So I made it here safe and sound. Had quite an interesting ride with. Joel the man of many stories. The only major problem is my clothes somehow did not make it here with me.
Somewhere along the way from Lukes house to our first stop one of my bags mysteriously disappeared. It either popped out the back of the guys camper or someone came by and snagged it. I'm not really sure which option is more possible but its a total bummer. All my clothes where packed into that single bag. I had nothing left but the clothes on my back. A total loss.
Earlier that day I had misplaced a more important bag, the one with my wallet, journal, computer and books, but someone was kind enough to turn it in to the store where I picked it up 5 min later. My mind must have been scattered to the max about the journey ahead and what it was going to be like.
As we drove I started to get more and more used to the truck. It was a little wonky and didn't have power steering which meant I felt every turn, every push of wind and such. It was long and arduous but I was serinaded by Joel and his tails of bummerness about the west coast. We would pass threw towns and he would describe them as "real shitholes" and proceed to tell me why each spot was no good and not worth visiting. It was an interesting practice to keep engaged while still filtering out some of the negativity he was projecting. He seems like someone who has struggled with life and seems to feel victimized by its circumstances.
But man in spite of all the bad talk I really was amazing driving threw the coastal mountains, right along stream beds, threw mountain passes etc. It was simply gorgeous, sunny all day, what I thought were massive trees left and right. All the sudden as we were coming down out of the mountains we see a sign for redwoods national parks and it was like a wall at that sign, the trees seemed to jump up exactly at that sign. There width went from two of my body size to two cars widths. That warm sun I was just describing well that was all blocked out and we were now driving threw a nice cool breeze. It was simply awe inspiring. Now I've seen redwoods before, but driving into a whole forest like this with such a stark difference and line was just outstanding.
And then there it was sun glistening and sparkling off the crests, clouds hanging and increasing the dramatic effect, BAM the pacific ocean. I found myself interrupting Joels "bummer tales" with comments of "man that's gorgeous!" or " whoa look at that, its amazing". The difference between our two out looks could not have been more stark.
So after a bunch of miles through this dichotomous way of viewing life I made it safe to my cousin Noah's. Dropped my stuff off to an empty house and drove Joel to his final destination. It was good to get out of the car after 9 hours sitting tense and pushing hard.
Arcata and Trinidad are right on the Nor Cal coast and simply gorgeous as the Redwood national forest is their backyard. My cousins wife Crystal picked me up and brought be back to the house where I finally felt I was able to relax and enjoy. What an amazing location my cousins have. So close to the beach and some sweet surfing (that I got to do a couple days later) but still up and removed a bit so they have their privacy. Totally solid.
The very next day I dressed in the same clothes as the past two days, as I had no other alternative. Got some breakfast with the family went out to the back yard where Noah had built his son an amazing halfpipe. This thing was fully professional with resin boarding, smoothed out with coping and all. Man could his 7 year old son Taj shred it up. He hopped up there and busted out a dropping, rock and roll and tons of other tricks. He was killin it and it was fun to watch. We then went into town to get me some new clothes. I was able to snag a whole new wardrobe for crazy cheep as Ross. It felts so good to know I had some of my own clothes to change into and feel comfortable.
Taj ripped up some stairs at the grocery store and got some spectators while he was working on his Olie and 50/50 grind. Had some fun with Iya Noah's daughter two. She is a super sweet soul with tons of kindness and connectedness to her brother and others. Its amazing how independent she is. Last night Noah, Ansel (my other cousin) and I went out surfing and Iya came to the beach on her own and kept herself entertained the entire time!
Man where the waves perfect for a beginner though. It was super glassy, not to big and just a gorgeous day to be out there. It actually got pretty darn hot (with a full body wetsuit on of course) and I was able to stay out til my arms got tired. Ahh surfing, being on the water feeling the waves and having a killer time with family. It doesn't get much better than that!
I have to say its pretty easy to settle in to summer life here in Humboldt. It is foggy a lot of the time, but yesterday it burned off and got nice and warm! The sun out, tons of sweet people around, surfing, chillin, man how did I get so lucky.
Well I'm off to continue enjoyin this vibe. Be well.
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