Meet up with my sister in Washington D.C.

At night I sneak out because I do not want to wake up Cris. It is amazing that the subway is also going at night. Regardless the time I really want to go to Washington and meet my little sister. My plan is to wait in a McDonald which is close to the Bus station but unfortunately it opens not before 5:30 and my bus goes at 5 am. Therefore I continue walking to the bus stop and sit on an old cold metal chair. I have luck that it is not raining but it is still cold. After 1 hour the bus arrives and I sleep the complete drive until Washington which is a little bit a shame because I cannot see the landscape.

I hope I missed nothing but now it is time to look forward to meet my sister. Instead of waiting at the bus stop she is at another place. After one hour searching her, we find each other. I would have never thought that my younger sister and I are meeting in a city abroad. We start our sight-seeing trip beginning with the capitol, followed by the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, White House and Chinatown. In the Pentagon mall next to the Pentagon we eat lunch and finished our sight-seeing trip in Georgetown. Washington is clean and it seems smaller than New York because the highest building must be the capitol. Instead of a wide range of different cultures you see more tourists and people with a suit who probably work for the government. However I enjoy that Washington is more quiet than New York. But when you are walking through the streets you can feel the silent power of the city which can have influence millions of people.

Today the sky is completely blue. Normally at this time of the year I would wear a thick jacket but not in Washington in these days. I m a little bit nervous to meet the family Viola is living and working with. In fact I have no reason for that because the family is great. The children are bright and love soccer. The parents are really hospitable and kind. After playing soccer with the children in the garden, we eat dinner at a Greek restaurant. In the following days I lived an American life. For example we drove everywhere with the car because of the lack of public transportation or I dried my clothes in a dryer instead of hanging out the laundry. I ate Donuts and a lot of other Fast Food. Undoubtedly it is the cheapest way to eat here. I go shopping with my sister and we visit the Air&Space museum which presents old air planes and a lot of things about the outer space. The best is almost all museums in Washington are free.

Another highlight is a soccer game of one of the children. My impression is that sport is really important here and I m excited how it is working here. I m impressed by the coach who is really ambitious and motivates the player in a positive way. The last day I relax and prepare my next steps. On the one hand it is sad that I leave this family but on the other hand it is time to come back on the road.
I m looking forward to San Francisco and the new adventures which expect me there. I still do not have an idea how to travel in California. Hence it will be really interesting.

Why I like San Francisco

Lombard Street

Some of you know that I m not sure how to continue from San Francisco. Thus the first thing I do in San Francisco is to look for travel mates to travel south or through National Parks like the Yosemite. I hang up notes in many hostels in San Francisco while walking from tourist attraction to attraction. In one of the hostels I find a note of another German person. And so I emailed her. I do not know at this moment that I will spend only one day in San Francisco because the next day I will travel with her and a French girl south along the coast. However I m disappointed that I cannot see the Yosemite that I can stay only one day in San Francisco. I think deep in my inside I had hoped to find a person who wants to go climbing in the Yosemite but anyway I m happy to find that possibility especially because it is low season and the chance to find travel mates is low. But back to San Francisco on the one hand I really like the fancy houses, attractions like the Golden Gate Bridge, the street art and the atmosphere of the Haight Street. On the other hand I m negative surprised the Fisherman’S Wharf is nothing special and there are many homeless people on the street although it is cold in this town. My favourite place is so far the beach close to the Golden Gate park. I really enjoy the atmosphere like the skateboarders and open minded people who helps you whenever you ask them.

How to travel from San Fran to Los Angelos

At the next day I meet Martina (German girl) and Marie (French girl) at the airport. I have no idea what expects me and what the plan is but hey it is an adventure. The girls have already met each other. I m glad that I can join them spontaneously. Marie has already booked a car and has a plan what she wants to do but in the following she shows hardy existing driving skills which is sometimes really exhausting. Due to the navigation system we drive to the next beach and have our first team meeting. The west coast is astonishing with regard to the houses which are built directly into the hang or the sand dunes with the blue sea. This is mixed with a small portion of fog and you have the atmosphere of the west coast. We follow the scenic road along the coast. The west coast surprises us with sea lions, castles, cold water and beautiful national parks like Big Sur. Sometimes we stop for making pictures, a coffee or a cigarette. Marie is a French girl who works as a painter for exhibitions or movies and Martina is a chef for fine dining in the alps. Nevertheless our food mainly consists of toast with peanut butter and hummus. The sunset at west coast is must see. It is beautiful how the sun is going down into the sea. We sleep on a campground next to the sea. Luckily an old German couple let stay us on their place for free because the campground is full. The next day we have even more luck. I ask in Santa Barbara a group of people playing Frisbee. They offer me to sleep on their ground. Excited we drive to the place and ….

