Crazing trip down America full of adventure and experiences

Day 2 of the insane trip, yesterday Cobba, Sjoerd and I walked up to cedar house to say goodbye to everyone as they went on project. It was really hard, I prob didn't show it much at the time, cause I didn't want tears rolling down my face so I just kept smiling. There were so many people to say goodbye too, so many good friends. I will miss them all and see mot of them soon when I get to Europe. Then the 3 of us walked down down to have our last meal together in Flagstaff of pancakes. Then said goodbye to Cobba and me and Sjoerd set off with our 45kg bags. It was ridiculously heavy. We were just past NAU about a mile and were ready to give up and start hitchhiking. But for some reason we kept going along the urban trail that heads south. We took regular breaks and just the littlest hills were really hard to get over. We set up camp in the bush, just out of view of the road and looked at the map, we had only gone 4 and a half miles, so it is not humanly possible to walk to Phoenix with this much weight in such a short time. We made a fire and cooked potatoes, rice, avocado and tuna. It was a really good meal. We hung our food in a tree. We both saw a shooting star and wished to survive. This morning I was sore and thought we would just walk to the road and hitchhike. We only tried for 15min and then just kept walking, we would walk a mile and take a long break. By the time I would make it to the next mile marker I was smashed, somehow we did 7 and a half miles today and have made it to sedona lookout point. Its really beautiful here and we are camping near the cliff edge. Its time for another awsome back country dinner.

So last night we were cooking dinner and the fire escaped out of the barrier and spread across the ground really fast, we stamped on it and it went out finally but it was really scary. We forgot forks so we carve eating tools out of sticks. We went to sleep and I woke up to rain and I said to sjoerd we should move to shelter, but he wanted to sleep, this happened a few times, then we moved under a tree and then it started to hail so we ran all our gear to the near by public toilets. Everything was wet, that ranger opened the toilets for us a few hours later, and we dried everything by using the hand dryer most of the day. At the end of the day a Navajo lady gave us some food, I was so happy cause it was still raining so we couldn't make a fire, so we got a good dinner. We are just going to camp here tonight, make our way to sedona tomorrow.

We have made it to Sedona, The fifth car stopped to give us a ride. He was very nice, he even stopped at the spring for us to fill up our water bottles. We went to a local park and buried all the stuff we didn't need under a pile of rocks. Then we hiked up a hill to camp up there, we hid our bags up there and walked back to get the other ones.Carrying the other bags we looked very homeless.We went to the McDonald's for warmth and a old couple offered to by us something.It was a big shame we had just eaten, so didn't accept it. We then went and hung out at the movie theatre. We didn't get back to the top of the hill until 1am. The sky was beautiful and so many shooting stars. An interesting sleep, it was so rocky and steep I kept sliding down, and very cold ontop of a big hill, so yesterday we moved camp down the hill so its not so cold and not such a big mission to get there. We left all our bags in the bush and went to town. We went and had a big lunch and then went to the park to try and find a ball and we did. So we played there for a couple of hours. We walked the streets asking businesses for temporary jobs for a few days but no luck. Many more shooting stars.

People throughout the world are so nice. We left camp and went to McDonald's for our daily sink shower. I was playing with the ball outside and this guy comes up to me and says. "I know what its like to be homeless". I was shocked, he offered me money - I accepted it ofcourse and told me the church puts on meals for the homeless. We talked for abit and then went to the library, and then for a Mcmassive walk to devils bridge trail. We had watermelon and bread for lunch and then down to the church for dinner. There was so much food, and we got seconds, I haven't eaten that much in a long time. Even dessert. Fruit and heaps of food to take away. Then we went to the library to watch the free movie, Walt's in Basir. Walked back to camp and there was a light where we have our bags stashed. So that was kinda scary knowing someone was really close to us. Yesterday we went into the tourist part of town to get some string to make each other a present.We were good on food thanks to the church. Then we went and had lunch down by the stream. We headed back to the park to attempt there fitness track. We met a very nice guy Jeff how had 3 dogs with him. We got talking to him and talked for 5hours. He was very interesting and nice.He gave us 3 shopping bags of food that he pulled out of his car, and we will meet up with him again as he would like to give us some money. We went to McDonald's for warmth and a very nice young guy gave us money for food.

