Epilogue

The journey is over - after 7500 miles by car, and many more by train and plane, the final leg took me to Germany on Tuesday. It seems that all my moving boxes have made it unharmed as well. This concludes three months of vacation, and more than seven years in the US.

I had a grand time on my trip, from seeing some spectacularly beautiful landscapes to passing through towns where my five year old Escort was one of the fanciest cars around, and from being awed by bustling metropolises to being appalled by the conditions in reservations that get by on who knows what. Wherever I went, it seemed I could have stayed another day or two to check out even more interesting places. It certainly broadened my horizon.

It's hard to pick a few highlights. San Francisco stands out as a city, the parks in the Rockies -especially Bryce, Canyonlands and Grand Canyon- as landscape. In a different way I had a great time on the train ride back. (Tip: If you are planning to visit several national parks, get the "National Park Pass", which for $50 gets you, your car and everybody else inside into all national parks and monuments for a full year.)

The best brewpubs (for various reasons, mostly location, people, food and of course beer) were the Boston Beerworks at Fenway (Boston), Morgan Street Brewery (St. Louis), Wynkoop Brewery (Denver), Gordon Biersch (Tempe), Squatters (Salt Lake City), Yaletown Brewing Co (Vancouver), Gordon Biersch (San Francisco), and the Chelsea Brewing Co (New York City). In my selection I was ably assisted by the Beer Travel Guide web site, and the regional print editions of the Brewing News, which you can pick up for free in many bars.

It was great to see some of you along the way, and those I missed I hope to see on some conveniently located continent in the future. Many thanks to Dietmar, Alice, Ginny, Erik, Mehmet, Dan, Debbie, Rob and Melissa whose hospitality I enjoyed; it was much appreciated.

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