Bishop - Death Valley - Las Vegas 2.08

2.08 Bishop on armas väikelinn. Kaugustes paistavad mäed, madalad majad koonduvad põhiliselt ümber pika peatänava. Red Roof Inn, kus meie peatusime, asub suhteliselt linna keskel. Hommikusöögiks ikka helbed, röstsai, erinevad saiakesed, võimalus putru süüa. Ja jälle ühekordsed nõud 😶

Red Roof Inn Bishop

Pärast hommikusööki tegin väikese jalutuskäigu, kuna väljasõiduni oli veidi aega. Väga armsad majad. Üks peletas tulnukaid eemale. Iseteeninduslik raamatukogu.

Ees ootas põnev sõit läbi ühe kuumima koha maailmas - Surmaoru, kus on teatavasti dateeritud maakera pinnal olev kuumarekord 56.7 C (1913). Tankisin enne teel asumist, kuigi bensiinijaamade leidmisega meil tegelikult terve reisi ajal probleeme ei olnud. USAs oli bensiiniotsik must. Must. SuurBritannias ja Iirimaal on see alati roheline. Seal oli diisel roheline. Appi, millist ebakindlust see tekitas. Eelmisel õhtul ostsime lõunasöögiks ja näksimiseks vajaliku kaasa.

Liiva düünid

Õnnetuste vältimiseks soovitatakse Surmaorus püsida ettenähtud teel, kiiruspiirangutest kinni pidada (mida ma ka tegin) ning liiklusmärgid palusid ülekuumenemise vältimiseks AC osades kohtades välja lülitada. Proovisin aga no.. Higi tilkus mööda selga alla. Klikkisin lühikesteks hetkedeks külma kliima ikka tööle.

Alustasime vist 21Cga (70F). Mida kilomeeter edasi ja mida madalamale me jõudsime, seda kõrgemale temperatuur ronis. Väga ruttu saime 38C (100F) kätte. Vaade oli võimas, lihtsalt silmapiiri ulatuses lõputu maantee ja kõrb. Tegime paar fotopeatust, muu hulgas jäid teele liivadüünid. 

 

Badwater Basin

Jahutus ja enesekergendamise peatuse tegime Furnace Creek külastajakeskuses, selleks ajaks olime jõudnud 44Cni (110F). Külastajakeskuses oli  mõnusalt külm, käisime niisama poes ringi otsides jahedust, täitsime veevarusid ning vaatasime väikese kõrbeteemalist väljapanekut.

Badwater Basin

Edasi tuli pooletunnine jätkuv temperatuuri tõus ja sihiks Põhja-Ameerika mandri madalaim punkt Badwater Basin. Tipptemperatuuriks saime 46C (115F) Ega kõrbe ei olegi mõtet talvel minna, kuumus lihtsalt kuulub selle kogemuse juurde 😊 Mulle igatahes meeldis.

Death Valley

Badwater Basin`is on allkas, millest tulev vesi ei ole pinnases oleva soola tõttu tarbitav. Soolane oli maa küll, kuigi mina järgi ei proovinud. Meiesuguseid inimesi, kes olid otsustanud kõige kuumemal kuul kõrbe külastada oli piisavalt.

Kunstniku Palett

Tagasiteel sõitsime läbi 14.5km pikkuse kauni Kunstniku Tee (Artist`s Drive). Kunstiku Palett (Artist`s Palette) on värviline metallide oksüdeerumise tagajärg Black Mountainil. Ühesuunaline tee ja polnud mingit hirmu, et võiksime võimaliku abivajamisega üksi jääda. Tee lõpu poole, mina sõitsingi rahulikult ja nautisin ümbrus, tekkis mingitel kohalikel ralliautodel järsku vajadus minust mööda sõita, selleks et enne tee lõppu tee ääres parkida.

Zabriskie punkt

Surmaorus tegime veel ühe peatuse - Zabriskie punktis, mis on näide erodeerunud maastikust. Rahvuspargis on muidu vaatamist piisavalt aga matkadeks sobib tegelikult vist ikka jahedam temperatuur kuigi mulle meeldis selline kogemus väga.

Ahjaa, eelmisel päeval saime Tomi lõpuks ikka tööle. Selle päeva hommikul töötas ta samuti eeskujulikult, kuigi üllatuste vältimiseks ma teda vahepeal välja ei lülitanud.

Las Vegas

Asusime teele Las Vegase suunas. Kõrbe piiril läbisime väikeseid asulaid, siis järjest suuremaid. Tegime kütusepeatuse. Ja siis lülitus Tom välja ning kustutas ära minu ostetud Ameerika kaardi. Lihtsalt niisama. Mis mõttes? Midagi ei jäänud üle, võtsin jälle telefoni ja google mapsi offline kaardi ette. Ja siis asusin sisenema USA meelelahutuspealinna oma 640K inimese ja tonnides turistidega. Viis sõidurida. Foorid ja reavahetajad. Põnev. Keerasin ühes kohas natuke valesti ja sattusin ühe hotelli sissesõiduteele. Tegin vastassuunas tagasipöörde ja jätkasin oma hotelli suunas. Põnev.

Las Vegas

Aga hotelli leidsin üles, mugav suur parkla. Järgmised kaks ööd majutusime hotellis The Carriage House, selle idee laenasin Robertolt, kes eelmine aastas samas kohas peatus. Jälle, sujuv sisseregistreerimine ja väga korralik tuba. Las Vegase keskus, The Strip ainult 500m kaugusel. Selle koha ainuke miinus oli hommikusöögi puudumine. Tubades on küll miniköök kõige vajaminevaga. Oi, hotellil on oma bassein 😊

Õhtusöögiks suundusime The Mirage Mile kaubanduskeskusesse. 1.2miiline ringne keskus üle saja poe ja erinevate toidukohtadega. Enne tripadvisorist mõistliku hinnaga söögikohta otsides sattusin Ocean One Bar and Grille menüüle. Proovisin pastat aga nope, vanemad said maitsva lõhe. Isa jõi õhtusöögi kõrvale õlut. Kuna ta kogub õllepudelite korke palusin kelneril tema pudeli korgi tuua. Natukese aja pärast toodi talle kaks joogitopsikut korke täis 😀 Baaridaam käis uurimas, miks neid vaja on ja miks isa neid korjab.

Bellagio

Viisin vanemad hotelli õhtut nautima ning suundusin The Stripile. Olin meie sihtkohtadega google mapsi vahendusel põhjalikult tutvunud (nagu ma alati teen), nii põnev oli lõpuks kohal olla ja seda melu vahetult kogeda. Peatänaval vooris inimmasse. Šhowtüdrukud ja muud huvitavad otsisid ohvreid, kes nendega tasu eest pilte teeks. Bellagiost ma kaugemale ei jõudnudki. Jäin rääkima kahe reisiselliga ning vaatasin ära päris mitu purskkaevu etendust. Barcelona oma meeldis rohkem.

Igatahes need, kellega rääkima sattusin, küsisid kust ma pärit olen. Eestit pole ju mõtet mainida, ütlesin, et Euroopast. Kust täpsemalt. Üks pakkus erinevaid Euroopa suurriike. No Eestist. Selle peale vuristab üks ette Läti ja selle peallinna, Tallinna ja Venemaa. Selgus, et nad on käinud Balti mere kruiisil. Keda kõike Vegases ei kohta. 

2nd August. Bishop is a lovely small town. Hills in the background, low houses are bordering the main street. Red Roof Inn, where we were staying is right in the middle of the town. As usual, for breakfast we had cereals, toast, various pastry and porridge. And once again paper plates and disposable cutlery😶

After breakfast I took a short walk as we had a bit of time before starting our day. Sweet tiny houses. One person was trying to keep the aliens away. Free library that I have only seen in the UK.

