American Adventure

I cant see any of your comments... gutted!!! xxx

Boo... So since last time ive had a chat with mum, and ive wanted to ring u dad but ive lost your number.. again, im gona try again tonight i rekon! SO now we are in LA. We came here from redlands which is just outside of LA after dropping kim and Jorge off at their uni. We drove down tuesday night, helped move all of Kims stuff into her dorm then got taken out to dinner with kims mum and her and Jorges parents and him. They took us to a very swanky resarante (dad style) and me and brendan had sirloin, it was delish! We then went and stayed in Jorges condo over in Palm springs which is litterally in the middle of the dessert, i hear its very famous for golf? remind me to tell you the toilet story at this point, when im home! So his condo was overlooking the green on the 8th, with mountains in the background, really gorge!! We then rushed like mad to make the check in time at college, made it and hung out all day getting them settled in and eating free food etc. Its a private uni so its all pretty swish..! We got stuck on campus cos its a drive to anywhere and we needed a lift from kims mum. The plan was to go to LA that night buit we figured it was daft to arrive in the dark with nowhere to stay so we booked into the motel that kims mum was staying in and slept there last night. Which is where you got my phone call from mum! And where you met the infamous "brog" otherwise known as brendan.. will explain all if i havent already cant remember! So we got up early this morn and kims mum dropped us at the greyhound station in some town.. we caught a bus to LA and when brendan sat down he somehow mananged to sit next to another aussie who is also traveling about, a bit more hardcore than us though, shes bein going for months and months. So we arrived in LA and realised that a. we were in the middle of skid row. and b. our motel was not only in the middle of the mexican ghetto, but its at least a 30dollar cab ride from anywhere! So we got a cab, cancelled tomorows reservations and got on the phone.. tomorow we are getting up and getting a bus into LA proper, we are gona stay at a friend of the headboys counselor ben kelly, and going out tomorow night to some frat party or something. SO!! thats about all I have to report, we got lunch from some mexican "meat market" we had a berlin style picnic lunch then slept for the rest of the noon cos we are both completely shot. The motel has a computer in the corner of the lobby which is 5bucks an hour so we have both been making full use of that! We are looking hard for places to stay in New york, not gona stay with steve cos we both feel a bit cheeky and we kinda want to be free agents, probly daft i know but, the hostel experience beckons!! Anyway, theres latin soap operas to watch and home made guacamole to eat so i must dash back to the room, dodging the flying burritos and drive by shootings of course! love to you all. (dont worry, this place isnt really that bad) Was amazing talking to you last night mum, made my week! And dad, ill give you a ring tonight hopefully! Love to you all.. xxxxxx

hello all! So the day after we arrived we got up and went to a lovley river and hung out and had lunch by the side of it. it was very yosemite esque. We were swimming and jumping in etc, lovely! Really good fun and very refreshing. We then planned to go into a local town to do some snack shopping but when we headed down the hill towards the town there was a police road block. We were very puzzled so we asked and he said that there were severe forest fires and even he couldnt get through cos there was loads of equipment in the road. So we headed back up to the house, watched zodiac, a movie based on a true story about a killer that took place in san fran, which kims mum can remember happening so it was pretty interesting... i reccomend it!! Gambling in the US is illegal unless you are over 21 but native americans have some loop hole in the laws which mean they can run casinos for people 18 and up. So last night we headed over to one of the casinos to have a gamble! It was awesome fun. I took 50 dollars cash, on my first black jack table i walked away 80 dollars up, then my second i walked away 30 down!!! Then when we got home we had a game of poker and i lost another 10 bucks, so the night cost me 40 dollars, which is only 20 quid, and i had a completly awesome time, the casino was amazing, i can see why ppl get addicted!! So this morning we got up and made the 5 hour drive back to san jose and kims house, we just arrived now. Tonight lots of kims family are coming over cos she is off to uni on tuea so they are saying fair well. Still having an awesome time, ready for home cos im exhausted, its been 110% non stop for nearly 3 months but its been the most amazing 3 months. Off to LA on tues... another adventure becons. Love to u all. xxxx

