Day 23: flight home

Friday, July 18

After getting up at 5:30 we pulled out of the hotel at 6. We drove to the San Francisco Airport and returned our rental car. There was a man there who we gave our red bouncy ball, batmition set, and Tide. We got in a tram because The rental car garage is on the other side of the highway than the terminals. We got in our tram and the doors started clothing when suddenly the doors opened again and the Train started saying "Out of Service. Please Exit." Someone had left a bag on the train and the airport staff thought it could be a bomb so they hut the tram down. So we had to wait for the next tram and lost some time. At the US Airways desk we got in the Star club Priority line because Dad is a Star member. We had to wait over 110 minutes because the guy helping us kept running off to help other people. My dad was a little upset and then he told us to take two lbs out of one bag and into another one. The plane would be just as heavy no matter what bag had the 2 lbs in them. We stood there for over 20 minutes total waiting for the guy. My dad was really pissed off because now we couldn't have breakfast. So we bought some croissants to eat on the plane. We were the last ones on the plan and had to find a place for all our bags. We were in the air for about four hours when a an next to my mom passed out. Thankfully, there was a doctor on board an the flight attendants gave him oxygen and he was fine.  He had already been in a plane for 15 hours and was really tired. They moved him to the front so paramedics could bored when we landed. Just before we landed he passed out again. He was okay and the paramedics calmed him and gave hi  oxygen. We got off the plane had a little bit to eat and an intern from SAP picked us up. We dropped him off at his house and went to a Chinese place, King Chef, to eat. We got home and I couldn't sleep until 1:00.

Day 22: Tech Museum

Thursday, July 17

We woke up at 9:00 and had breakfast at 9:30. They had no ore waffles and max was disappointed. We left the hotel at 10:15 and drove to the San Jose Tech Museum. We parked our car and walked into the Tech Museum. After paying for our tickets we walked down stairs and walked through the Go Green exhibit. We saw how a indecent light bulb requires 69 watts and a florescent bulb only requires 6. After seeing how turbines work we saw our i-max on the Alps. The movie was about an american who lived in Switzerland for five years. His dad died while climbing the Agar because his rope broke while he was climbing. His son came back to Switzerland with his wife and his daughter. He decided to climb with his two Swiss friends. They decided to climb the same path his dad climbed. They all made it to the top but one of the friends, who was a mother of two small children, had to be taken down by a helicopter because he had a lot of back pain. After he made it down he knew he had finally finished his life long quest. After the movie we learned about the Internet and saw a show about Pirates. We went upstairs and were allowed to design the roller coaster and then virtually ride on it. Upstairs there were many things you could program. The museum had over 400 ands on activities! We left around 3 and went to the hotel. There we went in the pool for an hour and then got dressed. We had dinner at a nice restaurant with Dad. We went to bed early because we had to leave at six in the morning

Day 21: Raging Waters Water Park

Wednesday, July 13

We had breakfast at the concierge lounge at the Marriot and Valentin spilled his entire hot chocolate. After cleaning up the mess we went back to our room and put on our bathing suits. Around 11:00 Valentin, Viki, Max, and Mom left the hotel. Dad was already at work. The water park, Ragging Waters, advertised as the largest water park in Northern California(23 acres) was probably the only one in Northern california too. The water park was on the shore of a lake and had eleven water slides. In all it had 10 main attractions. They were the Lazy river, Wave pool, Dragons den, which dropped you down a tube into a bowl and you went around h bowl a few times until you came out at the end, The Barracuda which was boring and long. You sit in a large boat and ride all the way down. They also had a pirates cove for little kids were water was pouring out everywhere. They had an attraction with two slides called Shotgun falls where you go down a ten foot slide and then fell five feet to the water. A ride for Valentin was a twenty foot long ten feet wide water fall like slide. After you went down you were in a small lazy river and went down two more two foot water falls. The great white shark was a long slide were you where in a double tube and went through a tunnel for part of the ride. There were the great Pharoahs that was a ride that had three slides that were almost all the same. One was yellow, orange, and pink. Yellow was fastest an orange made the most people fall. My favorite attraction was the most popular one called speed slides. There were two slides, White Lightning and Blue Thunder. You went down a narrow slide for a few turns and then went almost straight down the rest of the way. White Lightning had bumps that made you fly 2-3 inches off the ground during your ride. When we were back at the hotel at 6:00, we went to an Italian place without Dad, who had a business dinner, called Tomatina. They had great food. We went to bed late at 11:30.

