south coast and falling in love with it.

written weeks ago but no internet so take as is..:

been a long time since i posted anything but that is more due to the repetitiveness of my activities than an actual lack of doing things.

i've been down to big sur several times now, going again in two days, and really love the area. i've also been doing some diving around the monterey area and down in some of the south coast coves. despite being here for close on two months, i haven't actually stayed in monterey yet. I've been either sleeping in parking lots, camping, or living in carmel valley (with no internet.) Well today is the last of that. I'm leaving the valley and will be staying with a senior who volunteers at the Aquarium. She has a room for rent in monterey proper and it's only a handful of blocks from the dive shop. Being near the dive shop is essential. So far things have been slow going with the diving, partly due to gear availability constraints but also because staying out in the valley is so far away from town. Living near the diveshop will help me step up my game and get more dives per week in, and that's something i definitely need to do.

Anyways... that's all happening starting sunday. In between here and then i'm heading south to big sur to get some hiking done. Thus far i've spent almost all my time in big sur hanging out at beaches, coves, and cliffs; this trip i intend to get some serious hiking in. I hope that it's a cool enough time to warrant a post. Until then, here's what i've been up to:

driving.

I live about 30 minutes from the dive shop and 12-15 minutes from the grocery store. It also takes between 1 and 2 1/2 hours to get to jade cove from here, depending on traffic. So i've spent a helluva lotta time behind the wheel.

Diving.

Trying to keep up on this as much as possible. Last time i went out i got my ass kicked by some breakers trying to get out and then when we were ready to descend i found out my regulator leaked. For those of you who don't know, the regulator is the thing that goes in your mouth and lets you breathe underwater. The time before that experience though was pretty great. Joel had purchased a harpoon, well really a Hawaiian sling, and caught us some rockfish and a big tasty cabezon.

Reading.

My 4^th of july was lackluster. On the 3^rd my rear right break drum exploded and put my truck out of commission. Joel's truck broke down about a week before that and he'd been using mine to get to work. So i caught a ride back to the valley and was stuck there for 5 days. I finished up two books and made serious progress on another one.  i also had no cigarettes but not for lack of want.

Guitar.

Having 5 days of no internet and no way to get into town severely limited my ability to check things off my "to do list". So i really had no excuse not to practice guitar. Not "play" guitar which i have done plenty of, but "practice". I've been meaning for a while to sit down and run through the different modes and scales for a long time now. I usually pick it up and put it back down and immediately forget it. But with so much time to kill i forced myself down to the repetitive practice of establishing muscle memory.

I'm excited to get into the city proper but i will certainly miss mornings of sitting on the porch, having a coffee, playing guitar, and seeing this:

south coast big sur

so here's my last archived post.  i guess i'll have to start doing something cooler than job applications if i want to continue posting:

yesterday i was sitting around and planning to go to a nearby park for a hike.  then Joel called and said, "dude, do you wanna go to Big Sur?"  "why the hell not?  what time are we coming back?"  "we'll stay the night, otherwise it really isn't worth the drive."  "ok, meet you in an hour."

as we drove down the coast Joel played tour guide for me and pointed out tons of stuff that i would have never found on my own.  along the way we stopped off to see some of his friends who were working at shops/stores/restaurants all along the pacific highway.  we went all the way down to south coast big sur where you can hunt for jade in the water and along the beach.

we hiked/climbed down into Center Cove.  Joel geared up for some free dive jade hunting and i sat down admiring the ocean.  it was a very serene setting and we didn't see a single person the whole time we were there.  we hung out until the sun went down and then made our way up a canyon for some free camping.

the next day we hit up willow creek, a much more accessible beach where apparently the jade hunting is poor since so many people go there looking for it.

our next stop was Lime Kiln where you follow a creek through a redwood forest for about a mile where it leads to a 100ft waterfall.

we did all of this and weren't even there for 20 hours.  i'm pretty excited that i'm living in an area with innumerable options for outdoor fun.

room.

got a place to stay.  it's not cheap and it's a half hour from the dive shop but i'll only be here for a month and the house, owner, and location are all beautiful.

i'm staying with this older hippie chick who rents out the rooms in her home.  she's very laid back and thinks of this place as a haven for self reflection and the improvement of mental and physical health.  also, she used to live in a tree.  we get along quite well.

just having a place to keep my things without having to pack up every morning and move off to a different locale has reduced my anxiety considerably.

