Blogs from North America - page 8093

We crossed the Astoria/Megler Bridge spanning the great Columbia River and into a really good Sunday Market, lots of pleasant interesting people and goodies. We loved the old derelict timber pilings. The timbered Riverwalk with tracks in the middle for a 1913 self-powered tram that runs in season. The Astoria Column on the hill behind the city is covered in a mural depicting 14 scenes of important events in the history of the city. The 164 circular steps to the top of the 42 metre column are worth climbing. There’s a viewing platform offering great views of the Columbia River, the Astoria/Megler Bridge, the Pacific Ocean, Washington State to the north and Oregon to the south. We also visited the Columbia Lightship and Maritime Museum. We’d intended to visit Fort Clatsop but ran out of time. ... read more

Los Angeles Arriving in LA I was glad to finally feel the warm after the chill of San Fran, finally it was shorts, t-shirt and thong (flip flops for all you non-aussies out there) weather! I was staying in a hostel in the Santa Monica area for the first couple of nights before moving in with my cousin, Anita, her postcode is 90210, now that's cool. We met up that first night and she took me to a couple of very swanky and very expensive places for a few drinks with some of her friends, a few drinks soon turned into many drinks and it was a memorable first night. Over the next few days I visited the Venice Beach area, home to lots of wild, wacky and wonderful characters, or many not. It wasn't particularly ... read more

"WALTZING MATILDA" TRIP STATISTICS • Spent 300 days on the road. • Visited 41 states, 5 provinces. • Spanned 20 degrees of latitude and 62 degrees of longitude. • Put 26,225 miles on the odometer. (Link to Wayfarer route map with cities and states identified.) OUR VEHICLE • Gas mileage: appr. 20 mpg. • Estimated gallons of gas: 1,300—a 747 could fly only about 25 minutes on this much gas! • Estimated amount spent on gas (average $3/gal., which included higher Canadian prices): $3,900. • Number of oil changes: 8. • Number of mechanic shops Matilda visited: 5 (in Blaine, Wash., Vancouver, B.C., Kansas City, Mo., Louisville, Ky., & Levis, Qc.). • Parts that failed: - Starter (twice), - Engine water pump, - Fresh water tank pump. - Also, coolant expansion ... read more

Welcome to Riverside, America!Welcome to Riverside, America! I am here sitting in my apartment, frustrated with clogged ears full of water, and studying with minimal effort for finals on Monday. I feel like someone is pushing hot peanut butter into my head with q-tips. But, really it's just pool water and mounds of ear wax. You don't want to hear this crap, you say? Okay, player, make yourself useful and give me some tips for getting ready for my trip to Copenhagen, where I'll be studying abroad for 2 months, aight? After my two month stay, I'll also be hitting up several countries around Europe for two weeks by rail. Any ideas would be most appreciated. I hope my finals go well, and that my graduation on Saturday will be ultra-hot, so all who attend can ... read more

We have been over a week in Mexico already and the end of our trip is near! We first spent a few days in Palenque as Em couldn´t cross through Belize without a Visa. Not always good to have an Austrian passport! Anyway, we visited the ruins in Palenque but we decided not to bore you with more pics of Maya ruins. However, we saw this fantastic green snake when we were going from ruin to ruin. FRom Palenque we went straight to Tulum on the sea and we have been here since. It is very nice and laid back - we stay in a small hut on the beach and there is little infrastructure. This means that we do a lot of BBQ´s and shopping in the town. As it is low season the ... read more