Day 21: Raging Waters

Day 20: Returning the RV

Tuesday, July 15

We set out at 9:00 because the RV was due back at 11:00. We drove the thirty minute drive to Oakland airport and picked up our new rental car, a blue Ford Explorer, and drove to Cruise America, just outside of Oakland. There we found two german families and gave them all of our leftovers (chairs, ketchup, gatorade, water, sauces, soap, towels, cereal, and dish cloths) and moved our bags from the RV to our car. We left Cruise America at 12:00. We drove for another 30 minutes to Santa Clara, a city outside of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. We were in the heart of the Silicon valley. The Silicon valley has headquarters from some of the worlds biggest companies like Google, Yahoo, Intel, and SAP enemy Orcale. We were staying at a beautiful Marriott just one block away from the Yahoo headquarters. They had a giant pool and soon after we checked in everyone but Dad went to the pool. We were almost the only ones at the pool. The water was great and when Dad came at 4:50 Max left to watch the All star game. Later we all drove to Palo Alto and had dinner at The Counter with one of my dad's co-workers and her husband. At the counter you can create your own burger. You receive a piece of paper and pick your burger (beef, chicken, veggie), toppings (lettuce, onions, etc.), your cheese( american, swiss, cheddar, etc.) and a sauce for over you burger(honey barbecue, pineapple, etc.) We all had a great time and after dinner we found a Coldstone Creamery and had ice cream. We fell asleep in the hotel around 11:00 after a long and fun day.  

Day 20: Palo Alto

Day 19: San Francisco/Petaluma

Monday, July 14

We left our campsite around 10:00 and drove to another KOA site near San Francisco. There they had a giant pool. We spent about one hour in the pool, when suddenly everyone had these squirt guns that you fill up under water and squirt on someone. There was a war in the pool. So Dad bought three squirt guns and the Kneis' joined the all out war. Soon kids would quit because they were tired. Later we went to the large playground and spent about one hour there. This wasn't a very exciting day and we didn't do a lot. We just relaxed and enjoyed our last day in our RV. We had the last of our ice cream, and went to bed.

Day 19: Outside of San Francisco/Pentaluma

Day 18: Pacific Coast

Sunday, July 13

We got up early and drove for 1 and 1/2 hours so we could eat breakfast in a diner. The kids were in bed for about one hour of the drive. We ate breakfast in a small diner and then headed out for the rest of the drive to a KOA campground. The KOA campgrounds are family run and have a lot of activities. When we arrived at the campground, we instantly loved it. There was a petting zoo, playground, arcade (Valentin spent over an hour watching a game run a demo), and lots of activities. They had a hay ride, ice cream social, dancing and karaoke, and a movie. The kids went on the hay ride around 6:30 but couldn't stay for ice cream because we hadn't eaten dinner yet. After dinner Viki went dancing and Max mastered the chicken dance. After karaoke (Viki sang two songs) everyone made their way to the grassy area to watch the Incredibles. We went to bed around 11:30

Day 18: Pacific Coast

Day 17: Redwood National Park

Saturday, July 12

We left Gold Beach at 10:00 and made our way down the coast to the famous Redwood trees. Once we arrived at “The Mystery of the Trees”, a giant statue of Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox greeted us. Paul Bunyan is a tall tale of a giant logger man. We started on the trail. We saw some of the biggest trees in the world. There were ceader, spruce, and three kinds of Redwoods. Redwoods used to cover the entire earth but after the Ice Age only those 9in the Sierra Nevada and on the Pacific Coast survived. There are only about 1,000 left because humans cut many for lumber. WE walked a 1 mile trail through the forest and saw many sites like the “Family Tree,” “the upside down tree,” and “the Trinity Tree.” The family tree is a tree that has 12 trees on its branches. The upside down tree grows vertically instead of horizontally. The Trinity tree looked like three trees in one, like the Holy Trinity. We got to a Gondola station that took us up the mountain. At the top we had a great view of the entire park. We took the gondola down and walked the short trip back. We then bought 1 lb of chocolate fudge and drove to our campsite. Their Valentin got in a fight with a very fat kindergartener. I thought the kid looked round and Valentin called him Mr. Fattie. The kid pushed Valentin. Later the overweight kid sat on Tino’s head. He was very rude. Dad, Mom, Max, and Viki then played shuffleboard. Max and mom were losing -6 to 40 when Mom quit to go on a hay ride with Valentin. So Max got his team(he was the only member now) back to 60 points but then Dad got points and won. Later everyone lost to Dad again. WE had sausages and potatoes for dinner and went to bed early.

