After arriving in the USA the break from the road continued (although there was still a fair few miles covered), I met up with Helen and we had a couple of weeks enjoying Southern California and Nevada. First stop was fabulous (and scorching hot) Las Vegas, but they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so I'll leave it with a pic to give the general idea!

Next we headed south and stopped off at the Joshua Tree national park. It's a nice area, still very hot in September, and there's plenty of wildlife to see. The famous joshua trees, which are actually large Yucca plants, are what its all about.

To San Diego, where the highlight was the world famous zoo. Perfect for comparing meerkats, I particularly liked this little fella.

This is the coolest guy in the zoo. He took chilling out to a new level.

Never shy of adding another country to the expanding list of places visited, we took a trip over the border to Mexico. Tijuana is something of a dump to be honest, and even the tourist trap part of pretty limited in things to do. Still, you've got to go if only for the disconcerting feeling of walking out of the US without anyone looking at your passport knowing that it'll be scrutinized in detail on your way back in. There's something in the back of your mind thinking I know US nationals do this all the time, but what if as a Brit you're supposed to do something extra. It turned out there was no problem (even smuggling a few cuban cigars in), maybe its the paranoia of all those border crossings in Asia where you're never sure if you've got all the right paperwork.