La Quinta Inn And Suites 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 ...

... we were being over cautious but we had to get out of that place, the guy could have been a total psyco for all we knew. I think we stick out like sore thumbs at times, and when we walk into a bar you can really sense heads turn in our direction. I guess as a foreigner you can become quite vulnerable if you aren't careful.

Anyway, yesterday at the beach was a wicked change, and the weather is so much cooler, and there is this ...

... eine Ecke mit Ledermöbeln für die Männer mit Motosport-, und Automagazinen....

So beenden wir heute einen gemütlichen sightseeingfreien Tag und fahren morgen über den Sequoia Nationalpark nach Bakersfield, das heißt, wenn wir nicht gleich nach Bakersfield fahren zum "Shopping die Zweite". Außerdem muss Sewy morgen noch was umtauschen, das passiert auch, wenn man den Mann beim Einkaufen alleine lässt....

Und heute eine bärenfreie gute Nacht...

... 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.

... Marmots & a Coyote). Kings Canyon is Massive! It takes ages to drive around. We had to fill-up in a 1928 petrol pump; It was really interesting to see how it worked. At the Ranger Office we inquired about the trails and the kids picked up the young Ranger program. We did Meadow trail collecting sugar cones along the way and hoping to see ...

... or hoped to travel I hope that you will think very hard about how to do it in the near future - whether it be in a few months or a few years. I've rarely seen senior citizens that looked really happy when traveling, so I think the American notion of waiting until retirement to travel is not an ideal one. So if you're serious about it, keep the dream alive, work toward it, and I'll see you on the road one day...



Appendix A

Fresno, California, United States joeleeis

Work is behind me, and I'm plunging full force into trip prep and planning. In a last gasp at procrastination, I used up my final free United voucher to see something I was very afraid I was going to miss. Nine Inch Nails is touring again this year, and my trip was going to bring be tauntingly close in Europe. But it was going to be very difficult, and probably not worth it ...

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 ...

... follow-up research on the Internet, we were able to come up with an itinerary that filled up our two weeks. We cancelled our plane tickets and hotels for the initial trip, and rented a car for our Southwest swing.

It turned out to be a good trip. I think our enthusiasm was slightly tempered by the uncertainty that permeated over the country. Still, we found that the Southwest has many attractions that are worth visiting, and a few that one could avoid. The main thing ...