I’m back home. After 15 days of awesomness. Unforgettable stories. People. And last but not least: moments. Here are my Top 15 of the most memorable moments of my trip.
15. Wanted to meet my friend Mari for the Oakland Athletic game – my first baseball game ever. Arrived at the Coliseum. Sitting on my place. Perfect view. When my old nasty cellphone broke down. So I spent the next 1 ½ hours running through the ballpark asking people to make one call with their cellphone trying to guide Mari to gate 4. I honestly know the stadium better now than most of the season ticket owners attending the games over 20 years. (and now I know the owners too by the way) But we finally made it and had exciting last 4 innings to watch together.
14. Driving into the sunrise in Death Valley. No more words needed.
13. Someone broke the window of our caravan exactly the day when we wanted to leave San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. What now? We decided to fix it for our 5 hour drive with gaffer tape and a barely transparent foil. Not the best way to drive on a highway at night. But German workmanship did it. And it worked perfectly for the next two days until a lonely glasser fixed it on a parking spot on top of Emerald Bay. How the hell did he find us there?!
12. The first bartender that I spoke to after arriving in San Francisco came from... Guess? Yeah, Calgary. It’s a small world.
11. I was riding with a bus from Las Vegas to LA and I thought to get off at the last station. Bad decision. Cause I was in the middle of nowhere. Within a Spanish speaking crowd and a lot of tents of homeless people on the streets. With my two backpacks and no taxis around I just decided to walk towards the skyscrapers. After a tiring walk I entered a nice stylish bar ...just to order one Gin Tonic. I got into convesation with the guy next to me and accidentally he was a former soccer player for West Ham United and the FC Bruges! And even made one game for the US National soccer team as a goalkeeper. Not funny enough?.... his favourite team in Europe is the 1.FC Cologne – my team! And his wife who I was talking to as well was from Dallas and a huge Cowboys fan – my team! So they offered me to stay at their place for the next 4 days, what I had to decline cause I already had a couchsurfing appointment. But what a nice way to start in LA, isn’t it?
10. Marshmallows on a bonfire at Lake Tahoe. Just delicious.
9. Climbing down in the heavy rain from the Glacier Point in the Yosemite National Park. Watching a rock fall on the other side of the valley. Uncomfortable. Unsteady. Unforgettable. Great!
8. Walking at the Santa Monica Beach. 30°C. No clouds. Perfect little waves. And I had no bathing shorts with me. No towel. Nothing. So, I jumped in with my underwear. Walking the rest of the day freeball through Santa Monica and Hollywood. (not nude!!!) But where could you do that if not there.
7. When I was walking on the Walk of Fame I saw the Hollywood sign in the background on a hill. I though...let’s walk there, shouldn’t be too far. Not the best decision ever. One hour later I was completely lost in Hollywood Hills and I waited for the next car to ask for the way. Two guys from Moldova opened the window and said...we’re looking for the same spot, jump in. So we drove with loud techno music up to the Griffith Observatory with a perfect view over LA and the Hollywood sign as well. And fortunately they also took me back to the city shortly before a huge and heavy rain was setting in. Moldova rules!
6. Attending a Conan O’Brien show, asking myself the whole time if Americans are so much more funny than Germans. Had to laugh about myself posing this stupid question. So I ended up with the conclusion. They are funny. I am funny. And when the rest of the world decides to be funny as well, they are more than welcome.
5. The dress of all dresses. Met a girl in San Francisco who wore this one dress that took my breath away for a few seconds. Never seen a dress more sexy and stylish in my life. Maybe it correlates a bit with the girl. But just maybe.
4. At Lake Tahoe we decided to hike to another little lake – Cascade Lake. There was no official path down to the shore but as we wanted to take a bath we climbed down over rocks and very difficult slopes. Just through the wilderness. But it was all worth it. Every scratch that we suffered. Swimming in this lake with noone around us was just amazing. Damn cold but amazing.
3. Las Vegas...when we... oh no.... what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. ;)
2. When I arrived on the Hollywood Boulevard my first walk was not the Walk of Fame but into a Starbucks. (very tourist like!) I got my Salted Caramel Mocha and spilled it completely over my white shorts. Welcome to Hollywood! It looked like I was not able to hold back my necessities before going to the bathroom. So I went back out on the WALK OF FAME!!!. Fortunately on the other side of the street I spotted a used clothing store. So I just entered, grabbed the first shorts from the clothes hanger and changed my shorts. Not the most beautiful shorts I ever wore but it worked for the rest of the day. You can see it on the pics with me in front of the Hollywood sign by the way.
1. The best thing that happened to me? I was doing couchsurfing in LA. For the very first time. A nice chinese girl was welcoming me on sunday night. And it turned out that she was studying at USC in one of the upscale student living resorts. So I lived in this resort with swimming pools, hot tubs, beach vollyball courts for the next 4 days. American student life again at the age of 33. One evening after a hard sightseeing day I entered the whirlpool and 4 Californian fashion student girls joined me. Nothing happened! But I really felt like in one of those teenage movies (American Pie?) that I usually don’t watch. Thank you Ou for this experience and for your great hospitality.
That’s it. If you have any questions concerning the order of moments or why or what...just write me a message. Take care! Bo
