Slight change in plans

Seems as if I won't be on my own for the whole six weeks, instead for only half the time. I thought that was a back up plan if Sibylle doesn't find anyone else, but yesterday it sounded like a plan to me.
Okay, actually looking forward to it – although it means that I have to go everywhere she has already been in only three weeks. I think I'll have to cut back on my visiting plans.
But shit, we're going to have fun! Specially in New York and then in Florida – we'll go clubbing like crazy! *g*
I'd absolutely *love* to visit Deb in Florida – that'd be awesome! I don't know exactly where she lives, but hopefully somewhere close to a beach… Now I only have to ask her if she's okay with that – she's going to have a baby and if it's too much for her we'll just stop by one day.

Gosh, can't wait for September! Specially since Rolly still hasn't answered my mail because of my planned trip to London, so that might not work out…

Update to my itinerary

Okay, this is not really majorly important – but I feel like babbling and no one is online so that I have to babble here… *g*

Anyway, added Cape Cod to my inner itinerary – gotta have some nature between all those cities! And it's supposed to be really beautiful – only problem is that a lot of places seem to close in September. There's this city, Princetown (or something like that) – I don't *really* want to stay there, but I will if necessary. Might have a good time there – although most bars are supposed to be gay, so no men for me… lol
Perhaps I'll do a day trip to Martha's Vineyard, supposedly one of the most beautiful spots of New England – and I'll certainly hike along the coast at least a couple of hours, the way I did in Banff, just following my nose and seeing where it gets me.

Okay, now I'm off daydreaming about sitting in the dunes, reading a book and listening to the ocean… Have I told you already how much I love the sea? *dreamy smile*

Because I feel like it!

Nothing new has happened but I already began to write this last night when my laptop once more crashed on me – and I refuse to let this spoil my fun!
Because it *is* fun to imagine where I'll go, who I'll meet – so here's my itinerary, not necessarily set in stone and in almost random order:

– Boston: You already know that one from my earlier entry. Besides, I'd like to see something of the seaside North of the city – I'm all about the sea! (Switzerland doesn't have any – one of the few things I really miss here.)

– Montreal: Didn't go to Quebec last time in Canada and I've heard good things about that city. Also my mom will probably be ecstatic that I'll have opportunity to practice my French. Do you think they speak English as well up there? *g*

– Toronto: Maybe. Because I didn't see a lot of the city last time and because Jules lives there and could show me around.
If I have too much time on my hands (as if!) I might go deeper into Ontario and visit Martha and Andy because staying with them was wonderful!

– New York: Duh, as if I could visit the East Coast without going to the Big Apple! Christine lives somewhere around there – perhaps she could show me something of the nightlife. (Note: Biggest drawback of travelling alone as a woman is not being able to go out at night – except of course if one is feeling suicidal… *g*)

– Washington DC: Another tourist must-see. In my case specially the Smithsonian! Plus, it'd be cool to see Nik, who works there – *if* he has the time…

– Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: To see Rhonda and Missy – isn't that reason enough? 😉

– Wherever Mike will live then: If he hasn't gone back to Africa by then I'd love to make good on the promise I made in Namibia and go see him!

– Las Vegas: Yes, I'm aware that it's not exactly on the East Coast – but it's just two days by bus and I had a lot of fun there last time! I could go see Jack and perhaps explore a bit more of the desert. And this time I'd even be old enough to go everywhere! *g*

– Gainesville, FL: Check out the university there and give them my application for an exchange semester. Doing that in person might help my chances.

– a beach somewhere in Florida: It'd be really cool to just chill for some days, enjoy the sea and the sun…

– Everglades: I've always wanted to see them – and seeing that this trip will be heavy on the cities it'll be good to get out for a while.

– Miami: Well, my plane leaves from there, so I'll probably stay a couple of days. Perhaps I'll meet up with Sibylle and whoever she'll be travelling with – we leave almost at the same time for Switzerland, so that'd be really cool! (Nightlife, nightlife… *g*)

That's what's in my head so far – and I haven't even begun to search my guide book for other cool places yet! Oh my, six weeks are just not long enough…
But it's so wonderful to imagine everything – draws out the pleasure of travelling for months!

A step closer

Went online and made reservations at the Bosten youth hostel. Only four nights, because the thing is insanely expensive (sorry, but 30$ for a HOSTEL?!) – but after what happened in Vancouver last time I really don't feel like experimenting with the first accomodation of the trip! It takes some time to get used to being on the road on my own – and I don't want to spend that time in a hole in the wall, thank you very much.

Also checked out what my guide (Let's Go USA/Canada 99) said about Gainesville (where it's entirely possible that I'll spend a semester in fall 03) – and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be such a hick town like most towns my uni has exchange agreements with – but it sounds like a really nice college town, just what I'm looking for. So perhaps it won't be so bad if after Cambridge (the one in the UK, incredibly expensive!) Boston also wouldn't work out…

Also I'll probably meet a couple of online friends in Pittsburgh – yay! Rhonda and Missy – watch out, girls! *g*

Welcome to my travel log!

Here you'll find accounts of my travels – I thought it'd be an easy and comfortable way to let my family and friends know what's happening when I'm away from home. It'll be in English so everyone can read it, for example the friends I've made on my travels so far…

There probably won't be a lot of updates here for the next months, since I'll be mostly at home until September 4. Then I'll leave for a six weeks trip along the East Coast of the US. I didn't visit that part of the country at all in 99 and there are a lot of places there that I want to see.

