It's 13 days later. I don't have much to say really, I went to see eclipse in the cinema the next day and we went shopping. The next morning we left for the airport and we went home. Every time we come home from a long holiday, i don't know why, but I feel really happy to be back. Like I've been away for years, and I have really missed Dundalk. When we arrived in Dundalk and got in the taxi exhausted as we didn't get any sleep on the plane and about an hour's sleep on the bus, it was raining as usual, with everyone holding umbrellas above their head and not wearing sunglasses, the taxi driver had the familiar Irish accent, telling my dad about the Gaelic match with Louth against Meath, the same shops, the same houses I would see everyday, I felt so happy to see, it felt really good to be home. The whole point of this blog is to write about my holiday, and my holiday in America is over now. Maybe I will blog about something new, about starting secondary school, fashion, books, movies,etc. It will give me a hobby that I can use my lap-top for! So this is my last blog before a new one about something different so thanks for reading!

continued on from my last post. If we were to turn the boat around, that would mean that we would be trying to avoid rocks, where there is a strong current. Or that a rock turned us back-wards. Or that a rock turned us backwards and we were stuck between the rocks. Where there was a strong current, there would normally be rocks and bumps, so if your boat floated over a rock where there was a strong current, the boat would most likey go over a rock and SPLASH and you're completely wet!! My Mum, as I said before, got completely drenched, this way. She didn't like it much. But a girl who was sitting behind me and my sister, decided to sit at the top of the boat, where she got wetter than my mum, and she liked getting wet. Everyone was asking my sister and I if we wanted to sit at the top of the boat, and we said 'no!' until my sister did at the end where there was no strong current or rocks. We'd all like to go rafting again, on a class 4, but our guide said that the only class 4s were a full day (6 hours) which is very long. There was a place that there was photographers taking photos of us, getting all wet. You could but one photo of 38 for $29 or them all on a cd fwith coblestoneor $50. We chose the cd with them all on it, because there is a lot of good photos on the cd. After the rafting, we drove to 'Fresno'. There is nothing much in the town, but there is an army headquaters, which my dad accidently drove to, when we went out, looking for a restaurant. We just drove up to the place where the office window is, where you give your ID where my dad asked the man there "Am I in the wrong place?" and told the man that he just wanted to go into town. So he pulled him over and the police came over to get my dad's ID. He didn't have his passport or driver's license, but he did have his job ID in his wallet. They looked his name up and let us go.
Today we drove to Las Vegas, which is the second last place we are going to. We are flying back to Boston on Wednesday. My dad described Las Vegas as "a big 'fake' city". He was right. There is an eiffel tower half the size of the real one, which is over a big fake Paris in a building. There is french restaurants and clothes shops, and cafés that are on fake streets with coblestone roads, and above the shops and restaurants fake upstairs with old fashioned big windows. There even is street lights. And a casino. Maybe the casino is there for people who decide that they love fake Paris so much, they want to actually go there, so they gamble for money. In some of the shops, they sell souveniers saying 'Paris, Las Vegas'. I'm going to move on from the fake Paris. A waiter at a pizza place told my mum that Las Vegas isn't really a place for kids. Maybe he was refering to the fact that there are people handing out leaflets for STRIPPING CLUBS??? Whenever we walk past them, they offer my dad one. Like, in front of all of us. It kind of freaks me out. I'll tell you about our hotel room. Tommorrow we will be moving into a suite that we are all in. But for tonight my sister and I are in a suite all to ourselves! There is a kitchen, a dining room and sitting room all in one room, with two bathrooms, two telephones, two t.vs, two double beds and two lovely views of the wall of the other part of the building. So we can have a double bed all to ourselves and watch whatever we want on tv, etc and go to bed what ever time we want. It's 11.33 pm now, so I'm going to go to bed soon!

continued on from my last post.

