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December 02, 2004
Dokodemo's Index
Number of nights stayed in motels: 3
Quantity (in quarts) of oil used to top off low levels: .10
Spark plugs replaced: 4
Visits to mechanics: 3
Visits to mechanics in Austin: 2
Times pulled over by law enforcement: 0
Total miles travelled: 12432
Haircuts: 1
Oil filters changed: 3
Times pulled over to deal with Vanagon Syndrome: 1
Number of times Syndrome returned after obtaining new part, still not instaleld, to address it: 0
Cameras ruined in hot spring water: 1
Nights spent at Wal-Mart: 3
Oceans touched: 2
Percentage of Nebraskans/New Mexicans who waved while driving by: 90%
Percentage of everyone else: 0%
Nights AC ceramic heater was used: 0
Number of times a campfire was made: 2
Number of logs from New Mexico still on top of van: 4
Delay (in days) between election conclusion and hearing results: 2
Posted by dokodemo at 09:24 AM | Comments (1)
December 01, 2004
Full Circle
You'll have to stay tuned for mileage totals and other fun statistics, but I am indeed back in Seattle and will be shifting the focus of this website to documenting not only travel, but the opposite, too: ways to bring the rest of the world into the home. Thanks for all the encouragement and support on this trip, it has been the greatest time of my life in so many ways.
Posted by dokodemo at 01:40 PM | Comments (1)
Finding Tara
Marshall is a friend of mine living in what might be the most attractive region of California, Humboldt County. Perfect sandy beaches meeting gnarly mountains and the famed giant redwoods... laid back culture and an uncommonly dense concentration of liberal freaks makes the Arcata/Eureka area very interesting. I'd been wanting to meet his new girlfriend, Tara, as well.
As I arrived, Tara acted as if she knew me, which didn't seem to make much sense. I speculated she might have seen some of the photos from my trip, but then a wave of realization occured; this is Tara who was a friend of mine from college in Maryland 10 years ago. When I moved away to Missoula, Montana, she moved to New Mexico. We ended up slowly losing touch with each other, but I always wondered what she was up to. It was especially timely since I had just been in New Mexico and had casue to remember her. We had a great time catching up and reconnecting.
Marshall took me to a local hiking spot "Strawberry Rock". This is an enormous boulder (perhaps 3 stories in height) which is itself on top of a tall hill. We met a couple of friends and took Amigo the dog up there. Scrambling a little to the top, the wind was pretty intense and my fear of heights was in full swing. It was well worth it though, the view was simply incredible.
We spent the afternoon looking at the waves and surfers, and exploring the land which Marshall's friends had just purchased.
Later in the evening we went to hear a ukelele player, but it turned out he was actually drumming for a Dead cover band, Papa Bear. They were surprisingly good, and the most amazing part was that even with a PA system and guitar amps, we were able to have a conversation over the music. No smoking in bars and reasonable volume at shows, what radical concepts.
The next morning was surprisingly cold, my thermometer said 29 degress and there was frost on the vehicles. We walked around Eureka, looked at the ships, and had a great brunch with some mimosas.
I want to move there, now I just have to figure out what kind of work I can do.
Posted by dokodemo at 01:24 PM | Comments (0)
Lar's Nub
In Tucson, Larry told me about a camping spot he liked near Big Sur, CA. He described it as a knob (I heard "nub") looking out over the coast, above the morning clouds. He emailed me directions and I had been looking forward to finding it for some time.
I tried to camp at Oceano Dunes (near Pismo Beach), where you can drive and camp right on the sand. It was such a great time there this summer, I was looking forward to going back and having the solitude that Thanksgiving on the beach should offer. I figured I would have the place to myself, as everybody would be home with their families.
Well, Thanksgiving is apparantly a pretty popular day at Oceano, as it was "sold out". Despite the miles of open camping, I was turned away at the gate. I decided to just drive on up to Big Sur and find Larry's spot.
The drive up 1 is of course pure joy. Other than a seriously inebriated or possibly brain damaged driver in front of me for a bit, I was in total bliss just hugging the curves going up the coast and staring at the deep blue water.
I found the turnoff I was looking for, and preceded up the road. It suddenly started to become dark very quickly, and I was feeling a little hurried. I made a few wrong turns but backtracked and made progress up the mountain on the forest service roads.
Parts of the road were very sketchy, and I was concerned in my heavy 2wd van. I started to fear flat tires as I drove over piles of sharp rocks and stone steps. The road was after a while not even really a dirt road, it was just rocky areas where there were no plants. There was also a lot of mud, which was also a concern. I slowly kept pressing on though, and since there was no place to turn around, there wasn't much choice.
Eventually I made it to the top, and it was indeed stunning. A fantastic view out to the ocean, extending for miles and miles to the horizon. I felt like I could see the curve of the earth. I made camp, called my sister to say Happy Thanksgiving (yes there was somehow a great cell signal up there).
In the morning I jumped out of bed after seeing the sunrise. About a hundred yards below me was an opaque sheet of white clouds. They were moving fast, tumbling and flipping over the little peaks. They were so thick, 100% saturated. I couldn't see anything through them, and they were high enough that the little peaks which looked like islands the night before were now totally concealed.
Larry was right, this place he described as "nirvana" was pretty close. I'm not sure if I want to be become very discovered, but if you are in the area maybe I can help you find it (or you can ask Larry).
Posted by dokodemo at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)
Santa Barbara
This summer I had the pleasure of visiting Santa Barbara for the first time, as Kia and Michael got married. The town really impressed me with its beautiful location between beach and mountains, perfect weather year round, and lush plant growth all over. It was great to return to visit them in the late autumn, and experience almost identical weather.
Michael creates amazing items in his garage studio, dubbed "the manshack". In this space, he is able to externalize his imagination onto dioramas, collages, magic boxes, autonomotons, and kinetic playthings. We went to a showing of his work and had a good time seeing other local art.
It was also excellent to finally see Kia's studio, including her new-to-her antique letterpress and type collection. I've revised my worldview to include this directive: make sure you are good friends with a couple artists in Santa Barbara.
The saddest part of the visit was learning that their little Morris Minor pickup truck, with Datsun conversion, has failed and is in need of a new engine. Godspeed, little Morris, I am rooting for you!
UPDATE: Michael has sold a piece, now officially securing his role as an artist, and now he is now finally positioned to compromise his vision in order to become more of a commercial success. Congratulations!
Posted by dokodemo at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
Long Beach
I've never spent much time in the Los Angeles area but smog and traffic aside, its pretty incredible to have so many mountains and fantastic beaches right there. I met up with my favorite sibling friends Andre and Lisey. We moved furniture for Andre, watched people surfing, and enjoyed the California weather. Later we met up with people who use a secret but very popular website Andre runs, and had a blast sipping pints by the marina and later some karaoke action at an Irish dive bar.
A real highlight of the trip was suggested by my main man in Long Beach, Monte Vista. He demanded that a visit be made to the Parasol Resturant in Seal Beach, and try a Monte Cristo sandwich. This incredible device is a ham/turkey/cheese sandwhich, then dipped in egg, deep fried, served sprinkled with powdered sugar and jam on the side to spread on it. Side dish was some mixed fruit and rainbow sherbet. I didn't order this, but I was lucky enough to witness and taste it. Thumbs up, except for the 10 years it will shave off your life to ingest something like this.
Posted by dokodemo at 12:02 PM | Comments (2)