hello all! So the day after we arrived we got up and went to a lovley river and hung out and had lunch by the side of it. it was very yosemite esque. We were swimming and jumping in etc, lovely! Really good fun and very refreshing. We then planned to go into a local town to do some snack shopping but when we headed down the hill towards the town there was a police road block. We were very puzzled so we asked and he said that there were severe forest fires and even he couldnt get through cos there was loads of equipment in the road. So we headed back up to the house, watched zodiac, a movie based on a true story about a killer that took place in san fran, which kims mum can remember happening so it was pretty interesting... i reccomend it!! Gambling in the US is illegal unless you are over 21 but native americans have some loop hole in the laws which mean they can run casinos for people 18 and up. So last night we headed over to one of the casinos to have a gamble! It was awesome fun. I took 50 dollars cash, on my first black jack table i walked away 80 dollars up, then my second i walked away 30 down!!! Then when we got home we had a game of poker and i lost another 10 bucks, so the night cost me 40 dollars, which is only 20 quid, and i had a completly awesome time, the casino was amazing, i can see why ppl get addicted!! So this morning we got up and made the 5 hour drive back to san jose and kims house, we just arrived now. Tonight lots of kims family are coming over cos she is off to uni on tuea so they are saying fair well. Still having an awesome time, ready for home cos im exhausted, its been 110% non stop for nearly 3 months but its been the most amazing 3 months. Off to LA on tues... another adventure becons. Love to u all. xxxx

Helllooo all. So since my last blog not loads has happened. Me and the Brendan boy have been splitting our time between san jose and san fran. We met up with brian, an awesome guy from camp who left early. we hung out in san fran and had chinese for lunch in china town. We ate at a place called sam wos. it was unlike anything iv ever seen before! To get into the mdf built dining room you had to walk through the kitchen, complete with chiken heads on the floor and lots of relatives i the corner smoking. A meal cost the equvilant of about 2 quid and tasted amazing. I get the feeling it was real chinese food rather than the kind of western stuff we are all used to! so yea, we hung out in town, then went back to katies, hung out there, played lots of nintendo wii, laughed lots, stayed up very very late talking rubbish and watching movies. We then went back to san jose and kims parents took us out to this lovely italian restaurant. for dinner. We walked around down town san jose after we ate, laughed and chatted some more then went home. Day after we went into san fran again with some of kims friends. Shevani and justine, there's pics of them on facebook. They are both really great laughs and fabby tour guides so we had a good time just cruising round san fran seeing the sights. that night we got the bart (bay area rapid transport) back to katies house from san fran which is like a tube/train and took about 30 mins. Mine and brendans first real taste of independant american public transport, we did good! That night we did much the same again, ate, laughed, talked. Its really really nice with just me brendan and katie cos we all get on so amazingly that we never stop laughing and we all just seem to understand eachother, gona miss these guys like crazy. The day after we went back into san fran and met up with lizzy, an english counselor, and her boyfriend and her little sister who flew out after camp to see her. We had a really nice day, it felt like catching up with old friends even though its only been 2 weeks really. We all had so many stories to tell it was really nice, we all then went back to katies house and watched a movie, then them lot left and it was jst the 3 of us again. That night (last night) we went out for in and out burger for tea, its like fast food but cooked fresh, its good! hahaha 90% of my blogs are food related, i realised a while ago, tis funny!!! so we got more movies out, bought lots of energy drink, and stayed up till 5 in the morn chatting and watchin moves.... again!!!! This morning katie drove us back to san jose and we said our final goodbyes to her. That was really sad, her and brendan are a couple so that was hard, but she is studying in aus for 6 months and she leaves before brendan so im guessing they are gona see quite a bit of eachother. It was really hard for me, she is easily