If we were to turn the boat around, that would mean that we would be trying to avoid rocks, where there is a strong current. Or that a rock turned us back-wards. Or that a rock turned us backwards and we were stuckbetween the rocks. Where there was a strong current, there would normally be rocks and bumps, so if your boat floated over a rock where there was a strong current, you might end up over a 'hill' where the boat lands, and SPLASH!! My Mum, as I said before, got completely drenched, this way. She didn't like it much. But a girl who was sitting behind me and my sister, decided to sit at the top of the boat, where she got wetter than my mum, and she liked it. Everyone was asking my sister and I if we wanted to sit at the top of the boat, and we said 'no!' until my sister did at the end where there was no splashes. We'd all like to go rafting again, on a class 4, but our guide

Today we got up at 7.15 to go rafting. We had booked a half day which is 3 hours. Because we had never been rafting before, we went down a river that was 'class 3'. In higher classes, you are more likely to fall out/capsize/get completely drenched. Luckily for us, none of us fell out and the boat didn't capsize, but we did get very wet, especially my mum who got completely drenched as she had to sit at the front of the boat. Some of us went swimming down the river at times when you could. I didn't though, I didn't want to get my clothes all wet and neither did my mum as she was already wet enough. Before we went off in our boats, our guide showed everyone how to hold the paddle, what to do if you fall out of the boat, etc. We then all got on a bus that brought way back so when we finished we would end up at the place, and then we went off. We had to practice working as a team, as we had to copy the person in front of us. Our guide would give us instructions of what to do, and she showed us how to turn the boat around. I'll continue this tommorrow, my dad want the computer!

We drove from Angels Camp to Cameron Park today. It was a 4 hour drive. We drove through Yosemite Park. It's the first park to be set up in America. My mum and Dad were impressed by it and thought it was beautiful. We were in that park for about 2 hours. For lunch all we had was some fruit and pretzals in the park while sitting by the river. So we were starving by the time we reached our hotel. We went out for pizza and went back to the hotel and here I am. I haven't got much to say about today so I'll talk about the story I'm writing for my creative writing class. i'm writing a story about a girl who is from Boston and is walking the whole way over to California because her parents have heard about the gold discovered there. I'll be writing more of it after I post this blog. I think I'll give her a friend who dies, like david suggested I do. But I think that that will be difficult to write as I'm not brilliant at putting sadness and feeling into writing. But I'll have to try because if I don't, I'll never get there. I'll go and write my story now!

Today we all drove to 'Angel's Club'. It was a 2 hour drive. I still don't know what state city or place I'm in. Oh, I have just found out that we are in 'downtown' San Francisco. Our room in our hotel wasn't ready yet, so we went looking around town. We went into the supermarket, my dad bought us magazines to read and crisps, and then we went to Starbucks. Then, we went into a thrift shop, where I found a 1960 dessert recipe book for $1.08 with treats like fudge and biscuits to chocolates cakes and apple pie and sundaes. My dad didn't want me to get it, but I insisted that I buy it. I showed it to my mum who sometimes bakes and she used to with me and she likes it. My sister and mum, and dad all are keen on apple pie, and there is about 5 different types! I like apple pie, but I prefer chocolate cake or ice-cream, usually. Our hotel room was ready after that so we went back to the hotel. Yes, there was a pool there so we all went swimming. After that we just rested and read our magazines and watched t.v. We then went for dinnear. I'll write tommorrow!

