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Well, this is it. Today we check out of the Best Western Long Beach and head out to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Our flight isn't to later in the evening, but we are on standby for an upgrade to 'premier economy' using frequent flyer points, so I expect an early check-in may help our chances of getting this. We also have access to the Koru Club Lounge where we can 'chill out'.

I have been asked what has been the highlight of the tour? There have been so many great experiences that it is hard to rank them. To visit 22 states and travel 17605 kilometres (all on the wrong side of the road) by motorbike was something that most people will never get to do.

In some ways calling it a 'holiday' is not an accurate description, because rarely were we just sitting around relaxing. There was always something to do. Our daily routine consisted of early morning starts, packing the bike up, riding 4-6 hours per day with stops to see and do stuff, finding accommodation, unpacking the bike, laundry, emails, checking weather reports etc, finding somewhere to eat, planning the next day's route, fueling up the bike, and trying to get an early night.

I think a better description is to call it an 'adventure'. It was hugely satisfying to accomplish and we saw some great sights and met some great people. A friend suggested I should write a book. Instead of 'Balls of Steel' he suggested that it be called 'Buns of Steel' (there were some days we both got really saddle sore early on)!

I am not sure how easy it will be to adjust to 'normal' life again after spending days roaring down a highway on a Harley - but we are really looking forward to seeing our family and friends again after being away for 9 weeks.

California - Santa Monica

For our last full day in LA we decided to go to Santa Monica for the day. Maurie, Evan, Dave & Mary also decided to join us - so it was nice to do something as a group for our last day. Santa Monica is a popular beach and shopping destination. This is the beach that the TV series 'Baywatch' was filmed at. When I watched the series, I always wondered how the life guards could run in slow motion and still manage to save people from drowning?

We took the Metro Rail to 7th Street/Central Station and then caught a Metro bus to the pier at Santa Monica. The pier has entertainment, buskers, fishing and food. The pier is also the end of the famous Route 66, so we had to have a photo taken under the sign that stated 'End of the Trail' (quite appropriate really).

Dave, Mary, Maurie and Evan decided to walk down the boardwalk to the nearby seaside community of Venice for a look around, while Tracee & I walked a few blocks to the Third Street Promenade to do some shopping and have some lunch. The promenade offers many trendy, boutique shops. The street spans about 4 blocks and is closed to traffic.

We all met up again at the bus stop later in the afternoon for the ride back to downtown LA to catch the Metro Rail back to Long Beach.

California - Disneyland

We decided that while we were in LA we would have to go to Disneyland . We caught a Long Beach Transit bus from the corner outside our motel and then transferred to a Metro bus at Norwalk transfer station for the ride to the main entrance of Disneyland. The trip took about 2 hours - but public transport here is as cheap as chips (about $1.50 one way). Riding a bus is also a great way to see parts of LA that are not normally on the 'tourist route' and you get to see some interesting characters on the public transport system (to say the least).

Disneyland is spread over 85 acres (34 ha) and encompasses the historic Disneyland Park (The Magic Kingdom), California Adventure Park (wilder rides for teenagers and older), Resort hotels and Downtown Disney (shops, restuarants, entertainment). It would take 2-3 days to see and do every ride/attraction - so given we only had one day we paid to see Disneyland Park. It was a boiling hot day - so we found it quite energy sapping.

Having been to the Gold Coast Australia theme parks a number of times, I couldn't help but compare and I found that Australia offerred a comparable if not at times better experience with some attractions. I guess Disneyland was the first theme park that all the others have copied - and it was great to see lots of happy smiling kids running around having a great time and of course the Disney characters made it unique from any other park.

Tracee is not 'adventurous' when it comes to extreme, adrenaline rides (like me), but we did ride the Pirate ship around the lagoon, the train that travels the perimiter of the park to get a good overview of attractions and then we really broke out and went for a spin on the 'Mad Hatters' tea cup ride!

Early in the afternoon we received the news from home about the earthquake and that then became priority as we caught up with the news from family and were relieved to hear that all were safe and there was no major damage to our home. The news of the devastation it caused to other property in the Christchurch area was sobering and we felt quite helpless being on the other side of the world!

We left the park soon after that and made our way back to the motel by bus, eager to get on the internet and keep updated with the news back home.

California - Long Beach

We left Carpinteria and rode the Ventura Highway south towards LA in the morning fog, which made the ride a bit chilly. It was a morning of contrasting temperatures. As we headed inland the temperatures got quite warm, especially around Thousand Oaks. The traffic was steadily building up the closer we got to Los Angeles. We hit some cooler air again around Santa Monica and then as we came down a hill on the freeway the morning sea fog was replaced by the yellowish haze of pollution over LA in the distance!

We rode the freeway system through to Long Beach and actually arrived at our motel earlier than expected. We managed to check into our room early - around 1:30pm. We were just unpacking the bike when Evan and Maurie arrived on their Triumphs, followed about 15 minutes later by Dave and Mary on their Harley.

We had a catch up with the others and then left them to check in while we took the bike to a nearby car wash to use a self-service bay to give the bike a good waterblasting and a clean. The bike has to be free of any dirt and bugs as there are very strict agricultural controls over importing into NZ. If your bike is deemed to be 'dirty' you can be charged around $400 to have it cleaned to the required standard to enter the country. We had managed to pick up a fair bit of muck while travelling on wet roads - particularly where there were road works.

Later that night we joined up with the others and walked to the centre of Long Beach for a few drinks and a meal.

The next morning Tracee and I rode the Harley to the USA Mainfreight depot to crate the bike up ready for shipping back to NZ. This took a few hours by the time we got the crate moved for us by forklift to a free area, gave the bike a last spot clean, removed the fuse, packed up the windshield, used tie-downs to secure it and then screwed the cardboard packing on with a battery drill.

After we said goodbye to the bike we caught a taxi back to the motel and then caught the metro train and a bus transfer to the Lakewood Shopping Centre for the afternoon. This is a great service - you can travel anywhere in LA for only a few dollars - although you have to be a bit careful where you exit the bus. We were dropped off a few blocks from our motel and the area we had to walk through was a little dodgy - definately not where you would walk after dark!

We caught up with Dave, Mary, Maurie & Evan after dinner and then called it a day.

California - Carpinteria

It was 'pea soup' when we left Morro Bay this morning. A thick sea fog had rolled in over the coastline making visibility very challenging.

We headed south on Highway 101 and I was tempted to take the more scenic Highway 1 route at Pismo Beach, but the fog really made this pointless, so we continued down the 101 and stopped at Santa Maria for a look at the local Harley Davidson dealership and also it was a good time to stop for a late breakfast.

Not far down the road from Santa Maria we branched off on to Highway 154 and rode over the hills of the Los Padres National Forest. We linked up with 101 again at Santa Barbara. The influence of Spanish architecture is everywhere, with stylish homes and hotels set amongst towering palm trees. It reminded me of the artwork on the Eagles 'Hotel California' album cover.

It was only another half hour down the road before we stopped for the day at the seaside community of Carpinteria. The beach here is superb.

Tomorrow we will complete our Harley touring with only a 2 hour ride to Los Angeles - where we left Long Beach back on the 13th July.