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We drove back into America and stopped with our friends Beth and Bill in Phoenix for four nights. As always we had great fun there and Beth was doing a short triathlon that weekend. We went down to register with her and try out some of the free samples on offer.
The same day as Beth's triathlon their two twins, Liam and Anya, were taking part in a kids adventure day. We couldn't go to both so Beth lost out and we went to watch the kids. What a hoot! There was a run, a bike ride and swim plus various puzzles and an obstacle course including one through mud!
Adventure Day in Chandler (Phoenix).
Liam and his friend won the race and Anya and her friend decided to have fun rather than try to win. Well, we all had great fun and Beth joined us not long after the event had started. We all laughed a lot and Beth and Kirsten even tried out the log rolling.
Kirsten und Beth on a roll.
On our way out of Phoenix we spent a few hours trying to help a friend in South America who needed a replacement vehicle window shipping down there. But the cost of the shipping was phenomenal and in the end all our packing etc was for nothing and the idea was abandoned.
Our next stop was in Escondido where we stayed for a weekend with Leslie and Rod. Leslie was on our South America trip in 2002 on a parallel truck and we were on the same boat in the Galapagos Islands. The last time we had seen them was six years ago when their son, Zach was still a baby. Now they also have a five year old daughter, Charlotte.
The children are really sweet and we played cricket and football with them and also got to play on their Wii - ten pin bowling and golf. But the best was the dancing where you get points for doing exactly what is on the screen. It's aerobics for points! A great way to do indoor sports. Needless to say the kids still had oodles of energy left and we were exhausted!!
Playing on the Wii.
They have a very big house and when we showed the kids our little home, Charlotte said "weird!" Maybe travelling around in a motor home is not going to be in her future! We also helped out with some of the cleaning as Rod's family were coming around for a brunch. Helen couldn't get the hang of the "toilet wand" - see video!
Helen and the toilet wand.
It was great to see them again and to get another chance to enjoy Leslie's cooking - she's English so Helen was in heaven!
Driving north through LA was a bit of a nightmare because it was 40 degrees and with the windows open on the freeway the noise is incredibly loud. The coast was a lot cooler - a drop of 18 degrees! We stopped for fish and chips and went to see the elephant seals at San Simeon.
Elephant seals at San Simeon.
We managed to find a spot off the coastal highway to park for 2 nights and went for a hike up to viewpoits of the coast and then back down to see a pair of mating snakes! Kirsten had to dash back to get her camera as it's not very often you get to see this.
Mating snakes.
We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge with superb views. The weather was really good so we parked up and went for a hike up to a viewpoint. The last time we were here it was so foggy we couldn't see a thing!
We stayed with our friends Bob and Suzanne in the Napa Valley for five nights and were treated to more good food. We haven't seen them for a number of years so we had a lot of catching up to do. We also had the opportunity to get a free tour at Sterling Vineyards as Suzanne's son in law works there.
Sterling Vineyard.
From Calistoga we went straight back to the coast and had a quick look at Bowling Ball Beach near Point Arena and Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. This used to be an old dump site for garbage - the town just threw the stuff over the cliffs into the ocean. Thank God, this practice stopped in the 60ies. Over time the power of the waves crashed the glass bottles and turned the pieces into smooth round glass pebbles. It became a tourist attraction and was named Glass Beach. The glass used to be more than a few feet thick, but although not allowed, a lot of people collected the glass and took it home. When we were there only a few pieces were seen here and there. Quiet disappointing!
Bowling Ball Beach - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
In Eureka we stopped for two nights at the Bear River Casino to watch the Championsleague final Bayern Munich versus Dortmund live on the TV in the hotel lobby. Two German teams for the first time ever in this final with Bayern being the lucky winner.
A few days ago Winnie's cooling system started to gurgle. We didn't loose much coolant but had to fill the radiator every morning. We didn't see an obvious leak and the engine wasn't overheating. So what was the problem? Our overflow bottle seem to get a little fuller and so we decided to buy a new radiator cap in case the old one was clocked up with dirt and the pressure wasn't kept up.
While sorting this out in downtown Eureka some funny pedal-powered vehicles passed us and stopped at a car park nearby. It turned out to be the Kinetic Grand Championship race. It runs every Memorial Weekend, starting in Arcata and ending on Main Street in Ferndale three days and 42 miles later. Forty to fifty entries are typical, with anywhere from one to ten people on each contraption. They ride the self-built pedal-powered sculptures over land, sand, mud and open water, while wearing Silly Costumes and singing Silly Songs.
We continued along the coast and went to see the giant redwoods trees again. We have been to Redwood National Park before in 2005, so we only stopped for really short walks here and there.
Large trees at Redwoods National Park.