Today we drove to San Francisco. My sister and I dived straight into the pool. The drive was about an hour and a half. Even though the word weren't twisty like yesterday, I still felt carsick. But at least the journey wasn't that long. In California, it isn't as sunny as you'd think it would be. It is bright, but it's cold. Or breezy, as you might say. So if you are planning to go there, don't bring like, your summer clothes and sunglasses, bring a jacket! Today out in the town I was wearing a t-shirt and a cardigan and I was shivering. In the tv show, That's So Raven at the beginning it shows the Golden Gate Bridge then a cable-car going up a hill to her house. We saw the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, all misty when we went out for dinner. We went out to town in the cable cars. In San Francisco there are hills, with hills on top, that the cable-cars go up and down every day. Today, we went on a cable-car up and down those hills. And on those hills there are houses. I have noticed the difference of houses in Boston, New York, L.A and San Francisco. In Boston, the houses are made of wood on the outside, usually with no fences to separate each house. In New York, well I didn't see the actual houses there, only from the aeroplane, but most people live in apartments. In L.A, they live in expensive big houses with a swimming pool or tennis court in the back garden, and most houses have big glass windows. In San Francisco, most of the houses are on the street, going up the hills. Some have old fashioned town house big windows on the front of the house, with bright colours like pink, blue, yellow or light orange. I've seen a few that are painted bright yellow or light orange with big square windows with one of the top rooms a level higher than the others, with a diamond flat shaped roof on top. When we got off the cable-car, we looked around at some shops. We went into a 2 storey book-shop. It seems that every book-shop in America has at least 2 floors in it. My dad and I say that we should have those type bookshops in Ireland, too! After that we went to a fish restaurant for dinner. My sister and I aren't huge fans of fish, so we chose pasta. After dinner, our mum told us that we are going more inland tommorrow. I can't remember if we'll still be in San Francisco, or if we'll be in Las Vegas; I'm really tired! Goodnight!

I'm in San Francisco now! It was about an hour and a half drive. I still felt carsick even though the roads weren't twisty like yesterday. We arrived at our hotel at half twelve. My sister and I went dived into the pool, even though it was cold. Well, before that I went on the internet. But I had nothing to blog about so I went swimming. people expect it to be hot and sunny in california but that isn't what the weather is like. It's bright, but it's cold. Or breezy, you might say. So if you plan on going there, don't pack t-shirtsand shades bring a jacket! After the swimming pool, we went into town. We went on a cable car! In the tv show That's So Raven it shows a cable car going up on the hill to her house and before that, it shows the Golden Gate Bridge. In San Francisco, there are hills, with hills on top and cable cars traveling up and down them. And there's the Golden Gate Bridge too, of course. Well, we went on a cable car, up and down hills. And on those hills, I was noticing how the houses are built. They are town houses with old fashioned windows on the outside. Some are town houses, painted bright yellow or light orange with square windows and a part of the roof, diamond shaped a level higher than the rest of the roof. I noticed that the houses in Boston are built with wood on the outside, normally without fences to seperate houses from each other. And in Ireland the houses are made all sorts of ways. We went into San Francisco, looked around at the shops and went into a bookshop with two floors. Here in America it seems that every bookshop has at least 2 floors. My dad and I agree that we should have Barnes and Nobles in Ireland as well, now that we only have one good bookshop, Waterstones. When

Mamma Mia! was brilliant! It was funny, it had great music and costumes and dance moves. It was alot like the movie as the lines were mainly the same. After New York, we went to L.A. I was expecting to see someone famous, but the closest I got was their houses on a tour. Hollywood is a tourist attraction, mainly. The actual studios are a mile or two away. There are souvenier shops everywhere. They also sell 'Movie Star Maps' around the place, of their homes. I bought one for $5. Our favourite celebrity, (my sister's and I) is Avril Lavigne. On that map it showed her house. She's originally from Canada so I was suprised to find that she lived there. But I did remember hearing that she was dating a reality show star that's in L.A so I guess she'd have to live there to date him. Also, my mum pointed out that L.A is where all of the movie and music studios are, and most singers and movie stars live there because they have to. So I went on a tour of the celebrities' homes. My sister and Dad didn't want to go and they went to the cinema while my mum and I went. We saw the houses of Lindsay Lohan, Marylin Monroe, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, Leonardo Di Caprio, Miley Cyrus, Hilery Duff, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez, etc in Beverly Hills. Leonardo Di Caprio has his own private golf course. Tiger Woods didn't. But he does go to the best and most fancy golf courses to practice and play so why would he bother having his own? The tour stopped for a ten minute break at a street of top designers like Ralph Lauren, Juicy Couture, Gucci, Chanel a load of others that some of them my mum recognised from Paris. We then went back. Today we headed off to Monterey. we were driving on Highway 1, a road that runs from northern Alaska to southern Chili. There were really windy roads so I was carsick every minute of it. I still recovering. We might be going off to San Francisco, it depends. it isn't that warm here, just bright, so thay have a heated swimming pool here. I going to go there now!

