I’m finally getting around to writing some blogs/posting some photos about Ferda’s and my trip to the US and Mexico 16 months ago. We spent about seven weeks in the US and five in Mexico. I took Ferda to some of my favourite places, like Palm Springs, Troncones, and Boulder, and we also went to some new places for me like Arches NP, Papantla, and Potrero Chico. We tied everything together by visiting friends and family along the way. Happily, Ferda liked it all enough that she wants to go back.
First stop: southern California, via Turkish Airlines’ longest non-stop flight: İstanbul-Los Angeles. Isn’t that convenient? Megan and my parents arranged a couple tours in Los Angeles for us. Ferda was most excited to visit Hollywood and most disappointed that there’s really not much to see there, although we did eat ice cream next to Muhammad Ali’s star.
My Mom was sure to take us to Scripps College, where, rather embarrassing, I had never been before.
A highlight, as always for me, was Thanksgiving in Palm Springs. One day Ferda and I walked the Skyline Trail from the Art Museum to the tramway, an elevation gain of 8000ft (2400m). My Dad took the tram up and met us at the top. It’s a great hike that’s become quite popular in recent years (they’ve even renamed it Cactus to Clouds and put up a wikipedia page). We started in short sleeves on the desert floor and ended up in the snow amongst huge pine trees, trying to stay warm with all of our clothes on. Lots of fun.
The Skyline hike:
We also spent quite a few days with my parents at their beautiful place in Newport Beach. Of course, my Mom reminded us multiple times that we didn’t really stay long enough. We explored the tide pools during an exceptionally low tide and were able to walk all the way to Crystal Cove, something my parents had never done before. We also got my Mom out on a bicycle, Ferda out in a canoe, and ate really, really good sushi, something Ferda’s very happy to do anywhere.
Next up, some national parks in the desert…