Schorschi was in America, now in Sweden

Our first national park to be vistited was Joshua Tree. We arrived late at night coming from LA to find out that all camps sites were already full. However we found a very nice one close enough to the park entrance and managed to be at the main gate early enough to find an empty site. From there on we started hiking into the desert:

Enjoying the great view:

Some light rock climbing activities:

Some cactuses:

After that exhausting trip we Christian prepared dinner at our camp site:

And this is somewhat how the dester looks during sunset and at night:

After a fun night at Gaviota State Beach, we went further south to Los Angeles. On the way we saw some sea lions:

After wiggling through LAs traffic we stopped first at Venice Beach:

A must-see sight in LA is of course Hollywood:

And the walk of fame (where are all the newer actors?):

After a first stop at the campground in Monterey, we drove further south to the more spectacular part of the Highway where the shoulder seriously drops several hundred feet:

We also met some gulls:

If you do not want your fingers nibbled, do not feed squirrels:

Windy weather:

Early in the morning we switched cars from our highend Hybrid back to a more rural van. We decided to name it “Green Beast” to honor its great first gear. Besides that, it turned out to be the ideal camper for our tour and we really liked it to the end of our trip.

Starting at SFO we went west until we reached the pacific ocean. There we turned south and drove along HWY 101:

Around lunch time, the weather switched and clouds and fog disappeared:

After three days at Lake Tahoe we went back to San Francisco. As we still had our rental car we were able to do a lot of sightseeing including the Golden Gate, Fishermans Wharf, Union Square, MoMa, the Cable Car, and some additonal stuff. Here are some unsorted pictures:

The next day we went again to Squaw Valley, but instead of skiing we took a closer look at the town:

and also took an open air bath at High Camp. This is a hot spa and pool located on top of the cable car station giving you a breathtaking view over pistes, mountains and the lake itself (better pictures here)

While the sky was competing against Lake Tahoe about having the nicer blue color we grabbed our rental skies and drove to the resort as our motel was located at Tahoe City:

On Sunday we went to Alpin Meadows:

The resort is rather small but gives you a great view over Lake Tahoe and has great pistes that mainly start above the timberline and drop down towards the lake ending in beautiful forests.  Unfortunately conditions were slightly icy, but besides that, we had a great skiing day. On Monday we went to the former Olympic resort Squaw Valley which is probably the most famous skiing area in Sierra. Here are some impressions:

GO THRASHERS! (thanks to my cousins family for the shirt )

And thanky Christian for not telling me in advance

We also found some funny things down at the lake, like wooden art and a very German menu (Wiener Schnitzel!):

After working for five months in Mobile, I finally had to leave the Golf Coast. I really enjoyed working for Evonik and also living at the coast. So I would like to thank once more my supervisor Dr. Swann and the head of our department Prof. Riemenschneider for employing me and giving me this great chance.

The day before my departure Florian and I organized a little party at our apartment where we cooked chilly. As my flight was scheduled to leave at around 6 in the morning, I did not catch too much sleep. Unfortunately, when we drove to the airport we found out that due to a severe thunderstorm (2000 lightning strikes per hour for Mobile alone!) all flights had been cancelled. After a long discussion with the flight agent I managed to switch my flight to this afternoon instead of waiting for two more days.

So finally, after a 9 hours delay I arrived at SFO and met Christian who was already waiting. We started our round trip with picking up the first rental car:

Well, being in California of course means driving an Hybrid

Am Sonntag ging es noch einmal nach Dauphin Island zum fischen. An einem Pier kann man sich Angel leihen, eine Lizens ist auf Privatbesitz nicht noetig.

Flo hat auch gleich Glueck:

und hier ein anderer:

Nachdem wir den Sonnenuntergang genossen haben, ging es dann mit gefuellter Kuehltasche zurueck in die Wohnung, wo der Fisch auch gleich fachgerecht (Stefan hat einen Angelschein) zubereitet wurde.

Ich habe allerdings nicht mitgegessen, weil ich mich von meinem Chef verabschieden wollte, der am naechsten frueh auf eine Geschaeftsreise ging, und den ich sonst nicht mehr gesehen haette.

Bei strahlend blauem Himmel sind wir am Samstag nach Pensacola gefahren, um den Strand zu geniessen. Achja, und es war Spring Break

Der Strand ist in der Nehe des Navy  Airfields und somit wimmelt es natuerlich auch von Marines, die den Golf geniessen.

Sonnenuntergang auf dem Steg. Auch den anderen Deutschen gefaellt das: