Death valley was great!
Ok so I haven't really had access to a computer as of late so get ready for a staccato overview of "the facts" before I forget them. Let's start with Las Vegas and the wise words of Michael Sackett: If you're not into gambling, booze and hookers, it's not that much fun there.
Sure, if you go with a bunch of your friends and the weather is actually nice enough to lie by the pool and get cutesy umbrella drinks, go for it, but we didn't really know what to do with ourselves during the day. We moseyd around the tables and across the strip. Koen shot a gun, which he quite enjoyed, and we went to the buffet, which is kind of obsolete because to me American sized portions are all-you-can-eat anyways. The second night we got so bored that we *whispers* watched a Judge Judy Marathon before going out, don't try this at home kids.
Sure, if you go with a bunch of your friends and the weather is actually nice enough to lie by the pool and get cutesy umbrella drinks, go for it, but we didn't really know what to do with ourselves during the day. We moseyd around the tables and across the strip. Koen shot a gun, which he quite enjoyed, and we went to the buffet, which is kind of obsolete because to me American sized portions are all-you-can-eat anyways. The second night we got so bored that we *whispers* watched a Judge Judy Marathon before going out, don't try this at home kids.
The nights were actually pretty fun. We went to club XS, which is pretty nice because its pool and outdoor area allow a small breeze to dance along with the people on the dancefloor, so no sticking and sweating like pigs, hooray. The music was also pretty fun. Drinks were quite expensive though. I'm sure Koen's wallet was a teensy bit lighter when we left. I did get to drive over the Vegas strip though, fellow car people, pray and get out of my way, I have the biggest and baddest SUV in town (who am I kidding, it's still a baby for American standards)
The day after Vegas basically sucked. We got stuck in a major traffic jam at Hoover dam, queued for two hours and then we were told the road was closed...seriously? and they couldn't have told us that two hours ago? MAJOR detour. We were really glad when we finally got to Phoenix. Sleeping at Tricia's house was a blast. Her roommate's chicken was delicious (yes this is me shamelessly bumming the recipe) and we just hung around all night, talking, laughing, trying to to fall asleep. I also got to see Michael, Chelsea and their new lovely house. Congrats guys.
We visited Montezuma castle, Sedona and then drove to Flagstaff. I can't really remember Flagstaff that well and went to bed rather early after the long day, but I'm sure Koen has very fond memories of his time there :).
We also saw Barringer Meteor Crater and the Grand Canyon.
Now to the best stuff: Monument valley. Monument Valley was soooo beautiful to begin with. There is a drive you can take around the "mittens" and halfway there is a small ranch where the Navajo offer horseback riding. It was most definitely like the most amazing thing ever. The Navajo ride bareback and they ride so well. I raced them across the plains and it was just the most amazing thing ever.
Zion. Hiked up to Angels landing, really beautiful, really steep. Sick of writing now. Couchsurfer's house was beautiful. Peace out.
The drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles was rather lengthy and we were very grateful when we safely parked our car downtown, especially considering the flipped car wreck we encountered on our way over.
After trying (and failing) to eat what must have been the biggest piece of chocolate cake in the history of chocolate cakes we met up with Dirk, a Belgian friend who also happened to be in LA.
He then took us to his friend Blitch, who plays bass in a band called Middle Finger Mob and lives in a really rad loft downtown. The walls were plastered with posters of bands and I'm still secretly envious of the kitchen. After hanging out for a little while we had some Ramen in little Tokyo and quickly checked out Hollywood boulevard before interviewing an up and coming rapper named Pharaoh Jackson.
The next they we visited a workshop for aspiring makeup artists before heading to Leora's house. I couchsurfed with Leora last year and it was fun to return to her charming place in West Hollywood. We chatted a bit and headed out to little Ethiopia for dinner (is anyone else catching on to this pattern of talking and eating?). Koen and I had never had Ethiopian and were a bit cautious at first, but it turned out to be pretty yummy! The "plate" was made out of a sour tortilla and it came with all our food on it. The meat I picked was a little on the spicy side for me so I'm afraid I ended up stealing a bit of Leora's food (woops, sorry)
As I'm talking about food now anyways, I think it's a good time to bring up my "food problem". First of all, the portions are more often than not a little too large for me to handle. I see the food, my jaw drops, I try to eat the food, I fail, I feel bad for letting perfectly good food go to waste, I ask for a box (which I then often tend to forget someplace), I find out I never really have an opportunity to (reh)eat the food before it gets bad or makes the car smell like feet, I end up throwing it out anyway. Blah.
Anyway, after our stay in LA we drove to Ridgecrest, a rather small town right before Death Valley. We had a pizza (As if medium wasn't big enough, they accidentally got me a large one. Then again that might have been a blessing in disguise because I knew there was no way I could ever finish my pizza while Koen tried to force his medium pizza down anyway and then ended up feeling like he had eaten too much) and went to see The Bounty Hunter at the local movie theater. We headed to bed soon after, death valley awaits.
