Sunday
I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but we're headed toward San Francisco later this afternoon. My plan is to Couchsurf, but that seems unlikely because of the short notice so I'll probably just try to get across the Golden Gate Bridge toward Marin County/ Sausalito and wing it from there continuing up Hwy. 1.
I'll update when I Just can, just a reminder that all of last week's stuff has been added to/ expanded. Worth re- reading if you haven't yet!
EDIT 11:30 pm: Well, that was quick. Hello from San Francisco!
We all left the KOA at about noon and headed to the Rio Del Mar State Beach in Santa Cruz for the afternoon for a day of relaxation before the 90 mile drive to San Francisco. For whatever reason, I chose to simply hang out in the RV for the day out of the sun, and just chill. I wound up checking my email for responses to my Couchsurf requests and talking to Shalain at length about possibly cutting this leg of the trip short to return home to work for a few weeks to compensate for the loss of my security deposit money, that was of course unwisely counted on!
After discussing it we decided that it just doesn't make sense to stop just yet. This has thrown a major kink in the plan, but more by way of removing a nice little safety net for things like purchasing pants when the crotch- seam splits in one pair, and the other are covered in tar... which is happening of course. I guess I'd better learn to sew.
So, I'm pressing onward. I had never even considered heading back before all this came up, but in reality the main problem is that I'm coming in over budget every week. If that weren't the case, this would really make no difference. Obviously I know what to address.
The drive from Santa Cruz to San Francisco was spent repacking the backpack and reconfiguring my brain to road- mode after RV- Surfing for 3 days. I didn't really pay that close attention to the landscape between the repacking and playing with Paul. Just before we got into San Francisco I got an email from Couchsurfers Chloe and Greg that I had a place to stay for tonight AND Monday night. Happy times! That would mean no sleeping beneath trees in Sausalito AND I could see a bit of the city AND possibly surf long enough to stick around for THE Gay Pride Parade in San Fran next weekend! I mean, come on... when will I ever get a chance to see THAT again?!?!?
Florian made a stop to finally get his currency exchanged... at a hefty price... and spent another half hour trying to just find a parking place. In the meantime I connected with my surfer hosts and got directions to their place. We disembarked my new favorite RV and my first RV surfing experience came to a close. Florian, Veronika, and Paul were all hungry so Florian invited me in to Mel's Diner for a goodbye meal. I felt bad about taking more from them, but quickly realized how hungry I was and figured it would be too late (and I was too poor) to get anything anywhere else in this expensive city. So I ordered a big ol' burger and prepared to take my leave of my new friends. We walked up the street a bit further together until he found a Starbucks where he could get Internet to check their plane reservations and that was it. We had exchanged information earlier, so we shook hands, hugged, they invited me to see them in Munich whenever I get there and we parted ways. I'm going to miss them. These are truly the type of people who enhance any experience, and like Pat, I felt lucky to have been able to spend time with them, let alone 3 days and a ride from near Hearst Castle all the way to San Francisco. Hopefully I'll be able to see them again.
I continued walking up Geary street and eventually asked some firemen directions to my surfers street. I crossed Market Street, seeing familiar sights all around from our trip here in 2003. I found 5th St., and eventually their loft with little trouble. Greg had given me solid directions, which always helps!
I am Chloe and Greg's first Couchsurfer although they have another coming in Tuesday from Brazil and staying for a WEEK! They're jumping in head first, eh? Nine straight days of CSers. Wow. We got acquainted over some beers and a fruit/ Vodka concoction as I doted on their cats (of course). They are really nice people, with a very comfortable place. They also have a 2 1/2 year- old son. Lotsa cats and kids on this trip!
Tomorrow we may go to Chinatown, then REI right around the corner to see about exchanging my shoes to alleviate the blister problem. No REAL plans though. Also send off a couple CS requests for the rest of the week.
Showing posts with label Paul. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul. Show all posts
Sunday, June 22, 2008
6/22: San Francisco
Labels:
California,
Chloe,
Couchsurfing,
Florian,
Paul,
REI,
San Francisco,
Santa Cruz CA,
Veronika
Thursday, June 19, 2008
6/19: San Simeon- Big Sur: Florian
This was a day of contradictions. Maybe the most intense day of the trip as far as the extremes go.
I was up and sadly leaving my little piece of $2 camping Nirvana at about 11:30 or so, loaded up with water and tea and back on Hwy. 1. I had learned from my neighbors the night before that there would be a place in the next town, San Simeon, to get water etc., so I didn't fully top off and felt remarkably light as I left.
What a great walk the first few miles was! I stopped off at a Vista Point to rest my feet, and tend to the re- developing blisters. Such a beautiful place! The squirrels and birds are quite bold here. They'll literally climb on top of you to get peanuts. I got a picture of a squirrel doing exactly that, and actually reaching his front paws up to take the nut from my fingers. I dig squirrels. Sue me!
I must have sat there for a good hour (not in a hurry, remember?) and got back at it. William Randolph Hearst's Castle was a few more miles up the road, and is right across from W.R. Hearst State Beach, complete with a sign proclaiming him a 'Great Patriot'. I plopped down in the shade up against a fence, smoked, chugged water, and gazed from a distance upon the most extreme, blatant, and disgustingly obvious self- congratulatory display of Capitalism and the pursuit of money I can ever imagine. Hearst Castle. I really loved the irony of looking at this thing while sitting in the dirt beneath a tree next to my backpack, and I called Karim to let him know.
For thóse that don't know, Citizen Kane was based not- so- loosely on WR Hearst. He was a newspaper giant in the early 20th Century. I couln't help but think how this man had built this Tribute to Greed by collecting five or 10 cents at a time from working class people. I could envision someone locking themselves up in this cage and while dying crying 'Rosebud'... to no one.
I sat there for 45 minutes or so, then went inside the park and filled my water. Everything this time. I knew I was heading into the middle of nothingness, this would be my last chance to fill up and it was obvious that eventually ´the thumb would have to come out.
Onward I went, my feet getting worse by the step under the increased weight of another full boca bottle and the from the heat of the asphalt under the afternoon sun. I went another couple of miles when I began to fizzle out. I plopped down on the side of the road in a section that was coming out of a curve. I quickly realized the ignorance of this and moved on. Shortly thereafter I felt something in my left foot... the same place I was feeling the discomfort earlier in the week before I had removed the inserts. I had re- inserted them before I'd left but this was different. It felt like something was stinging or biting me inside the boot! I stopped, found nothing and realized the tendinitis had returned. Grrr!!!
I began looking for places to bed down for the night, found a good spot that seemingly had been used before several times for either sleeping or hiking and resolved to keep trying to catch a ride until dark, and if I got nothing to sleep there.
I sat down back on the road, put on my Mp3 player, and sat there in virtual isolation. Hwy 1 traffic is pretty steady early in the day, but I had noticed that it quickly and steadily fades around 6 or 7 pm, and trickles to next to nothing on the northbound side... since most people (except for me) travel it south. Oddly enough though, with my feet blazing with blisters and other various pains and with next to no hope of a ride, I felt oddly at ease. An insane calm came over me. I realized that I'd seen and expected this simple vision for a few years, and here it was. I knew I had plenty of water and food, and was learning to just 'trust it'. Things work out. A nice moment of clarity.
After an hour or so of no rides, I decided to walk up a bit further and see if there may be better places to camp, ignoring the lesson I thought I'd learned in Cambria. For whatever reason I was just compelled to keep going. The sun was much lower, so the heat off the road had lessened making it a bit easier. I got back into a nice rhythm, and spied a lone pine tree wayyyy up the road where the coast seemed to cut north. I thought that would be a wonderful place to catch the sunset so I thought I'd do my best to get there racing the sun.
Walking was remarkably easier at this point than I expected it to be, and made pretty good time. I got to my lone pine tree which turned out to be another Vista Point and since I had gotten no rides with my thumb out the whole way there I resigned myself to crawling beneath this lone pine and sleeping, despite the 'no camping' signs that were posted all over the place. I wasn't 'camping' I told myself; I was 'resting'.
Turns out it didn't matter.
I had walked into the Vista about 30 ft. when I spied an RV on the horizon coming north. Against all logic, I had a split second vision of this being significant. No one ever believes me when I talk about these things, but they're real! I told myself, I'll try ONE MORE time to get a ride, and if it doesn't work... screw it. I'll sleep beneath the tree.
Yep.
They stopped.
