is completely blank due to silly intoxication levels thanks to silly amounts of Margaritas.

Infact, as i type this, i am a broken man with the worst hangover farts ever, and its almost 4pm.

I think thats everything really. We’re currently in Zion National Park at our campsite, i think!? The scenery from where i am sitting is unreal. Hopefully we’ll have photos and maybe another video blog up soon.

Until next time.

- Murf

This video was recorded before the photos posted below, its just been a bit tough finding a network strong enough to allow us to upload it.

So to begin with I’ll clear the whole dusted debate.  I believe it means we got absolutely wrecked and are knackered.  It can also mean that we got hit.  For example, Kiwi Sam rugby tackled me the other night.  He dusted me.  Anyways, yesterday was one of the best days on the trek so far.  It was an early start as wqe were mountain biking.  The trail was called Bar M and it consisted of 3 loops.  It was one of the toughest things I have ever done and we were all DUSTED after it.  Me and Murf especially as we got flat tyres and had to go back and forth about 5 times.  Apart from the flat tyres and the fact that we finished all our water and had to get another tour leader to pick us up, it was a great experience.  I think we went through about 5 litres of water and 2 or 3 gatorades each to hydrate ourselves again.  It was sooooo hot.

So eventually we got back to the campsite and got ready to go on a hummer tour.  It is unbelievable the hills that they can go up and what they can do.  The tour guide kept stopping halfway up the hills so all we could see was the sky.  Then he just started going again as if he was on a flat surface.  My 206 would have no problems doig that!!!!  There was also a stage where we were the back left wheel was about 10 feet in the air.  We will post the pics soon.  As a matter of interest, if you type moab lions back crash into youtube, you will see where we were last night.  This woman had no brakes on the way down, however, she only ended up with sa broken wrist and the passenger only had a broken ankle.

So to the night, we went to a class wee bar where the music was great and there was cheap booze, a fusbal table and pool tables.  I showed them yanks how to play pool, even playing by they’re own ridiculus rules. I owned the table all night and didn’t get to socialise at all. It was great though cos I got free pool and it was just like being in Laverys. 

So we’re going to monument Valley tonight to spend a night with some native indian americans, which apparently is the best thing ever. Can’t wait.  Til next time, Andy

For me, the best part of our trip so far. Words can hardly describe how breathtakingly beautiful this place is. The drive down to this small town, buried in the mountains must be one of the best driving roads anywhere in the world. The road snakes round the mountains, and if you were to stray off the road it would certainly be game over for the most part. After a couple of hours of incredible scenery, the road made its way into this idyllic town called Ouray, a place I would love to live! At the moment it is surrounded by green mountains, but in the winter the whole place is covered in snow.

After setting up camp, we went for a hike around the town in the mountains. The weather here is incredibly random, we started off with heavy rain, then enjoying some sun, followed by hailstones and then a mix of these three as we went round. The views were again incredible, looking down on the town. During the hike we visited Box Canyon, which was a waterfall through the rock.

After a dander through town, we went back to have dinner and are heading out soon to have a couple of beverages and check out the town at night. Many photos will follow soon.

- Mike