Death Valley

We had an exiting drive through one of the hottest places on Earth, Death Valley, ahead of us. Death Valley holds the record for the highest ambient air temperature ever recorded at the surface of the Earth - 134F recorded in 1913.  I refueled before departure although we never had problems finding a petrol station during our journey. Oh, the petrol, gasoline, pump is black in the USA. When I drive in the UK or Eire, it is always green. There the diesel one was green. I was so uncertain with the black until the end I think. We had bought lunch and snacks the previous evening.

Sand dunes

To prevent accidents people are supposed to stay on paved roads and stick to the speed limits, which I did. And the traffic signs instructed to turn of AC in certain places. I did try, but sweat was literally pouring down my back. The back of my knees were sweatting. Like what? So, I cliked it on and off.

Badwater Basin

We began with 70F. The temperature creeped up with every kilometre, every kilometre we got lower. Very soon we reached 100F. The views were simply breathtaking, just the desert and the road as far as you can see. We took a few photo stops and also happened to see sand dunes.

Badwater Basin

We took a break to cool down a bit in Furnace Creek visitor centre, by then we had reached 110F. The visitor centre was nice a chilly. We refueled our water supplies and watched a display about Death Valley.

Salt at Badwater Basin

Then we had approximately half an hour drive to the lowest point Northern America - Badwater Basin. The highest temperature we saw was 115F. There is no point in going to a desert if it`s not hot 😊 Anyway, I loved it.

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin has a spring, and we actually saw a tiny pond, but the water is salty from the ground. And the ground is salty indeed, although I did not taste it. There were loads of people like us, who had decided to visit Death Valley during the hottest month of the year.

Artist`s Palette

On our way back we drove the beautiful 7-mile long Artist`s Drive. Artist`s Palette is a coloufrul result of the oxidation of different metals on the face of Black Mountain. Single lane road left us with no fear we would be stranded  if we would have needed any help. I was driving slowly as I had noone behind me and I wanted to take in the view as much as possible, when three cars approached me with high speed wanting to overtake. I found a pocket and allowed them, just to see them park at the side of the road before the Artist's Drive ended.

Zabriskie Point

We had one more stop in Death Valley in Zabriskie point an example of eroded landscape.

There is plenty to see in Death Valley but I guess cooler temperature is more suitable and healthier for hiking. But I thoroughly loved our time there.

Las Vegas

Oh, we got Tom to work the previous day after all. It also worked perfectly in the desert, though I didn't turn him off when we stopped to prevent surprises. We continued driving towards Las Vegas. We drove through small villages and bigger ones. I stopped to refuel and then Tom turned off. And erased my USA map. Just like that. What, what? Nothing to do, I took my phone and continued driving using google offline maps and entered the entertainment capital with the populatuon of 640K and tons of tourists. Five lanes. Traffic lights. Exciting. I took a wrong turn (the same street divided into two) and ended up in a hotel's driveway. Not wanting to take another tour and did a U-turn and continued towards our hotel. Exciting.

For the next two night we were staying in The Carriage House, an idea I took from Roberto, who stayed at the same hotel last year. Smooth check-in process (they took a deposit) and a wondeful room. Located just 500 metres from The Strip. The only downside is the lack of breakfast. The rooms do have a lovely kitchen with everything necessary. Oh, the hotel has a pool 😊

Las Vegas

We headed to The Mirage Mile shopping centre, 1.2 miles circular centre with over a hundred shops and several dining places. While researching for our trip I found Ocean One Bar and Grille. I had pasta. Nope. My parents has delicious salmon. My father had beer with dinner. As he collect beer caps I asked for the cap. A while later the waiter brought two cups filled with caps 😀 The bar lady came to ask why he wanted those and why he collects them.

I took my parents back to our hotel and headed to The Strip. I had researched our destinations through google maps maps at home (like I always do), it was so exciting to actually be there and see everything.

Bellagio

There were loads of people around me. Showdancers and other beings looking for someone to take photos with them (for money naturally). I got as as far as Bellagio where I got talking with to two men not in their first youth and stayed to watch the fountain shows. I did like Barlecona's more.