At the moment it stands like this: I booked my flight to Boston and the return flight from Miami (on October 13) and ordered a Greyhound bus pass. It's one for the whole of the US, since it would have been more expensive to buy one for the North and one for the South of the East. That of course means that I'm completely free as to where I go between arrival and departure – I love the thought that I could see the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas or California again, if I was only ready to spend a couple of days on a bus…

At the moment all I know is that I'll start in Boston, spend a couple of days there, check out some colleges if they'd take me as an exchange student (a dream of mine!), then head up to Montreal, perhaps see a bit of the country in between. But that's all I know – of course New York and DC are on my list, too, but I'm really free as a bird… Just the way I love it!

America, August – December 1999

My four months in Canada and the US were just about the best time of my life so far – being on the road on my own really helped grow and become more comfortable with myself. Even after almost three years it's all still very vivid in my mind – which is why I still talk about it a lot… *g*

I won't go into too many details here – that would take hours… Just let me say that I started out in Vancouver and crossed Canada over to Niagara Falls. Then I went over Chicago and crossed the Midwest (Kansas City, MO, to be exact), stopped in Flagstaff to see the Grand Canyon and in Las Vegas, then went to California and traveled up from San Diego until Yosemite.

I spent a lot of the time staying with relatives of my mother that I didn't know and with friends that I also didn't know very well and had a lot of good experiences – also when I was completely on my own. I'm still in touch with a couple of people I met in hostels – mostly with Denise from New Zealand. She and her boyfriend let me ride with them from Santa Cruz to San Francisco and then up to Yosemite – and I definitely hope to visit them and their little daughter one day!

But since they say 'A picture says more than a thousand words' – here's a small selection of the 15 or more rolls of film I took in those four months:


Banff – the Rockies felt a bit like Switzerland, truth be told… So it was just perfect for me, since I was still getting used to traveling.


Invermere, on Lake Windermere – stayed with relatives there. This is one of my fave pics of myself – I spent a lot of time like that, just relaxing somewhere beautiful…


Well, this is obviously Niagara Falls – I really enjoyed the ride on the 'Maid of the Mist' and the falls just took my breath away! I think I took about two rolls of film there…


“Love and marriage…” *g* Well, I definitely enjoyed Chicago – stayed with a friend who'd done an exchange year in Switzerland for two weeks. Her family was really nice, took me in and treated me incredibly well!


That was one of the highlights – Jane had arranged a 'date' for me to go to the Homecoming Dance… Jason was doing me a favor, but he still did it right, opened car doors, paid dinner and insisted on dancing with me a couple of times (instead of with his friends) – a real gentleman!
I was all the more impressed because the day I'd spent at the high school had left me prejudiced about American school boys (think 'American Pie' and you have a picture about my day there)… *g*
The dress I bought in Canada, btw – and spent only 60 Canadian dollars, as opposed to the 200 American bucks or so the other girls all seemed to have spent… LOL


Jane and her the boyfriend Eric with me at the Brookville zoo – one of the few times I actually spent time with Jane, who was incredibly busy with school and all…


Around Halloween (obviously… *g*) I spent a couple of weeks in Liberty, MO, with a college professor and his wife – they really went through a lot of trouble to make me feel at home and keep me entertained! The excursion to the pumpkin patch was just one of many, many things we did when Ken and/or Phyllis had time…


The visit at a local open air museum (where they had rebuilt historic buildings into a village) was another thing we did. I really really loved my stay with Ken and Phyllis – despite the fact that there was not a lot for me to do on my own in Liberty I had an absolutely wonderful time there! For example I sat in on a couple of Ken's English Lit classes and discussed 'Utopia' (after reading it as a kind of voluntary homework – how did that happen? LOL).


Flagstaff was not just great because I got to see the Grand Canyon – it was also definitely the 'funnest' hostel, because through group activities (trips to the Grand Canyon and Sedona) I grew close to several great people. With the guy on the right (Simon, an Austrian) I then even traveled on to a place I hadn't really planned on going to…


Las Vegas. Aka 'Disney World for grown-ups'. Definitely another highlight! Simon got sick, but I had luckily met David, a Canadian, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly – without spending a buck for gambling! Well, I was still very, very underage then – but we had a lot of fun in the children's section of the Excalibur! I still have the dog David won for me – and I won one as well and gave it to poor poor Simon… LOL


The hostel was Vegas-style as well – it even had a jacuzzi as you can see! The guy on the left is David, the one in the back Simon – the others were from Sweden and I've forgotten their names. LOL


In San Diego I visited my former class mate Claudia (the one in the back with the blonde curls) and we had a great time together, enjoying California – and spending a Saturday night in Tijuana, Mexico… (Claudia, ??, Jessie, ??, Merlin, Jessie's mom, me and Sarah)


The obligatory L.A. pic… Took a tour from the hostel – was not overly impressed by the city, although the posh parts were sure fun… It's just too big for my taste.


I could hardly believe myself – it was Thanksgiving and I was sitting at the sea and watched the crazy folk at Venice Beach…


Pigeon Point. If I'd still been travelling by bus I'd never seen this beautiful place (and the hostel was right beside it – with a jacuzzi on the cliff…) – but thanks to Denise and Ross from New Zealand I had the chance to stay a night there…


In Frisco I stayed with relatives in San Mateo. This is the city I liked best – it has a really great atmosphere and I enjoyed it a lot!


To soak up the incredible nature America has to offer I spent a couple of days in Yosemite – Denise and Ross took me. It was quite cold at night and in the morning – but also breathtakingly beautiful and walked around for hours…

After that I spent some more time in San Fransisco – then it was over and I spent Christmas at home again… It felt strange but also good to be home – but it's definitely made me addicted to that kind of travel… The trip down the East Coast in September (2002) is definitely something I need! *g*