Holiday Inn Express Suites River Park 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.

... Fresno. Both times his parents have had us stay in their home and always made us feel very welcome. His Dad helped him put the finishing touches onto his Halloween decorations and the kids had a ball being scared by the lights, fog and scary music. Greg is really into Halloween and went all out this year.

Greg also gave us an insight into the Global Financial crisis in his part of the world. Many houses in his street have been foreclosed and all the 'toys’ like boats and jetskis ...

... drug dealer. One of the first things I mentioned was that we were traveling to San Fransisco, and not knowing anything about this guy he instantly said 'hey I live there, we should all hang out at mine, when are you going?' it just started to feel really weird. I tried to avoid all questions like that, anything in depth about where we were going. We asked who he was with and he just said 'oh my mum lives across town' - definitely suspicious ...

... hatten vielleicht mit 100.000 gerechnet :-).

Das Motel 6 hier ist echt toll - ein richtiges Bett und ein eigenes Bad und WC. Wir sind im siebten Himmel. Diese Nacht wird sicher erholsamer als die letzten drei im Zelt :-) Und zum Glück klimatisiert. Wir hatten heute 43°C und zwar draussen - nicht im Auto nach studenlangem Parken in der Sonne, das ist echt unmenschlich!!!

Jetzt ist aber Einkaufen angesagt! Wir haben uns das nächste ...

Sat 29th Aug

Picked up the hire car at 9am sat morning from the worst hire company, the car wasn't clean, the tyre pressure was dodgy and they hadn't even filled the car with 'gas', So we had to find the other hire company in SF.

Fulled up and ready to head out on our road trip, first stop would be Yosemite park some 160 miles west. Some beautiful views all the way ...

We arrived in Dinuba late so we checked into a Holiday Inn Express. The following day we left the Hotel and drove through Orange Groves to Kings Canyon. The route our Sat. Nav. (We've named her Lola like in the RV film starring Robin Williams) took us was a very steep and windy road. We all felt sick!! The route was very scenic though (we even ...

... out with "Where are you from?" and "How long have you been in ...", among other things. But through it all, I made it... and I made it by myself. Not that traveling solo is necessarily the only way to go, but going any way other than solo will provide a completely different experience. I've come to rely on myself - my instincts, judgment, and feelings - and I feel more comfortable with myself than at any time prior to the trip. Of course I do ...

... further North to Fresno, we quickly decided that perhaps we weren't so lucky to have found this hotel after all, as we pulled up at one of the worst hotels that I have ever seen (and before their lawyers issue any summons, for the record it was not a Travelodge this time, we'd moved further down the food chain to Econo-Lodge this time). First impressions count for a lot and when the first three people that you see wandering around before you even ...

... looking, our names are in the first booth to the left as you come in the front door). But, even if you don’t want to carve your name into the walls, Alpine Pizza is still worth visiting.

The majestic pine covered hills around Flagstaff soon gave way to the high desert. As we pulled into Kingman, I suggested to Dianne that we should go into Laughlin just so that we could say we’d been to Nevada. So, Dianne pulled off of I-40 and onto I ...

... vacation, we knew we wouldn't be going to Europe because we had been there for our honeymoon. Instead, my wife (Dianne) wanted to go to Boston. She had been to Boston a few years ago and had very fond memories of that visit. I mentioned going to Reading, Pennsylvania to see my friend, and former travel partner, Tom Marihart. Once I mentioned visiting Tom, she wanted to add a trip to visit a friend in Binghamton, New York. So, we planned a trip that would allow us to both visit ...