Highway 101

We left Seattle and travel down Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast one of the most beautiful coastlines we ever seen.

After two months of kitesurf-abstinence we are keen to rock the liquid dancefloor and decide to stop in Long Beach. But holly shit it rains like hell and we start to miss the bigdays in South Africa and Brasil with sunshine and strong winds. After two days and nights we give it up and travel further down south.

The wheather clears up as we cross the monumental Columba River dividing Washington State from Oregon. If you follow the river a couple of 100 miles to the mainland (east) you will hit the city Hood River which is one of the best kitespots around the world. We gonna visit that spot later. Our mission is to hit San Francisco in the next days.

Let's say the weather cleared up. We always thought that Switzerland is the rainy place to be. But Oregon can defenitely keep up with the rain. Tired from driving we stop at Pacific City famous for it's beer, beach bunnies, surfers and sneaker waves.

 
Aaaaand a biiiiig sand box for big boys with toys. Check out the view from the top of the dune.

Where's Wally? (Wo ist Walter?). Ok it's Sabrina rolling down the dune :-)

It's not easy to find a free Campground in the U.S. And Monday the 30th is Memorial Day a public holiday. We decide to camp on a classic campground in Ocean Pacific over the weekend. The infrastructure is better than in our appartment and the shop or lets say the shopping center on the campground offers fresh Oysters. I couldn't resist. Sabrina kicked me and disgustetly barricades herself in the campervan.

The other morning the sky is blue and i wanna get high. The wind is a bit strong. Sabrina decides to stay on the ground and takes some cool shots. During the day the wind is getting stronger and stronger and after a while i got blown over the ridge....damn! - Nothing happend i got dragged through the sand and hopefully learnt my lesson.

Big is beautiful and our 24 feet rv is among the tiny ones. Never mind but we are thirsty after a day playing in the sandbox. The pelican restaurant and brewery has to offer what we are looking for.










Did you ever taste beer? - We came to the conclusion that you are drunk before you know which beer you like.

They offer good food. The starter:

Beer Cheese Soup

Made with Tillamook Cheddar and MacPelican's Scottish Ale. 

 

Beat's main course:

Crab Crusted Mahi-Mahi

This dish has become a coastal favorite. 5 oz. Mahi-mahi filet draped in a locally caught crab crust, served with a citrus beer blanc, steamed rice, and seasonal vegetables.

 

Sabrina's main course:

Grilled Yellowfin Tuna

Sushi grade yellowfin tuna steak. Sliced thin and served MEDIUM RARE with sushi style rice, cucumber salad, and sweet soy sauce.

 

the dessert: chocolate peanut butter pie





We leave Pacific City/Cape Kiwanda and travel down the coast. We stop in Florence not just for the nice Rhododendron bushes all over the place. It's windy. Nothing better than that we think and pack our kitegear and rush to the beach.

But WTF? - It starts to rain again!!! The windy is gusty the rain is heavy and it's not a lot of fun. But anyhow we tried it!

Two lonely clowns.  

 No day with a happy end. We found the wonderful Jessie M. Honeyman state park close to Florence staying there at the moment.

Trying to get some dinner....cya in a while!

Wildwild West

Friday the 20th May we rent an RV in Langdale close to Vancouver. What we do not know to catch the RV we have to take a Ferry in Horeshoebay towards Langdale. It's not easy to travel with two kiteboardbags and three North Face Duffel bags in total 120 kg of handluggage but we survived.

The campervan is based on a Ford E450 with some good 305hp. The van has got an overall length of 24 feet or 7.32 meter. Is fully equiped with toilett, shower, oven, microwave and a fridge. The fridge in our appartment in Zurich is half the size of the one in the van.

After the handover of the RV we take the next Ferry back since we plan to visit Pemberton close to Whistler Mountain. Pemberton is well known for it's good flying conditions in Canada.

We stop in Squamish to buy some food in the local grocery store. When we leave the store we reckon that we are a bit late and decide to find a free campground in the area to stay overnight. Luckily we have the book "Camp free in B.C." which is an excellent source for free camping in British Columbia.
The book recommends Ashlu Flats 20 km away from Squamish. A couple of hundred meter before the campground a conservation officer stops us and asks if we carry firearms with us. Right behind the officer is a sign with the text "Fuck Fest" pointing to the campground. We are a bit confused and ask the conservation officer if there is a party (according to the book it's supposed to be a quite campground). His answer: "There are lot's of parties you can pass!"

There is not a lot of space left but the Canadians are friendly and we share a space with Ted & Jessy and her friends. The guys spend a relaxed weekend check out Ted's blue Ford it's a the machine for real man. Would you feel unsafe with these guys in the wood knowing that a bear could showoff anytime? - We wouldn't. After a cool night and inspiring discussions around the fire with some beer and tasty hamburgers offered by Ted we leave the young crowd heading north towards Pemberton.

As we reach Pemberton it starts to rain....arghhh no flying today. We check for a free place to stay overnight and decide to try it out at Owl Creek campground. The place is under attendance of the First Nations. Unfortunately the place is almost fully booked. But i see a hangglider on a roofrack of a car and start to talk with the owner. Lawrence and Kaori are from Kamloops and spend the weekend in Pemberton. After a short chat they invite us to park our RV at their place and invite us for dinner. Hergé our neighbour shows up. Together with is dog he lives eight months a year in his RV at Owl Creek. A smart guy that likes his freedom and the good snowboarding in Whistler.

Three rainy days and hundreds of liters of beer and good discoussions with Lawrence, Kaori and Hergé later we decide to leave Canada towards the US.
To our surprise we catch a friendly customs officer at the US boarder. Despite that we have to say goodbye to most of our vegetables and let them to the officer. An hour and some stupid questions fingerprints and whatsoever later we are on the way to Seattle.

Tuesday we get in touch with the local paraglider pilots at Tiger Mountain and enjoy our first deluxolicous flying in the US. The sceenery is AWESOME!!! On one side you see the skyline of Seattle on the opposite you will find the manorial Mount Rainier. We meet the whole friendly crazy paragliding and hanggliding crew around Seattle. Thank you Rich, Jared, Steve and Drew for helping and supporting us!

 Start the day with a lovely hot chocolate in the cafe Medina.

 Go to Chinatown. Lots of wannabie chineeeeese trying to meditate or doing some wing tsun in front of the entry gate (it isn't possible to take a shot without  one of them).

 The Chinese Garden. Live is still good.

 Graffitti Art.

 Graffitti Art 2.

 Swiss quality...

 More than 90 Starbucks coffee shops are in town you can't miss'em.

THEY landed...

 The police is investigating...

 It will never be the same...

Eating the last tuna (hopefully not)....sweet dreams!

Vancouver - City of glass

Let's call it serendipity. I had some extra miles to spend and the next available flight left to Canada.

After a relaxed flight over Island (thanks Eyjafjalla for not throwing lavastones towards us) the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the Rockies we landed in Vancouver.




 





For the next five days we stay in downtown city of glass and planning a trip with a motorhome through the wilderness of Canada and eventually USA during the next five weeks.

Let us know if you have some travel advice for the Northwest of America!
 





People from more than 100 different nations found their new home in Vancouver. It's a friendly and multicultural mixture. We discover the city by feet and bicycles.