Day 17: Redwood National Park

Day 16: Driving down the Pacific Coast

Friday, July 11

We ate breakfast at 8:00 so we would be at the dune buggy place early. We arrived there at 9:30 and Max and Dad went to the ATV rentals. They watched a safety film and then went down to the rest of the family. Mom, Viki, and Valentin were taking a tour with a crazy driver. After they left Max and Dad got on their ATVs. They were taken out by someone who showed the the 1.2 square mile boundries. They rode their ATVs for a while and Max got stuck a few times because he rode a mini quad and it was powered down so some of the soft sand caught Max. Even dad got stuck twice. After their one hour was finished and they returned their ATVs and met up with the rest of the family. We all hopped in our RV and rode down the Pacific Highway. We arrived in Gold Beach after about three hours of driving. We made one rest stop right in front of the Pacific. It had a great view and wasn't so windy. We arrived at our camp ground, Turtle Back RV Resort, and it was really windy after playing soccer and eating hamburgers we all walked to the beach. The sand was all gray! We then took showers. They were the best bathrooms I have ever seen in a campground. Each was a private room with separate heater, double heat laps, clean sink, glass door on the shower, and a big ventilation thingy. We all went to bed at 10:00

Day 16: Driving down the Pacific Coast

Day 15: Florence/Pacific Ocean

We left Crater Lake National Park very early because we had a long drive ahead of us. We drove for about 1 and ½ hours until we found a dinner. We ate breakfast in Roseburg and left the town as soon as we finished breakfast. We watched a movie to make the time pass and we soon arrived at the Pacific Ocean. We went to a ATV place but he guy recommended to come back the next day because it was very windy and not good weather. Mom decided to go to a Family Fun place down the road. They had go carting, bumper boats, and mini golf. Max and Viki each had their own cart and Dad drove with Valentin. Max was first out of the pits but on the third turn he got stuck and had to be helped. All the cars passed before Max was freed. Up front Dad and Viki were exchanging the lead. Max quickly passed two people and two laps later he was right behind Dad. By now Viki was a little further ahead. Dad slowed down so he could battle with Max for the rest of the race but Max passed him and Dad never had a chance. With three laps left Max overpowered Viki and took the lead. He held on to it and finished first. He came back from last to 1st! Then everyone went mini golfing and Viki won. We then drove to our camping place and played soccer. Later we had shrimp kabobs for Max, Salmon kabobs for Dad and Mom, and noodles for Viki and Valentin. We went to bed at 11:00.

Day 15: Florence/Pacific Ocean

Day 14: Crater Lake National Park

Wednesday, July 9

We left the campsite at 11:00 and drove into Crater Lake National Park. We stopped at two outlooks and took pictures of the lake. The lake was formed after a volcano erupted and then collapsed forming a crater. The lava dried on the bottom not letting any water escape. Soon rain water and melting snow filled the lake to become the deepest lake in the United States. Another volcano erupted in the lake forming an island in the middle. We then went on a one mile hike on the edge of the lake from above and walked to Rim village. There we went to the Cafe and had something to eat and drink. Soon we walked the hour back to our RV and drove to Diamond Lake again. First we swam in the water and then all of us drove bumper boats. After that everyone got into two paddle boats and paddled out. Dad pull Max into the water and Max couldn't get into the boat for about five minutes. Then Viki jumped in the boat twice. Valentin transferred boats and Max tried to pull mom off her boat but dad reached for Max so he drove away. We dried off and had huge ice creams in the restaurant/hotel behind the lake. We went back to our RV resort and had spaghetti for dinner. It was the first night we didn't have meat or fish. We went to bed knowing we were leaving early the next morning.