Anyway, the two men asked where I was from. There is no point mentioning Estonia so I answered Europe. Where exactly. One guessed some countries. So I told that I am from Estonia. The one who guessed different countries knew our neighbouring cou teies and their capitals and also Tallinn. It turned out they had taken the Baltic cruise. What a wonderful world.

San Francisco - Yosemite - Bishop 1.08

Tunnel vaade

1.08 Hommikul ärgates tundsin ennast üllataval kombel puhanuna. Mõtlesin, et tunnetan magamata ööd ja ajavahet koheselt aga alguse kohta polnudki hull. Suundusime alla hommikusöögile (üldjuhul valin majutused, millel on hommikusöök hinnas), mis oli tegelikult täiesti arvestatav. Helbed, röstsai, puuvili ja võimalus ise vahvlit küpsetada. Igatahes süüa oli. Aga esimest korda elus sain majutuses olles süüa ühekordsetelt nõudelt. 

Lennujaama äärsete hotellide buss viis igal täistunnil tasuta lennujaama, meie auto ootas 8.30, seega startisime 7.  Tulime maha rahvusvaheliste lendude peatuses ning suundusime edasi lennujaama rongile, mis liigub väga mugavalt terminalide ja autorendi vahel. Auto võtsin nagu ikka Avisest Seekord ei saanudki leti taga inimesega suhelda ja allkirja anda. Küsisin küll aga suunati edasi ekraani juurde, kus oli minu nimi ja auto kohanumber. Uurisin veel lisakindlustuse kohta kuid sellest ei olnud nad kuulnudki. Hea küll siis.

Platsil ootas meid valge Toyota Corolla, võtmed ees. Käisin tavapäraselt ringi ümber sõiduki, et vajadusel vigastused üles pildistada. Pagasiruum täidetud valisin Tomtomis esimese sihtkoha. Marsruuti ei ole võimalik koostada. Et nagu mis mõttes?😮 Proovisin paar korda veel. Õnneks olin oma telefoni eelnevalt terve reisi google maps offline kaardid tõmmanud. Aga mis mõttes Tom ei koosta marsruuti kui ta lasi enne kõik koordinaadid sisestada ja ei näidanud kordagi, et mingi osa kaardist oleks puudu?

Väravas küsiti lube näha ja tee võis alata. Kuna päev tuli pikk, siis lõuna ostsime poest kaasa. Selleks tegime esimese peatuse Tracy Walmartis. Kasulik nõuanne: suurtes poodides on tualett. Kõik on suur Ameerikas. Igatahes, Walmarti võiks ära eksida. Võtsime kaasa salatid ning suundusime päeva peasihtkohta Yosemite rahvusparki. Väravas ostsin America the Beautiful kaardi, kasulik nõuanne mille sain FB Reisihullude grupist. 80 dollari eest on võimalik aasta jooksul külastada piiramatu kord tohutus nimekirjas olevaid rahvusparke, mis tasub ennast juba ära, kui külastada vähemalt kolme parki.

Huvitav tee viis mööda mäekülge üles. Vanemad tegid vahepeal lõunapausi, kaasaostetud krabisalat oli liiga äädikane.

Yosemite rahvuspark. Piltide peal ei tundu need kaljud, liustikud, puud ja kosed üldse nii võimsad, kui kohapeal. See tohutu massiivsus. See võrratu ilu. Pindalalt umbes 3000 km², kuigi enamik inimesi külastab 18 km² suurust Yosemite orgu. Yosemite rahvusparki külastab aastas umbes 4miljonit inimest, rekord on aastast 2016 (üle 5miljoni). Seal on erineva pikkuse ja raskusega matkaradu ning lihtsalt peatuskohti vaadete nautimiseks. 

Bridalveil kosk

Kuna aeg oli piiratud, siis tegime nii nagu paljud turistid ja sõitsime läbi Yosemite orus oleva ringse tee. Alustasime Tunnel vaatest, maanteel 41 asuvast punktist, kust on näha nii Poolik kuppel, Kapten kui Bridalveil kosk. Sattusime kohale päikesepaistelise ilmaga ja ilmselt õnneks nädala sees, sest inimesi oli ka neljapäeva kohta tohutult.

