...all these wonderful people!

As we were planning the route of our trip, we had a few things that we must have in mind. Firstly, we had to avoid being "trapped" by winter, so the first places we'd go to had to be in the Southern hemisphere, since we were leaving in October, when winter was approaching on the Northern hemisphere. So we chose to start the adventure in South America. It's very easy to cross borders there (no visas needed and the system is comparably simple) and it's pretty much different from what we are used to in Europe.

Eventually we reached the equator line and crossed back to Northern hemisphere when spring was coming there and finally we reached USA in May. It was supposed to be a time where we "come back into civilization" for a while, resupply with stuff like electronics and get things that we will feel like lacking in the first part of the trip in South America, before we continue to Asia and Africa. And so we spent 2 months riding around the Western states of USA, renewed some things, got some spare parts for the bikes, had plenty of chances to enjoy the amazing nature and... met so many amazing people there! We met locals, Lithuanians, motorcycle riders and non-riders, travelers and those, who work a lot and stay at home. The amazing kaleidoscope of so many friendly faces and so many stories we shared. That was really a great time!

We want to thank a lot to all of those, who we met on the road, who rode together with us, who camped with us and who hosted us at their home. Thank you for your warm welcomes, thank you for the great memories we made thanks to you and for all the tips and tricks you gave us. Thank you for a helping hand and a shared smile. You made our time in the US unforgettable! Here are some of the pictures we took together:

We had a warmest welcome into this country by Dan and Teresa in San Diego.

Then we were invited by Dries, a Belgian adventurer, who welcomed us in his home in San Diego and also joined us in Overland Expo, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

We stayed with Scott in Tustin, near Los Angeles for a long weekend full of fun! We splashed his swimming pool, met his riding friends and had a BBQ party in the back yard.

Eric Hall (www.xladv.com) invited us to stay with him hear Los Angeles too. We had great stakes together and a lot of motorcycle-talk :) Eventually we even changed our tires together in the park near his house. Thanks for great tips, Eric!

We also spent a great night with other riders after the Overland Expo. With Azure, Roel, Sean and Moritz...

...and rode a gorgeous canyon in Utah together with the adventurous couple called 2UP: Kevin and Beth!

Gary hosted us in an amazing Equestrian community near Bakersfield, California and took us for a ride in the beautiful valley.

We had a blast in San Francisco with Romanas, Dalia, Dennis and other Lithuanians or people related to Lithuania. Riding motorcycles, visiting Lithuanian restaurant, baking Lithuanian pie and simply having a very good time!

Mark, in Northern California, showed us around and even introduced to a very cool motorcycle place called Black Lightning Motorcycle Cafe!

Aaaaand we also met Lithuanian Consul Darius in Los Angeles and a traveling couple Gediminas and Aušrinė from Lithuania.

In Oregon, we simply had to visit Ashland, a sister city of Guanajuato in Mexico! A member of an amazing Mexican family which we visited in Guanajuato lives there. We visited Fernanda and her husband Lukasz (who was born in Poland!) and spent an unforgettable few days there! Apparently, couples who ride are the best, right? :)

The last state of "Lower 48"was Montana. That's where we got to see the famous July 4th celebration with a lovely local family of Irlbecks. It's so amazing being able to meet all those people in different places with different stories and different perspectives in life.