Comfort Inn Fresno

Nach der hitzigen und kargen Wuestenlandschaft des Death Valley sind wir heute zurueck ins Baumland des Sequoia National Parks...Hallo Baumbart?!

Im Giant Forest gibt es unzaehlige Riesenbaeume, die wirklich jedes Auto winzig erscheinen lassen. Hier steht auch der groesste Baum der Welt (General Sherman :-)). Er ist zwar nicht der hoechste und auch nicht der breiteste, aber sein Gesamtstammvolumen (1500 m3) ist unuebertroffen.

The drive from Castaic Lake to Fresno was very pretty. The Central Valley is always a very pretty drive past all the fruit farms and orchards. Mark was also a little more comfortable driving the RV which we had decided to call Harvey the RV. We got lost getting to Greg's house since the stupid GPS didn’t work but we finally made it. His parents came over to see us and it was great to see them after 12 years. We first met Greg in Germany back in 1992 and have been back to visit him twice ...

... cloud of mist that travels across the sea into the road. We could really see it when we stopped off and climbed some of the rocks along Big Sur - that was ace.

Paul

We rode the famous Highway 1 today. Beautiful. The Big Sur section is incredible. We are coming to the end of our big drives...I'm really going to miss it.

The part of Fresno we are staying in is eerily quiet...almost like a zombie movie build up...

Wie man sieht hat uns gestern kein Bär mehr erwischt, obwohl die Ranger die ganze Nacht um die Zelter geschlichen sind und einen gewissen "JJ" gesucht haben...

Heute lassen wir den Yosemite Nationalpark hinter uns (ein Wolf hat uns neben der Straße noch ein Stück begleitet- irre) und machen uns nach Fresno auf - endlich in Ruhe shoppen!!! Und die Zivilisation hat uns wieder! Obwohl ich zum Thema Yosemite abschließend schon sagen möchte, dass es ...

... USA style when 'Journey' was on!!

Sun 30th Aug

One night stay in the lively San Jose to rest before we headed for Half Moon Bay and the infamous Sam's Chouwder House. Great veiws and fish dishes helped us for our trip heading south down route 1, which runs parrallel to the Pacific. many a winding road watching the coastline and the surfers before we reached Santa Cruz.

... at drinking? Life is wonderful. After the baby shower, Jeff and I headed out to some local bar and threw down way too many patron shots.

The next morning he took me out to one of the famous beaches in San Diego. It was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I would have taken pictures and I definitely regret it now.

One of the days I was in LA, Liz took me to Venice beach. I fell in love ...

... met an American guy named Kieth at Lunds train station. He had just gotten his Swedish Visa and was able to give Nick some tips about how to get his. Kieth just moved back to USA two weeks ago (long story) and lives in Santa Barbara so we decided to go and see him! We surprised him and his mother, who were in their garden putting up Christmas decorations. Luckily he recognized Malin and Nick and took us out for a ...

... I am sitting in a rocking chair writing my story, listening to the growing arguments outside, as more alcohol is consumed and the tensions of just getting by are released. I must be changing as I feel more at home and more appreciative than I have been in a long time. I sure was glad it was Monday, as yesterday was murder, listening to all of the over the top preachers I found on the radio with headphones that fit snugly under my helmet. I was tempted to send in for some ...

Our traveling in the Southwest had come to an end. It was time to make the long trek back to California. I had done the drive from Southwest Colorado to Fresno in one day five years earlier. Thus, I knew what to expect. That's why I asked Dianne to take the first shift for driving back.

We pulled out of the Travelodge and headed back toward downtown Cortez. It was time to grab some breakfast. In our search the previous day for the Belgian Quality ...

Welcome to my Southwest USA travelogue! This travelogue will detail the sights I saw, the places in which I stayed, and the restaurants where I ate during my trip across Arizona, New Mexico, and a tiny bit of Colorado. This trip was taken from October 3, 2001 until October 13, 2001. As is always the case, how I ended up in this part of the world is a story in itself.

As all three of you long-time readers know, I got married in February, 2001. When it came time for us to plan ...