Highway 1

I'm running short on superlatives. The highway 1 lived up to all narratives and more so because none of the books had described the colony of elephant seals .we came upon. Huge, ugly, ungraceful and smelly animals but ever so fascinating. We witnessed how the males grunted. How they battled for dominance. It beat any show on Animal planet. It was a day with lots of nature. We saw deer, wild turkey, humming birds and lots and lots of special, beautiful and colorful plants. And the redwood trail in Big Basin national forest came at the right time. The right time for getting out of the car and the right time for exploration. Meals were late both times we got to the place right before kitchen closed but what we got was good, healthy and mostly untried before. We were sceptic of the egg and bacon pizza in Big Sur but it turned out both good and substantial.

Traffic!

Now we've experienced California traffic for real! 101 through LA was a killer. Cars, cars and more cars crowded the highway. It put a serious challenge to the time plan. But we did make it to Solvang and the kids just loved to get medisterpølse and hakkebøf. Erik was all mellow when he noticed rum balls and marcipan logs at the doctor. So Lunch at 3 pm and then a fast drive down the mountain to Pisco beach. A wonderful dip in the Pacific and supper at 9. Another full day.

Upon golden pond

There's gold a plenty in California. Lake Arrowhead literally sparkles with tiny golden flakes. Gold or not, Rita is born a mermaid and staid in the water long after the rest of us had left it freezing.

Shaffer visit

A short trip from LA to wonderful San Diego. Afternoon at the beach diving in the awesome Pacific waves. And to top it off the beginning of a fun fun visit with Mathew, Anthony, Caroline, Cathrine, Sara and Dave. The kids were just hitting it off immediately.

Midway

Another vacation highlight - Midway the aircraft carrier. Naval aviation was invented in San Diego. Pretty cool to see a retired and 2 active aircraft carriers. Afternoon return through La Jolla experiencing a cave by the sea and seals in nature. The best fresh seafood - sole with shrimp and lemon sauce.

Hollywood

Another action filled and long day was spent at Universal Studios theme park. It was a lot of fun. Amazing what can be done with 3D now a days. We almost made to the opening hour but I must admit it will take quite some time before US high way signs and I become really good friends. After Universal a short trip to Hollywood Boulevard and Graumans Chinese theatre. We were disappointed the Hollywood sign weren't illuminated at night. All were tired when we got back home. I think Farmor will need a vacation after this.

A quiet day in

Oh bliss! A lazy day in lake Arrowhead, beach and 1 kg porterhouse steaks on the grill.

Hot hot hot

123 F/50 C phew! Badwater bassin and Furnace Creek spectacular sights in Death Valley. It was a long detour to Lake Arrowhead but worth it. We have seen another unworldly sight with salt plains, multicolored rocks and beautiful sights. The trip to Lake Arrowhead was narrow and curvy. 300 degrees turns on the highway in pitch darkness. The 20 miles took forever but the wow of the Rim of the world drive with an overlook of all the Los Angeles lights was outstanding and worth the 1 hour hassle with the locks at the ressort.

Southrim

Flying helicopter over Grand Canyon was awesome. We got to see many more formations than we could from the rim. And it was fun! Especially making a sharp turn around a rock. We saw smoke from many forest fires and on the flight got so close we could smell it. Hover dam in the morning was spectacular as well. What a construction. The day ended unexpectedly with wild west show in Williams - our stop for supper. It ended up being a long day when we arrived in Vegas 24.45. But we loved every minute of it.

Riviera

Amazing casinos - Luxor, Paris, Excalibur. Cirque du Soleil was breathtaking, amazing and fabulous. Circus will never be the same again.

Grandmas Car

Lots of hot weather in Indy and lots of fun with Grandma and Gary. Rita and Axel loved to marinate in the pool and drive without the roof on.

Detroit

Waiting for the tram to take us to the end of the terminal - gate 10A - heading for VEGAS! Deli meal was only memorable for being not so.

