12-5-13 - Coastal Contemplation

As I lay curled tightly in my bed, rubbing my cold feet and with my even colder hands to try and bring some warmth back, I find myself contemplating whether or not all this fuss is worth it. I mean, when we planned this trip it all sounded so nice. Hop in a van, gallivant down the coast to warmer climes, laugh in the sunshine, easy breezy. However, as with all things, the execution is much more gritty.


The temperature since leaving Washington has been in the low 20's to 40's. We've continued to make modifications to Charlie to maximize our heating situation, but the idea of several more months of drippy noses and chilled bones makes it hard to imagine. As I am writing, I am wearing two pairs of pants, regular AND wool socks, two shirts, a fleece hoodie, a down jacket, fingerless wool gloves, and a hat. And I'm still cold.


Yesterday we woke up in the back lot of a Home Depot in Fremont, CA. It was a bitter 27 degrees outside that night, and I hadn't slept well. Fortunately Dave got the wiring on our fan hooked up, so our heating system inside the van works much better and kept us toasty warm. The sun brings some semblance of humanity to the world, and after a hot breakfast we headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. This is the first time I had ever been truly awed by a piece of man made architecture. Because we live in a culture that constantly sells violence and bad news in the media, it's humbling to see that so many worked together to create such a beautiful and structurally unique feature. People aren't all bad, after all. We have an amazing capacity to build, to create, and to cooperate. It really brought me a feeling of comfort. I won't include the obligatory picture of the bridge here, simply because I don't think it does it justice.




After spending some time at the bridge, we headed over to Haight-Ashbury street. I personally had never heard of it, but Dave knew it's history and wanted to go. I am so glad we did. Tiny shops are packed in one against another, all competing blends of hippy, modern, and far-out funk. Tibetan Gift Shops clamor against brightly painted smoke shop logos of bleary-eyed cartoon skunks smoking weed. Dreadlocks are alive and well on this street. Casualties of acid and other substances wandered by us with unfocused smiles and slurred words. One man, not much older than myself, walked by us with single minded purpose, carefully holding a large bud of weed in front of him, as though to escort it somewhere safe. Everywhere you look graffiti artists have taken over walls, roofs, and the sidewalk in an outdoor exhibition of every style imaginable. I saw several pieces by one of my favorite artists, Sofle, and snapped some pictures. We wandered around, then walked our dog Jax to the park across the street. I had never seen so many homeless people together before, but not a single one of them was unfriendly or confrontational. We got several compliments from people about Jax looking like a lovely dog, including one young man rolling a blunt as thick as a cigar. The sun brought out the best in everyone, and we left the city with a smile.

After leaving San Francisco we headed West to the coast, and Santa Cruz. We made it as far as Pigeon Point Lighthouse when the sun started to go down. We were out of water, and the people we had asked had all turned us down. We stopped at a gas station nearby and the attendant smiled and let us fill our bottles. We ended up parking in an empty dirt lot perched on a cliff directly adjacent to the lighthouse. We cracked open a couple beers, sat on the hood of the van, and watched the sun dissolve downwards into the sea like molten gold.

For dinner we made beans and rice with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, salsa, and fried platanos. Everything thus far has been a challenge, and yet I can't help but look forward to what tomorrow will bring. The future is open ended, a blank page without words written, and I can't wait to see what will come. So in answer to my question earlier...yes, it is all worth it.