Yesterday - what a day of unexpected turn around in our journey. We were walking to meet Jeff and saw him half way there. He offered to take us to Cottonwood where he had a camp site. And then drive us to Phoenix after thanksgiving. I was shocked and we accepted right there and then, the very kind offer. Just getting all our gear into a already very packed car with 3 dogs was fun.My right arm and left leg went to sleep during the journey.Jeff took us to sizzlers for dinner where we had a much needed steak, and salad bar and went back to camp to have some much more needed bears. Jeff is an awsome guy so this turn around in the trip Is going to be great.

For all those that know me well, you know that I love food. The whole day Jeff just kept feeding me, so much food. "Jeff is a feeder and i love it". Sjoerd and I just played with the ball most of the day and talked, I tried for my first time caramelized apples and eggnog both very good. At dark when Jeff went into his car for warmth we walked a nearby trail. Awsome view.

So it is very relaxing at this campsite, we play with the ball a lot, we walked down to the stream it was so dam cold. And two nights ago we had a Mcmassive feed and drunk a lot it was a really good night. Yesterday we had a lot of meat for lunch and drove up to Jerome - an old mining town now famous to be haunted. We were walking back to the car and I thought I saw Amy and then Adam. But I was like it cant be. As I got closer Adam said look theres an ACE van. An the van drove towards me and there I was wearing an ACE t-shirt.We talked for abit and they all met uncle Jeff.

Yesterday Sjoerd woke me up to say he had been sick, great communication between us. I wasn't feeling very good all day all day so just wanted to rest, I was giving him grief but just joking around cause I know what that's like. So I walked to the lagoons, very beautiful and lots of people. Then Jeff and I went into town to clean the car. The air is so dry here that my skin is drying up intensely, worst on my knuckles, and now the cracks are so deep it is bleeding alittle. We are moving camp this morning so get to be squashed up in the car again, its better than walking with all our gear. "Thanks Jeff" (Now Jeff said to change his name on this blog so lets call him "Bob")

So we made it to Phoenix and went to the airport to try and change Sjored's flight. They wouldn't do it for free so we went to a Wall Mart parking lot and Jeff sleeps in the car and we slept just off the curb, but it was actually a hotel parking lot where we slept. I expected us to get kicked out during the night. I went to Wall Mart very early and tried on rich looking clothes just to look respectable again, cause I looked really bad and no girl would have wanted to touch me during this journey. Then Sjoerd and I walked into the Hotel and had the complimentary breakfast they put on. Then for lunch we went to Sams club and had a lot of the samples they put on for shoppers, so we filled a trolley to make it look like we were shopping, cause at this time Jeff has also running low on money so we didn't have a lot so you have to do what you can to eat. We went to the airport to try and get Sjoerd home earlier, and this is where we met the lovely Maggie. Maggie had Sjoerd on a flight home within an hour so it was very fast and sad, then Maggie offered to take me back to her place untill my flight instead of me hanging around at the airport. So I said goodbye to Jeff and how much I appreciated him helping us out and we both said to be safe if we do something like this again.

Maggie took me to her home and I got a shower and put clean clothes on. I met Richard and Andre, both very nice and warm welcoming for me. A wonderfull family that I felt I got on with well. Andre showed me around Phoenix and his old Campus. We got on well and I will surly stay intouch with the family. Maggie was like a mother towards me, we would chat and she showed me here lovely photos that she takes, she is very talented. Thanksgiving day we watched the parade in New York on TV and then they loaned me a camera cause mine has broken and I went for a quick bike ride, and found grass, I played in the grass and people looked at me funny but I didn't care its been 3months without grass. Maggie took the best of my photos of the trip so far and we touched them up and made a DVD of them playing to music, its so cool, I learnt a lot about photography. I had thanksgiving dinner with there family and it was so nice to be involved with a family, the daughter Alysia and husband John joined us, both were fantastic people, lots to be proud of. This morning Maggie took me to the airport and I had somebody to say goodbye to at the gate.

I am so appreciative of there help, as well as Jeffs, and all the kind people that helped me out along the way, especially leaving Flagstaff. I have been honoured to meet such great people on this trip and look forward to catching up with them again in the near future.

America for me has been a wonderfull adventure, it is majorly underrated by people back home. You have to get here and venture out of the big cities, it has so much to offer and so many amazing people as I got to find out first hand.

I am currently flying over America about to enter Canada, where I will be spending 5months here I believe. I am really looking forward to been back with a routine lifestyle. It is my birthday back home today but I have to wait untill tomorrow to celebrate it. Have a good one Everyone.