Blogs from North America - page 8004

For those looking for the english version: Just scroll down a little. Nach San Francisco war der Yosemite NP eine richtige Wohltat. Es hat zwar auch hier eine Menge Leute, aber viel mehr Natur, und was fuer eine! Ich machte ein paar nette Bekanntschaften. Die Wanderung auf den Half Dome war das Highlight. Auch wenn die Wanderung nicht ganz ohne ist (10h, ca. 27km horizontal und knapp 1500m Höhendifferenz) und gerade 2 Tage vor meinem Trip jemand tödlich verunglückt ist, hat es viele Leute welche sich auch ans letzte Stück, die Cables wagen. Das sind 2 Stahlseile welche über die letzten ca. 100 m auf der steilen Granitplatte den einzigen Halt bieten. Und wenn Stau ist und man überholen will, wechselt man halt nach aussen und hat nur noch ein Seil um sich daran zu halten. ... read more

Hello all and apologies for the delay on what’s to be my final destination…New York! Sitting in Dublin airport having said my goodbyes to Susan felt strange. For this entire trip we had been joined at the hip. I don’t know how people travel the world alone, that would scare the bejesus out of me! But I could definitely handle my final flight to New York alone, being that I had done that trip what feels like a million times! I had lived in the city for almost 4 years having moved there shortly after 9/11 and after making the move back to Belfast (please tell me what was I thinking??? ok, yes, the visa was up!) this was my first time back to NYC to visit old friends and catch up with some of my ... read more

Currently my ship is off the coast of Costa Rica. We left Mexico on Sunday night, and are now on our way to Panama. My last 2 days in Acapulco were not as busy as my first two, but they were still amazing. On Saturday a group of friends and I headed downtown to the bungee tower. I jumped as well as two others. The tower is awesome for two reasons. First it is right on the beach; the view is gorgeous. Second, it is over a pool, so when you jump you actually can get dunked. It was so much fun! Don’t worry Mom, Dad, I got the DVD of it! After the bungee jumping we decided to walk back to the ship via beach. And it would have been a lovely walk except ... read more

Rene and I have had a fantastic time in Canada but it was time for us to go back home. We really didn't want to leave the comfort and hospitality of my kind relatives. It was great to have reunited, to have met my cousins, and to have spent quality time them. Unlike the experience we had with Canadian customs when we entered their country, the U.S. border was a much different experience. When we entered Canada, a couple of questions were asked and off we crossed(no standing in line, 2 minutes, tops), entering the U.S. however, long pedestrian line, questions, and a little search through our panniers. I guess that's a good thing, or is it? Anyway, 'just an observation... We left Surrey at about 8:30 AM, when we decided it was time to ... read more

We were back on the road and put in a good day's drive through Northern Arizona (this may qualify as the most beautiful state). I had to move to back of the RV and take pretty deep breaths as Mark drove through what he called steep and unrelating mountainous desert roads. Page Arizona (near Lake Powell) is a town that seems to pop up out of nowhere. It's the last Arizona stop before Utah and about 2 hours from our next destination -- Bryce Canyon. We stopped for a great Mexican Lupper (as Elliot named our occassional combination of lunch and dinner) here and to give Millie a break. Just when we were feeling hopeful that the problems were behind us, Millie had some trouble which might be the alternator. She's running but cutting out so ... read more