Deluxe Inn Chico

Hey everyone,

I made it back from Hong Kong to San Francisco today on a 12 hr. non-stop flight. My adventure through China was something I will always remember and I hope that you enjoyed reading little tid-bits from my experiences there.

- Michael

... to try it in an urban environment someday. The hike just had us itching to do more. But we needed to escape this place and head somewhere more conducive to hiking. We drove on to Grants Pass in Oregon for lunch, a quick toy shop and a decision about where to next. The rain continued. A taco or two and an hour or two later and the decision was made, we would still head south and try to escape this weather. It might be a long, long drive ...

... is Beijing. Don't forget to leave comments as you read the blog entries and also sign my Guestbook. I hope all will enjoy checking this from time to time as I provide updates of my travels!  This map gives a rough idea of where my travels will be taking me.

... musical legends Sparks n Cinders. These guys have been playing since the 70s and tend to only play a few shows a year, but when they do play you have to be there! The music is a mix of Reggae, Rock, and Funk and the band is so tight you'd think they played together every week. The bar was packed and the vast majority of those on the dance floor were fans and friends of the band who have been following them since they started out. Donna's good ...

... Geryhound became tthe no 1 transportation choice. Horror stories about Greyhound are about as numerous as the horror stories about LAX, and so you're never quite sure what to expect. Being that I'd booked my ticket online I had to be a the bus station hell early, aka more than an hour before my bus was due to leave. On the upside Bill's fixing of my computer, that he had undertaken earlier in the day delayed my departure from his house and I ended up being dropped off at the ...

... s a beautiful place, but I really feel it's full of positivity as well. All I know is that whenever I go, I feel renewed. It's this amazing place that truly makes me feel one with nature, on the edge of the world, and entirely insignificant in the grand scheme of things...

After we spent the late morning and afternoon climbing around, and enjoying the scenery that is Humboldt County, we ...

... The others head off to the casino. Prior to this we picked up two jars of olives as Corning is the olive capital of North America. They have this store called the Pit Stop which has every type of olive stuffed with virtually anything. Of course we picked up some martini olives as well as some that were stuffed with Romano and Parmesan cheese. As usual we have discussions of our next destination and we decide that we want a shorter day and we think ...

We went shopping for some peanut oil for the deep fried turkey for Christmas dinner today. That was pretty much the only thing that drug us out on the roads again. Other than that we just hung out and caught up with Dad and Salva. Salva's son, Lenny stopped by for a while. It's the first time I had met my step ...

... my worldtrip, the Workshop offered me a special discount, some spare parts and as well as a brand new helmet for free to support me on my way back home! I would like to thank you very much to my unexpected sponsors of Ozzie's BMW Centre, Chico, for this very generous support! I also would like to thank my friend Adam for his generous help to transport the bike to the workshop, the new lid built with wood (it works beatifully) and for those many gifts and support!

We woke yesterday morning from our naps and made our way back over to UA College of Optical Sciences at 9:30 AM to tape their extensive collection of early telescopes. The curator of the collection is Dr. John Greivenkamp; he was extremely helpful and excited that we were taping the wide variety of instruments for the production. The forty or so pieces range from small 1700 ...