Back across America

  Through the centuries with Glori and Mike (2-4 July) The three days we spent with Glori and Mike at their "new" home in Plympton were marked by fascinating outings, relaxing stay at homes and a wonderful private concert. On the morning of the 2nd of July, appropriately clothed as can be noted in the above photo, we went for a walk in the extensive woodland reserve behind their house. Ticks and mosquitoes were successfully foiled and we returned unscathed. In the afternoon we visited Plymouth Plantation, a reconstruction of the first settlement on American shores. The buildings and surrounding open areas were populated by numerous costumed actors, practising the handicrafts of the times and providing a wealth of information. Especially remarkable was the fact that they all spoke in the accents of the early pilgrims and always used the present tense, making the experience quite realistic. When I asked what they ate in winter to have enough vitamin C, they answered ...

Main(e)ly Beer (1 July) After a good nights sleep at Heidi and David's fabulous loft, we went for a ride along the bay. Heidi and I did the first ten miles or so with the guys, then let them loose to take off on their own, while we returned home. With some of the riding out of their systems, showered and refreshed, we drove out to our long awaited tour of David's brewery. We were amazed at the size of the plant and the amount of technology and ingenuity involved in making beer. Aside from the actual vats and other paraphernalia, there was a laboratory, a testing/tasting room, the computer control room, a generous lounge and fitness room for the employees and some rather modest offices for the management. Above is a chart used to determine the taste of the beer being tested. Below some more impressions of David's kingdom. In the tasting room you can order up to eight little glasses of beer to try out. There are also snacks and fantastic pizza to help the...

 A visit to special people and places in Maine (30 June) Leaving the tour, the people and adventures, but not the memories, we drove together with Glori and Mike to Maine. They went to visit Kit, while Emil and I arrived at David Kleban's home in Portland for a brief stay. We were warmly received by his wife, Heidi, and relaxed with some excellent Maine Beer to catch up on the vageries of the Cross Roads expedition. David and Heidi took us to a delicious deli-sandwich picnic on their motorboat. Afterwards we drove over to Kit's place and met her roommates Jamie and Dean. It was good to see Kit so happy and relaxed with her friends, their snake(!) and her new black kitten. A short walk around town was also a welcome contrast to sitting around and there was plenty of time for a nice chat. A very happy Kit with her roommates Jamie and Dean For dinner we all met with David and Heidi back in Portland and enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Flatbread ... of flatbread (a...

Home away from home: just hanging out at Paula's (11-15 August)  The several days we spent with the family at Paula's welcoming home were a wonderful and meaningful conclusion to our fantastic adventure in the States. It was especially a very emotional time of closeness for us sisters. The last time we had seen each other before this trip was to celebrate my 70th birthday two years ago in Switzerland. And yet, it seemed if it had been just a few months ago. Laura and Lucia came Saturday afternoon and Jeff joined us in the evening for apple pie. On Sunday Emil went for a ride, Jeff took Lucia mountain biking and we ladies did the shopping for lunch. Glori arrived in time to join everyone for the meal and an enjoyable afternoon visiting and playing games. We rounded off the evening with a traditional Mexican dinner at Rio del Mar. While Jeff and Glori toasted each other, Lucia showed her Granny how to use her cell phone. Lucia is a lovely, very clever and funny yo...

The Circuit Closed (10 August) From the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and back again: we have closed the circuit and will be enjoying and reliving all the adventures and beautiful country and meetings with special people for years to come. We left San Rafael early in order to avoid the commute traffic, but the drive in the dark and with fog was quite harrowing ... and there were plenty of cars on the road already weaving in and out to get the best advantage of the flow. We stopped for breakfast in Half Moon Bay, a favorite place of ours.  Since the fog was quite thick, Emil decided not to cycle the coast but turn inland. This afforded another visit to Tunitas Creek Road, a great ride climbing through the redwoods up to Skyline Blvd. I have done it twice before but now  it was beyond me and I had to drive the car up anyway. Now that was a challenge and I am just glad no one was driving down at the same time. With perfect Steiner timing Emil and I met at Alice's R...

