We're reporting back from Route 66 in Arizona, where we're currently standing at America's most famous invention (the one with the yellow M) and are vying for Wi-Fi and a visit to the toilet for a cheap coffee.
We've been on a road trip for several weeks, first in Western Canada, then in the USA. The blog has also been down for several weeks and there is definitely a causal link between the two.
Since Leah and Brian let me do most of the driving in Canada and we only have one driver for the rental car here in the USA, I spend a lot of time driving. Getting up in the morning means getting behind the wheel. Stopping only for photos or hikes. Even the food is brought to my mouth personally by Chef Leah.
A stupid side effect of the many meditative, cell phone-free hours? That I don't have the opportunity to write down my thoughts and experiences. I'm too tired in the evening. So the only thing that helps is to get upset and blame Leah. She rightly replies that she can't do much more, as front seat passanger, she has to make sandwiches all the time, set the music, take photos and put up with my nagging.
Also interesting: The USA has by far the worst WiFi coverage of all the (two) countries we have visited. But for a $80 national park pass, to set up Wi-Fi in the visitor centers (where you have to scan all kinds of QR codes) might be too technologically advanced. Even at hotels and restaurants, where you are forced to ask the humiliating Wi-Fi password question, the Internet speed reminds me more of the harbor networks on our sailing vacations in the 2000s - we preferred to switch to radio to get the weather forecast.
At least we were able to upload our next YouTube video yesterday, which had been waiting on the laptop for 10 days to find its way to the worldwide cell phones and PCs of our 10 viewers through a patronizing wifi operator.
Actually, we don't want to remind you every time something is uploaded, so we recommend subscribing to the channel and turning on the notifications. Or simply check in once a week. As soon as this road trip is over, we change to Colombian buses and I will hopefully manage to get a hold of the masses of photos, videos and anecdotes...
Schon den nächsten Eintrag vermisst, aber Autofahren und Schreiben geht ja wirklich nicht. Zwischenzeitlich aber schon euer neues Video angeschaut. Und heute am Laptop statt am Mobil erstmalig die schönen Snapshots entdeckt. Super Aufnahmen. Freuen uns auf mehr. Wünschen euch weiterhin so eine tolle Reise.
L.G. Jasmin & Micha