October 22, 2009

the grand sequoias

we are back into civilization...
sequoia national park was wonderful. i felt like walking among angels being set in place by our God a couple thousand years ago. it is a magical place and i would want to go back just me and the stillness of those giants.

there are new pics on flickr
not much more. as for now we are heading to monterey aquarium and down the pacific coast, as well as trying to sell our shasta... (anyone planning a trip out west? this would definitely be a cheap way to travel..)

October 17, 2009

Joshua Tree

It was really nice to be "out there" again after the buzz of Southern California. We must have spent three days clamboring over the otherworldly shaped rocks at Joshua Tree NP. We enjoyed seeing the stars again, even through the 40cm telescope that one of our camp neighbors set up. The desert even treated us to an encounter with a tarantula and a rattlesnake.

Then it was back to LA, because we had promised our guest Franziska a few days of seeing the stars of the Hollywood/Beverly Hills kind. Of course it didn't pan out that easily, but Amos was excited to discover Dr. Seuss' star on the Walk of Fame. Took a tour of the Paramount Studios and immersed ourselves in the crazy scene that is the Venice Boardwalk. Elias, having decided to become a surfer changed his mind upon seeing the skating park there.

Today, we're dropping off Franziska at LAX. She acquired a healthy tan that will remind her of her last summer days of 2009 in the 35F/3C weather of Switzerland. In just three weeks, we will follow her on the same flight. Until then, we have to part with Shasta (aka. "the Shaz"), our hardy home-on-wheels. Anyone interested? A lot of folks seem to live in these things parked at the State Beaches.

(pics to follow)

October 9, 2009

heading for joshua tree

shasta is fixed and we are heading toward joshua tree national park...

October 7, 2009

the pacific!

after a night at "camp switzerland" in the san bernadino mountains, we made it all the way across the nation and arrived at the coast of the pacific!
it was wonderful and very special to see the sandy shores of california, south of los angeles. our first night was at doheny state beach, a wonderful little spot, where wave riding is as big as as it's white crested waves.
it didn't take us long until we owned a boogy board. since then it has been used a lot already. the water is much saltier here as i remember it being in boston. and it is also much warmer, this is good news for me, as swimming in the atlantic in new england was not my thing.
we also picked up franziska, and we enjoy her presence. it has gotten a bit more crowded in our house, but the weather has been great, so the house is really just needed for sleeping.
last sunday night i went for a walk at the beach at san elijo and met an other mom. we both had our babe's bundled up on our backs and realized quickly, that they were just one day apart.one more thing became quickly obvious, we both were home schooling our kids at some point...
they were planning to go to legoland on monday, as home schoolers got a special deal. although we realized, that would we would have had to sign up, we were able to hop along with two families and were able to get in for about a third of the regular prize.(which we would not have payed and skipped that fun). thank you s for the moment's together.
so today we have been stranded in san diego. shasta needed some love a knowledgeable hand of a mechanic...
we will be at the san diego zoo tomorrow...

uups

yes and uups, shasta is not fixed yet...
we are kamping in a kabin for one night... that's what the koa people call a little cottage on the camp ground. wow this is huge, we all enjoy a regular size bed! three rooms this is luxurious. joel and franziska are right now shopping for breakfast and diapers (a big shopping was planned for this afternoon, which did not happen). we still plan to go to the zoo, but with the bus. and hopefully by tomorrow night we have the house back.