Today when we went out for breakfast, we went to a diner. It had old posters advertising chocolate flavoured milkshake for 10c and banana splits for 25. My dad says that that's what America was like, years ago. Everyone went to diners and that's what they all looked like only the chair covers would normally be red and white; the diner we were in had blue and white covers. I ordered strawberry and banana waffles with maple syrup. In Boston, my aunt made everyone palm sized waffles but I got a waffle the size of a medium plate with strawberries and bananas on top! I drizzled it with the syrup but I didn't finish it because my dad said that because America's portions are bigger than ours, we should leave a bit behind. After breakfast, we went to Macy's. I bought a dress there on sale for $15. After that we went to look at other shops. I didn't get anything there, and then we went to an art museum called MoMa (Museum of Modern Art). My sister and I, and my mum were supposed to be shopping while my dad went to it but they changed plans, much to our annoyance. but the museum wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. Across the road was a shop called MoMA designs so we went in. It was all furniture and decorations and purses and bags based on the art in the museum. I liked the bags, but they were expensive, like one was $125, another $450! I found these cool purses/pencil cases. One was a circle shaped purse with a photo of a cookie on both sides. Another was a pencil case with a photo of a wrap on it. There also was a pizza slice that I bought to use as a pencil case next year. It was $8. Expensive, I know, but I thought that it was cool. After that we took the subway back to the hotel and here we are. Tonight we are going to Mamma Mia! at 8, so we are getting ready for that. Bye!

New York

I'm in New York now! it's very big. I'm in Manhattan. This morning my family took a three hour tour of the island. It was boring but we saw the Statue of Liberty. After that we went back to the hotel and bought tickets to Mamma Mia! on broadway. they were like, $190 a ticket but broadway shows are supposed to be very good! Yesterday when we arrived in New York we went looking around in some shops. We went into Toys R Us which I would have loved to go into, 4 years ago, but my mum and dad wanted to see it. I saw an American Eagle clothes shop so we went in. Nice stuff but they are expensive! Like a pair of denim shorts for $25 or a check shirt for $40! I haven't bought anything yet, but today was our sightseeing day, tommorrow is our shopping day. It is really hot here! Yesterday it was 101 degrees which is supposed to be the hottest in 10 years or something in New York. Today we saw Ground Zero and a memorial place. It had pictures and videos and times of what happened then and people whose friends or family members died on September 11 2001. And it told us about what they are building to replace the twin towers. They are building a memorial place with all the photos of the people that died in it. It was sad to see the photos and videos. My mum went up in the twin towers years ago when she went to New York. Then they were the two tallest buildings in New York. Now, the Empire State Building is the tallest. We saw that on our tour around the island. Here it's 11:37 pm so I'm going to go to sleep now!

