Crackers, Quinoa, and a Bottle of Wine

I was greeted in Arcata with tons of love, even from people I didn't know. I hadn't seen Megan in a few years and it was so great seeing her and also seeing her town. I have no words for this place but it's beyond anywhere I've been to before. I've never seen so much LOVE in one place. At the farmer's market, people were dancing to steel drums, I met a girl with a pet goat, and drank enough chai to last the rest of my existence. Peace, love, and all that goes with it. This is Humboldt.

Once I got into Oregon, I felt an instant feeling of freedom. Went for a walk and found a slug I think Jayme would have loved to play with, spilled two glasses of wine, and realized after 6 months of camping in Mexico and watching (and learning) how to build a fire, my execution skills were terrible. Andrew would not have been proud. By the time I got it going, I was ready for bed but had to stay up since it took me an hour to make it happen. Loser.

Santa Cruz and Sonoma Coast

I'm writing from the Co-Op in Gualala, where I've been greeted by every person who walks by. While sitting here at the window, drinking my vanilla latte, a homeless man walked by, stopped to make sure he got my attention, smiled, waved, and kept walking. Before here, the lady at the fair trade gift store, gave me a tour of the entire shop with stories about where everything came from. Apparently when your town population is under 200, a tourist is the highlight of any day.

 I stayed in Sonoma County last night after spending two days with Mike in Santa Cruz. Surfed both days and thought my life was over when I mistook a seal for a shark. Other than that, the cold water was bearable and the waves were pretty fun! Photos below are of 26th street where I had the better of two days surfing and Mike putting air in my tires which pretty much captured his personality at it's finest.

The drive up through Sonoma was so pretty, it was hard to keep my eyes on the road. From lush trees near Samuel Taylor, to the Tule Elk Reserve at Pt. Reyes, over steep cliffs through Sonoma Coast State Park, I'm overwhelmed with the beauty of this coast! 

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." - E.E. Cummings 

On the Road Again...

And it feels so good! I just spent a week between Kernville and the Toulomne and had the chance to get into some really awesome endeavors.

The first few days were spent on the Kern and Andrew and I crashed the guide school where we met a lot of good people and Andrew got to catch up with all his buddies at Kern River Outfitters.

After that, we headed up to the Toulomne and got into some serious back packing. I told Andrew had that been our first date, we wouldn't be dating anymore. It was a pretty full on but once we arrived at Flinstone Camp, we immediately forgot about the 6 hours of hiking through snow, bush whacking, and steep downhill terrain into the gorge. Pretty epic scenery and well worth the sore joints.

Heading north today to jump into some more cold water with Mr. Michael Voors. If I get out of Santa Cruz alive, you'll hear back here shortly.