Yawnnnn - ok back home and what an adventure. After the hike to the national park it took me and my friend almost six hours to drive to san francisco, we tried the scenic route (Highway 1) but only caught a little bit of from Watsonville to Half Moon Bay. Highlights included: Gilmore - the garlic capital, country western music on all radio channels and the miles and miles of citrus groves in the San Bernadino valley.

On the way we stopped off at a place called Capitola - a small 'seaside' town that was pretty and compact. The beach was warm but the wind coming off the ocean was quite chilly and no doubt the water was cold as well. The soft taco we had there was delicious but then again, I was famished.

The weather changed quite dramatically as we headed north on highway 1. Just a few miles outside of Half Moon Bay there was fog and the temperature dropped by at least ten degrees. We stopped off to answer natures call and getting into the car, almost had an accident as we forgot what side of the road we should be driving and almost hit oncoming traffic!

Had a nice Thai meal at half moon bay once we arrived but the town was very quiet unlike Capitola. Finally made it to San Fran around 9:30 and we crashed at the motel and prepared to leave for New York - our california adventure over.

The flight from San Fran to New York took around five hours but only had one film! It was rubbish so I read the inflight magazine, marginally better but after the fifth read, it also got very boring.

Arrived at New York and paid $50 for a taxi ride to Midtown Manhattan. My good friend is a diplomat and he has a nice pad and kindly let me and my friend crash for the duration of our New York stay. New York was very humid and hot. Weather I hate and everything seems to be damp. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

A nice meal was cooked for us (how kind) and wine consumed....an excellent wine I recall. Then it was off to watching the olympics and bemoaning the rubbish coverage of the olympics by the Fox TV network.

That night's sleep was difficult - made the mistake of turning off the air-con as it was noisy but woke up around 4:30pm covered in sweat. Awake and up and about by 6:00pm and off to do the day's shopping. We hit 34th st and stopped off at a deli for egg and bagel with coffee (sorry Kawwfeee) - tasted good but thank god for the deli's air con system.

I managed to shop and get a shiny new toy - a digital camera and with the dollar to pound exchange rate greatly in our favour (££££) we got good deals. My friend spent over $1500 on a camera. It was sweet and worth it but for a big SLR i prefer one loaded with film rather than memory card.

Lunch was a greasy hot dog down battery park and a side visit to ground zero. The place has been cleared of rubble with the subway working now for almost 12 months - still one can't feel dwarfed by the magnitude of what happened at that spot some 3 years ago. I can still remember the pictures and news coverage - terrible, terrible day.

Evening had us wander back to the apartment and for a much needed shower. We then lounged around until dinner time called. There was this hybrid place that was part sushi - part American grill house with a cantonese / mandarian staff! The food was great however.

The next day my friend had to leave (around 5:00am) while my flight was not until the evening of the next day. I spent this day on my own wandering around Greenwich village and midtown. I do like NYC.

Visiting the ex-gf was good: she looked tired but it was good to see her. I guess we are both ok now as it has been almost a year now. Still, wish we could have talked longer.

Sunday had me settle in for a nice brunch (two meals for three persons is about right) and then packing for my trip home. Of course, had to pick up a number of presents and stuff for persons back in the uk but after three weeks of travelling I can still travel with two bags: a 60 litre backpack and a 30 litre duffel/travel bag.

The flight back was quiet with me watching 'The Punisher' before dropping off to sleep. Sat next to an American who was glued to his mobile. He was calling everyone he knew until the flight attendants told him to shut it off. He even tried to switch it back on as we are taxing onto the runaway.

Arriving at heathrow was a bumpy ride and we had been delayed a total of two hours. Anyway picked my car up and headed home, I wanted to hit the sack but decided to stay around and get hyper on coffee.