My Hut

Garage

Everyone needs a garage to be creative was one of the lections of Jeff. Personally I think it is a large playground. There are beautiful designed houses or rather huts all over the place. They are artists. We drink beer together in there bar and eat dinner together. In the background lay the silent mountains. We enjoy our diner together with the wine and listen to the stories from Jeff or Thomas who works in the non-profit organization industry. I can sleep in one of the huts instead of sleeping in the car. The next morning before leaving we explore the huge area. Then we visit Jeff the architect in his office. Marie uses the time efficiently but Martina and I wants to leave. We stop on the way at Malibu beach. Then we get stacked in the traffic of Los Angelos. Marie drops her luggage at her cousin’s place before she wants to drop us at our hostel. But well…rush hour is too heavy and she is afraid that she brings the car too late back therefore she drop us at the car rental company at 5 pm regardless that we have a lot of luggage. We have no idea how to come from the airport to Hollywood or if the hostel we want to go has space for us. Undoubtedly the public transportation in Los Angelos is one of the worst I have ever seen in the world. We arrived at Hollywood at 8:30 pm. The wanted hostel is too expensive and so we walk back the walk of fame to a really shaby one which costs still 40$ per night. After seeing the walk of fame the next day (please do not expect too much from this walk with many homeless people on it) we are heading to Venice beach. Another two hours and three buses later we are at Venice beach which seems the place to be. You can smell the Californian life style. Many surfers and skaters are at the beach and from the window of our hostel we have an incredible view at the sea. People are exercising (i.e. swinging rings, slacklining) at the beach, I join them but I can feel how untrained I am especially in compare to them. I enjoy the beach, the Santa Monica Pier (it is the famous pier including a fun park) and the street art. I meet cool people in the hostel and we cook together. The next day Martina and I rent a camper van and drive towards Las Vegas. The other option is see nothing, save money and go to Mexico.

Let the camper life begin

Camper Van

Finally I m really happy that we rent the camper because everything is in it, a bed, a gas stove and we buy a lot of food. The people who know me know that the last point is really important for me. We make a short stop close to the Hollywood sign with a beautiful view over Los Angelos (Glendale parc), see the Paramount Studios and heading then towards the desert.
Although the strip is only one road Las Vegas is huge. But it is hard to describe therefore I will show you more pictures. Las Vegas are big casinos, hotels, crazy people, art and a lot more. However it is expensive to have fun there. We get lost in an casino and have to walk 20 minutes to go back all around the casino.

How to run through the Grand Canyon

The next day we arrive at the Grand Canyon and I m surprised because it is surrounded by a forest which is the environment for mountain lions, coyotes and wolfs. I expected that it is too dry but we are on 2000 m over the sea level which I only can guess is the reason for more rain and colder temperatures. The Grand canyon consists of many smaller canyons. The Colorado divides the Grand Canyon in a North and a South Rim. It is huge. The difference between highest and lowest point is over 2000 m and in summer it can have 41° degree inside the Canyon. After a short information trip in the visitor center I decide that I want to run down and up at the same day which are at least 26 km. Martina and an old wise native American have their doubts but I think I know what I can do. The Native American is very kind and borrow me a head lamp just in case that something happens. I pack my backpack, plan where I can get water and which way I want to run. The next day morning is really cold and thus I sleep one hour longer before I make myself ready for the adventure. We leave the wonderful camping place under pine trees and I enter the Canyon at 8:04 am. 3,2,1, go. The first kilometre I feel completely free, it goes down and it is the first time after almost one month that I run again. I pass a tourist group of mule riders and run again. It is more difficult than expected because of the stones which build a kind of stairs and additionally I can feel the altitude. Furthermore if I m honest I m not in the best shape but anyway I want to do it and I have the whole day, Martina wants to fetch me at 4pm. After 20 minutes I take of my jacket and beanie and continue running. Down Down steep down…so I reach the Indian Garden and eat breakfast: fresh water and a peanutbutter toast what else, we are in the states ;-). In the Indian Garden are trees, a small stream and many other plants. It is like a little oasis. I follow a stone path. Besides a little bit under the path a small stream flows quietly. The way is changing and it is exhausting to run in the sand. It is amazing how quick the Grand Canyon is changing. Almost after every corner it looks different. I overtake a few hikers and accelerate a little bit. One runner comes up the way (he is the only one I see at this day). I cross some smaller streams and suddenly after the next corner I can see the Colorado river. I enjoy that I arrive so fast at my target. I cool down my body(only legs) at the Colorado river which is in average 8° degrees the whole year. At this moment I know that someday in future I want to make a boat trip on the Colorado river best with a kayak. I meet an American who works for BASF and recommend to go to the Phantom Ranch which is another 5 km away. It is early 9:45 am so I decide to do it even if it means that I have to run in total 36 km today. In opposite to my expectation the way is not flat and it is very sandy. However I m fast and I reach the famous hang bridge over the Colorado. At the Phantom Ranch I think about running up a different way because I can feel my muscles are a little bit tired. Taking everything in consideration like no water a steeper way and only rocks I decide to run the Bright Angel way also up. On the way back I can feel how my muscles do not want to work anymore. They want to have gels and minerals and not only water. Hence I start walking fast and only run if it is almost flat and not sandy. When I cross a river I put my scarf into the cold water to protect myself against the sun and cooling my body. I arrive at the Indian Garden at 11:30 am and start eating and drinking. I have a lot of time until 4 pm but I become ambitious. Thus I want to be up at 2 pm. I sleep shortly and drink a little bit more before I leave the Indian Garden at noon. At the beginning it is flat but the more I walk the steeper it goes. I know what expects me. I am no thirsty in particularly I do not want to drink water and my body is screaming for gels and isodrinks now which I can not offer. Thus it must go without because give up is no option no never. I concentrate on the different layers of the Canyon which have different red colours and remember me what I have done in the past like the “Sausteig” at the Königssee or the Ultratrail (100km, 5400 hm). I continue and reach the first resthouse and after a while also the second but I m really tired now. I freezing now and wear a jacket because mostly I walk in the shadow. I concentrate only on myself. I can feel the altitude again and take some sugar and electrolytes which are almost my last option. Now I only walk slowly, I still overtake people but running or fast is completely different. Finally I reach a natural stone gate and leave the Grand Canyon. Happy but really tired I bring my head light back to Glen, the wise old Native American. I enjoy the sun, fill up my water bottle. We talk about life as a Native American today and in the past which is very interesting. After a hour he has to work again and we want to meet for sunset. After sleeping an hour my lift is coming….
Here some impressions:

