Moon - Desert - Oasis - Oscar - Prison - Aloha State

Almost exactly two months ago, we started exploring the world. Time and landscape rush by so quickly that sometimes only a look at the photos and a brief pause helps us realize what we have already experienced. Since we've been together, we usually go on a three-week trip once a year. It is indescribably beautiful and exciting to be able to experience almost seven of these adventures in such a short time. One could almost say that we are enjoying seven years of vacation in one year. The day before yesterday, we were also able to take a first look at our wedding photos. This day seems somehow long ago, although it has only been less than 10 weeks. The memories of it remain beautiful and unforgettable.

But now enough emotions and philosophizing - there is enough time for that in personal conversations when we return.

Moon

Arco - the world's first atomic city - had something amazing to offer. Just 30 minutes away is the 'Craters of the Moon - National Monument'. Dried lava flows, around 2000 years old, have created a landscape here that is apparently very similar to the moon, so that Neil Armstrong* and his colleagues simulated the conditions here before the first moon landing and practiced the first steps and the effective pronunciation of the phrase 'that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind'. The park was a small unexpected jewel in an otherwise rather desolate area.

Desert

After successfully completing our first moon mission, we explored the desert national parks of Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. Antelope Island, Arches, Monument Valley, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Death Valley were our other destinations.

All these places had their special features, and we could spend hours talking about the visit to each of them. But some areas particularly captivated us: Antelope Island near Salt Lake City impressed us with the most beautiful sunset of our trip so far, and we could watch it directly from the campsite during dinner with a glass of wine - wonderful. However, the island was plagued by insects, and exploring the beach felt more like a war between killer bees and humanity than a romantic stroll. Accordingly, our walk ended like those of all the people who dared to challenge the bees: running, fleeing, fearing for our lives, and waving our arms wildly to minimize the bees' impact - all with one goal: to reach the safe camper (with mosquito net) as quickly as possible. With a mixture of schadenfreude and pity, we then observed the survival struggle of the other beach strollers who mutated into beach sprinters. And no, bug spray was not really 'anti'-bug spray in this place.

The Grand Canyon captivated us. The hike into the canyon was the most beautiful hike so far (which is not really difficult, as it is the only proper hike according to Karin's definition) of our trip, and the helicopter flight provided an absolute highlight in terms of the view. Karin's birthday present to Thomas included a choice: either a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon or dinner at Cirque in Las Vegas (the dinner option was referred to by Karin as the 'pussy option'). Thomas, feeling more like a rock than a pussy, of course chose the helicopter flight.

At this point, a brief background information: Thomas has already vomited on simple flights (London - Zurich) as well as on roller coasters (Europa Park) (oh, poor Thomas).

Back to the story: The flight lasted a total of 35 minutes: the first 10 minutes to the canyon, then about 15 minutes over the abyss and back, and finally back to the starting point. Thomas felt great for exactly 12 minutes, so-so for 5.5 minutes, and after the pilot asked, 'Is everybody alright?' and Thomas handed over a - let's call it - hygiene bag, he felt nauseous. A few seconds passed, and then he vomited. His performance in this field could be described as world-class, as he managed to produce a very high gag reflex for the remaining 17.5 minutes of the journey. Remarkable was the pilot's reaction: he turned off the heroic music that had been playing loudly in the ears of all the passengers up to that point so that everyone could listen to the extremely soothing sounds of Thomas. After 10 minutes, at least Karin adjusted the microphone, which was directly below his mouth, so that the sounds could only be heard from a distance and no longer directly and in stereo. Each traveler (3 Asians, the pilot, and us) had headphones and a microphone.

Karin found and still finds the pilot's decision not to continue playing the music but to let all the passengers hear Thomas's symphony wonderful. She loves vomiting sounds (every time someone vomits on TV, Karin turns away from the TV and asks loudly and passionately, 'Why the hell do I have to see someone vomit every time?'). The photo of Karin and Thomas in the helicopter was taken before takeoff. Thomas will continue to choose no 'pussy option' in the future when faced with a choice.

We particularly liked Death Valley, despite temperatures of over 50 degrees Celsius. In this valley, we really felt like we were in the desert and looked forward to a few days in an oasis.

Oasis

Driving the camper on the Strip in Las Vegas is something surreal, and checking into the Bellagio (the hotel with the fountains) after over two weeks of staying at campsites was very special. But funny enough, Las Vegas did not really shock us, but we actually liked it and it provided a pleasant change. The Cirque du Soleil show impressed us, and our game credit (starting with USD 200, dropping to USD 20, and finally ending with USD 205) was not constant but at least practically unchanged in the end. Since we wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower and have some good food with the winnings, we stayed on the ground and treated ourselves to a pizza from the pizza stand around the corner.