Inside was a German couple from Munich along with their 4 year- old son. Florian asked me where I was going, and I said as far north as I could. He said they were just going to the next campground, but I could ride if I wanted to. I figured at worst I'd have a decent place to sleep, so I eagerly took it.
Veronika let me in, and I sat down as we headed up the coast as the sun was dropping beneath the horizon. As soon as I sat down their son, Paul, just stared at what he must have thought was a strange road- creature that just climbed aboard! He was funny.
Florian offered me a Miller, which may have been the BEST tasting beer I've ever had after being in the unusually hot sun all day! We continued on, enjoyed the increasingly intense landscape, and got to know each other.
What a nice family. So happy and just seem to enjoy each other! They had rented the RV in San Francisco and driven down to Death Valley and were now heading up Hwy 1 back to San Fran to catch a flight to Seattle on Tuesday.
It turns out that, fortunately (for me anyhow), all the campgrounds were full. Florian kept driving and driving until he finally found Pfeiffer- Big Sur State Park. It said the only openings were for 'self contained' campers and he needed to 'dump' the RV.
That was one of the funniest things ever, especially if you've seen the movie RV! They had used the wrong paper in the toilet and he had to unclog the septic system. When he did, all hell broke loose! He was doused in the chemical that disintegrates the ummmm... 'waste'. I speak a little German, and caught him saying 'I have shit on my face!'. I hated to laugh at him, but couldn't help it! He was good natured about it and saw the humor in wearing 'liquid shit'! I'll never forget that!
He found an open campsite, pulled in and settled down for the night. Veronika and Paul went to bed rather quickly, and he offered me the RV's couch to sleep on. We sat out by the fire talking while he tried to BBQ chicken and a pepper steak for me to eat. He's not the most experienced of BBQers so it took forever, and in the meantime he put 'Snatch' on his laptop for us to watch while I fought to stay awake. Funny little movie, and when the food finally got done I gorged myself!
Warm food: Gooooood!
We had a few more beers a a couple glasses of champagne, and I went to sleep contemplating how things just seem to work themselves out. They invited me along to ride toward Santa Cruz with them on Friday, and since my feet were shredded I gladly accepted. Quite an eventful day, and I had made some new friends.
I was up and sadly leaving my little piece of $2 camping Nirvana at about 11:30 or so, loaded up with water and tea and back on Hwy. 1. I had learned from my neighbors the night before that there would be a place in the next town, San Simeon, to get water etc., so I didn't fully top off and felt remarkably light as I left.
What a great walk the first few miles was! I stopped off at a Vista Point to rest my feet, and tend to the re- developing blisters. Such a beautiful place! The squirrels and birds are quite bold here. They'll literally climb on top of you to get peanuts. I got a picture of a squirrel doing exactly that, and actually reaching his front paws up to take the nut from my fingers. I dig squirrels. Sue me!
I must have sat there for a good hour (not in a hurry, remember?) and got back at it. William Randolph Hearst's Castle was a few more miles up the road, and is right across from W.R. Hearst State Beach, complete with a sign proclaiming him a 'Great Patriot'. I plopped down in the shade up against a fence, smoked, chugged water, and gazed from a distance upon the most extreme, blatant, and disgustingly obvious self- congratulatory display of Capitalism and the pursuit of money I can ever imagine. Hearst Castle. I really loved the irony of looking at this thing while sitting in the dirt beneath a tree next to my backpack, and I called Karim to let him know.
For thóse that don't know, Citizen Kane was based not- so- loosely on WR Hearst. He was a newspaper giant in the early 20th Century. I couln't help but think how this man had built this Tribute to Greed by collecting five or 10 cents at a time from working class people. I could envision someone locking themselves up in this cage and while dying crying 'Rosebud'... to no one.
I sat there for 45 minutes or so, then went inside the park and filled my water. Everything this time. I knew I was heading into the middle of nothingness, this would be my last chance to fill up and it was obvious that eventually ´the thumb would have to come out.
Onward I went, my feet getting worse by the step under the increased weight of another full boca bottle and the from the heat of the asphalt under the afternoon sun. I went another couple of miles when I began to fizzle out. I plopped down on the side of the road in a section that was coming out of a curve. I quickly realized the ignorance of this and moved on. Shortly thereafter I felt something in my left foot... the same place I was feeling the discomfort earlier in the week before I had removed the inserts. I had re- inserted them before I'd left but this was different. It felt like something was stinging or biting me inside the boot! I stopped, found nothing and realized the tendinitis had returned. Grrr!!!
