Internship in San Francisco 2013: Roadtrippin'

(for english, scroll down)
I weekenden 16-17 marts blev der fejret St. Patricks Day i SF, og det er ret stort her. Jeg var i byen og fejre det, og tænkte på hvad jeg gik glip af derhjemme - min nieces 1 års fødselsdag og mit band Rovers Ahead der spillede koncert i Kbh. Derudover forberedte jeg lidt hvad der skulle ske i dagene hvor Merete, min søster kom på besøg imens jeg havde ferie.
Hun var her i 10 dage og ankom d. 21. men var 14 timer forsinket pga. Air Canada, så jeg begyndte med det samme at vise hende rundt i byen. Det var virkelig godt at se hende igen, og de første 3 dage var vi i SF og fik bl.a. set Mission, Castro, Golden Gate Park & Bridge, Chinatown, Alcatraz, Twin Peaks, Dolores Park, sporvogn, Telegraph Hill, og til drag show. Den første aften var vi på Glide til Men in Progress, arrangøren havde nemlig foreslået at jeg kunne tage Merete med derind, så hun kunne se hvad det var og alle deltagerne tog godt imod hende. Bagefter tog vi til koncert med The Aggrolites (reggae band fra LA) sammen med Kelley. Vejret var perfekt og heldigvis var min dårlig planlægningskarma periode overstået, så vi fik nået at se en masse ting. Om søndagen, den 24. tog vi i Glide-kirken om morgenen - det var helt specielt med taler, live band, og rigtig god stemning. Det var første gang jeg var i kirken, så det var meget godt at se denne del af Glide også.
Efter Glide tog vi ud og hentede bil som jeg havde booket, slog taget net og kørte sydpå ad Highway 1 mod LA med sol i ansigtet og vind i håret. Det er vildt lækkert at køre i sådan en bil, og især på Big Sur (kysten mellem SF og LA) hvor der er utrolig smukt. Vi så solnedgang over stillehavet og overnattede på motel cirka en time nord for LA. To af vores mål under turen var også at spise på rigtig amerikansk diner og bo på usselt motel, og denne aften fik vi slået to fluer med ét smæk.
Næste morgen kørte vi ind til LA og hentede Natasja og Julie (som jeg læser sammen med i Kbh og som er i praktik i San Diego) og kørte til Six Flags. Six Flags er en meget vild forlystelsespark som ligger lidt udenfor LA, og der brugte vi det meste af dagen, så lækkert. På vejen ind mod LA for at sætte pigerne af fik vi lige set Hollywood og fik hilst på selveste Michael Jackson og Johnny Depp. Hver gang vi kørte rundt i LA var vi heldige med at der kun var trafikprop i den modsatte retning - vi frygtede ellers det værste for folk taler om hvor forfærdelig trafikken er i LA. Vi overnattede et par timer fra LA på vejen mod Grand Canyon, og dagen efter kørte vi resten af vejen til GC. Det var utrolig smukt, og vi var igen heldige med vejret og timing, for da vi kørte derfra mod Vegas kunne vi se solnedgang.
I Vegas var vi heldige at få svar fra en couchsurfer lige idet vi var ved at kigge efter motel, så vi kunne overnatte hos ham i udkanten af byen. Efter vi havde 'checket ind' hos ham kørte vi ind til byen og gik en lille tur på The Strip, og kørte ned ad Las Vegas Blvd hvor alle deres monster hoteller med casinoer og circus ligger, og ikke mindst Wedding Chapels. Vores couchsurfing vært fik vi ikke snakket meget med, men til gengæld var han en meget hærdet CSer, da han havde indrettet to værelser i sit hus til gæster, og der hang en tavle hvor man kunne skrive en hilsen, og vi var gæstehold nummer 274. Fra hans tagteresse kunne man se ind over LV downtown, og der kunne man virkelig få indtryk af hvordan der nærmest kun er hoteller med kasinoer, og rundt om alm. beboelse som ligger midt ude i ørkenen - meget underlig by.
Dagen efter kørte vi ned til Hoover Dam og gik en tur og tog billeder. Det var interessant at se den nye motorvejsbro færdig, for da jeg var her i 2009 og kørte forbi, tog jeg billeder af den halvfærdige bro, og eneste passage var selve dæmningen hvor der kun er et spor i hver retning. Nu bliver den oprindelige hovedvej kun brugt til turister der skal ned og se på dæmningen, men det virker som om der er mindst lige så meget kø. Efter Hoover Dam kørte vi i Outlet shoppingcenter hvor M fik købt tøj, og derefter kørte vi til Death Valley. DV var også helt fantastisk og smukt, det er lidt sådan som jeg forestiller mig at det døde hav vil se ud når det udtørrer helt - der har nemlig været en saltvandssø som er grunden til at der ligger salt over det hele. Der er rigtig varmt fordi det ligger knap 90 meter under havets overflade.
Efter DV kørte vi mod Fresno, og måtte køre en kæmpe omvej, fordi der ligger bjerge i vejen. På en strækning kom vi ud på grusvej i over en time, fordi vi lige ville skyde genvej, og det kunne man godt mærke at en Mustang ikke er så velegnet til, men den overlevede. I Fresno overnattede vi hos Kelleys forældre inden vi kørte tilbage til SF igår fredag. Ialt fik vi kørt omkring 2000 miles (3200 km) men det har slet ikke føltes som så meget -måske fordi man kører rundt i et stykke legetøj.
I aftes gik vi i parken og drak et par øl, og i dag tog Merete hjem. Det har været en fantastisk tur, vi har nået at se en helt masse, og især hvor forskellig Californien er - både hvad angår natur/landskab og menneskerne. Fra på mandag er min ferie slut - det bliver også godt at komme tilbage til Glide.