I am now typing on my new lap-top! My mum and dad said that they'd be getting me a laptop for secondary school a few months ago for my birthday, but they got me it yesterday in the mall we were in. Speaking of which, the mall was very big, we got lost a lot as there was about fifty shops! we were there for three and a half hours and we still hadn't seen all of them! Back to my laptop. My cousin got an Ipad for her 13th birthday, 3 days ago so my mum and dad said that they could get me that instead if I wanted. But I already have a kindle, you can't run computer games on an Ipad, and I thought that you couldn't type up and save word documents, but I found that you can later when I got my laptop. And I'm sure that there's a lot more things that you can't do on an Ipad. But then the Ipad is smaller and you can buy movies on wireless, have a gps that can show your home address in Ireland when you're in Boston 6 hours 20 minutes away. Did I create this blog to blog about my new laptop and show off? No. I created this blog to blog about my summer holidays in America. Last night, the fourth of July party went on until like two in the morning. I'm very tired now having only 6 hours sleep and I sleep for 10 hours, normally. We had a load of fire-works that we lit. There were different kinds. The 'normal' fire-work, which just shoots up into the air and bursts into different colours. Then there was one that didn't shoot up into the sky. It just stayed on the ground, bursting into colours. And that's really all I can remember. I think those were the only kinds, just different colours or whatever. After the party, my sister, my cousin, my cousin's friend and I all slept outside in the tents. Before that, we were toasting somores outside in our pajamas. And before we were toasting somores we were swimming in the swimming pool at 12.30 or whatever. And before that, my cousin's mum had got a cake made for me and my cousin, as we are both thirteen now and it had a picture of the two of us when we were 3 months old. And then everyone had a slice. But there is still loads more left as the cake was really big. I don't know what we are doing today as we were kind of celebrating our birthdays last night but I'll say tommorrow!

Yesterday my family went into Boston to go sight-seeing. We saw a part of Harvard college, then near that there was an enormous bookshop that we went into. Like, in Waterstones in Dublin to find fashion you'd have to look in the art section to get it. In other bookshops they wouldn't have fashion at all. But in the bookshop we went to, there was 2 shelves of art, two shelves of art studies and two shelves of design and architect and one shelf of fashion. There was 4 floors in the bookshop with a counter on each floor and a cafe on the third floor. I found a book on fashion illustration that my dad bought me. After the bookshop we went on the underground train to Boston Common, where the American revolution started. It was boiling there but at least we were in shorts and t-shirts; there were men dressed up as the red coats in full uniform, who were actually carrying towels to wipe off their sweat on their foreheads. After that we went to have lunch at an Irish pub, then we took a 'cab' to a science museum. We didn't see all of the museum because it's very big. We saw the part on whales, the human body, lightening, mathemathetic instruments, etc. Then we went home, and into my cousin's swimming pool. Last night we toasted somores outside, as they have a fire there. Today we are going to the mall, to do some shopping. I had been saving up for my holidays over the year, so now I can spend some of it. But I'll only be spending a bit of money unless there is something really nice there as We do have another 17 days in America! I think I'll be spending most of my money in New York as there's millions of shops there! I have about $130. I'll write tommorrow. It's my Birthday tommorrow btw! I'll be 13!

I'm in Boston!

The plane journey was six hours, 20 minutes. it was delayed by about half an hour. My uncle picked us up from the airport and brought us back. at home, it was about 10.30 at home and it was 5.30 in Boston. But they kept us up until about 9 o'clock in boston to get rid of our jet-lag. Because we were tired (my sister and I)we kept getting head aches and kept feeling sick. the next day my uncle, aunt, two cousins, their neighbour and our other cousin who lives in Ireland whose staying in america with them for three months, and my family all went to the beach. The water was freezing at first but it got cold and then warm. We stayed there for about 3 hours. It was about half an hour's drive out to the beach. when we got back we all had showers and got ready to go to the baseball game. The Red Sox were playing Baltimore Orieles and The Red Sox won 2-1. We all left early (I don't really know why) and on the journey home everyone was listening in to the radio to the game. But I was still jet-lagged and just slept. No one else was that tired as it was about 10 o'clock in Boston. This morning I woke up at 7.45 which was 12.45 at home. I think I'm not jet-lagged anymore! The baseball game was interesting but at first i didn't really understand it but I learned that it's 3 strikes and you're out and I knew about other stuff like that from playing baseball on the Wii. Today I think my family are going in to Boston to go sight seeing and stuff like that. That's all for today!