Tuesday, August 10, 2010

We've been on the run, drivin' in the sun

This will be a super long road trip wrap-up, and no links, sorry, Google it yourself… writing now from Mexico, feeling like life took a total swing (in a good way), but first California deserves its fair share of attention so here we go.

I forgot to mention before that in L.A. we also visited a really great and apparently famous farmer’s market, then got cupcakes in Beverly Hills, which Katie’s L.A.-native friend told us is pretty much the Bev Hills experience. After L.A. we toured California, couchsurfing and camping our way north. We stopped in:

Buellton, at the Flying Flags RV Resort. Confused at why we were freezing cold camping in California in July. Meanwhile, this place was huuuuuuuuge – Instead of in the woods, our campsite was on a flat square of grass in the middle of a giant chess board of grass squares with other tents and cars on them. On the (maybe?) plus side, they offered tons of weird extra features, including pool, spa, ice cream social, and Jackie-Chan’s-worst-film-ever movie night that we at least got to make fun of.

San Luis Obispo, walked around downtown which is pretty but takes all of thirty minutes to do, then made the mistake of driving out to Morro Bay, about 15 miles away, because we saw on the map it was the closest beach. Unfortunately, Morro Bay is cold, cloudy, and dirty. Fail. But we took a nap on the beach like the dirty homeless people we are anyway. That night we couchsurfed with a guy named Ben who helped us reclaim our dignity. He handed us each a glass of wine, led us and our wine on a little hike and then a fruit-picking mission around the neighborhood. Every other front yard in California, or at least in SLO, has some kind of fruit tree in it, and it’s one hundred percent legal to pick the fruit for yourself if it hangs over the sidewalk. We came back with overflowing loads of lemons, oranges, avocados, and figs (those we also had to learn how to eat). Ben was an outstanding host and also took us to dinner, which was crazy generous of him.

Paso Robles, had one of the best afternoons of the trip. Did tastings at two wineries, Vina Robles and Peachy Canyon. We picked the second one because of its silly little storybook name, but ended up buying the best bottle of port wine that ever existed. Two wine tastings made for a great lunch, putting us both in supremely good moods, and we continued the drive with uncontrollable smiles on our faces, hands in the wind out the windows, playing all our favorite songs and watching the hills roll by. If only you could freeze yourself in moments like that.

Anyway the wine spell was broken with a couple hours gone by and a stop along the colder, cloudier coast to get a look at some elephant seals. Ugly. Continued driving up the Pacific Coast Highway/Hwy 1, BEST drive of my life, so much fun and so glad I was at the wheel for this part. Couchsurfed a night in Monterey. Pretty place, but we didn’t stay long.

We camped a night in Sequoia National Park and (haphazardly) opened one of our Paso Robles wines for a picnic along this pretty little stream by our campsite. Once again, along with the wine and the bats streaking back and forth over the water as the sun set, our lives could not have been more satisfying.

In Sequoia we took a small hike up Moro Rock for a great view of the Sierra Nevada. We also saw the General Sherman Tree – biggest, although not tallest, tree in the world. We always joke about how all the attractions in the States are just something normal, but really big, like the Grand Canyon is a big hole, then we saw this big tree, in southern California one town advertised the “world’s biggest thermometer” but we didn’t bother to stop and see it.

After Sequoia came Yosemite, for 3 nights. One night in the “backpacker’s camp,” followed by a 7ish mile hike along the appropriately named Panorama Trail (awesome view of some of the park’s highest peaks) into the official wilderness, where we camped next to Ilillouette Falls (also took a dip in the water, freezing but perfect for the end of the hike). There was no one around except some boy scouts and a mom/baby pair of mule deer. We had dinner – peanuts, raisins, and granola bars, same as lunch was and breakfast would be – and fell asleep to the sound of the water and the woods.

The return hike the next day took us downhill past Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls – both beautiful, but we were getting worn out. Made it back and washed up in the park’s bathroom sinks, because you had to pay for showers. To reward ourselves for surviving the wilderness, we stopped in at the bar in the park hotel for dinner and drinks (Much better use of our money than a shower). Back to the backpacker’s camp, made friends with some fellow campers, took a midnight stroll to Mirror Lake, and laid down to look at the stars for awhile. Gorgeous.

All in Yosemite would have been positive were it not for the morning we left, when we walked back to our parking spot only to discover that the truck wasn’t there. How does a truck disappear? The National Park Service impounds it. For improper food storage in bear country (We had taken all the food out of the car but left an empty cooler, which is apparently enough to entice a bear to smash your window open and destroy your life). Getting the car back took hours, and with that, we were more than ready for the drive back to civilization. At this point we calculated that we hadn’t slept on a real bed in three weeks.

Our final stop was San Jose, to stay with my mom’s cousin Cate. It was the perfect way to end the trip – relaxing and hanging out again with family. I am ever grateful for the spirit and generosity of my relatives. We had a ton of fun together, shared great meals, plenty of drinks, and of course funny stories. Plus San Jose is absolutely beautiful. I loved every minute.

In the midst of our stay with Cate, we spent one day/night in San Francisco – our final bar crawl of the trip. Saw the Fisherman’s Wharf, then walked to North Beach and Chinatown. Dropped in a few bars and all of a sudden it was 3 in the morning. All my love to you Katie Labarre for sticking with me through the highs and the lows of nights like this, and the days in between. Lol.

So obviously Katie and I are still friends after living out of a truck for 6 weeks and conquering awful terrain. Now I’m on my own, writing from the school in Mexico City at which I’ve begun teaching English. As always, still not entirely certain what I’ve gotten myself into, but I promise a post tomorrow, at least an intro to my life here. Mucho amor y hasta luego…

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