How I almost get arrested in Los Angelos

After nine days in the desert we are back in the civilization. First we drive to the Beach in Laguna Beach. Now we know where the rich people of LA live. It has beautiful beaches and the houses in Kronberg are small in compare to this one and I ask myself what are these mass of people working. After cooking at the beach we enjoy one night as close as possible to these people but we are still on the street. Anyway it does not matter because we are in our camper van. After spending a whole day at the beach we are heading to the Griffith Parc again to see Los Angelos at night and discover the interesting observatory there which is one of my favourite places in Los Angelos. However I still do not like the city which is horrible if you do not have a car or if you go from one place to another it can take you hours. On the way back to the rental company we stop in a normal area and decide to cook and sleep there because the traffic is still bad in the late evening.

The next morning when eat breakfast an old woman who looks for me similar to fat mama from the movie. She asks us if we are homeless and what we are doing here. We explain her our story that we are just on the way to the car rental company and that we take all rubbish with us when three police cars drive towards us with high speed and police officers come out of the cars with batons. We are a little bit shocked. I see myself handcuffed but we stay quiet and explain one of the police man our situation. Quickly we can convince him that we are not dangerous or rather uncooperative. Hence we can go or we should go quickly. Unfortunately he has noted our names before.
Four rules to handle with the police in the States:
#Rule1: Be Honest
#Rule2: Do not panic
#Rule3: Be friendly
#Rule4: Be helpful and open to the police

At the escape van rental company we drop the van and get some information how to get to the bus stop to catch the bus to San Diego. Undoubtedly it is an eventful morning because we miss one bus and thus we have to wait two hours which mean we would miss our bus to San Diego. Therefor we try hitch hiking which is semi successful, maybe also because of the area. (It looks not so safe) Then I go on a parking lot and ask people. One black woman called Lynn try to help me and figure out which bus I can take instead. It is not easy because public transportation in Los Angelos is maybe one of the worst in the world and our bus stop is almost 60 km away. She offers to give us a lift to the next bus stop which we gladly accept. By the way she has to go in the opposite direction and she called her husband to find out which bus is the right one. As if that were not enough she do not drop us at the bus station because she think the area is not safe therefore she drives us all the way to the Union Station in Los Angelos which is at least 40 kilometres away. I m speechless. This is one of the examples I experience during travelling which return my faith into the human kind. Thanks that such people still exists. In San Diego in the hostel Azis a young Arabian guy invites me for dinner. What an eventful and great day. I m grateful and happy to travel and meet those people.

The person in this picure gives me also a lift in a huge outlet store. Unfortunately I cannot provide more pictures to this short part of my journey.