Sinilind

Bridalveil kosk. Parklasse jõudes oli see juba pilgeni täis. Kuna rada on lühike ja pikniku pidamiseks on eraldi kohad, siis õnneks kose külastus üle mõistuse kaua aega ei võta ning varsti leidsime ühe lahkuva auto. Parklast koseni viib väga lühike rada. Kosk ise on 188m kõrge. Proovisin ebaõnnestunult ühte ülitegusat sinilindu pildile saada.

Kapten

Tegime paar peatust, kus iganes puude varjust mõni kaunis vaade paistis. Mingi hetk tundsin samuti, et võiks süüa. Salat oli tõesti hapu, noppisin suured krabitükid välja. Tegime peatuse Katedraali ranna piknikualal, kust avaneb suurepärane vaade Kaptenile, 914m kõrgusele vertikaalsele kaljule. Sinna otsa viib loomulikult rada. Piknikualasid oli teisigi, kõik inimesi täis. Yosemite orus oli paaaalju telkijaid ja matkajaid. Nii tore näha inimesi ilusat ilma looduses nautimas. 

Poolik kuppel

Ja loomulikult Poolik kuppel, mis näeb välja nagu.. poolik kuppel, kõrgus 410m. Kui 1870ndatel peeti kaljut ronimatuks, siis praegu viib sinna tippu mitu rada.


Nevada suunas liikudes jäi teele Tioga tee, mis veel juuni lõpus oli lumeolude tõttu suletud.




Väljusime rahvuspargist, möödusime Lee Viningust ning suundusime lõunasse. Kokku peaagu 3 tundi rahulikku maanteed, mis viis meid õhtuks 3700 elanikuga Bishop linna. Öömajaks Red Roof Inn Bishop, selline madal ja pikk motell, mida (peamiselt õudus)filmides näeb. Tuba oli täiesti korralik. Õhtusöögi võtsime lähedalasuvast Vonsist.

1st of August. Surprisingly I felt quite rested when I woke up in the morning. I have never had such a time difference, so I thought I would feel more tired after the sleepless night before. We headed down for breakfast (I usually book the hotels/b&bs that include breakfast) and it was rather usual. Cereals, toast, fruit and the possiblity to cook your own waffles. I had to try a thick waffle. Anyway, plenty to eat. But it was the first time in my more than ten years of travelling that we had to eat from paper plates and use cutlery.


A shuttle took people to the airport every full hour. Our car waited for us at 8.30am, so we took the 7am shuttle. We got off at the international flights terminal and took an airport train to the rental cars stop. Very convenient. As usual, I booked the car with Avis. This time I didn`t get to talk to a person behing a counter and sign a document. I did ask but I was sent to look at a screen where I found my name and our car`s lot number. I also wished to get the supercover but they hadn`t even heard of it. Fine then.

A white Toyota Corolla was waiting for us, with keys in it. As usual I took a thorough walk around it to photograph any possible scratches, etc. We put our luggage in the boot and I chose our first destination in Tomtom. It is impossible to compile the route. Like, what the fudge? 😮 I tried it again several times with the same result. Fortunately I had downloaded the offline google maps for our entire trip on my phone. But what on earth, Tom not composing the route although I had specially bought the USA map and it allowed me to insert all the coordinates before our journey without showing that any part of the map would be missing?

They wanted to see my lisence at the gate and our roudtrip was on its way. As it was going to be a long day, we bought crab salads for lunch at Walmart in Tracy. A useful tip: there are toilets in bigger shops. Everthing is big in America. Anyway, one could get lost in a Walmart supercentre.

All together, approximately 3 hours from San Francisco airport to Yosemite National Park, that was our main attraction for the day. I bought America the Beautiful Pass at entrance, a useful tip I got from Reisihullud group in FaceBook. For 80 dollars the pass allowes you to visit tons of national parks countless times during a year. It actually pays off if you visit at least three.

A road took us up a hill. My parents decided to have their lunch break, the crab salad was way too vinegary.