Day 14: Crater Lake National Park

Day 13: Lava Beds National Monument

Tuesday, July 8

We ate breakfast early and were in the Lava Beds visitor center. There we got big flash lights and hard hats so we could see in the dark caves. After a short introduction from a ranger, we first visited Mushpot cave. This is the easiest cave Lava Beds has to offer. It is lighted and has a paved path to walk on. After walking the 700 feet back and forth, we left the cave and walked the .4 mile Cave loop all the way to Golden Dome cave. We climbed down the ladder and had to duck because the ceiling was low. This was a medium skill cave. The hard ones require knee pads and much ducking, squatting, and crawling. We made our way through the rocks until we came to a big pile. Mom turned around because she was scared and the four others went on. We climbed over the pile and through and around more rocks. We walked for 500-800 feet before the ceiling got about 4 feet (1 meter) and we had to turn around because dad couldn't get through and he didn't want to crawl. We walked to another easy cave and it took us about 30 minutes to complete it. There were two entrances/exits and the whole thing was over 3,000 feet, the second longest cave in the park. We drove past the Oregon border and were now in Oregon. Just before the border a gas station sold gas for $4.65 and over the border you could get it for 30 cents less! We drove all the way to Crater Lake National Park. After we checked in at our RV Resort we drove to Diamond Lake. There we swam for a while and then Viki, Valentin, and Max went to drive a paddle boa. We saw another boat and started hitting them. We docked our boat and went back to Diamond Lake RV Park. WE had chicken drumsticks for dinner and played a game after Valentin went to bed until 11:00. We
went to bed exhausted.

Day 13: Lava Beds National Monument

Day 12: McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial

Monday, July 7



We left our campsite early and headed to McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial. We walked down a .3 mile trail to the falls. Everyone except mom climbed rocks over the water. Viki and Valentin each fell in and were soaked. The water under the falls was twenty-two feet deep and one hundred million gallons of water go over the falls every day. We then walked the Falls Trail Loop, a 1.2 mile loop around the waterfall, and back up to the parking lot. We left the park and drove north. We stopped somewhere in the desert/grasslands and didn't see a car go by or a house for the entire thirty minutes. We ate lunch here and then continued towards Lava Beds National Monument. In the park we went to the visitor center and watched a brief history about Lava Beds National Monument. The Modoc were a tribe who lived in the area. When they were forced into a reservation one hundred of them escaped and returned to the area they once called home. Settlers panicked and many soldiers were sent to stop the Natives and forced them back into their reservations. 52 Modocs hid in the caves and held off a force of soldiers 10x their size for three months. They used their knowledge of the caves to escape dieing and were forced back to the Reservation. It was the only Native American war that a American general was killed. We camped in the park and had no Wifi or hookups. After dinner we participated in a ranger talk about wilderness in the amphitheater of the campground.

Day 12: McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial

Day 11: Lassen Volcanic National Park

Sunday, July 6

We left Canon Dam after breakfast and headed out to Lassen Volcanic National Park. We entered the park and saw some very small sulfur works. They spat steam into the air and smelled very bad. We drove to the entrance of Bumpass Hell, a 3 mile round trip. We started to walk the uphill mountain path towards Bumpass Hell. There was snow on the ground and it was 85 degrees! We had a small snowball fight and continued walking. After about 45 minutes the path started sloping down and Valentin fell a few times. We made it to Bumpass Hell. It smelled horrible. We saw many steaming rocks and bubbling holes of mud. The water in the steam nearby was very hot. The steam from the sulfur once reached a temperature of 322 degrees Fahrenheit. That's really hot! We walked back up the steep slope until the path started winding down against the face of the mountain. Dad disappeared an a few seconds later a snowball landed on my. We had an all out snowball war, mom didn't participate, and Max and Viki ran off. They climbed high on the mountain and found a lot of snow. We through it at dad below and I threw one at his head. He noticed and got snow balls to throw at us. We had to keep walking so our snowball war was over. We got back to the RV and drove to Rancheria RV Resort. We played outside and had dinner. We went to bed tired out and sore from the snowballs.

Day 11: Lassen Volcanic National Park

Day 10: Drive from Tahoe to Canyondam/Lake Almanor

Saturday, July 5

We slept in because we didn't get back to the RV until 11:45. Dad made a great breakfast of eggs and we left the RV resort at 10:00. The drive to Tahoe City was about 45 minutes but we didn't get out because it was so crowded. Instead we continued along the road to Lassen Volcanic National Park. We drove for about one hour and fifteen minutes and during this time the kids watched a movie. We stopped at a rest stop and went to the bathroom. The rest of the drive was about 1/2 hour before we arrived at Rock Point RV Resort. It was right on the lake. The only downside is that there is no electricity and no showers or sinks in the bathrooms. We played soccer for a while and had a great dinner. We first had a lot of shrimp and then the kids had hot dogs and the parents had lamb. Max had both and after dinner all the kids played soccer again. We washed off in our shower because it was a very dusty campground, had ice cream and went to bed after a hard day.

