Monday, September 17, 2007
We reached San Franciscoo!
We made it!!!!

We actually made it!!!

We are in San Francisco!!


I'm sitting here in my new home, with the view of the Golden Gate Bridge outside the open livingroom window. I can hear the cable cars clanging outside and the soft breeze on my face. Our luggage is piled up against the wall.

Our new home.....

It still hasn't fully sunk in yet. I have to keep pinching myself.

We drove 3,083 miles all the way across the country from New York to San Francisco. We passed through 13 states in 7 days.

All of this with "Marty" our little 10 year old Toyota Corolla with 200,000 miles on it, no working air conditioner and no tape deck/cd player.

Right now he could really use a car wash, he's covered in dust, dirt and bugs. He's dented and wheezing, but he's still alive.

A lot of people said we wouldn't make it or that we were crazy...They shook their heads at the idea and told us that it was a major risk. But we did it anyway.

I'm so glad we did.

It was the greatest journey we made in our entire life. An experience I will never forget. It's something I had always dreamed of doing but never imagined I'd have the opportunity.

****

We hit the California border at 3 P.M. yesterday afternoon

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The landscape became greener and more lush. The sky was big, blue and open wide for us. We cruised around the mountain landscape, past the endless pine trees...

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Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

It was gorgeous and we were so insanely happy.

Even the fact that our brakes were making funny noises (kind of like a little raptor stuck inside our car screaming at moments during the final 190 miles) didn't take away from our blissful state

Windows open, KFOG, the San Francisco radio station blasting... It was heaven while we drove over the Bay Bridge into S.F.

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We meandered over the steep city hills and the victorian homes towards our final destination
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Our friend greeted us at his front door with a warm tight hug and said "Welcome home"

So now here we are. Only $300 dollars in our account and a handful of luggage.

Time to start over.

It's the first day of the rest of our lives. A new chapter begins

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WE MADE IT!
 
posted by Clarity25 at 4:13 PM |


20 Comments:


At September 17, 2007, Blogger Keith 

Congrats - I've been checking regularly after your last post said you had brake problems.

I'm so pleased for you crazy kids. ENJOY.

Keith (scooter.john)

At September 17, 2007, Blogger chispita 

Congratulations! Glad both of you, and Marty too, finally made it all the way to SF.

At September 17, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

HOORAY!!!!

I've been checking like once an hour all day!

The adventure continues!

At September 17, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

Yay!!! I'm so glad you guys made it safe and sound!!! Thanks for taking me on your road trip with you through pictures, it was so fun to look at! Now if you ever make it to the Los Angeles area, we should totally meet up!!!

So what's next for you guys now???

At September 17, 2007, Blogger Gabby 

Fantabulous! I can't wait to see all your photos as you explore your new home. *hugs*

At September 17, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

Congrats!!! You guys are so brave and I'm so happy you made it safely. Best wishes!

At September 18, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

YAY! Congrats on your arrival! I've loved reading this blog since your journey began! Please keep posting, I look forward to reading about your new life in S.F.

At September 18, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

HURRAH FOR YOU ERIC AND MARTY:)!!!!

At September 18, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

Hooray!! I never had any doubts that you'd make it. Welcome to the rest of your life, working as an artist and (hopefully) never stepping foot into an office again!

At September 18, 2007, Blogger Stacia 

I hope SF treats you great. So glad you drove; you would have regretted it if you hadn't.

At September 19, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

Yay you guys made it!! Looks like it was fun well except for the car trouble but at least you arrived to SF. :)

At October 05, 2007, Blogger Friday Films 

The thing I love about you, clarity, is that you know how to recreate the immediacy of an experience and write honestly and openly about your perceptions - both at the time and afterwards. It's a gift and I'm glad you're able to share that with others as you do. Your photos are luscious as well. xx

At November 18, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous 

Clarity25. I apologize if I get long winded. This is a personal message to you. I know this sort of thing matters to you deeply.

You used to live in Europe and were - are - embarrassed that Bush is president of the United States. I feel that way too. So I am sending you a music video made by a European. It is all about the large number of Europeans who are joining together to support a surprising new U.S. presidential candidate, even though he is from the wrong party. Many Americans have still never heard of this candidate-or they only hear terrible lies-because the American media and the giant corporations hate him. But their dirty tricks aren't working this time. Americans are learning about him anyway. Registered democrats like me are temporarily registering as republicans in large numbers to make sure he defeats the fascist warmongers in the republican party and even in the democratic party. His strongest supporters seem to be young adults.

Video: The Strasbourg Tea Party - Europe for Ron Paul.

There is a map in the video that shows all the meetings that are being held all over Europe in support of Mr. Paul. It's just like these maps that show how many people are meeting here in the United States to support him. His map puts the other candidates' maps totally to shame, no matter what party they are from. But the media still doesn't say a positive word about him. He has won more than half of all local straw polls from New York City to Fresno, California, and everywhere in between, but the media still never says a positive word about him. Viewers have chosen him as the winner of every TV debate since last spring, but the media still never says a positive word about him.

