Since I last wrote we have been relaxing and resting and meeting people from the church here.We met with the paster at someones house with an amazing swimming pool..with slides..we had a lovely time with them sharing about Honduras.We were invited to use the pool when we wanted..we have been so blessed by peoples hospitality!!I sang at the church..and we spoke of Honduras and the work there…we have been so fortunate to have met such great people.The paster is called Tom and its a pesbytarian church..we want to thank him for being so welcoming!We also had an earthquake..it was a loud noise and it felt like the bed lifted or something rolled under the house very odd and made you feel shakey but over very quickly! thankfully..it was 4.5 and glad no bigger..I dont think I`d like to live near so many fault lines..the Californians feel them all the time..its like rain in England just a fact of life!Well back from another week touring in the purple pontiac..had a wonderful time.though we are exausted from all the miles and night driving!We started at universal studios where we saw JAWS which the kids liked ..also the set of Darcys favorite film THE GRINCH..and saw the plane wreck set of WAR OF THE WORLDS..and we saw norman bates motel and the house behind..There was loads to do and the kids loved it.The next day we went to disneyworld..crowded!!but we had a wonderful day..the kids were allowed on all the rides height wise…even little Flora..so we were going on all sorts of scary rollercoasters..there was one in the dark and it felt like you were flying in the dark..flora went on the front with Seth and the rest of us behind..I thought she would get off crying..it was so fast and scary ..but she turned to us and said “that was wicked”she`s only 5.The next day..off to San diego…lovely place..and sea world…saw some amazing shows of dolphins and shamu the killer whale…we fed dolphins.. saw sharks..pola bears and basically had a fantastic day out..a great place!flora was enthralled by the huge walruses with horns and the penguins.She spent about two hours at the end of the day pretending to be a penguin..walking with her feet turned out flapping her wings and demanding fish with penguin noises…it took us ages to get anywhere!!she told us she wasnt pretending..she really was a penguin! an actress in the making !We then headed to the joshua tree national park..which was gorgeous..desert with loads of huge rocks.and joshua trees!Then we headed for las vegas..DESERT for miles….nothing for hours in the car..no food..just water and no airconditioning..it was a trial at times…but just amazing expanses of space and never ending straight roads! then a flat tyre!! in the desert at around 6pm….not impressed but thankful everyone was ok..the tyre in pieces.We all sat in the dust at the side of the road whilst ham fixed the tyre with a tiny get you home tyre..looked unsafe ..then along came a policeman who was lovely..and helped us out..got to vegas..and found a mexican tyre place and we got a new tyre and fixed within 15 mins!event over.Finding a place to stay there was difficult as friday night prices were impossible..eventually we found somewhere out of town..and had a good rest.We visited the hoover dam..the next day amazing piece of engineering..then swam in a near by lake to cool off!off back to vegas for the evening..to wander through the huge hotels..and soak it all up..we took the kids in New york New york for an icecream..a rollercoaster..rides through it..everything was larger than life..and it was great to see..think I would like it better without the kids..it was packed scared of losing them!After that another long drive to death valley…this was one of the most beutiful places I have ever seen..huge mountains..sand dunes..such a weird landscape..gorgeous..though the heat was overwhelming..119 in the day 96 at night…we drove late into the night and couldnt find anywhere to stay..so we slept in the car in death valley…never again..the heat was incredible..Hamish went outside and slept on the path to keep cooler..we all thought about it but the kids were worried about the coyotes howling..and rattlesnakes..so we stuck it out in the sweat mobil !A bleary eyed onwards and upwards to yosemite national park..gorgeous..and would love to go back there..dramatis mountains..freezing clear lakes and cool breezes..love to do some serious walking there..On to San Francisco with its lovely skyline and spooky fog.We went over the bay bridge and saw the golden gate bridge..and the trams and the harbour with Alcatraz(thought of sending kids there for a few days)A most charming city full of character..and hills that are incredibly steep..the children said it looked like Plymouth!( but the hills much steeper)We saw seals in the harbour( Flora became all dramatic again..a seal this time) and wandered around old boats..a lovely city.That day was finished off in china town where we had a duck! well it came with its head on..and a twisted neck…flora said yuk its still got its eyes in!Seth thought it was cool..they all ate it.. obviously not shocking enough to make them vegetarian.On the way out of San francisco.we broke down on a very fast freeway!!hamish paranoid someone would go in the back of us got us out of the car and I started walking with the kids down the freeway ..no hard shoulder in the dark to get petrol..the kids were brill and kept holding the rail at the side of the road .We walked for about ten minutes..then I realised there was no junction in the near future..just continue walking on these scary bridges..so I made a decision to turn back and was greeted by a police car..which had earlier picked Hamish up and hooked the car to the front of his.Hamish told us afterwards the police had asked him to get his hands out his pockets and stand still..he said he was in the middle of the road with his hands up..feeling like he was in a movie…we all had a good laugh thinking of the scenario!They got us to a petrol station..me and the kids were black all down our left sides due to muck on the rail..it was all on our faces too..they gave us stuff to clean our hands with..checked it was only a petrol problem..it was thankfully!..we had a chat then off we went in search of a bed!An eventful evening..kids..enjoyed the police car ride and got a junior officer sticker..impressed so far with American police..still dont like thier big guns though..my son is more impressed with those.Off to sequoia national park..to see the giant forest.Huge magnificant redwood and sequoia trees were amazing to see..made formby pine woods look like toytown!we had the added joy of seeing a bear with her two cubs by the side of the road..fantastic view of them..a lovely end to our 2000mile mad trip round california.California is a most beautiful state..and would love to come back..though its the size of england..getting round with more time would be better.Well I`ll try and put some photos up soon..a bit of news we will be returning to Honduras via Guatamala again towards the end of this week depending on flights we are going for 3 months we are still doing the rest of the trip we have just taken a bit of time off Austrailia and India..we feel this would be best for us..and the children to be settled and there is so much to do down there..it seems at this moment to be a more productive use of our time.When we are there..bad internet connections..will mean less emails to freinds but we will update the blog at least weekly to let you know we are all ok.We miss you..keep in touch always great to hear from you..Love and God bless Rachel and the gang.