Day 10: Drive from Tahoe to Canon Dam

Day 9: Tahoe

Friday, July 4

We left our campsite in Bridgeport early because we wanted to get to Tahoe early since hundreds of people visit Lake Tahoe for the great fireworks display.Afterbreakfast in a diner along the way we drove for about 1 and 1/2 hours and went to a grocery store in South Tahoe. Most campsites were full, but we called one that could give us a dry hookup. That means no water or electricity. On the way t0 the campsite we saw the sign to a giant campground.(over 350 RV sites) Mom went to the main office and they had one cancellation a few minutes before. We got a full hookup(water, sewage, and electricity) and had a great parking spot. The people to our left love 4th of July and gave each of us a goodie bag with a fan, tattoos, necklaces, and candy. Dad made swordfish and sausages for dinner and we ordered a cab for 8:30 to take us to Lake Tahoe for the fireworks. We found a great place to sit near the lake. We waited for about 45 minutes and the fireworks began. They were amazing. There were big ones, small ones, heart shaped one, Saturn ones, all kinds of colors ones, and even a ship towards the end. We saw a lot of drunk people. After the fireworks our cab driver had suggested to walk a little away from the lake because everyone wants a cab after the fireworks. We walked to an old ice cream parlor, that was closed, and called the cab company. They said about a 30 minute wait. We waited for 45 minutes and no sign of the cab was near. It was now 11:15 and Valentin was crying that he was tired. Viki and I had to go really bad. My dad called the cab company a few times but no one answered the phone. After one hour of waiting we had to walk. It was about 3 miles. We saw a cab from the company we were calling and my dad talked to the driver. The driver shrugged and drove away. Mom then saw a nice lady and asked her if she could drive us to the campsite. She was very nice and drove us all the way to Encore Tahoe Valley, our campsite. It was 11:45 and we were very grateful for this kind person.

Day 9: Tahoe

Day 8: Drive from Yosemite to Bridgeport

Thursday, June 3

After we had a great breakfast of eggs we drove our RV into Yosemite. We drove through Yosemite and stopped at an outlook where the kids climbed down about 300 feet. The family then stopped at a lake in Yosemite where we met a German couple from outside of Heidelberg. We talked for a while and then continued on our tour. We continued driving and were soon out of the park on Tioga Pass, the highest pass in California. It had an elevation of over 9,000 feet. We stopped on it and saw a beautiful sight with peaks still having some snow. It was a very long way down. We drove over the highest up bridge in California when we left the pass and drove very close to the edge of the cliff for two miles. We got down and ahead of us was beautiful Mono Lake. We stopped at an Exxon Mobil gas station that had great food. The kids had ice cream and the parents drank coffee. We got back in our RV, recreational vehicle, and drove to Bodie, a ghost town. To get there, there was a 1.5 mile dirt road. The entire time our RV went up and down and the plates made a lot of noise. We parked and walked through the town. We saw many old buildings and shops. Bodie was a city in the late 1800s. Gold was discovered in 1872 and many people moved there from 1878-1881. In 1881 Bodie had a population of 10,000 people and a 350 people Chinatown! But the gold ran out in 1882 and two years later only 3,000 people still lived there. By 1900 only 100 people lived in Bodie living off of tourism. It was totally abandon in the 1920s and was made a State Park in 1962. We then drove to our camping place in Bridgeport. We had dinner and went to bed.