Tunnel View

Yosemite National Park. One place where you simply cannot comprehend from photos, how grand those rocks, glaciers, trees or falls are. You have to be there. That magnificent beauty. It takes your breath away. The park coveres the an area of 1169 sq miles although most people only visit 7sq miles of it (Yosemite Valley). About 4 million people visit the park every year, the record of more than 5 million was recorded in 2016. There are many hiking track of various lenght and difficulty.

Bridaveil Falls

As we had limited time, we did like many other tourists and visited only Yosemite Valley and drove the circular road. We began with Tunnel View, a location on route 41 that allowes you to see Half Dome, El Capitan and Bridalveil falls at once. We had a lovely, sunny day. I guess it was fortunate we were there during a Thursday, I cannot imagine the amount of people visiting at weekends.

Bridaveil falls. When we got to the car park, it was already completely full. But as the track is short and there are better locations to have a picnic, it does not take that long to visit so a car left soon enough. A short track takes you from the car park to the 188ft high falls. People tried to get as close to the water as possible. I tried to take a shot of a bluebird but with no luck.

El Capitan

We stopped couple of times whenever trees didn`t hide the views. At that point I also felt hungry and we conveniently reached the Cathedral Beach picnic area. Gorgeous meadow with a view to  El Capitan, a vertical 3000ft granite monolith. And naturally a track (or some) take up to the summit. There were several other picnic areas, all packed with people. There were maaaaany hikers and campers in Yosemite Valley. So lovely to see people spending time in nature.

Half Dome in the background

And of course Half Dome, that looks like.. a half of a dome. The granite dome is 1360ft high. As late as the 1870s the dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible", but now several tracks take you up.

We drove through Tioga Pass, a road that was closed until July this year due to snow.


We exited the national park, passed Lee Vining and headed to south. All together around 3 more hours until we reached Bishop with its population of 3700. We stayed the night at Red Roof Inn Bishop,  the kind of low and tall motel we see in (mostly horror) movies. Our room was lovely. For dinner, we had salads from Vons.

Ameerika roadtrip 2019

Vaade San Francisco lennujaamast

Seekord viis tee esimest korda elus ookeani taha.

Reisi planeerimist alustasin ca 2 aastat tagasi. Mõte tuli isalt, tema on tahtnud sinna juba ammu minna. Nagu ikka, marsruut kokku, selleks kodutöö, et piiratud aja sisse mahutada nii palju kui võimalik nii, et ei oleks ainult tormamist ning tegelikult midagi ei näeks. Arvestasin, et tuleb pikki sõidupäevi aga ei tahtnud neid aja kokkuhoiu mõttes ära jätta. 

Siis öömajad kinni (eelmine august, jooksvalt mõningad muutused. Olin üllatunud, et ei saanud alustada mais nagu tavaliselt SuurBritannia või Iirimaa puhul), ESTAd, lennupiletid, reisikindlustus, auto, adapterid. Kerstilt, Marylt ja Maritilt sain kasulikke näpunäiteid. 

Mõtlesin, kuidas auto augustis Surmaorus vastu peab. Kas on vaja abi kutsuda. Kas võtame igaks juhuks kohaliku kõnekaardi. Kas ESTAst piisab. Ja tavapärased üliaktiivse mõttemaailmaga inimese mõtted aga see käib minuga iga kord kaasas.

Kõigepealt siis peaagu 11 tunnine lend Finnairiga. Reisi alustasime 31. juuli kell 16 ja kohale jõudsime 31. juuli kell 17. Kõigepealt muidugi pooletunnine kõigutamine Helsingisse, süda suutis juba pahaks minna. Ugh kuidas ma ei kannata iiveldust. Oleks siis, et ingver aitaks. Varusime sudokusid ja ristsõnu. Ostsime kaelapadjad (enne reisi ikka, ma ei ole nii rikas, et selliseid asju lennujaamast osta).

