Nicholas Coolridge - Santa Barbara / USA

Nicholas Coolridge is an acrobat. He would love to turn his hobby into a real profession and thus for the past years he has been working on his career as professional free-runner. His success proves him right. He has done several big commercials, he was a Judge on a MTV free-running competition show and he hosts his own youtube videos with over one million hits. For an additional income, Nicholas works as a construction worker every once in a while.
Although he claims Santa Barbara as his home town, his true home is his van. This is where Nicholas has everything he needs: a bed, a kitchen, his tools and even his own solar shower system. He loves the freedom of beeing able to move places quickly. Nicholas is an easy-going and decent contemporary who enjoys the simple things in life.

How did I meet Nicholas?
I found Nicholas via a ride-sharing classified ad on "Craigs List". He gave me a ride from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara in his VW van. I greatly appreciated the good conversations we had on our 6-hour ride down the coast of California.

Take a look at Nicholas' free-running video:

Nicholas' Homepage: http://www.nicholascoolridge.com

For more pictures visit my travel blog Roadtrip Panamericana.

Lauren Gilligan & Derek Dockendorf - Santa Cruz/USA

Lauren and Derek live in a beautiful beach house in Santa Cruz. They moved here a year ago and believe they found their perfect home. Being close to the ocean allowed Lauren to take her job at the NGO "Save our Shores". Derek works for a company that produces DVDs and Blue Ray Discs. While both very much enjoy their work, at the same time they are not too happy about the fact, that the average American only gets off two weeks of vacation each year. The outdoorsy couple would love to spend more time travelling the world and exploring places far away.
Next year the two will have a their wedding and they dream about going to the Fiji Islands on their honeymoon. To get to this point in the first place, Lauren had to convert into a Giants fan. Otherwise Derek`s sportsenthusiastic folks probably would have never accepted her into the family.

How did I meet Lauren and Derek?
Lauren and Derek contacted me via the "Book of Faces" project. They heard about it from a friend of mine back home who met Lauren and Derek while being on a high school exchange program a couple years ago. Lauren and Derek were the coolest hosts who even let me take their surfboard for a ride on the legendary surfspot Pleasure Point. The unquestioned highlight of my stay however, was the rocking Halloween Party the two took me along to. Free drinks, wild dancing and even wilder costumes.

Fun Fact:
Every year for Halloween Derek and Lauren make their own partner costumes. This year the costumes were all about their favorite Baseball Team, the San Francisco Giants who were about to win the World Series around the time of Halloween.

For more pictures of Santa Cruz visit my travel blog  Roadtrip Panamericana.

Anna Andersson & Carl Duberg - San Francisco / USA

Anna and Carl are a travelling couple from Sweden. They are on a 7-month trip around the world and want to check out places where they could possibly see themselves living one day. How about California? Being a nurse, Anna says, she would have her difficulties living in the U.S. in the face of the country's present health care system.
For their travels through North America Anna and Carl have rented a (yellow) car: "This allows us to explore the country at our own pace - we are taking it slowly."

How did I meet Anna and Carl?
I met Carl and Anna in a 26-bed dorm room at Fisherman's Wharf. The gave me a ride in their "yellow cab" from San Francisco down to Santa Cruz. We had a great scenic trip along the Highway 1 and enjoyed our frequent stops with sublime views.

For more pictures of San Francisco visit my travel blog Roadtrip Panamericana.

Joe Gordon - San Francisco / USA

Joe Gordon is a hardcore Giants Fan. The 56-year-old says he has grown up with and lived for the Giants, ever since they have moved from New York City to San Francisco in 1959. He took a day off work to come down to the San Francisco Baseball stadium just to soak up the atmopshere during the first game of the World Series 2010. Joe was born in Dublin, California and has never been outside the U.S. He has regrets to know little about the rest of the world and wants to catch up on some world history and world geography in the future.

How did I meet Joe?
I met Joe at the waterfront of the Giants Stadium during Game 1 of the World Series. We spent 4 hours together, cheering, watching the crowds and drinking beer. Joe is a true entertainer and we had a blast as the Giants beat the Texas Rangers 4:2.

Funfact:
The police made us pour out our beer but didn't stop people from smoking weed in front of the stadium.

Watch Joe singing the national anthem and cheering for the Giants:

For more pictures of San Francisco visit my travel blog Roadtrip Panamericana.

Shawn Salene - Seattle / USA

Shawn lives on a boat. "Sailing is not only for rich people", he says and it seems to be true. Shawn baught his small sailing vessel for only 1000 dollars. A small extra fee each month allows him to anchor at Lake Washington not far from the city centre. His job at the NGO "World Vision" keeps him busy and travelling around the U.S. for the most time. So it didn't make sense to pay the expensive rent for a regular appartment. Whenever Shawn is back in Seattle, he loves the remoteness and the peacefulness on his boat. This is where he recharges his batteries.

How did I meet Shawn?
I met Shawn via Couch Surfing. He is a dedicated Couch Surfer who has been hosting a lot of people. Shawn used to work in a youth hostel as a city guide which was great as he showed me all the secret spots in town. My favorite part was when he sneaked me into a noble skyscraper building downtown. We spend an entire rainy day on the 8th floor which featured a swimming pool, a steaming room, a sauna and a chill-out Lounge. Good times in Seattle!

For more pictures of Seattle visit my travel blog Roadtrip Panamericana.

Introducing the Book of Faces

Are you on my way?
I will be travelling along the Panamerican Highway from October 2010 until February 2011 by public transport. 

Check out the roadmap to find out where I am and when I will be in your area. Are you on my way? Invite me to shoot your new portrait picture. Use the contact-form to show me where I can find you and I will try to visit you. We'll go to your favorite place in town and take your picture.


Become part of a unique travel experiment. Altogether, let's create the "Book of Faces"!