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 …
Category Archives: Hitchhiking
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.
Continue reading Road trip with Christian, a German CEO in US
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.
Hitchhiking on the West Coast
In Port Angeles, at the tourist information, we understood that there are a lot of homeless people, so hitchhiking is difficult. The clouds looked pretty awful, so we waited for the bus to go to the West Coast to the ‘Third Beach’, in an Indian reservation. We arrived there by the free bus of the community.
At the dusk we crossed the Redwood forest to get to a paradise beach, well of the North, because it was raining. It seamed to be nobody.
Tofino, surf paradise
We arrive in Tofino after the worse hitch-hike experience: our driver was 18 years old. She tried to pass all the other cars, on a single lane road through the woods. Because the road was up and down, it was like a roller-coaster, so my stomach was very disturbed.
It was raining.
I asked two persons something, I got the first not polite answers in 4 months … unbearable. So everything looked like a tourist trap. We went for a coffee to make the plan, to decide if we stay or go. While putting sugar in the coffee, at the counter, I meet Jack who is travelling with his son in a van. They came from Ontario and they go now to the south. This sounds like the sign to get out of the there. They have to go, so we have 5 minutes to decide.