In January 1921, Hermann departs on an extended vacation to visit a friend in California. He travels by train through South Dakota and North Dakota, heading west through Montana and across the Cascades. He arrives in Seattle, Washington, and travels by train to Portland, Oregon, then on to Sacramento, California, and finally Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles he meets his friend and they rent a car and drive to San Diego, California, and on to Tiajuana, Mexico. While California, he visits Hollywood, Venice, and Ocean Beach. He departs Los Angeles by train to Kansas City, Missouri, passing through Winslow, Arizona, Clovis, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas. From Kansas City he returns by train to St. Paul, Minnesota. In February he sees Theda Bara in “Cleopatra,” and in May watches the Human Fly climb the Commerce Building downtown. Hermann is laid off from work and takes up a new temporary job. He hears the Dempsy-Carpentier fight on the radio and unsuccessfully tries to sell his duplex. In the fall he attends the dedication of the St. Paul municipal pipe organ. His church activities include successfully organizing a men’s club. Hermann is briefly hospitalized for chronic gastritis before landing a permanent job at Marvel Battery Company.