Completing the Cloverleaf (9 August) The original plan of cycling Mt. Tam was foiled by a pall of smoke hanging around the top of the mountain, a continual reminder of the terrible fires still burning in several areas of Northern California. Firefighters from as far away as Australia have come to help battle the blazing hills and even prisoners here have been released from their institutions to support the professionals. From my stay at Dad's in 2001 I remembered a good bike tour out at China Camp just north east of where we were now staying in San Rafael. We had also wanted to revisit the panoramic roads of Belvedere and Tiburoun to the south east and make a trip out to Sausalito to the south west along the comfortable bike path constructed there. The road out to China Camp and through the State Park involved a few climbs and lots of rolling along the shore of the San Pablo Bay. The trip was about 20 miles long and climbed nearly 900 ft (300m). Since we weren't sur...

American Graffiti (8 August) The above painting isn't actually a graffiti, but is hanging on the wall of a favorite place of mine in San Anselmo, California. Emil and I stopped there for coffee and cake during a brief bicycle ride this afternoon ... it was sort of a little nostalgic trip around Marin, but more about that later. Our day began with breakfast at Mels Diner in Placerville. I didn't realize that Mels became quite noted as one of their restaurants was chosen as the site for filming "American Graffiti", one of my favorite movies. Two actors who became very famous after their starts in this film were Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford! The plot tells the story of teenagers celebrating their graduation from high school and facing the decisions for their future. It follows their adventures on this one evening and weaves them together with humor, drama and great originality: a classic. Although the action takes place in 1962, several years before ...

  Two American Anamolies: Diner dining and river rafting (7 August) Some aspects of the American "way of life" are surprising, amusing, entertaining and even sometimes dumbfounding. Today we experienced two such examples. For breakfast in Truckee we visited Jax's Diner. This special form of restaurant is a revamped railroad dining car and we even have an example in Switzerland: Cindy's. The typical interior of a diner consists of booths on one side and a counter with bar stools on the other. The menu is limited, in some places mostly burgers and other simple meals. But here at Jax's the food is well prepared, fresh and healthy. Breakfast is served all day and I had an excellent combination of eggs and avocado on salad greens and hash browns. Sounds strange and looks awful, but is refreshing and delicious. More importantly, the coffee is freshly roasted and, seldom found on the dining table, there are colorful flowers to brighten the day. We'v...

Donnerwetter, I did it! (6 August) The Donner Pass has always been my favorite stretch of cycling in the US. Although it doesn't involve more climbing than Steinerberg in Switzerland (another favorite tour of mine), with its setting in the rocky cliffs of the Sierra Nevada and fabulous view onto Donner Lake, it is really special. I didn't really think I'd make it this year ... now eight years older than last time. However, taking it slowly, making frequent stops to take a picture, eat a snack or drink some Winforce (actually mainly to catch my breath and let my pulse go half way back to normal), I made it. The altitude might have also influenced the challenge, the summit being at around 2,000 meters, instead of the 700 meters on Steinerberg! After the ride back down to Truckee, we visited Donner State Park, the site of a tragic event in the history of the pioneers. This is where the Donner Party, having taken an untried route to California, were snowed in for the win...

 Seeing Nevada (4-5 August) Travelling from Great Basin National Park in the very east of Nevada, via Highway 50 ("The lonliest road in the world") through the desert, then going for a lovely hike with our nephew Sean along a tumbling creek near Reno and finishing our stay in this amazing State at the top of the Mount Rose Pass, we have the feeling we have really seen Nevada. The drive along Highway 50 took us over rocky passes and past vast, sagebrush filled stretches of flat plains. Unfortunately, smoke from the many forest fires in Nevada and California made the otherwise fascinating distant views more a sea of milky white fog. And the wind was really horrific. Between Austin and Fallon we met this adventurous cyclist who was making his way from Virginia on the East Coast of the States all the way to San Francisco. We offered him some water and admired his stamina and vision. Our nephew, Sean, intrepid hiking guide Looking for a place to stay near the foot ...