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In the weekend, 16 to 17 March SF celebrated St. Patrick's Day, and it's pretty big here. I went out to celebrate it, and thought about what I missed at home - my niece's 1 year birthday and my band Rovers Ahead playing a gig in Copenhagen. In those days I also prepared a little what would happen in the days when Merete, my sister came visit while I was on vacation.
She was here for 10 days and arrived on 21st but was 14 hours late due to Air Canada, so I immediately began to show her around town. It was really good to see her again, and the first 3 days we were in SF and saw the Mission, Castro, Golden Gate Park & Bridge, China Town, Alcatraz, Twin Peaks, Dolores Park, cable car, Telegraph Hill and a drag show. The first night we were at Glide for Men in Progress, the organizer had proposed that I could take Merete in there so she could see what it was and all participants welcomed her. Afterwards we went to a concert with The Aggrolites (reggae band from LA) along with Kelley. The weather was perfect and luckily my bad karma planning period over, so we had managed to see a lot of things. On Sunday, the 24th we went to Glide Church in the morning - it was really unique with speaches, live band, and great atmosphere. It was the first time I was in church, so it was very good to see this part of Glide also.
After Glide we went out and got a car that I had booked, put the top down and drove south on Highway 1 to LA with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. It's really nice to drive such a car, and especially on the Big Sur which is incredibly beautiful. We saw the sunset over the Pacific Ocean and spent the night at a motel about an hour north of LA. Two of our goals during the trip was to eat at real American diner and live in miserable motel, and this evening we did both.
The next morning we drove to LA and picked up Natasja and Julie (co-students from Copenhagen doing internships in San Diego) and drove to Six Flags. Six Flags is a very crazy amusement park just outside LA, and we spent most of the day, so nice. On the way to LA to drop off the girls we went by Hollywood and met Michael Jackson and Johnny Depp nothing less. Every time we drove around in LA we were lucky that there was traffic jam in the opposite direction - we feared the worst as people talk about how terrible the traffic is in LA. We stayed overnight a few hours from LA on the way to the Grand Canyon, and the following day we drove all the way to GC. It was incredibly beautiful, and again we were lucky with the weather and the timing as when we drove away from Vegas we could see the sunset.
In Vegas we were fortunate to get a reply from a couchsurfer just as we were about to look for motel so we could spend the night at his place on the outskirts of the city. After we had 'checked in' with him we drove into town and went for a walk on the Strip, and drove down Las Vegas Blvd where all their monster hotels with casinos and circus lies, and especially Wedding Chapels. We didn't talk so much with our couchsurfing host, but he was a very experienced CSer, as he had furnished two rooms in his house for guests, and there hung a blackboard where you could write a greeting and we were guest company number 274. From his roof terrace you could see into the LV downtown and you could really get an impression of how they have almost only hotels with casinos, and around that residential areas located in the middle of the desert - very strange city.
The next day we drove down to the Hoover Dam and went for a walk and took pictures. It was interesting to see the new highway bridge finished, when I was here in 2009 and drove past, I took pictures of the half-finished bridge, and the only passage was the dam where there is only one lane in each direction. Now, the original road is used only for tourists to have a look at the dam, but it seems like there is at least as much traffic. After Hoover Dam we drove to the Outlet shopping center where M bought clothes, and then we drove to Death Valley. DV was also fantastic and beautiful, it's a bit as I imagine that the Dead Sea will look like when it dries out completely - it has been a saltwater lake which is why there is salt all over. There's really hot because it is almost 90 meters (282 feet) below sea level.

After DV we drove to Fresno, and had to run a huge detour because there are mountains in the way. At a stretch we came out on the dirt road for over an hour because we just wanted to take a shortcut, and it was clear that a Mustang is not as well suited for that, but it survived. In Fresno we stayed at Kelleys parents before we drove back to SF yesterday Friday. Total we drove about 2000 miles (3200 km) but it didn't feel like that much - maybe because we drove around in a toy.
Last night we went to the park and drank a few beers, and today Merete went home. It has been a fantastic trip, we managed to see a whole lot, and especially how diverse California is - both in terms of nature / landscape and the people. From next Monday my holiday ends - and it'll be good to get back to Glide.