After trying (and failing) to eat what must have been the biggest piece of chocolate cake in the history of chocolate cakes we met up with Dirk, a Belgian friend who also happened to be in LA.
He then took us to his friend Blitch, who plays bass in a band called Middle Finger Mob and lives in a really rad loft downtown. The walls were plastered with posters of bands and I'm still secretly envious of the kitchen. After hanging out for a little while we had some Ramen in little Tokyo and quickly checked out Hollywood boulevard before interviewing an up and coming rapper named Pharaoh Jackson.
The next they we visited a workshop for aspiring makeup artists before heading to Leora's house. I couchsurfed with Leora last year and it was fun to return to her charming place in West Hollywood. We chatted a bit and headed out to little Ethiopia for dinner (is anyone else catching on to this pattern of talking and eating?). Koen and I had never had Ethiopian and were a bit cautious at first, but it turned out to be pretty yummy! The "plate" was made out of a sour tortilla and it came with all our food on it. The meat I picked was a little on the spicy side for me so I'm afraid I ended up stealing a bit of Leora's food (woops, sorry)
As I'm talking about food now anyways, I think it's a good time to bring up my "food problem". First of all, the portions are more often than not a little too large for me to handle. I see the food, my jaw drops, I try to eat the food, I fail, I feel bad for letting perfectly good food go to waste, I ask for a box (which I then often tend to forget someplace), I find out I never really have an opportunity to (reh)eat the food before it gets bad or makes the car smell like feet, I end up throwing it out anyway. Blah.
Anyway, after our stay in LA we drove to Ridgecrest, a rather small town right before Death Valley. We had a pizza (As if medium wasn't big enough, they accidentally got me a large one. Then again that might have been a blessing in disguise because I knew there was no way I could ever finish my pizza while Koen tried to force his medium pizza down anyway and then ended up feeling like he had eaten too much) and went to see The Bounty Hunter at the local movie theater. We headed to bed soon after, death valley awaits.
You know how they call California the Sunshine state? Well there sure wasn't a lot of sunshine where we're at. We drove down the beautiful PCH and saw... nothing. There was a lot of fog, partly because we were basically driving through the clouds, and the sky was dark and gloomy.
We stopped at some cute diner called Apple Trees to get some lunch. It was run by two Mexican ladies who served burgers the size of grapefruits and fries the size of small tree trunks. I was really curious about the size of the banana split but there was no way I could've eaten any more.
Before entering San Francisco we drove to Berkeley to experience the American college life. It is so different from what we're used to in Belgium. There were bookstores and food courts and there was an incredibly vibrant atmosphere. Students were campaigning for a spot in student senate, with big signs and funky catch phrases, or just enjoying the first sunshine. The place was packed and we loved just blending in, albeit for just an hour.
At 7 we arrived at our host Emmanuel's place. He is literally constantly hosting people. There are bottles of shampoo in at least 5 different languages on his bathroom shelf. Distant reminders of previous visitors. We put down our stuff and headed around the corner, to crepes a gogo, for a delicious crepe with chocolate, banana and apples. On our way back we quickly checked our car. Parking on a steep hill is not only terrifying, it also provokes doom scenarios of cars rolling all the way into the bay. Scary.
The next day we woke up pretty early and took the bus to Fisherman's Warf after quickly getting an almond croissant and a coffee/hot chocolate to go. It was incredibly nice just strolling down down the pier and checking out the little gift shop. We visited a museum with all sorts of fun arcade games, checked out the inside of a submarine and took an amazing boat tour under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz.
A sudden rainshower prompted us to check out the Aquarium at the bay. Although it was rather small I did really enjoy the moon jelly fish. They looked so ghastly yet gracious and a fluorescent light seemed to emanate from thel.
We ended our day with a trip to the cable car museum. Apparently, there is a set of immensely long cables that runs all the way underneath the city where the cable cars can latch on to. Despite having been around for decades, they are still hugely popular. After a quick stop at Emmanuel's and getting a 50 dollar parking ticket for "not curbing our wheels", seriously, we had amazing sushi at a hip place Emmanuel had recommended us. Koen, aka "I don't like sushi man", totally loved it, so they must have been doing something right. Tomorrow at 8am we leave for LA
We stopped at some cute diner called Apple Trees to get some lunch. It was run by two Mexican ladies who served burgers the size of grapefruits and fries the size of small tree trunks. I was really curious about the size of the banana split but there was no way I could've eaten any more.
Before entering San Francisco we drove to Berkeley to experience the American college life. It is so different from what we're used to in Belgium. There were bookstores and food courts and there was an incredibly vibrant atmosphere. Students were campaigning for a spot in student senate, with big signs and funky catch phrases, or just enjoying the first sunshine. The place was packed and we loved just blending in, albeit for just an hour.
At 7 we arrived at our host Emmanuel's place. He is literally constantly hosting people. There are bottles of shampoo in at least 5 different languages on his bathroom shelf. Distant reminders of previous visitors. We put down our stuff and headed around the corner, to crepes a gogo, for a delicious crepe with chocolate, banana and apples. On our way back we quickly checked our car. Parking on a steep hill is not only terrifying, it also provokes doom scenarios of cars rolling all the way into the bay. Scary.
