uniontour

„Austria“ is my new nickname overhere. It seems to be easier than David.

Despite the exhausting St. Patrick's Day we went muniing the next day. We went up a precipitous trail to the summit of Saddle Rock, that was winding up the mountains between the fences of mansions.
Jeamy, Hans, Kris, Loren, me and Eyal on top of Saddle Rock.

I also learnt how to play Disk Golf, a combination of frisbee and golf or basketball that i have never seen bevore. Like playing golf you walk from one hole to another, but instead of carrying golf clubs, you have got a set of different frisbees.



On the beach of Santa Barbara I could watch a few surfers, who in the sunset used the last sunrays of the day before it became to dark to continue surfing.

Since the way from Hollywod to the beach is quite a long one and I started going the wrong direction, i then decided to go by public transport instead of unicycle. Going by subway is rather easy, if you once have figured out, how the ticket vending machine works. Going by bus is more difficult, because you always have to have put money into the blackbox, which diasappears there forever. If you put in enough or to much money into the box, depending on the divers mood, you either get a ticket or not. In case you don't have enough small coins, like me, you might be allow to go by bus nevertheless.

The driving-stlye in town is somehow different from what I am used in Europe. On the third lane, and faster than most of the cars, the busses are cruising through the town. Instead of slowing down, they are blowing the hron.
About an hour later, I arrived at the beach, where apart from sand, you can also find the baywatch-huts with lifeguard and buoy.
When the sun disappeared on the horizon I started my way back. Without any identifiable system, the busstations from different lines and different directions are located around 5 blocks. Shortly before becoming desperate and already thinking i would have to stay at the beach forever, i finally found a busstop where the right bus was likely to stop by and would hopefully go the right direction. Another curios phenomenon that i observed was, that buses use to turn up in packs, that then rage through the town together.

Togehter with a lot of other jugglers from the Humbolt Circus and a parrot that usually only pirats have, i have been to the Redwoods today.
All the jugglers were wearing something completly useless in best Springbreak-style: headlamp, construction workers helmet, foolscap. With my unicycle helmet i therefore looked pretty normal.

The forrest is fantastic. I felt like in a fairy tale. Giantic Redwood-Trees, huge farns, a little river sparkling throug the forrest... moss-grown trunks compared with mist. I am sure i would be afraid of the evil witch, if i walked through the woods all alone at night. ;) We did not come across any witches house, but we found a treasure chest.

The Humbolt Juggling Festival is one of the most amazing juggling festivals i have ever been to. Although my stereotypes about American jugglers as "numers juggler" have not been proven to be true, there are a few differences to European festivals:



Here in America lasso-swining is what you do at juggling conventions. So I had to learn that immediatly and by know I at least know the basic skills. Cowgirl Karen has thought me how to handle the lasso.

There have also been some juggling competitons as for example: best clubbs routine, best ball routine, best passing routine, best trick. And there was also an endurance competition: 5 ball, 6 ball, 7 ball, 5 keulen, 6 keulen usw.
Luckily there were also some funny Juggling games as for example juggling soaps, Quater Dollar Endurance – in which the winner got all dropped Quarter Dollars, unicycle gladiator, etc

I also took part in the show, which apart from a few dismounts went pretty well.

Its not that i have not been warned about the doggy people that usually travel by greyhound bus, but I have to admit I did not imagine it that way. In any case, I decided not to take out my laptop.
Luckily there are only 5.000 kilometers left, that I have to go by bus ;)

I went straight to a Party, when i arrived in Arcarta, where i learned that Arcarta is one of the most liberal regions in the US.

Following my nose – looking for unicycling spots – I finally came to the habour of Oakland. Everything was rather bussy there, rudders were carried to t he footbridge and boats were launched. People were warming up and mounting the engine before they then started ‚rowing’.
I originally thought that thes motorised rowing-boats were some special offer to tourists, but i realised that i was wrong here. Motorised rowing-boats seem to be state of the art here.
My nose then guided me to the, where I saw a boat from the coastguard landing. Once again, i could see, how everything is prepared to fight terrorism here. I think the coastguard boat could easily make the whole Austrian fleet sink.



For dinner i had my first Burger, however i got to realise the edges of my Englishskills when ordering, as ‘Burger’ simply was not exact enough. Wa also had beer, of which the pub we went to had a wide range to choose from. And before ordering your beer, you can have a draft to test, which is definitly usefull.
Although the German ‘Reinheitsgebot’ is not in force here and sugar appears to be one of the main incrediants of some sorts, concering beer Americans do know what is good. Prost!

While i was on tour with my unicycle on the Campus of the Berkley university, something astonishing happened in the universities museum, which i only realised when i was reading the newspapers. The Nobelprice made of 23 carat gold, on display in the museum, that had been awarded in 1939 for the invention of the cyclotron, was stolen!

Next day, Toms girlfriend Nancy told me, that one of her students, who was about to finish his studies had stolen it ‚for fun’. He had shown the price to his friends and later on was detained. The nobelprice now is back on its place in the museum.