I began looking for places to bed down for the night, found a good spot that seemingly had been used before several times for either sleeping or hiking and resolved to keep trying to catch a ride until dark, and if I got nothing to sleep there.
I sat down back on the road, put on my Mp3 player, and sat there in virtual isolation. Hwy 1 traffic is pretty steady early in the day, but I had noticed that it quickly and steadily fades around 6 or 7 pm, and trickles to next to nothing on the northbound side... since most people (except for me) travel it south. Oddly enough though, with my feet blazing with blisters and other various pains and with next to no hope of a ride, I felt oddly at ease. An insane calm came over me. I realized that I'd seen and expected this simple vision for a few years, and here it was. I knew I had plenty of water and food, and was learning to just 'trust it'. Things work out. A nice moment of clarity.
After an hour or so of no rides, I decided to walk up a bit further and see if there may be better places to camp, ignoring the lesson I thought I'd learned in Cambria. For whatever reason I was just compelled to keep going. The sun was much lower, so the heat off the road had lessened making it a bit easier. I got back into a nice rhythm, and spied a lone pine tree wayyyy up the road where the coast seemed to cut north. I thought that would be a wonderful place to catch the sunset so I thought I'd do my best to get there racing the sun.
Walking was remarkably easier at this point than I expected it to be, and made pretty good time. I got to my lone pine tree which turned out to be another Vista Point and since I had gotten no rides with my thumb out the whole way there I resigned myself to crawling beneath this lone pine and sleeping, despite the 'no camping' signs that were posted all over the place. I wasn't 'camping' I told myself; I was 'resting'.
Turns out it didn't matter.
I had walked into the Vista about 30 ft. when I spied an RV on the horizon coming north. Against all logic, I had a split second vision of this being significant. No one ever believes me when I talk about these things, but they're real! I told myself, I'll try ONE MORE time to get a ride, and if it doesn't work... screw it. I'll sleep beneath the tree.
Yep.
They stopped.
Inside was a German couple from Munich along with their 4 year- old son. Florian asked me where I was going, and I said as far north as I could. He said they were just going to the next campground, but I could ride if I wanted to. I figured at worst I'd have a decent place to sleep, so I eagerly took it.
Veronika let me in, and I sat down as we headed up the coast as the sun was dropping beneath the horizon. As soon as I sat down their son, Paul, just stared at what he must have thought was a strange road- creature that just climbed aboard! He was funny.
Florian offered me a Miller, which may have been the BEST tasting beer I've ever had after being in the unusually hot sun all day! We continued on, enjoyed the increasingly intense landscape, and got to know each other.
What a nice family. So happy and just seem to enjoy each other! They had rented the RV in San Francisco and driven down to Death Valley and were now heading up Hwy 1 back to San Fran to catch a flight to Seattle on Tuesday.
It turns out that, fortunately (for me anyhow), all the campgrounds were full. Florian kept driving and driving until he finally found Pfeiffer- Big Sur State Park. It said the only openings were for 'self contained' campers and he needed to 'dump' the RV.
That was one of the funniest things ever, especially if you've seen the movie RV! They had used the wrong paper in the toilet and he had to unclog the septic system. When he did, all hell broke loose! He was doused in the chemical that disintegrates the ummmm... 'waste'. I speak a little German, and caught him saying 'I have shit on my face!'. I hated to laugh at him, but couldn't help it! He was good natured about it and saw the humor in wearing 'liquid shit'! I'll never forget that!
He found an open campsite, pulled in and settled down for the night. Veronika and Paul went to bed rather quickly, and he offered me the RV's couch to sleep on. We sat out by the fire talking while he tried to BBQ chicken and a pepper steak for me to eat. He's not the most experienced of BBQers so it took forever, and in the meantime he put 'Snatch' on his laptop for us to watch while I fought to stay awake. Funny little movie, and when the food finally got done I gorged myself!
Warm food: Gooooood!
We had a few more beers a a couple glasses of champagne, and I went to sleep contemplating how things just seem to work themselves out. They invited me along to ride toward Santa Cruz with them on Friday, and since my feet were shredded I gladly accepted. Quite an eventful day, and I had made some new friends.
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