If you are wondering why so many Americans and Europeans love Ron Paul, just read some of the comments he has made during his political career. I think you will really like them:

1 - "The most important element of a free society, where individual rights are held in the highest esteem, is the rejection of the initiation of violence."

2 - "All initiation of force is a violation of someone else's rights, whether initiated by an individual or the state..., even if it's supposed to be for the benefit of another individual or group of individuals."

3 - "Legitimate use of violence can only be that which is required in self-defense."

4 - "Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms."

5 - "Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it’s realized that our liberties and wealth are in jeopardy. A few have, and others will continue to do so, but too many — both in and out of government — close their eyes to the issue of personal liberty..."

6 - "You wanna get rid of drug crime in this country? Fine, let's just get rid of all the drug laws."

7 - "Freedom is not defined by safety. Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. Liberty has meaning only if we still believe in it when terrible things happen and a false government security blanket beckons."

8 - "Monitoring the transactions of every American in order to catch those few who are involved in some sort of illegal activity turns one of the great bulwarks of our liberty, the presumption of innocence, on its head. The federal government has no right to treat all Americans as criminals by spying on their relationship with their doctors, employers, or bankers. In fact, criminal law enforcement is reserved to the state and local governments by the Constitution's Tenth Amendment."

9 - "No matter how well intentioned, an authoritarian government always abuses its powers."

10 - "Failure of government programs prompts more determined efforts, while the loss of liberty is ignored or rationalized away. Whether it’s the war against poverty, drugs, terrorism, or the current Hitler of the day, an appeal to patriotism is used to convince the people that a little sacrifice of liberty, here and there, is a small price to pay. The results, though, are frightening and will soon become even more so."

11 - "Justifying conscription to promote the cause of liberty is one of the most bizarre notions ever conceived by man! Forced servitude, with the risk of death and serious injury as a price to live free, makes no sense."

12 - "Our country's founders cherished liberty, not democracy."

13 - "The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people."

14 - "One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens pay nearly half of everything they earn to government."

15 - "I am absolutely opposed to a national ID card. This is a total contradiction of what a free society is all about. The purpose of government is to protect the secrecy and the privacy of all individuals, not the secrecy of government. We don't need a national ID card."

16 - "I am just absolutely convinced that the best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government, and minding our own business overseas."

17 - "I believe that when we overdo our military aggressiveness, it actually weakens our national defense. I mean, we stood up to the Soviets. They had 40,000 nuclear weapons. Now we're fretting day in and day and night about third-world countries that have no army, navy or air force."

18 - "War is never economically beneficial except for those in position to profit from war expenditures."

19 - "Cliches about supporting the troops are designed to distract from failed policies, policies promoted by powerful special interests that benefit from war, anything to steer the discussion away from the real reasons the war in Iraq will not end anytime soon."

At December 12, 2007, Blogger the man in the planet 

Mind if i ask what camera you're using? I absolutely love the photos and the quality of them.

At January 27, 2008, Blogger Richard 

Ma'am!

I was just writing a "to be opened only in the event of my death" letter (cheerful thing to do on a Sunday, but better than the tax return) and needed to find Herman's Denkmal, on account of the beautiful ex-wife of Ernst von Bandel's grand-son came into my story!

Google gave me your visit there with Gertrud! Lovely to see it through your eyes, and your excellent photographs.

I wish you joy in your new house - and please keep blogging!

At February 28, 2008, Blogger Holden 

Clarity, it's been so long since i last read your blog. it's nice to know that my site's still linked despite it being locked. i've stopped writing for a very long time and i feel a sudden disconnect (yes, after so long!) seeing you making your entries again takes me back to that time when you were one of my daily reads =)

i kinda miss you! (which is weird cos we've never met) haha!

i'll be dropping by new york sometime in march/april. san fran is such a beautiful place... i have a friend who's studying design & advertising there =)

i think one day i'll give san fran a visit. =)

take care, my dear =)

lily.

At October 19, 2009, Anonymous Jenn 

I tried to email, comment elsewhere, and stuff but everything came back to me. I'm hoping this works so you know that I haven't forgotten you! (Do feel free to delete this if you want to.)

I just read about your brother and I'm so sorry. I want you to know that I care and I'm still here (jerikeai@gmail.com) if you ever need to talk.

xoxo,
Jenn

(theflyingrat)

At November 02, 2010, Blogger Unknown 

Like Jenn said, I've tried to contact you through various means and everything bounced back. Just wanted you to know that you've not been forgotten by all the old Diaryland readers and some of us are thinking of you at this difficult time. I hope things start to seem brighter for you soon. I take it 'anonymous' is your stalker? Sometimes the internet is full of nutters...sigh. Much Love, Vicola xxxx

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