The next day we woke up pretty early and took the bus to Fisherman's Warf after quickly getting an almond croissant and a coffee/hot chocolate to go. It was incredibly nice just strolling down down the pier and checking out the little gift shop. We visited a museum with all sorts of fun arcade games, checked out the inside of a submarine and took an amazing boat tour under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz.
A sudden rainshower prompted us to check out the Aquarium at the bay. Although it was rather small I did really enjoy the moon jelly fish. They looked so ghastly yet gracious and a fluorescent light seemed to emanate from thel.
We ended our day with a trip to the cable car museum. Apparently, there is a set of immensely long cables that runs all the way underneath the city where the cable cars can latch on to. Despite having been around for decades, they are still hugely popular. After a quick stop at Emmanuel's and getting a 50 dollar parking ticket for "not curbing our wheels", seriously, we had amazing sushi at a hip place Emmanuel had recommended us. Koen, aka "I don't like sushi man", totally loved it, so they must have been doing something right. Tomorrow at 8am we leave for LA
After our big breakfast in Olympia we hit the road and we hit it hard. Today we'd be driving all the way through Oregon to Grants pass, a fun little town near the California border. We arrived at around 6 pm and drove straight to the pub where our Couchsurfing host worked.
Misty wasn't in yet so we ordered some dinner as we waited. Koen had a salad, I chose the tender chicken strips with honey mustard sauce. We were drinking our second soda when Mist came in to greet us and start her shift. She had arranged for us to attend a comedy show at the pub. She had also arranged for the comedians pick on us silly Belgians all night. Thanks.
A lot of people came to talk to us because of it though. Some some really nice people even insisted on buying us drinks and they just loved hearing our stories. We're still pretty impressed with the American hospitality. Everyone is so extremely friendly and everyone seems to be interested in talking to us.
At 10.30 Misty drove us to her family's house up in the mountains to meet her cousin who's in the air force in London and currently on leave. There was a huge bonfire in the backyard, something we don't get to see very often back in Belgium. We talked and laughed and warmed our butts to the flames. Ha, this is the life!
In the morning Misty made us something we had never tried before. Consequently I also don't know what it's called, if it has a name at all, but it's basically a tortilla filled with an omelette and veggies. I guess you can call it a breakfast burrito, but I thought those usually came with rice and beans.
After a quick walk to the river we were on our way down South. It rained, a lot, it was foggy, it was chilly...I thought we'd left Belgium. We made some short pitstops in the Redwoods to look at the really big trees and drove until about 5pm to the sound of Amazing Horse in the background.
We drove off the Highway in search of food and ended up in some tiny little rundown town with boarded up windows and a deserted diner. Somehow they did, however, manage to squeeze in a winery and a rather upscale restaurant. We had the most delicious meal there, best burger I have ever eaten, hands down. The waiter did look rather uncomfortable when I asked him for some mayonaise for my fries. Crazy Europeans!
Highway 1 was incredibly creepy. It was dark, insanely foggy and had small, ever-winding roads. The Beach Boy's wouldn't it be nice was on when we finally made it through that last turn. And there she was, the ocean, finally.
Misty wasn't in yet so we ordered some dinner as we waited. Koen had a salad, I chose the tender chicken strips with honey mustard sauce. We were drinking our second soda when Mist came in to greet us and start her shift. She had arranged for us to attend a comedy show at the pub. She had also arranged for the comedians pick on us silly Belgians all night. Thanks.
A lot of people came to talk to us because of it though. Some some really nice people even insisted on buying us drinks and they just loved hearing our stories. We're still pretty impressed with the American hospitality. Everyone is so extremely friendly and everyone seems to be interested in talking to us.
At 10.30 Misty drove us to her family's house up in the mountains to meet her cousin who's in the air force in London and currently on leave. There was a huge bonfire in the backyard, something we don't get to see very often back in Belgium. We talked and laughed and warmed our butts to the flames. Ha, this is the life!
In the morning Misty made us something we had never tried before. Consequently I also don't know what it's called, if it has a name at all, but it's basically a tortilla filled with an omelette and veggies. I guess you can call it a breakfast burrito, but I thought those usually came with rice and beans.
After a quick walk to the river we were on our way down South. It rained, a lot, it was foggy, it was chilly...I thought we'd left Belgium. We made some short pitstops in the Redwoods to look at the really big trees and drove until about 5pm to the sound of Amazing Horse in the background.
We drove off the Highway in search of food and ended up in some tiny little rundown town with boarded up windows and a deserted diner. Somehow they did, however, manage to squeeze in a winery and a rather upscale restaurant. We had the most delicious meal there, best burger I have ever eaten, hands down. The waiter did look rather uncomfortable when I asked him for some mayonaise for my fries. Crazy Europeans!
Highway 1 was incredibly creepy. It was dark, insanely foggy and had small, ever-winding roads. The Beach Boy's wouldn't it be nice was on when we finally made it through that last turn. And there she was, the ocean, finally.
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