Day 8: Drive from Yosemite to Bridgeport

Day 7: Yosemite

Wednesday, July 2

We started off the day with a good breakfast of pancakes. We drove back to Yosemite for a two hour tour of Yosemite Valley. We arrived just in time to catch the Tran and took off through Yosemite valley. Our first stop was on a river called the Merced River. We saw a sign that showed flood waters on January 2, 1997 reaching five yards over the bank of the river. We drove through the beautiful valley as the ranger told us about climbers who raced up Al Capitano. The record was held by two American brothers before two German brothers, Woo!, took the record from them. The record stands at 2 hours and forty five minutes. The Americans tried for the fourth time to beat the record but failed. Good conditioned climbers usually climb the rock in 3-5 days. We drove to an overlook of the entire Valley and saw Al Capitano, Half Dome, and Glacier Point. We finished the tour at Yosemite village and had lunch at the food court. We then drove to Curry Village and rented a water raft. The river we went down was three miles long. Along the way there were two guys on a boat with water guns. Later when these kids sprayed us with water guns my dad jumped in the water and stole their ore. He put it in the water a little later and they had to swim against the current to get it. We finished the track in about 1 and 1/2 hours. We drove back to the camp ground, went in the pool, and had dinner. After dinner our accidents continue. We have a small plumbing in the RV that has two kinds of water. Black water and Gray water. Black is from the toilet and grey is from the sinks and shower. When we went into the RV after dinner mom noticed water on the floor. We searched for the source for a while but couldn't find it. The RV was smelling pretty bad. Viki opened the shower were she had put her bag and screamed. The grey water had overflowed and completely drenched Viki's bag and all her clothes. I had told my Dad we should empty all the water that morning but he said we could wait another day. We washed all of Viki's clothes in the laundry so everything is OK. So far this vacation isn't turning out to be lucky in the favor of the Kneis family

Day 7: Yosemite

Day 6: Yosemite

Tuesday, July 1

We woke up to a cold morning at Yosemite Pines RV Resort. Th weather quickly heated up and was in the high 80s for the rest of the day. Today was a day of accidents for the Kneis family. We left to drive to Yosemite at around 10:30 . We first stopped at a mountain outlook were we read about a few people who had died fighting the forest fires. There currently is a fire on the northern part of Yosemite. It will not affect us though. We drove into the park and had a good view of half dome, a famous mountain is Yosemite. We climbed down the mountain over rocks and trees at least 100 feet. We did this up and down for about 30 minutes until we had to get back in the RV. We drove to Yosemite village and took a shuttle to Yosemite falls. There we took a trail to Lower falls were there are many rocks and small waterfalls to climb. The entire family climbed over on top of the river. Mom stopped here and the four others went on. On a large rock in the middle of the upper stream Dad and Valentin stayed. Only two left.Who would be the last man, or woman, standing. Viki and I climbed around for a while and then made our way to the lower river. Here our accidents began. First Viki slipped off a rock and got drenched in the river. Both of us had been wet up to our hips but Viki was now wet up to her neck. We climbed on a big rock only to find it a dead end. Max went down and walked over a tiny waterfall and...was pulled in by the current! Max was now being thrown against rocks mercilessly and cut his knee. He was able to stick his leg in a rock and pulled himself out. The entire time dad stood on a bridge filming. All this happened behind a boulder so he didn't see me.I was completely drenched. So Viki was the last man, or in this case the last woman, standing! WE took a shuttle back to the RV and Max got changed. WE were just driving through Yosemite when I heard a giant Crack!! and saw glass outside. Dad had driven to close to the mountain and hit the right review mirror on the mountain.The mirror shattered. This was not a good day for the Kneis family. We went to get gas and bought some ice cream. We drove back to our campsite, hooked up the RV and went to the pool. For dinner we had turkey and potatoes. We went to bed full.

Day 6: Yosemite

Day 5: Drive from San Francisco to Yosemitie

Monday, June 30

We woke up early in the morning and had to use the bathroom quickly because the hotel was redirecting the power for the lights. That meant no lights from 9am-5pm. We had breakfast in the hotel buffet area and packed our bags after we ate. We packed all our belongings into our white Jeep and drove to Oakland. In Oakland we went to Cruise America to pick up our RV. The family arrived at the pick up spot at 12:30. They told us our RV would be ready at 1:00. We had to watch an introductory movie about our RV. We had to wait for another hour before our RV was ready at 2:30. Our vehicle is 30 feet long and can hold u to seven people. It has a small toilet, a shower that my dad is to tall to fit in, a stove, microwave, and four beds. Their is a small room in the very back that my parents have and Viki and Valentin sleep over the cabin. The other bed is a pull out couch were I sleep. There is a table we could fold down for an extra bed but we don't need it. We finally got under way but we still had to return the rental car. After not finding our rental company, Alamo, we finally saw it in the National line. We got in and returned our car and drove off to Walmart. There we bought five chairs, a small grill, sports equitment, some plastic plates and cups, and lots of dry foods. We drove for 1 and 1/2 hours and stopped at a grocery store to buy some fresh food. We arrived at Yosemite Pines, our campsite, and set up camp. We hooked up our electriciy and water and dad started cooking sasauges on the stove. We didn't have a pan so my dad put aluinim foil on the gas stove and started cooking. It made a lot of smoke and the fire alarm went off twice so my dad unhooked it.We had dinner and went to bed in our camper late at night.