Birthday boy

An inferno of candles, a burnt flag and a luscious chocolate cake marked Axel turning 14.

Dad gone soft

7 AM getting ready for a 11 hour drive to Indianapolis. The plan was to get up at 6 AM but somehow the patriarch lost the majority vote. My aim was to make it to Indy by 7 PM. I was so exhilarated to have made it - only to realize there's a time difference and it was 8!

Owatonna

So good to see him. A fine family and a very nice city.

Eldborg

A day with thousands of impressions started with a drive a long the westcoast. An unplanned 60 km. detour and spectacular sights. The route brought us around tall looming mountains and down a 130 m deep tunnel through hvalfjordur. The purpose of the trip was Eldborg the vulcano that had inspired Jules Verne in his writings but before we got that far we had to miss a sign and drive 25 km to Graabork which is a 150 m tall vulcano near Bifrost. It was tall and all black from the lava slag. When we made it to Eldborg it was worth the trip. A 3 km hike and then a steep climb was managed before we stood a the narrowest rim and looked down into the crater. It was awesome. I can easily see the inspiration. The day wasn't done with those sights. We made good use of the midnight sun and managed to see the continental rift where the american and eurasian tectonic plates are moving a part in the Reykjanes peninsula. When we made it back to the hotel at midnight it was still so bright you could read a book.

Blaa leonid

Two days of extensive travelling required some relaxation. So many hours were spent in the soothing wafers of the blue lagoon before heading to Keflavik airport, the US and Erik!

Stokkur

We travelled the so called golden circle and saw Tingvellir, the geysir Stokkur and Gulfoss which is a huge waterfall. Stokkur bursts are as high as Old faithful. En route we went through Nesjavallir which house a huge geo thermal plant supplying Reykjavik with hot water and electricity. The hills of the mountain and all the small vallies were dominated by small white igglos and large water pipes and steam coming up the ground. At and imprint stop we climbed Kerid a dead vulcano. I don't know how deep it was but it was spectacular standing at the top looking down in to the bluest lake in the center of the crater. The meals we'be has do far has been very special. I tried mink whale and fish jerky yesterday and today we had earth cooked lamb (which means steamed with hot water from the ground).

Off to adventures

4 hours from now we will be in Iceland. Travelling the real Qvistgaard way.

Never throw away

Rita was wishing for a swing. "There's plenty of room in our new garden". We didn't have a swing but then I remembered that Alfred gave us a hammock 10 years ago. And lo and behold after a little searching there it was. Rita had a blast.

Do as

Today we got Axel back from band camp. Axel was so excited he had bought some grasshoppers for eating - with salt and vinegar taste. He tried them. Taste like popcorn was the verdict.

Sommer school

Rita and I are this week atsailing school where we have fun sailing. Rita even managed windsurfing. And she got tired. It's hard work getting that sail up from the water and holding it in the wind.

Torrent

We had the most spectacular down pour yeaterday. In two hours Copenhagen received the equivalence of 2 months rain - 150 mm. There was flash flooding all over Copenhagen. We were in luck no major damages except for the tent in the garden. It was bent and had 2 inches of water in the cabins. Good thing we didn't sleep in there when the rain came.

This news page shows a few videos of down town copenhagen.

http://www.bt.dk/danmark/her-er-de-vanvittige-videoer-fra-skybruddet

Dance ballad

This week, Rita had been at a dance camp. They finished with a very fine show at the local theatre.

Elder juice

T'is the season, the elders are blooming. Rita and I went to work, cutting the flowers and mixing with sugar and water. This year we are making a batch with fresh ginger. I'm very curious what it will turn out like.

Squid

I always have squid when we go out to eat Thai. Last time our fish monger came by she talked me into getting 2 pounds of baby squid. It was a bit a work to make this:http://recipeland.com/recipe/v/Yum-Pra-Hmik-Thai-Squid-Salad-12131 but the result was excellent. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the result. I must admit the preparations look a bit gross.