Õhtusöök. Loomaliha kartulipüreega

Lennukisse jõudes ootas meid tekk ja padi. Väike veepudel. Eesistuva inimese seljatoes olev ekraan, kust sai filme vaadata. Pärast õhkutõusmist pakuti meile lennukitoidu kohta täiesti normaalset sööki. Vaatasin filme. Kui tuli magamamineku aeg, kustutati laetuled, enamik magas, mõni norskas. Ma pingutasin kõigest väest, et ka magama jääda. Kaks korda. See aga ei õnnestunud ja vaatasin filme edasi. Meie öösel kell 2, neil päeval 16 pakuti hommikusööki. Lasanje ei olnud just tippklass. Ja mitte minu tavapärane hommikusöögi valik.

Seejärel olimegi lõpuks kohal. San Francisco rahvusvaheline lennujaam. Edasi tuli turvakontroll, kõigepealt vastasime arvuti ees mõnele küsimusele, andsime sõrmejäljed, lasime endast foto teha ning asusime järjekorda. Mis liikus edasi küll. Ja peaaegu tund hiljem olimegi selle lõpus ning saime templid passi. 

Pagas oli ilusti lindi kõrvale tõstetud, olime meie lennust ühed esimesed. 

Väljas otsisin kohta, kust hotelli helistada. See võttis natuke aega aga leitud see sai ning buss pidi kümne-viieteistkümne minuti jooksul kohale jõudma. Bussid tulid. Bussid läksid. Bussid tulid uuesti. Meie oma mitte kuskil. Sattusin rääkima ühe meiega samas hotellis ööbiva Austraalia paariga, kes oli oodanud juba üle tunni. See ei olnud väga julgustav. Mõtlesin juba, kas kasutada ära oma esimene 15dollari väärtuses tasuta sõit Uberiga kui lõpuks saabus meie transfeer, mis toimetas meid Days Inn San Francisco International Airport West nimelisse hotelli. Sisseregistreerimine oli sujuv, toas lutikaid ei näinud. Ning esimene öö Ameerika pinnal võis alata. 

This time our travels took us across the ocean for the first time in our lives.

I began planning our trip about 2 years ago. We got the thought from my father, who has always wanted to see America. As usual, I combined the route. My homework was to fit as much as possible into the limited time frame of two weeks without having to rush around and actually not seeing anything. I understood we would have to include days with driving long distances but I didn't want to exclude them to save a bit of time.

Next, I booked the accommodations (previous August, with some changes during the year. I was surprised that I couldn't start in May as usually with GreatBritain or Eire), ESTAs, plane tickets, travel insurance, booked the car, bought adapters. I got useful tips from Kersti, Mary and Marit.

I wondered how our car would hold in Death Valley. Would we need to call for help. Would we need a local sim card just in case. Would ESTAs be enough. And the usual thoughts of a person with an overactive imagination, but that is just how I am.

First, approximately 11-hour flight with Finnair. Our flight from Helsinki departed on the 31st of July at around 4pm and we arrived in San Francisco International Airport on the 31st of July at around 5pm. Well, it all started with a half-hour bumpy flight from Tallinn to Helsinki and I was already nauseous. Ugh, how I cannot stand that. If only ginger helped. My mother brought sudokus and my father brought crosswords. We bought travel pillow (before the journey naturally, I am not that wealthy to buy things from airports).

Breakfast

When we got to our seats a blanket and a pillow were nicely placed there with a tiny bottle of water. And there was a screen in the seat in front of you to watch movies or play games. We were served quite tasty meal for plane food after take-off. I watched some movies. When it was bed time, thhey dimmed the lights. Most people slept, someone snored. I honestly tried my best to fall asleep. Twice. But it didn't work, so I carried on watching movies. At around 2am for us, 4pm for them, we were served breakfast. The lasagne was so-so. And not my usual choice of breakfast.

Then finally we landed. San Francisco International airport. Then the security check. We answered some questions behind a computer, gave our fingerprints and had our photos taken and joined the queue. It was moving. It was. And about an hour later we finally got the stamps in our passports.

Our flight's luggage was nicely put together next to the conveyer belt. Apparently we were one of the first ones.

