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| Jimmy and Eunice were our first clients.
They came to California both to see its
natural beauty, and also to explore the
possibilities of buying a farm in the United
States. They were particularly interested
in National Parks, and, as lifelong farmers,
things that grew. They started their trip visiting family
in Southern California, before beginning
their time with us. What began as a fairly
straightforward few days turned into an
adventure that took us all the way to Houston,
Texas.
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| HA! Where to begin. When Eunice's niece
contacted us about the the Tecklenburgs'
tour, I had never guided a tour. Our custom
itinerary design service had been thriving
for nearly 3 years at that point, but actually
participating in our clients' tours remained
a future objective. Special requests from Jimmy and Eunice
changed all that. The request for a driver
was a new one for us. I arranged one through
a local chauffeur service. When they changed
their arrival time at the last minute, and
the chauffeur service wasn't able to adjust
(it was Labor Day Weekend), I agreed to
pick them up from Oakland Airport, and serve
as their driver for the first couple days,
until the chauffeur company could take over. That's when the fun began. Turns out that
their interests and needs hadn't quite been
translated properly by their niece, who
prior to arriving at Oakland Airport was
the only person with whom I'd had contact.
Suddenly, the Tecklenburgs' trip became
a mountain of special requests, starting
with the correct spelling of their name
(I'd made dozens of arrangements under the
name "Pecklenburg") and continuing
with a complete, on-the-fly redrafting of
the entire itinerary. Alas, I had bad news for the Jimmy and
Eunice; the chauffeur company could not
adapt to the sudden changes. Ever charming and assertive, Jimmy replied,
"You drive us." I thought about
it a bit. I'd been enjoying the time I was
spending with them. They were appreciative
of my efforts to show them things I'd known
all my life, and I was really getting a
charge out of being their guide. I told
them that, if it was okay with Tess (my
wife), I'd do it. The rest as they say is
historical documentary. The Tecklenburgs had a wonderful trip.
I discovered my calling as a guide, and
the "special requests" continued.
Two days into the trip, Jimmy raised the
idea of my driving them to Houston, Texas,
where they were planning on flying to visit
family after finishing their time with me
in Las Vegas. At first, I thought he was
joking. I should have known better. A couple
weeks later, after a whirlwind drive through
the Rockies, into the Great Plains, we arrived
in the Lone Star State, where I bid farewell
to the Tecklenburgs. |
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Lettuce fields in the
Salinas Valley, where Jimmy discussed
farming practices with the locals. |
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A stop at Eagle
Creek Ranch in the Trinity Alps,
where we treated Jimmy and Eunice to
a family-style experience on my family's
ranch. |
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An almond orchard belonging
to Jimmy's Godson in Chico, California. |
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A night in the shadow
of Mount Whitney (the tallest point
in the "Lower 48" in the town
of Lone Pine |
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Camp Manzanar, a camp
where Japanese-Americans were interned
during World War II. |
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Pikes Peak, Colorado,
where you can drive to the top of a
14,115 foot mountain in the heart of
the Rockies. |
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Meandering among the wheat
and corn fields in the heart of Kansas,
where Jimmy thought he might like to
buy a farm. |
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| Jimmy and Eunice were just starting their
70s when we had our adventure together,
and weren't terribly interested in a whole
lot of rigorous activity. In fact, they
were primarily interested in simply driving
scenic highways and byways to soak up as
much of the beauty of California's wilderness
and remote areas (and eventually of Utah's,
Colorado's and Kansas's as well). So, the Tecklenburgs' trip was light on
organized activities. There were a couple
of exceptions though: |
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We arranged a flightseeing
tour of the Grand Canyon for them that
included a fixed wing aircraft flight
over the western canyon, as well as
a helicopter ride to the bottom of the
canyon, where they took a boat ride
with the local Havasupai Tribe on the
Colorado River. |
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We set them up with a
lovely afternoon lunch cruise on Lake
Tahoe. |
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| While Jimmy and Eunice weren't interested
in a whole lot of organized activities, there
were some other notable things we did during
their trip: |
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We took a tour of an almond
farm in Chico |
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We spent large amounts
of time searching for a bear (sadly,
we failed in this pursuit, but we did
see plenty of other wildlife). |
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We stopped often to have
a first-hand look at various farms and
ranches. |
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We drove to the top of
Pikes Peak in Colorado. |
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I took them to a Best
Buy in Carson City, Nevada, where they
invested in their first digital camera.
This was a major breakthrough into the
technological age for a couple from
who'd spent their entire lives in very
rural South Africa. Throughout the remainder
of the trip, we spent a lot of time
learning how to use the camera, taking
pictures of just about everything we
could fit in the viewfinder. My laptop
came in handy for putting the photos
online so that their kids back in South
Africa could track our journey as we
traveled. |
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For Jimmy: As a lifelong farmer,
Jimmy is a lover of things that grow.
The highlights of the trip for Jimmy
began with our visit to the Redwood
Highway in Northern California. More
than anyone I've ever taken to see
the redwoods, Jimmy was absolutely
awestruck by these giant living things,
and took extra time to experience
the solitude provided by a grove of
thousand year-old sentinels.
Along the same theme, Jimmy was exuberant
as we entered the Rocky Mountains
after a day of driving through Utah's
desolate Southeastern corner. He'd
never seen anything so desolate as
Utah, and was overjoyed to be back
among the world of living things.
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For Eunice: I
was really amazed at how much Eunice
enjoyed our wildlife. The Tecklenburgs'
home in South Africa lies across a river
from a major game reserve. Since our
journey together, Eunice has sent me
pictures of giraffes and elephants taken
from their own yard. So, I was surprised
at how she found such seemingly ordinary
creatures like deer, coyotes and even
squirrels so captivating. Our stops
in the Trinity Alps and Yosemite were
particularly memorable due to the abundance
of wildlife in each location. My only
regret is that I wasn't able to find
them a bear. |
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For me: This trip has such
a special place in my heart that it's
hard to pinpoint one or two highlights.
I think just the true adventure of their
trip from start to finish, beginning
with a simple day trip from the airport
to Monterey, and somehow finding myself
in Houston a couple weeks later. |
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Spotting a family of mountain
sheep in Zion National Park |
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Learning the intricacies
of ordering food in American restaurants |
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Leaving Las Vegas. Their
neice was sure they'd love it; they
didn't. Spent one night, and headed
for Zion. |
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Meet Our Clients |
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| Names: |
Jimmy
and Eunice Tecklenburg |
| Home: |
Komatipoort,
South Africa |
| Interests: |
Farming,
things that grow, wildlife, beautiful
scenery |
| Trip
Length: |
14
days |
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| Links
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| Route
Map |
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| Links
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| Images
from Their Trip |
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