We stopped in Orick to see the Redwoods, the tallest trees in the world. 
From the first 3 minutes spent there, it was obvious that it is a ghost village. After some resorts were built, the village lost any interest. But there we are ! We let our big luggage to a decrepit motel, and went to the forest to set the hammock. After half an hour walk to the Redwoods, we gave up and put in a nice place. We wanted to profit for a rare occasion when we set the hammock on daylight. Everything is perfect. The moon is big and beautiful. When I hear 3 shots, one after the other. Emilie says it’s fireworks. I try to think: such a good place, where to go, is it really dangerous. After 5 minutes of thought, another round of strange noises. I know Emilie doesn’t want to leave the place. But I don’t feel comfortable. Let’s …
Monthly Archives: October 2015
Road trip with Christian, a German CEO in US
We were left at the entrance of a village, but on a long straight line, so the cars were passing full speed. No hope. But in 5 minutes, a SUV stops, the driver is a man about 50 55 years old, very well dressed.
Christian is the CEO of a branch in Charleston, South Carolina, of a German company. Its founder is the inventor of anti-fire system for production lines. It is a niche business, but of several billions. Christian says it is very hard to do business in US. Some employees steeled some technical plans, he fired them and called them in justice. After half a year and half of million spent, he realised that the justice works to make money for the advocates, so he negotiated directly with the other part, just to limit the loss. He says as well the business climate is much harder, all that matters is the cheap price. His family is in Hamburg, he wants to set the branch on a stable track and then to retire and work with wood.
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Hitchhiking is a gift
Our great host in Portland, Uli, left us in a good spot. After 10 minutes, a car came from the opposite direction, they had seen us, and took us.
They are the Ayers family: the mother and two daughters, which have as well grandchildren. The mother was the wife of Jimmy Ayers, a Nascar car pilot. When he came after the war, he thought what he liked the most, the race cars, and he went to work at Indianapolis. 2 years later, he got a wheel. He and his wife invented a safer helmet. But it was stolen by Bell Helmets, which is now a big helmet producer.
All their big family likes to watch races, except one daughter. But it was too hard to see her husband racing.
Uli
Pavel in the city of the roses
Pavel is our CouchSurfing host in Portland. We spent 3 nights with him. He is from Bielorusia and he came in US with a Phd in semiconductors and when he finished it, he got a job at Intel. He lives the American dream: a nice car, a big house with a huge garden for a future dog. On the other hand, he doesn’t have too much time, since he works 7-19 and each three weeks, he is on night call.
Pavel dated an American girl. Once, after about 2 months, when he came to her place, there was on the table a magazine specialized on marriage diamonds. Pavel said that the girls are programmed that ‘if marriage then diamonds’. The same story I had heard from Viorel, that the custom is that the diamond is 30% of the yearly revenue of the groom.
He goes once a year in Bielorusia. He says that if you accept corruption, you can have a good life.
India is from India. She is a work colleague of Pavel. We met her at a Sunday grill. She is very emancipated, she drives a 1200cc chopper, very big and heavy. As the other Indian at the party, she is married with an Indian who is living far by 3 hours flight. The problem is that in US, even as a Phd doctor, working for 6 years, if you don’t have a job, you have to leave the country. So each of them sticks to the job they got after graduation and wait to get the citizenship.
Pavel is sharing his house with Vladimir, from Ukraine. He has tough stories with colleagues and friends who went in the war, and some died.
Despite all these sad stories, we had a very good time with them.
Portland is known for roses, the climate is apparently perfect to grow them.
