Blogs from Santa Rosa, California, United States, North America - page 4

YES, it is true. I will only be in my home town for two days. Seriously, this is all happening so terribly fast, but I found a flight I couldn't resist and it was to get me out of SEA quickly....very quickly...too quickly? I flew to Malyasia yesterday from Indonesia, took a bus to Singapore this morning, I take a flight from Singapore to SF tomorrow (MY Thursday the 6th), arriving in SF Thursday local time in the early evening. I then stay with my folks until Saturday night when I have to head back to SF and take a really early Sunday morning flight to Lima, Peru via El Salvador! Then it's on a bus to Pisco, to volunteer with Hands On Disaster Response...is this dedication....or just plain craziness?????? That's 7 countries in less 6 ... read more

The packing has begun in earnest. Every time I move I eventually come across that box sitting in a dusty corner. The one with all the pictures and cards and letters and whatnot from the last decade or so. Somebody goes to the trouble of writing, and I can't just dump it. I'm an emotional pack-rat. So I toss it all into this box. And the only time I ever look at the contents of the box are when I have to move it to the next place of residence. Without fail, I end up spending the better part of the evening quasi-randomly browsing through its contents. This is utterly without practical purpose with respect to the move: I know from the start that the box will simply be brought to the next place and stuck ... read more

Reporting in from one of the most unique places I've ever been (OK weird, but I am setting a rule to be kind) - Solvang - just outside Santa Barbara. It's a town settled by Danish immigrants who did their best to replicate home style architecture. The shops range from Danish pattiseries, to shops selling danish artefacts - everything is red and white, blue and white and staff dressed in Danish national costume. Clearly strict planning laws have kept this town along a road to... well I'm not sure where. So from the start. Flight good - full - no sleep despite sleeping tablet - lotsa films and food. Compliments Qantas. Arrived San Fran and travellled into downtown with fellow Aussie. Must be a good bloke as he lives in Hopetoun Rd, so we decided to ... read more

After a year of bureaucracy, the visa was approved, thus launching us toward our new lives. The plan is to start traveling in about two months, with much to do in the interim...jobs to quit, junk to sell, habits to break, much to leave behind. Moving sucks; moving internationally sucks on a whole new scale. The plan: Now: Packing July: Central America October: Start life in New Zealand ... read more

Hey friends, I am currently in Santa Rosa, CA staying with a friend of my Mom’s (and now mine!) and am getting ready to push on to Yosemite manana!!! After that it’s more friends in Walnut Creek (SF Bay Area), then PCH through Steinbeck Country, SB, LA, SD, PHX… Here is a brief update. Will give thorough update from SD sometime after 9/14. I have taken two GB of photos, and though I know every picture = 1000 words, I am not sure how many words are in a GB. 8/25-8/27 ~ Crater Lake NP, OR Here, I met some very cool people doing something amazing. There is a hiking trail called the Pacific Crest Trail, and it runs from Mexico to Canada through CA, OR, WA. On late summer evenings and mornings in Mazama village, ... read more