the house is in Carmel Valley which is about 12 miles from Carmel-by-the-Sea which borders Monterey.  it's got plenty of room, a big backyard and several seating areas outside where i can play guitar.

diving.

finally have begun diving.  getting reacquainted with the water was nice but i've been having trouble with my buoyancy.  i did fine diving in the tropics wearing a weight belt and shorty wetsuit but this is quite a bit different.  this is cold water diving.  to go under here you need a thick wetsuit, boots, gloves, and a hood.  all of this gear makes you more buoyant, which means more weights to counter it.  an instructor at the shop lived in SE Asia for 10 years and said coming here was like having to learn how to dive all over again so i guess i'm not the only person who has had some trouble adjusting.  having said that, it's still a blast to get in the water and check out the sea critters.  i've seen lots of nudibranchs, fish of varying shapes and sizes, and a sea otter with its pup playing in the water.  awesome.

the only thing that sucks is my housing situation.  i have no place to stay which means i've been alternating between sleeping in various parking lots, motels, and roadside turnouts.  this has caused me no small amount of stress and financial strain.  Joel and i are gonna look for a place to stay beginning july 1st but until then i have to figure something out cause i'm not sleeping well and it's starting to get to me.

to end on a positive note here is a picture of my truck being used to haul diving equipment, this is something i've been fantasizing about for a few years now.

done.

well that's it for my trip.  the final tally:

8 states
35 days
3,373 miles
3 bags of beef jerky
180+ cups of coffee

i'll keep writing stuff and posting pictures of various trips and doings that occur but for this long journey i'll finish by paraphrasing two songwriters as an epitaph.

greg brown:
two little feet to get me 'cross the mountain
two little feet to carry me away into the woods
tumble us like scree, let us holler out our freedom
like a wolf across a valley, like a kid lost in a game
oh man what am i trying to say
it's a messed up world but i love it anyway, i love it

keller williams:
the man says "where do you come from son?"
i says "right out back," wherever i stop and pop the top
that's where it's at
up and down and round and round
back and forth and to and fro
you ask me where do i come from son
i live in the blazeabago
living on the road don't mean your face on the pavement
living on the road don't mean you don't pay rent
you might think living on the road gets you all bent
but all in all it's heaven sent

Big Sur and Santa Cruz

i had about two weeks to kill before Joel got back from Kentucky.  the day him and i met up was also the night he was flying out to drive his car, possessions, and girlfriend back here to CA.

i spent about half of this time stuck in a motel.  having lost my keys on a hike i was unable to get into my vehicle to go anywhere.  then my truck got impounded for sitting on the road for 3 days.  so i got to pay the impound fee, the ticket, a locksmith to make a new key, and the motel bill.  it was a shitty week.  the next week however was great.  i spent a bit more time in Big Sur and i camped on this very narrow forest service road that is made up of switchbacks for 32 miles.  i was terrified about rolling off the cliff, many people i met described it as a beautiful drive.  as a midwesterner i am unaccustomed to driving so near cliffsides and cannot say that i enjoyed it.  but i did get to camp for free and the view was impressive.

i also took some time to head north a little ways into Santa Cruz.  i like Santa Cruz, it's got a lot of people my age and it's a pretty bohemian city but most importantly: at the end of the pier there is a place that serves thick clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls for a reasonable price.  every time i've been to SC i've gotten one and it's worth the drive.

Monterey

the next morning i kept on towards Monterey and a few hours later and i was on HWY 1 driving next to the Pacific Ocean.  i pulled over at the first beach i found and just enjoyed watching the waves in the sunshine.

i stopped by Monterey's info center in hopes of getting an area map of campgrounds because the central california office of the Bureau of Land Management sucks. the absolute worst maps i've dealt with. terrible, just terrible.

at the info center i met a delightful woman who asked me about my shirt and where i got it and ... 15 minutes later we were still talking about our different thailand experiences and how much we both miss the street food from there. Pam is awesome. i told her that i was into science education and perhaps looking for employment in the surrounding area. she said i should come back because she used to work at the university and has a few contacts that may be able to help me find something in academia. Pam is awesome.

from Monterey i drove south to one of the most beautiful spots in America:  Big Sur.  somewhere around 5'o'clock i paid my $35 for a campsite at a state park. the price is $35 because of former governor Schwarzenegger. 

fun fact!  two stars from the movie Predator went on to become governors.  this fella above and Jesse "the body" Ventura for the great state of Minnesota.

Hooray for Democracy in Action!

