San Francisco

June 5th

After a five hour flight from Hawai’i and catching a beautiful sunset from the plane, we finally landed in the great city of San Francisco, California.

June 6th

Since we landed so late the previous night, we hadn’t yet seen the whole Blucher family: Gary (who worked with my mum nearly 20 years ago), Debbie, and their three kids Maddie, Eli, and Ben. We hadn’t all been together in over 10 years, so it was a real joy to stay with them in their beautiful San Carlos home.

With most of the family busy that Friday, we set out to explore San Francisco. First up was Alcatraz Island, where we learned all about how things used to run when the prison was active. The ferry ride there and back also gave us some great views of the city. 

For lunch, we stopped at Pier 39 and ate at “Boudin”—my mom was especially happy to have a clam chowder served in a giant sourdough bun, just like she used to eat during her work trips to San Francisco. We wrapped up the afternoon watching the sea lions lazing about at Fisherman’s Wharf, and some tasty gelato.

June 7th

We set off with almost the whole Blucher crew and headed to Santa Cruz to meet Eileen (another colleague of my mom’s from 20 years ago) and her husband Rob (aka Doug according to my late aunty Livia).

They gave us a lovely tour of the area and brought us to the iconic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk—a century-old amusement park.

My siblings and the Blucher kids had a blast trying out as many rides as we could.

June 8th

However, the weather was kinder by the time we drove down the famous Lombard Street.

That evening, we met up with the Bluchers in time for a show at Club Fugazi, presented by The 7 Fingers. The performance was outstanding and to our delight, four of the artists were Swiss and some even from our region!

I hope to cross paths with them again, maybe back in Switzerland. A magical end to our time in San Francisco. 

Thank you Debbie for organizing the tickets to Fugazi and above all, we look forward to seeing you all soon!

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Yosemite National Park

June 9th

After saying our goodbyes, we headed to Yosemite National Park. On the way, we tried In-N-Out on Debby’s recommendation.

I really liked the simplicity of the menu and the freshness of the burgers—a nice contrast to the soggy veggies usually found in fast food burgers. 

June 10th-11th

We spent two full days exploring as much of Yosemite as we could.

The landscapes were absolutely stunning, with endless trails and viewpoints. We could easily have spent weeks there.

Kings Canyon National Park

June 12th

We drove along the King’s Canyon Scenic Byway, through the deepest canyon in the USA.

We also visited the massive General Grant Tree—the second-largest Sequoia in the world.

The drive down to our accommodation for the night was so beautiful as well.

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Sequoia National Park

June 13th

We explored more of California’s giant trees, stopping to see the General Sherman—the biggest known tree in the world by volume (and supposedly 2,200 years old).

After a visit to the Giant Forest Museum, we ended the day with a climb up Moro Rock, rewarded by spectacular views.

That night, we stayed at AutoCamp for some glamorous camping.

The original place we wanted to stay at lost power, but this last-minute switch turned out to be a treat.

We cooked dinner over a fire and even got to enjoy some tasty s’mores.

(I have to say that American marshmallows are much nicer to cook than what we have back home).

June 14th

After all the hiking, we took a well-earned rest day. We caught up on work, floated on the river, and enjoyed the campsite’s peaceful atmosphere with a lovely fire-cooked couscous and bean stew. And, of course, more s’mores.

June 15th

We walked through the Kaweah Oaks Preserve,…

Ate some excellent Korean food in Tulare,…

and visited the quirky Tulare County Museum.

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Death Valley

June 16th-17th

We packed the car and headed for Beatty, Nevada, to spend the night.

On the way, we drove through Death Valley National Park.

The scenery was surreal and the temperature hit 44°C (111°F). It was a dry, blistering heat, so dry that any wind felt like it would melt your eyeballs.

Despite being in the middle of nowhere, we found some of the best Mexican food of our trip—right up there with that one spot we loved driving out of Destin, Florida.

It seems like the secret to great Mexican food is to stop in the smallest towns in the middle of nowhere in the US!

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Las Vegas 

June 18th-19th

In Vegas, we explored two fascinating exhibitions: the Titanic Exhibit and the Bodies Exhibit. If you only have time for one, I’d recommend the Bodies Exhibit—it was truly captivating and a little bit creepy, although both were interesting.

We also visited the Hoover Dam and took the guided tour to learn about its inner workings and how it was constructed during the 1930s.

That evening, too tired to walk the Strip, we opted to drive down it instead. Even from the car, the sheer absurdity of Las Vegas architecture blew us away.. haha. 

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Grand Canyon (North Rim)

June 20th-21st

After days of dry heat and very low elevation, the cool mountain air at 2,600 metres was a welcome change.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon was much more lush and green than I was expecting—a surprise compared to the iconic desert landscapes of the South Rim (aka the part I had always seen online).

That night, we joined a stargazing event hosted by Kaibab Lodge.

The sky was dazzlingly clear, we saw the Milky Way and distant galaxies through a telescope. I even got to see the brightest shooting star I’ve ever seen.

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Marble Canyon & Page, Arizona

June 22nd-23rd

We stayed at a lodge with an epic view of the Vermilion Cliffs.

And enjoyed a kayak tour on the Colorado River. A peaceful and scenic couple of days.

The surrounding area was stunning.

June 24th

En route to Page, we stopped at Paria Beach for a picnic by the Colorado River before checking into a traditional hogan at Shash Diné Eco Retreat.

Built with no nails or ropes, just expertly placed logs and earth, it was such an honour to sleep in this hogan. My parents stayed in a Sheep Wagon which was cool as well.

That evening we attended the Red Heritage Indigenous Show. We learned more about the Diné culture, including how Spanish settlers gave them the name “Navajo.”

June 25th

We visited Horseshoe Bend, offering a very different perspective of where we had kayaked the day before. 

Then we walked to one of the Navajo National Monument lookouts, the Betatakin Cliff Dwellings was a village built in an overhang of the canyon.

We learnt how it was the ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the Tsegi Canyon system during the 1200s! A very good location, protected from the harsh weather conditions. 

To finish the day, we did a night tour in Ligai Si Anii, which is privately held land by a Diné family.

We heard stories from our lovely hosts about growing up in the area and how life has evolved for them while enjoying the beautiful night views.

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Grand Canyon (South Rim)

June 26th-27th

We explored the South Rim and took it easy, soaking in the views. We participated in a guided ranger tour, where we learned about the geological history of the Grand Canyon, which was fascinating!

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Joshua Tree

June 28th

On our way to Joshua Tree, we made a fun detour to “Bearizona” which had what was basically a drive-through zoo.

A few hours later, we stopped at the wonderfully named Roadkill 66 Café.

June 29th

We spent the morning relaxing and playing board games in our lovely airbnb.

We headed into Joshua Tree National Park later that evening and joined a ranger-led sunset walk. We learned many interesting things including that the famous “ Joshua Trees” are actually more like giant succulents than trees!

June 30th
We drove down to Palm Springs and checked into our funky hotel—a very Palm Springsy place.

July 1st
Onwards to Los Angeles, where I reunited with my bestie Evija and her dad, Peter at a great breakfast joint called Le Roy’s.

This was where my family and I officially parted ways for the remainder of this wonderful journey.

After a delicious meal and some goodbyes, Evija, Peter and I hit the road for a long drive up to San Francisco, where we met with her brothers Erling and Eskild, their wives Doan and Jessica, and her mom, Jana. A lovely first evening together.

July 1st–7th (Family’s POV)
Meanwhile, the rest of my family headed to Santa Monica, where they spent a couple of days exploring Los Angeles.

On July 7th, they flew back to Switzerland—excited to be reunited with friends and family back home.

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San Francisco

July 2nd–5th
Back in the Bay Area, Evija and I spent our time shopping and sightseeing, taking it slow and enjoying tasty food.

We celebrated the 4th of July with a backyard BBQ with her family.

July 6th–7th
Evija’s sister Enja and her four-month-old baby Zia joined us thanks to some last-minute planning. It was so special to have them around—seeing the whole family together was heartwarming.

July 8th
We headed up to Napa Valley to visit a potential wedding venue for the newlyweds Erling and Doan. It was so beautiful up there—I got plenty of lovely pictures.

July 9th
Evija and I went back into San Francisco for some more sightseeing.

Later that evening, we met up with her brother Eskild after work and wandered around the city together before grabbing some delicious ramen.

On the way, we took our very first ride in a Waymo(a self-driving car). It was such a strange experience sitting in a vehicle with no one at the wheel, and watching it navigate through traffic on its own was pretty cool, but a little unsettling.

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Lake Tahoe
June 10th–13th
Our weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe was so nice. We spent most of our time relaxing by the lake, soaking in the sunshine and enjoying the water.

When we weren’t by the water, we were enjoying delicious meals and fun games of Catan in the beautiful Airbnb that Eskild had booked. It was the perfect way to spend a summer weekend—and such a great way to wrap up my trip.

A huge thank you to the whole family for so kindly letting me tag along these past two weeks. I had such a wonderful time, and I really hope to see them all again soon, hopefully in Switzerland