Outside I tried to find the place to call our hotel. It took some time but finally I made the call and I was told our shuttle would arrive within ten to fifteen minutes. Shuttles came. Shuttles went. Shuttles came again but not ours. I talked to an Australian couple who stayed at the same hotel and they said they had waited for more than an hour. I already thought I could use the complimentary 15 dollars with my first Uber drive until our shuttle arrived at last. No explanations.  We were taken to Days Inn San Francisco International Airport West. Check-in was fast, I didn't see any bed bugs in our room. No, it was a lovely room actually.  Our first night in America could start.

Napoli 22.07

Napoli

22.07 Hommikul tegin juba natuke pikema jalutuskäigu kuna tahtsin jõuda eelmisel päeval bussist nähtud vaateni. Istusime küll kahekordse bussi esimeses reas aga läbi kumera klaasi ei õnnestunud kuidagi normaalseid pilte teha.

Möödusin meie tavapärasest ujumiskohast, veidi kaugemale jäävast Mappatella rannast, mille olin esialgu ujumiskohaks mõelnud ning tasulisest Elena rannast ning jõudsin välja Via Francesco Petrarca tänavale. Hommikuga sain kokku umbes 10 kilomeetrit. Päike tõusis. Majad paiknevad mitmes tasapinnas. Ilm oli ilus. Mis veel tahta.

Aga päeva eriti midagi rohkemat ei mahtunudki. Pärast hommikusööki tegime läbi City Sightseeing Napoli A marsruudi, ehk tutvusime teise poole linnaga, mis osaliselt oli jalgsi juba läbitud.

Selle reisi viimane rannaskäik.

Lõunaks sõime seekord burgerit 😁 Käisime McDonalds`is. Ma igal aastal ikka ühe burgeri söön, see ei ole mingi eesmärk aga nii on juhtunud. Sellel aastal juhtub ilmselt rohkemgi. 

Õhtuks võtsime paki sushit, sest aega kuskile sööma minna enam ei olnud. Juba ootaski meid takso, mis viis lennujaama. Esimene lend viis Helsingisse, väike hilinemine ja kohal kell 1.30 öösel. Esimest korda elus saime veeta öö  lennujaamas. Tähendab, see oli juba pileteid ostes teada. Ei olnudki nii hull, kui arvasin. Kuigi ega eriti magada ka ei saanud. Lärm oli päris suur. Ööbijaid oli üllatavalt palju, igaüks hõivas mõne pingirea.

Mulle Napoli meeldib. See kaootiline seaduspärasus kuidagi sobib mulle. Caprile läheks kindlasti tagasi. Ei kujutaks ette suuremat osa eesti autojuhte sealses liikluses. Aga veel uus seiklus ootab ees juba kolmapäeval 😊

22nd July I took a slightly longer walk in the morning as I wanted to reach a spot I saw from the bus window the previous day. We were sitting in the first row of a double-decker but I just couldn`t take a decent photo through the curvy window. 

I passed our usual swimming spot. Mappatella beach was a little farther down the road, this is the beach I had originally thought for swimming when I planned our trip at home. The priced Elena beach is even farther. Finally I reached Via Francesco Petrarca. I managed to walk about 10 kilometres that morning. The sun was rising. The weather was lovely. What else to want.

We didn`t do much that day. We took the City Sightseeing Napoli A route after breakfast. That meant seeing the other direction that we took the day previously. But we had already managed to see most of the sights we shown. 

The last swimming of the trip. 

We had a burger for lunch 😁 We visited a McDonalds. I manage to eat at least one burger each year. Not a goal on its own. This year I imagine I will eat way more.

We bought sushi for dinner because we didn`t have time to eat out. And then our taxi was waiting for us to take us to the airport. The first flight took us to Helsinki. A slight delay and we were there 1.30am. For the first time in our lives we got to sleep in an airport. We knew that before though. It wasn`t as bad as I had thought. I didn`t get much sleep either, too noisy. But there were surprisingly many people at the airport at night. 

I like Napoli. That chaotic pattern fits me somehow. I would definitely visit Capri again. A new adventure is on its way in two days 😊