in my very top friends, here and home and it sucks that there are gona be so many miles between the two of us, not to mention the 3 of us. she is studying in germany after aus so im defo going over to stay with her for a while at somepoint, funds permitting of course! after katie dropped us off we set off with kim, jorge and lyle from new zealand to kims holiday home/grandads house in the sierras in a town called arnold. The house is lovely, we arrived here after an around 6 hour drive, on which we stopped at a little bar/grill place in the middle of nowhere, very stereotypical, lots of locals looking very inbred and food served on paper plates, we all got some very funny looks for beng foriegn! after looking at the menu for a while i spotted in the seafood section "frogs legs" very wierd, so i ordered them!!! they were actualy really good, a little like chiken i guess.. so here we are in the holiday home, about to go for a late night drive in the houses golf cart, should be fun!!!! Not an awful lot to report other than that, still having an incredible time, im completely exhausted, as is brendan who is snoring away on the bed behind me as i write this. We are going to sneak into a country club tomorow i think, perhaps a round of golf!! haha. right... the golf cart calls!! love to you allll!!! XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wow guys... thanks for all your comments, k im gona mention everybody here now so u can all stop being arsey!! Both the parents (so neither of u come first in the list)!!, both the parents other halves, all the bros n sis, Molly dog, nan grandad jules jadey.. think thats the list?! Thanku all for reading so avidly, its really really nice when i come on and ive got lotsa comments, even if 9 of them are an ongoing feud!! So...to the American life of Mr T.E Reas. I left you last time after going to the catilian, which was great, a little awkward but great allthe same.. we went out for the brunch that i rushed off the comp for, that was delish, i had a guacamole burger, yumm! Then on the drive home i spotted a british food store. I went nuts!! So we pulled in and found a paradise!! I bought irn bru, toffee crisp, and some tea bags for lizzy the other english girl thats in LA at the mo but we plan to meet in san fran soon. We got chatting to the woman behind the counter and itturns out theres an aussie shop just around the corner! So brendan gets a good home treat too!! We then came home to kims house and hung out, her dad made us kebabs and stuffn the bbq which was delish. Then sara zimmerman arrived and we headed off to San Fran ( lafayette to be presice!!) I went in Zims car and brendan went in kims cos we knew that sara couldnt stay till tues, which is when we are here to. We arrived in San Fran, pickd up katie from her house then headed into berkley to stay at a friend of a friends apartment. We got thee, went out for frozen yog then went back to the appartment and hung out. we ended up going to a fraternity party. Frats are like big clubs for lads at uni to join to get friends and social events etc. Girls have got the same but they are called sororitys. Because its welcome week, the same as freshers, all the frats are trying to recruit new members so they throw big parties with free drink etc. So we partied away the night telling people that me and brendan were international students! Got back to the apartment, pursuaded a burrito shop to open up for us so we could get some grub! Although i stayed at the apartment cos there wasnt eneough room in the car. got food and we slept on the balcony! woke up, headed back over to katies house in lafayette. Got here, hung out and played nintendo wii to sooth our hangovers. Went out for lunch and coffee which is always a good laugh with these lot cos we get a little wild together! then we got coffee and movies and came back to katies house. Sara had to leave cos shes got loadsa stuff to do at home cos shes heading off to college soon. We will see here again when we are back at kims so it was sad to say bye, but not as sad as it could have been. We watched movies, hung out and had bbq for dinner. It was delish and katies mum and dad are awesome so it was really great to chat and joke about with them. Went for a 11 oclock swim in katies pool then came back in and went to the snug room and watched a movie that we all fell asleep in front of!! Woke up about half an hour ago, 1130, and now im writing my blog to all u whinging winnies!!! We are heading into san fran today to seel the sights and i think we may go to another frat tonight perhaps?! should be another fabby fabby day!!! Having the time of my life!! missing u all lots more now im away from camp cos there is obv gonna be a few more quiet spots but its all good!! Have a great time in france dad, send my love. Missing u like mad mum n carl and the boys!! Cant wait to see u all! Keep on with the face book, it makes me chukle! Jadey i havnt forgotten about u at all u mug! Have a great time in france with lover boy! Love to u all! xxxx