Day 5: Drive from San Francisco to Yosemitie

Day 4: Euro Cup Final

Sunday, June 29

Today we had breakfast in the hotel diner. We left to go meet one of my dads German friends, Ramin, to watch the final of EURO 2008. We decided to walk to an Irish pub and it soon filled up with German and Spanish fans. There was one really loud and annoying Spanish fan, who was actually from Tunisia, who yelled a lot. The Germans didn't wake up until it was too late and lost the game. At the end Valentin punched the crazy Spanish fan. I'm sure everyone is disappointed because of Germany's loss. After the game we went back to Ramin's house and played in their yard and had dinner. After dinner we went back to the hotel and played on the computer before we went to bed. Tomorrow we will pick up our RV in Oakland and are going to drive towards Yosemite National Park.

Day 4: Euro Cup Final

Day 3: San Francisco-Alcatraz

Sunday, June 28

Today we went and had breakfast at a diner across the street. After breakfast we got on a cable car which was really fun. We rode the cable car to pier 33, where the Alcatraz cruise leaves at. We met Wolfgang Kemna who mom and dad know since our early days in the US. Our family got on the boat at 10:30. It was about a twenty minute boat ride to the small island of Alcatraz. Alcatraz was the most famous maximum security prison in the early 1900s. One of its famous prisoners was Al Capone. On the island we went and watched a short movie about the history of Alcatraz. We got a guided tour through the entire cell house. The great riot of Alcatraz was when five men attempted to escape. They stole guns and killed two officers. They battled US Marines for three days before they were defeated. No one ever escaped from Alcatraz alive. After the tour we went to Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at Aliotos. We then tried to get a cable car back to the hotel for about 30 minutes but all the cars were full. We attempted to get a cab which we finally did after another 10-15 minutes. At night we drove to Golden Golden Gate park. It took us a while because a gay rally had the streets blocked throughout San Francisco. After we drove shortly through the park we went to have dinner in Sausalito which is across the Golden Gate bridge. The restaurant was called, Poggio and they had great Italian food. We went back to the hotel and went to bed.
GO GERMANY!

Day 3: San Francisco-Alcatraz

Day 2: Palo Alto

Friday, June 27, 2008

Today we drove to Palo Alto, a city in the heart of Silicon Valley. Google and Yahoo have their headquarters here. It was much warmer than it is in San Francisco. The weather in SF has been in the low 60s while Palo Alto was in the 80s. We visited SAP and dad had a meeting. The rest of the family stayed in a conference room and relaxed. For lunch I had a burger with very little fries. After lunch we found this great German bakery and had a laugenbroetchen. We were amazed about the real authentic German bakery goods they offered. We visited Stanford University campus which is huge. We actully got lost and had to ask for directions. We walked through the campus and visited the memorial church. We then drove to have dinner in the middle of Palo Alto. We ate at a New Orleans style restaurant. We returned to the hotel and fell asleep quickly.

Palo Alto

Day 1: Take Off

Thursday, June 26, 2008
We got up around five to catch our seven forty five flight. We arrived at the airport around 6:15 and got through security rather quickly. We had breakfast at the Olde Town Deli. I had eggs which later made me sick. We boarded our flight at 7:30 and sat in the plane for a while because many flights leave Philadelphia International Airport around eight. We were in the air for about four hours when I threw up. The eggs must have made me sick. Another woman at the back of the plane fainted at the same time, so my sickness wasn't the worst thing on the flight. Our US Airways flight landed in San Francisco at about 11:30 local time. We took the airport train to the rental car area where we had to wait a while because the line was long. We picked up our car, a white jeep, and drove to our hotel.We took a walk through San Francisco and had a small lunch.There we saw the final 30 minutes of Spain demolishing Russia. We visited a few stores after lunch and then walked back to the hotel. Our room is on the sixteenth floor. Later we walked into China Town for dinner. We ate at a great resturant called "Great Eastern". The food was great and after dinner we came back to the hotel and went to bed.

West Coast Trip Day 1