...anyways Big Sur was great and my time there was just a small taste of what's in store for me.  i've been down there several times now and i'm still blown away by the views.

i stayed two nights at the campground and a full day at the beach then drove the 1 up to Monterey so i could meet up with Joel and his friend James (owner of the dive shop).  we got together and immediately Joel and I walked over to the beach for some skim boarding.  i fell in the water several times and couldn't have been happier.

Sierra Nevada

crossing the Sierra Nevada was one of the most stressful parts of my trip.

the rain storm that i so enjoyed in nevada had come across the mountains and dumped several feet of snow.  this meant that Yosemite was now inaccessible.  not just the road going to the park but also nearly every road that takes you up and over the mountains.  for several hours i was stuck on the eastern side with no way to cross.  this was distressing.  i was very much looking forward to the ocean and had every intention of arriving there that day.  but after driving along several highways only to see a gate that said closed, i finally found a highway that was open.

i wasn't sure how much snow there was but i knew that it couldn't be that much because it was late may.  30 minutes after passing the foothills i was able to see the cause of all the impassable highways.

it was very beautiful and also very strange.  a week ago i was sweating through my shirts in the desert sun and now i was making snowballs.  i had never really been in Sierra Nevada before and had no idea how extensive and high they are.  i suppose i just assumed it would be like crossing the coastal range in Oregon.  huge pines forests, snow covered peaks, and frozen over ponds were all sitting up there.  it was very cool and i hope to get back there to do some camping and hiking.

 exiting the mountains brought me into Stockton.  Stockton is a shithole.  it's absolutely terrible.  the people i've met since being in CA all refer to Stockton as such and explain the entire state is embarrassed by its existence.  i didn't know this as the mountain highway brought me into the city.

as i mentioned, i was very stressed out and just wanted a motel room where i could catch my breath, calm down, and get a game plan for the last leg of the journey.  there were several places in the city where i could find a motel and they were all terrifying.  all the buildings were covered in graffiti, everything was covered in trash, homeless people were out in droves, and every motel seemed to have at least 3 groups of mexicans drinking out of paper bags and staring at me as i passed by.  i have a bike strapped to the roof of my truck, i am not inconspicuous.

as i drove around this ghetto i thought to myself  "why the fuck did you want to move to california?"  after much searching i was able to find I-5 and got the hell out of there as soon as i could.  10 miles down the road there was a holiday inn in a nice area and i paid 80 bucks for peace of mind.

nevada

driving across nevada was a blast. the route used to transect the state brought me from nowhere to nowhere with nothing in between. i had food, 5 gallons of water, and plenty of warm clothes. this was the pervasive thought running through my head the entire drive: if I were to breakdown, i'd be ok.

about halfway through the state i ran into the rain that was headed towards the grand canyon.  it was pretty crazy to have such a huge downpour in the desert just roll on past me.

i took a drive down “extraterrestrial highway” which was neat because it just kinda popped up in my trip. i did not see any aliens though but i did meet a lady who claims to have been abducted 3 times. she seemed perfectly normal in her airplane hanger selling alien paraphernalia and tequila in a bottle shaped like an alien.

my intended destination was a small town called Hawthorne at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. i arrived just as the sun was setting and this was possibly the saddest town i've ever stayed in. when i say that i am including all the third world countries i've been to.

the town is filled with motels and all but a few are closed down and boarded up. those not boarded up have shattered glass from the windows covering the parking lot. this place borders a highway and along the highway is a few big box stores and a shell gas station. this seemed to be one of the few places habitable in this town. there was a dollar store, a safeway, and a pizza joint. as for the rest of the town, nearly everything that wasn't touching the highway was abandoned and dead. the exception being a bar, another pizza place, a war/veterans memorial museum, and El Capitan Resort Casino. one of the most tragic things i've ever seen was a lady walking out of El Capitan looking rough at 6:30am.

after stopping at numerous motels i found one that was functioning. i was one of three guests staying there and the building was obviously not built as a hotel but some sort of military housing with concrete walls. when i asked the owner what people did for employment in the area he informed me that the town is a storage cache of weapons and ammunition for the army. the largest ammunition cache in the world as a matter of fact. 2,427 bunkers. but apparently the military is no longer using weapons... or they've used up all the ammunition that was stored in this town because it's quite obvious that business isn't booming.

you can see some of the bunkers here in the background:

the town of Hawthorne NV:

I awoke the next day intent on heading to the Sierra Nevada mountains and Yosemite.