Thomas was disappointed after losing at indoor mini-golf, despite having a comfortable 6-stroke lead after hole 16. Karin spectacularly secured the victory at hole 18. The name of the facility, 'Twilight Zone,' and the tangible spirit of Robert Pattinson posed too much mental stress for Thomas. Karin, on the other hand, was not disappointed but on a high. Of course, she never rubbed her victory in Thomas's face, she would never do that!

From the Oscars to Prison

After trading Otto (our motorhome) for a compact car in Los Angeles, we stayed in the city for two nights. It should be mentioned here that Karin drove Otto for about 5 hours during the whole 22 days. Then, when she was with Otto just before the return station, she managed to upset a driver so much that he even showed her the middle finger out of the car window.
A great day at Universal Studios (Thomas managed to keep down all the food and drinks, even though we unexpectedly started the day with a roller coaster ride - greetings from Harry Potter) and the impression that, except for the studios, this city is not really worth a visit, remained. Our travel route led us via the partially interrupted Highway 1 to San Francisco. The Highway 1 was truly enchanting, the 4th of July (US Independence Day) parade in Monterey was unsettling for Thomas, 'so beautiful' for Karin. Whale watching with sea lions, dolphins, beavers, and whales, on the other hand, was brilliant for both of us. We instantly fell in love with San Francisco, especially the walks along the piers. Fortunately, we were still able to get tickets for Alcatraz via detours (unfortunately only in combination with overpriced hop-on-hop-off tickets, official tickets are available again from August 2019). However, the visit to the prison island was worth every penny and is our new favorite museum worldwide (although there could certainly be arguments about the term 'museum') - the bike tour to the Golden Gate Bridge, however, was less necessary: it was beautiful, but we were definitely not the only ones who had planned to cross the bridge on this sunny day. We turned around in the middle of the bridge. About the included hop-on-hop-off bus: this was terrible for Thomas, the buses didn't show up, the buses showed up and were overcrowded, and you were only surrounded by tourists - for the second time in his life, Thomas pledged 'once and never again'. Karin finally agrees. The good news: his sun hat actually stayed on his head.

Aloha State

We were able to leave Alcatraz alive and without major damage. The next stop was Hawaii. In Hawaii, we visited two islands: Big Island and Oahu. Big Island has been in the global news since May 2018 because a volcano is currently erupting there. We had previously informed our AirBnB hosts, and they all assured us that the trip was safe and that the tourist attractions could still be seen. We couldn't fully confirm this impression on the island: somehow, we sometimes felt very out of place. Tourists were discussing with the national park rangers how and where flowing lava could still be seen while people had to be evacuated and certain regions were hit by earthquakes daily. We did not see any flowing lava, as it would currently only be possible by boat, and it would have been too expensive for us. The providers of these boat tours understand the principle of supply and demand, and so the tickets currently cost USD 250 (normally available from USD 120).

However, exploring the island in a 4x4 still offered some highlights: climbing the currently inactive 13,800 ft Mauna Kea volcano with the observatories, which are particularly noteworthy for Karin, visiting various beaches with black sand and turtles, and various waterfalls. What is special about Big Island is that out of the 15 global climate zones, 10 can be found on Big Island. The temperatures therefore fluctuated greatly, and while it was still raining in one place, the sun was already shining 2 miles away.

We spent three days in a small cabin in the middle of the jungle. The people were extremely hospitable and even invited us to a BBQ. And who would have thought: Thomas was greeted here by a small dog named Luna, who wagged her tail every evening and devotedly enjoyed being petted.

After all the hardships, we are now resting and reflecting on what we have already experienced during our 4 days in Waikiki after a 30-minute flight. Our studio on the 32nd floor near Waikiki Beach offers very nice views and is extremely cozy.

Our journey will continue on July 19th via Sydney (4 days) to Christchurch (New Zealand), where we will explore the country for three weeks. Due to the time difference between Honolulu and Sydney of 20 hours, our July 19th will last exactly 4 hours. After the 10-hour flight, which we will take on July 19th at 8:30 a.m., we will land in the afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on July 20th in Sydney.

Tools

Inspired by our visit to the Dolby Theatre, where the Oscars are awarded, we would like to thank the developers of some apps at this point: Offline Maps & Navigation (free offline navigation that works worldwide), RV Parks - the search engine for campsites in the US with customer reviews (also accessible offline), and AirBnB (we have always had extremely positive experiences with AirBnB - the booking platform for private rooms and apartments worldwide).

We are also extremely grateful for our little Nikon Coolpix W300 camera, which compensates for our lack of talent and skill in taking photos as much as possible.

* Fake News: Actually, it was not Neil Armstrong, but another, not really well-known, astronaut - but the story sounds more exciting when using the famous astronaut's name.