So Vegas came to an end, that was completely incredible, we ate free every day, did awesome stuff etc. Me n brendan caught our flight out of Vegas at 8 in the morning, we arrived in san jose at about 10, only to discover that my bag didnt. That was a wonderfull feeling as im sure u can imagine but it all worked out fine as it got courierd to kims house later that day. We got picked up from the airport by kim and sara, yes dad another two female friends... it seems you were right!! we popped into saras house then over to kims. That day we hung out then we set off for kims friends place at college which is just outside nappa valley where all the californian wine comes from. They were cool and we had a good laught. It was a bit of a shock cos me n brendan went from sleeping on en suite rooms in a 5 million dollar house to sleeping IN a cupboard in student acommodation, it was all good though and we had a good laugh. We woke up the next morning and went to Ihop for breakfast, a pancake place, made the drive back and kim had dance so me and brendan had dinner with kims mum. She is really nice and we had a good chat for an hour or so. we also went to visit kims ex boyfriend who we knew from camp which was good. we went out shopping to buy clothes for the catilian, spent 100 bucks on shirt pants n shoes, so last night we went to the catilian which was great, it was a philapino girls 18th birthday so it was really nice, they did dances and speaches it was great. We then headed over to a friend of kimberelys and watched a movie, ended up getting to the couch t sleep at about half four. Got back to the house this morn and we are about to head over to breakfast at some place with kims friends. Still having an awesome awesome time. Glad dads now in the facebook world!! got to dash love u lots!!! xxxxxx

WOW! So yesterday me erin and brendan went to see her new house via her dads office. Turns out her dads a much bigger business man than i realised. He has personal letters to him from george bush senior on his office wall. Erins new house is like a palace, completeley amazing. We then went for lunch at one of her pubs, it was really nice, had a sandwich. erins dad then drove us up to the hoover dam, that place is incredible, found the little doggy plaque that nan was telling me about. Then we came back to the house, had pork chops from the bbq then some of erins mates came over and we hung out in the jaccuzi till 1 in the morn! This morn we got up and erins dad had pulled a few strings (he insures 60% of the hotels in vegas) and got us a pool side room thingy at the Madalay Bay hotel on the strip. These things usualy cost 500+ dollars a day and we got it allllll fro free. We then went to see the shark reef thingy in the hotel, its like a massive sealife centre but with loads more fish. That was awesome. We then headed back to the house after browsing round some casinos and erins dad told us that he had made us a reservation for dinner at the top of the stratosphere(the big tower thingy in vegas) Only thing is, its got a business dress code, so after many tears of laughter me and brendan got together a good outfit each from erins dads wardrobe. We headed out to the tower. This place took my breath away. Amazing food, THE most incredible view and awesome frineds. it was such a fantastic night. And to top it all, erins dad took care of the bill. we then drove down the strip, parked up at the belagio and watched the dancing water fountain show, walked round the casinos and headed back home via the "welcome to las vegas" sign. Today has been completely awesome. More of the same to follow tomorrow in our last day in vegas i thinks!!! great to hear all ur news mum n dad. Dad your story had me crying with laughter, and brendan for that matter! Sorry this may seem brief or abrupt, its late and its been a long long day!!!! Lots of new pics on facebook by the way!! LOVE U ALL!!! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sorry sorry sorry that its been so long since my last blog, it was completley crazy the last week, packing up and telling off kids etc, not to mention the fact tht the staff laptop blew up so we had to line up to use Jeffs, which wasnt ideal!! So camp is over, i cried my eyes out on a number of occaisions. We do this thing called staff serenade where all the staff walk around camp after the kids have gone to bed and we all sing songs. It was very emotional, really lovely though! So camp ended yesterday and half of my stuff has gone to LA with jorge and half has come with me and brendan to Vegas. We set off yesterday at about 12 and got to vegas at about half six. Erin lives in a gated community that looks like its fallen from desperate housewives. Her house is amazing, im going to take plenty of pictures! Including one of me in the drivers seat of her dads escalade, very exiting!! Im jumpoing back to camp for a moment cos i forgot to mention the last night, we had a big staff party in camp, Jeff cooked us an incredible meal cos he used to be a chef, beef wellington, shrimp etc amazing. Then we all partied the night away around camp, which felt really wierd but it was really great. Back to vegas now, we arrive at erins house to be greeted by her parents, both lovely, her dad owns an insurance company and 3 irish pubs in vegas, they look amazing. We had steak from the bbq in the gazebo next to the hottub and pool with music playing from the built in soundsystem that goes around the house. Its an incredible contrast from SKYLAKE. NRiche. Skylake is such an incredible place, ive had the most amazing summer of my life, i really do feel like ive made memories and friends that will last a lifetime. Im still in complete shock that its over for this summer, im feeling very "campsick" and compleltly disorientated, but we are all having an awesome time. Sorry this blogs so disjointed, im trying to get everything in but it seems to be coming out in the wrong order!! Missing you all loads, im going to buy a phone card today so i can give you a call and have a chat. I think we are about to head off into town now, but i will be sure to blog regularly from now on, sorry about the black hole!! new pics soon to be on facebook by the way! Ill put some on here too, just to cover all angles!! oKI DOKEY, love you all lots and lots!! speak soon! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mum!!!! Thankyou so so so much for my package, it is completely awesome, perfectly mad!! Loved every inch of it, as did everybody i chose as worthy eneough to show!! And massive congrats on your article mum, just skimmed it as time is tight but it looks fantastic!!! So wednesday night took us on the road to San Fran, we arrived at katies house at about 8, breifly met her parents then went out for a meal. Had a great meal then we got back and me n brendan turned on the charm! within minutes everybody was howling with laughter and we were very well liked!! We watched a movie and chatted some more before hitting the sack/floor. Not before brendan punched me in the face by accident!! Got up the next morning to the lovely smell of an american breakfast, had a huge feast then left for the city. We wnt onto pear 39 and walked around, looked at the seals and alcatraz etc then headed for golden gate, we drove accross it and had a photo session on the other side. We then headed back into the cuty and went into the biggest mall ive ever seen. It even had curved escalators carlos, i took a picture... A marvle of modern technology!!! We hung out in town some more then headed back toward katies house to say bye to our new mates!! Headed back to camp at about 7, got hideously lost and didnt get back to camp till 12. Slept in the staff room or "palace" without a duvet or sleeping bag or anything so had a really bad/ cold nights sleep. Got up the next day for another day of archery!! Today was fairly normal, i learnt a while ago that it was ok for me to drive in the US as the uk license is recognised and the cars are insured not the driver so its cool for me to drive. Jorge lends me his car now and then to pop into town etc and its all ok. Today we were going accross the lake to get some "love square" tshirts made and we got randomly pulled over by the police. It was so so scary cos even though i knew i was ok to be doing what i was doing it was still unfamiliar. But everything went fine, he checked my licence, the car documents and sent us on our way. It was v wierd, but it also backed up the fact that its ok to do it. Dont worry though, i keep it to an absoloute minimum!! Got another care pakage today from one of the kids in my cabin from last session, it was ver sweet, it had a tshirt in it, a famous stars and straps one, i have 5 of them now cos i love them and ive just kept buying them, ill explain properly when i get home! aniways, thats about all i have to tell, its holidays special day tomorow and me and jaqulin are cherubs up on the archery range shooting silver arrows at paper hearts. Its gona be awesome i think! Right, im going to bed now, thankyou again for the pakage mum. Hope alls well in wales pops? great to here u had an awesome time in wales mum n carl!! love to u all!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx