San Fran Sis Co

Well, we made it to the Pacific proper. Kimberly got her first sight as we drove up the SF peninsula and saw the Bay. 3 Oceans, check! We made a beeline to a childhood friend of Kim’s, Dan, who recently moved out to San Fran and who agreed to accommodate us for an evening. After a hair raising parking experience that involved a 45deg angle, a curve on which 2 of the car’s wheels became airborne, some serious brake groaning and an expression of horror in the making on Kim’s face, we arrived at his nice but scarcely filled apartment. We didn’t stay long as he had to get off to do some work (at 7pm, as you do in social IT), so Kim and I drove (after a similarly interesting de-parking process) to the nearby Twin Peaks viewpoint. We got up there, found a (flat) parking space just in time for sunset and the achievement of the world windspeed record. It was a stunning view. I was at this point 6 months before with Filipe, but then the more conventional San Fran fog obscured everything. It was a lovely sight.

We returned to the flat, parked (!) and with Dan went off on the DART to a reputed Sushi place that Dan advocated. It was great! Ate loads. The bill came to about 3 days’ budget, but it was worth it nonetheless. We went back, planned to have a bunch of drinks but instead fell into a food coma for 9 hours. Wild night.

The next day we identified the waterfront as a serious tourist trap so felt obliged to go there. The fun started almost immediately: when quietly in line for something in a Walgreens, a huge, disheveled ginger guy with a dirty face and bandaged fingers turned to us and accused us of racism. Apparently, he felt compelled to tell us somewhat astonished visitors that discrimination against ginger people is not tolerated in San Fran. We are still uncertain which of our silent remarks or invisible gestures invoked this response, but after this angry man’s tirade, we will be sure to continue not insulting gingers. Especially in SF’s Walgreens. I now associate that downtown area with New Years’ fireworks and crazy people (not at the same time, fortunately).

We continued along the Embarcadero, climbing under things, admiring other things, and thing like that. A highlight was a clam chowder on Fisherman’s Wharf that was served in a bowl made of bread. Genius! Why can’t we get food served in other food more often? We went to the old-skool game machine museum (basically, an arcade from the 1890s) and discovered that Kim is Hot Stuff. Then we went on a WWII submarine that happens to be outside. Subs are fun to go in and be amazed at how many men fit into such a small space in an era that didn’t encourage gay orgies. One of the great things about submarines is that they’re waterproof, so we were blissfully ignorant of the rain that had started falling. Until we went outside. We briskly walked to a tram halt, briefly stopping a Ghirardelli’s chocolate store to get some dangerously high concentration chocolates. Dan got the 100% cacao – something he’d bitterly regret (HAHAHAHAH!). The tram plan was good but it was the same plan that everyone else in SF had, so it was a long wait and a crowded ride. We did, however, talk to a very excitable bunch of ladies who showed – uncharacteristically – far more interest in Kimberly’s rear than Dan’s or mine. Fun people, them.

We got back to downtown where we met up with Shanelle, a Purdue friend of mine I’d not seen for months owing to her being in France for a semester. We went to go see a film – Pirate of the Caribbean – then got some late night food. We left Dan and went back to Shanelle place across the Bay.

And what a place! Woah, she lives in a mansion. Proper mansion – with columns and winding staircases and 4-car garage and rooms that have no practical purpose. We got an entire wing of the house to stay in, a definite step up from the “regular” couchsurfer beds that we’d experienced up to then! It was very luxurious. Between the three of us we helped make a (small) dent in the wine collection and slept.

The next morning we DARTed back to downtown to meet Dan for a bike ride. Of course, we waited until we were in the hilliest town in the US to do this. We got some dodgy-looking bikes, went through the city, checked out the bands in Golden Gate park, the Observatory, the Academy of Science (the outside of it at least), some Jack-in-the-Box food, and, of course, the Golden Gate bridge which we cycled across twice. Pretty impressive bit of building, that one. The best bit was taking those bikes down Lombard Street (the curly one!), and the expression on Kim’s face as she reluctantly did so..

We got back (late) to Shanelle’s and, not being in a rush to leave, were kindly invited to stay another night. The next day Shanelle and family were out so we took a day of from the holiday and loitered around. I did some work, Kim visited a local mall. We cooked using nothing but food packages that were already open, as all the stuff in the pantry was so prettily arranged we felt guilty about moving any of it. We went outside to eat and, much to our surprise, all the cooking utensils and pots had vanished when we came back in. Turns out they have a very discreet but effective cleaning staffer. That night we went to a Cheesecake Factory and had no cheesecake, but other, better things to eat, courtesy of Shanelle’s generous father.

We left the next morning, drove across the bay, went to the Exploratorium (a science and perception museum), cross the Golden Gate bridge and drove North to a town called Sevastopol. On the way we stopped at an In-And-Out Burger joint so I could order – and successfully eat – a 7x7. Finally, we arrived at a modern hippie commune where we stayed the night in a acupuncturist's “office”. Fun times.

Is this the way to San Jose?

Turns out, yes. Because that’s where we went next. We wanted to go see a friend of Alexander’s, Isaac, a fellow spaceship-builder. Well, actual spaceship builder; Alexander is an aspiring spaceship-builder.

Due to a timing miscommunication, we didn’t get to spent so much time with Isaac as he had to revise for a flight (eh? how do you revise for a flight?). But we were very well welcomed by him and his family. Kimberly finally got the female interaction she desired, and although Alexander was quite bewildered with the petty girl drama (as he has supposedly never been a girl), Kimberly was all ears as she talked with Isaac’s daughters and wife.

After sharing a bottle of delicious chocolate wine (umm, HELLO best combination of my life!!!), we bid farewell to Isaac and headed to an incredibly soft, comfortable bed, that SOOOO BEAT the floor in Many Farms. Upon awakening, we realized we slept far too long (again), and missed saying goodbye to Isaac and his daughters. BUT we got to do laundry, so we, although somewhat sad we missed the rest of the family, were incredibly giddy at the fact that we would soon have clean underwear.

We left the beautiful Detrinidad household only to realize that there were awesome things to do in San Jose, and we wanted to do them all. We ended up heading to Apple headquarters, and were very excited until we realized that they don’t give tours…so no, we did not get to steal any information on the iPhone 5. Alexander attempted to take a picture inside the facility but that action was quickly kaboshed by Apple’s brutal-but well dressed-security staff. Kimberly took a far more sensible approach to exploring the facility; by playing up her feminine charms and her tiny bladder, she finagled her way farther into the facility in search of a bathroom :)

Next was the San Jose Community Rose Garden, a glorious display of community wealth and pretty flowers. Kimberly probably would have been content to stare/sniff all day, but we had places to be…namely, the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose. We arrived 20 minutes before closing time, and the adorably cute guard (Kimberly’s opinion, not Alexander’s) let us in for free! There is nothing better than the word “free” to 2 frugal road trippers. We quickly explored the museum, ran through the outdoor fountains, and got back to our car before the meter expired…the first time we’ve ever been early for anything!!

Yo-See-Might

Spoiler: Woah.

We drove out of Groveland towards the famous Yosemite National Park. It was a long way in to the valley, but when we got there wow. The weather gave us a break: bright blue skies and warm weather. We started photographing as soon as we got a glimpse and didn’t stop until we left a few hours later. You can’t go a hundred metres there without bumping into something stunning.

One of the first things was the Bridal Veil waterfall. We pissed off a ranger, parked and hiked among billions* of kids the short distance to the damp** base of the falls. I feared for my phone’s life with all the mist and spray, so we didn’t loiter. About this time Kim talked to some girls in the ladies’ room line and heard some hearsay about bears and their taste for girls on their periods that would persist and grow as we ventured deeper into bear “infested” terrain.

We got back in the car, photographed some more stuff, admired lakes, rivers and bridges over them. We parked, wandered over the visitor center and did the short hike to the famous Yosemite Falls. All stunning. We didn’t hike to the top due to footware issues – a reason to someday return. We frolicked in a field that, in retrospect was probably a protected wilderness area given the funny looks we got from bystanders.

If I were to go live on the land somewhere, I would go to this valley. Abundant life, and amazing backdrop and plenty of tourists I could trap and hold ransom.

* Dozens. Maybe just one dozen.

** Damp. Also moist, humid, wet.

Pollen Count is “Moderate” and the Mrs-Karnatz-Concern-O-Meter is “Too pretty to be worried today”. Dead Animal Count was 0 – not paying attention to the road surface much. Alexander Driving Record for May 26th was “Not plunged off a cliff and therefore excellent”.

(Woolly?) Mammoth Lakes

After Vegas, we yearned for something a little more wholesome and natural. We set off early* and went North. After some fun (Alexander) and nauseating (Kim) roads over barrenish hills we entered California. A very different California to the one we all know and “love”: rural, untouched and quiet. Seems on the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, the landscape resembles neighbouring Nevada much more. We pulled over for lunch in a town called Williams that was really playing its Route 66 card hard. The town was small enough, but charming and bustling. Long before we arrived, we knew our destination via the prescience of the Google to be The Pizza Factory, where we got an awesome pizza made more awesome by anchovies. Kim currently disagrees on that last addition, but one day she will come around – perhaps about the same time she will start appreciating Marmite is my guess.

Our destination that day was the mountain resort of Mammoth Lakes. we had a number of Couchsurf offers in the area, but Dan clinched the deal by offering home-cooked Italian food prepared by his mum who was in town. Hard to pass that up. It was great. He’s got a sweet setup there as a manager of a residential complex – a cosy but geometrically interesting chalet, an attached pool and hot tub, beautiful surroundings and, of course, the aforementioned mum. A very comfortable evening we spent there, tapered, perhaps, by stories of what bears did to the last car parked in our spot. “Sardine Can” seems a suitable descriptor.

In the morning*, we started by going to some hidden local hot springs in the valley. Some industrious chaps had stuck a pipe into one of them and routed it into a rock bowl creating a hot tub continually fed with free hot water in the middle of no where in a valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The day was glorious and we just sat in it for an hour until someone else came along and wanted a go.

We wanted to head out to Yosemite, a mere 2 hours away on the other side of the mountain range, with a convenient road through the pass to take us right there. Unfortunately, this road was buried under metres of snow. Which in turn was buried under a foggy blizzard. The State of California kindly informed us that our handy road was closed and that the shortest detour was a convenient 8 hour trip to the North via Carson City. Which we did. Just was well; even the usually-easily-driven highway that was open was the toughest drive yet: snow on the ground, visibility limited to metres, widing roads, lunatic trucks and steep grades. Good place to learn to drive, I reckon; everything since has felt trivial. But we got through and entered a rolling hillscape reminiscent of the Cotswolds (with Americans and big cars instead of thatched cottages, of course). The sunset caught the landscape and lit it a rich golden colour, something it has done a few times out here…

* “Early” and “Morning” are heavily qualified for the duration of this voyage.

Vegas Baby!

We drove from the Grand Canyon directly down to Vegas. We weren’t planning on doing so – we were expecting to stop for the night in Kingman or somewhere south of Lake Mead, but everyone is lame there and didn’t give us free accommodation. Who do they think they are? Fortunately such stubbornness didn’t apply to Las Vegas, where a search of the “CouchSurf Emergency” lists yielded several replies in a very short time. We decided thus to push on to Vegas doubletime, stopping only to admire the Hoover Dam’s nocturnal majesty, confuse the security guarding it by repeatedly re-entering the security checkpoint. The view of Vegas coming over the hill was, erm, bright.

Our first night we spent in the sparkling mansion of globetrottering barman Brad. He and his roommate live in this huge new build that was scary empty. Emptier after we left, as we relieved him of some beers. Having worked in the Casinos, he gave us some pointers about how to get free booze that we would eagerly try but distinctly fail to apply.

The next morning we relocated to an even swisher accommodation, the Luxor (a.k.a. Pyramid-Shaped) hotel at the South end of the Strip. We wandered up the Strip a little way and marveled at this temple of visual stimulation. Huge hotels, bright colors, opulent interiors, expensive shops and cheap hookers (that last one is also fast – they can be at your hotel in 20 minutes or less. I’ll have to see if West Lafayette is in there delivery area. Kim just inexplicably punched me).

The hotel is pretty swish. You actually live in the walls. Not duh – the walls are slanted so your window and all the elevators are tilted at about 40 degrees inward. Reassuring to be sleeping above the huge interior void of the building where all the fun shit is. I always wondered how the Luxor was laid out, the reason I wanted to stay there in particular. Actually, that’s 50% of the reason I wanted to go to Vegas (the other 50% is due to stuff I couldn’t do last time I was here as a 11 year old).

So Couchsurfing has some perks. I mean, apart from the free accommodation, food, beer and guidance. One of the guys who replied to our plea couldn’t host us but offered to take us – and our first night’s host Brad – to a show, free. He met us in the Tropicana Hotel just before a showing of Recycled Percussion. He kindly got us all tickets (some sort of locals/insider deal he has going on). And then… left. He and his girlfriend came all the way to the strip to meet us -  a bunch of tardy strangers – just to get us in to a show he’d already seen for free. Good Couchsurf review for him! The show was pretty good, it was very similar in style to the Blue Man Group if you ever saw that (if you didn’t, it’s a blend of percussion, visual effects and environmental sustainability)

After that we jumped on an overpriced bus that slowly ambled – no, wait, “ambled” is too fast, maybe more “plodded” – its way to the top of the Strip.  And by “top” I mean also the “top” – at the Northern end is the Stratosphere Tower, the tallest building in town. They were charging something like $15 a head to go up to the top which we scoffed at. Instead, as the cheapskates we are, we opted to pay for overpriced beer – but a free elevator ride to the bar on the 107th floor. However, 107 stories up just wasn’t doing it for us; we decided to sneak, via the fire escape, up to the 108th, which was plenty high up. The views from the bar and the top – replete with occasional falling  person – were awesome. The beer wasn’t bad either

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur – or so Kim would like you to think. In fact, it involved a long and someone foot-paining walk back to the main Strip, a 56oz football (yes, a football. American-style) of strong booze, a losing rate of $20/minute on the blackjack tables (fortunately only played for 30 seconds) and, well, lots of walking among all the bright lights.

There were other things also, but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas (or can be leaked out of me if you buy me enough beers).

Sidenote from Kim-He’s got nothing to leak! NOTHING! From what I can remember, I was a perfectly decent young lady :)

Footnote to Sidenote from Alexander: Veeerrry decent young lady ;)

Vital Statistics: 3200mi on the odo, The Terror Alert Level is “Elevated” and Mrs-Karnatz-Concern-O-Meter is now set to “High” due to that last photo. Dead Animal Count was 2 for the 22nd May. Free Porn Offer Count caused an integer overflow. Driving Record for Kim on the 23rd was “Ok, but cursing at the phantom lanes in Vegas”.

Grand Canyon is Grand

Well, we just got out of the Grand Canyon. Very different from how I (Alexander) remember it, but apparently it hasn't changed much in those 14 years.

We hit up the South Rim yesterday midday, stuffed our packs dubiously, and set off, like all bold explorers, on a shuttle bus. We eventually started on foot from Hermit's Trail, and trekked a couple hours West along the Rim. We wanted to get to Pima point, but footware and dusk encouraged us to stop at an unnamed prominence that was both secluded and a brilliant viewpoint. We strung up the hammocks, decided that sleeping above a cliff was a bad idea, and relocated them. We watched the sunset over the Canyon, took suitably posed photos, and curled up to sleep. That last point was tricky due to the bitter cold combined with a lack of cold weather gear. I know I slept a bit because I was snoring. Kim knows she didn't because she heard me. But it was otherwise a very beautiful night, and dawn brought a beautiful sunrise. Also, more cold. We hiked back to civilisation drove off and are now in the a Route-66-obsessed town of Williams.

The forest fire risk is moderate but the Mrs-Karnatz-Concern-O-Meter is "Reserved Alarm". Dead animal count is plus one due to the discovery of a goat skeleton in the wilderness. Alexander Driving Record for May 22nd is "No damage incurred (yet)".

Arches National Park

We made it to Arches at 4 in the afternoon, which was about 8 hours later than hoped. Grand Junction was too nice to flee from too early, and there was a stunning canyon to drive down.

We went straight for the Delicate Arch trailhead. There were evil (and omnipresent) clouds in the not-so-distant distance, so we were anxious to get up and down fast. And we did! We got up to the Arch, appreciated all the views, took loads of photos and tried not to get blown off any of the sheer drops by the wind. It was great fun scrambling on all the rocks at the top. On the way out of the park, we saw, due to the sunset and a clearing in the clouds, some absolutely stunning views…

But we couldn’t loiter. We had to drive several hundred miles that evening to a town called Many Farms in the Navajo Indian Reservation. I counted no farms at all. It’s a sad sight to see, the reservation; so much squalor and poverty on land unfit for modern human habitation. Our host that evening, Kris, was enthusiastic and fun, but his apartment was lacking in the cleanliness and furniture department. He gave his room to another surfer couple, so he joined us sleeping in the living room. Very trusting and pleasant fellow though.

The Great Divide

So leaving Kansas was no great loss (except minus the $174.50 speeding ticket costs Kim has to pay), as we were very excited to get to some more exciting landscape. Enter eastern Colorado, Kansas’s landscape twin. Colorado didn’t start getting interesting until we randomly pulled over at a designated “point of interest”. After driving through dull Kansas for a day, a tree would have constituted a "point of interest". We figured, if anything, we could at least change drivers there. Little did we know how “interesting” this point of interest would be. We traveled down a gravel road as a sign appeared, advertising what seemed to be an “astounding tower” which you could” SEE SIX STATES!” from. As we drove up, Alexander grew more excited while Kimberly

became more anxious. The building was an oddly shaped, long building with walls that looked like waves in some places. We met the caretaker of the building, and we quickly walked past the two sunken cars (filled with broken bottles) and into a gift shop/history museum/potential episode of the television show Hoarders. The building itself was literally built of rocks from all 50 states, and every direction you looked there was stuff. All kindsa stuff. Every direction. Even up. As we adventured through the museum, we made our way to the tower, and began climbing, at some points, nearly vertically.

.The top was awesome! It was incredibly blustery, and we could not see 6 states, BUT we could see a lot of awesome flatlands for miles. Back on the road again, we communicated with our host for the night, the incredibly fabulous Paula, and she informed us we were in for some bad weather, and to watch out for tornados. UH OHZZZZ. We arrived in Denver in one piece (although Kim's hiking boots decided to ditch us in Kansas), and discovered that Paula lived in a fabulous 10^th floor condo with great views of the city. We spent the night conversing with Paula, who is quite the world traveler. After eating delicious split pea soup and corn bread, we chatted all night. She then showed us how her bookshelf turns into a secret passageway, and Kim fell in love! Kim and Paula went to yoga that morning in downtown Denver, while Alexander slept in (much more wisely –ed.). We spent the morning with Paula, eating breakfast, surfing couch surf, and helping her learn how to use her own cell phone. We left, ready to traverse through the Rocky Mountains, and…it started to drizzle L

But we were off anyway, heading UP UP UP into the mountains. Kimberly was practically glued to the windows. They were spectacular, despite the rain and fog. We stopped at Argo Tunnel, an old supply mine that serviced over 600 gold mines in the Rockies, took a sweet tour and panned for gold. At that point, it started to snow. We traveled along farther, stopping Georgetown for lunch to have some high quality buffalo meat for lunch. Yum J

We traveled along through the mountains, Kimberly gripping for dear life on the door handle while Alexander drove along smoothly. Alexander’s want to go up to the mountain tops along the Squall or Loveland passes were thwarted by the incessant snow and Kim’s fear of plummeting off a switchback. However, he was instead amused to find he could cost almost 18 miles in neutral, such are the Colorado highways. We then entered Glenwood Canyon, and it was amazing. It was very secluded and surprisingly fun! We followed the Colorado River along, through the canyon, and made our way to our next couch, in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Miriam and Alex greated us with smiles, beer, and pizza, and we quickly became attached. We spent the rest of the night talking, and said our farewells to Miriam, as she would be leaving early for her job. The next morning, we spent time with Alex, chatting it up about Arches National Park and eating his delicious wheat flour, wheat germ, and flax seed pancakes with honey and butter. Greatness for the tongue and the digestive system.

We made our way to Arches, and it was beautiful. We drove through some outstanding canyons with incredible views, and stopped and had a picnic on the Colorado river…delicious lunch with breathtaking scenery.

Our first casualty

...was Kim's sunglasses :( May they rest in peace on a backcountry road, after they flew off the top of the car (where I left them, unfortunately)!

Besides that, WE JUST SAW AN OIL FIELD IN CENTRAL KANSAS!  AND WINDMILLS! So much energy generation, I love it.

Do you like the smell of adventure?!

Of course you do :) At the end of day one, we discovered some very exciting things...one being that Alexander sometimes reverts to the habits of his countrymen and drives on the wrong side of the road! Besides that tiny scare, the drive across Missouri was pretty uneventful. We are now up to "2" on the "dead animal in the road" count, and the smallest city award goes to Dewitt, Missouri, population 120 :) After finding our way to Gates Barbecue outside of Kansas City, sufficiently stuffing ourselves with barbecue (and covering our faces with it!), we toured around a practically empty Kansas City, eventually finding a lookout over the airport. From there we found our way to Topeka, and spent the night with a lovely girl named Kirsten! Woohoo for a soft place to lay our tired bodies down for the night :)

Our blitzing start...

...was somewhat dampened by an unmarked police car. It started by trying to tempt us to speed by letting us pass. We did no such thing. Construction slowed us further. We're waiting until the Missouri state line in 40 miles where we assume we will lose him. Interestingly, we has two moving objects in his back seats; we have since ascertained these to be small people and almost certainly not dogs.

I'm ok with the slow drive. Kim set up an office in car for me. I have a table, power for my laptop and a drinks holder - everything I need to work on my thesis :)

Been on the road about 4 hours so far. We left in good time but a mis-turn took us to Bloomington IL, coincidentally the alma mater of Kim. So we stopped for lunch, I got the tour, we were interviewed for our opinions about tuition fee rises, which we both no longer had voracious opposition to...

Kim

Is in my computer!

Thursday, the end and the beginning of so many things :)

This Thursday marks the end of my student teaching. Sad, excited, heartbroken, hopeful...all words to describe my feelings as I prepare for my final day in the classroom. Sad as this Thursday is the end of a wonderful semester, but excited because I'm now embarking on new adventures.

I waited on bated breath all last semester and this one, clinging to the hope that I would win the opportunity to travel and work in India next year, and now that my hope is rapidly becoming my reality, it's all hitting me at once! With student teaching coming to a close, a road trip looming ever near, and India just around the corner, I've never been more excited for a future more uncertain.

Also, just as this Thursday is a monumental day for me, it is also an incredible day for Alexander, as he gets to present his research and thesis at a conference in California. Woo-hoo for Thursday :)