Holy Shasta!

Greetings from Mount Shasta! What a beautiful place, words cannot describe the energy here. I will post a few images from our journey until we can reflect and write some more! Northern California is great. Best wishes and blessings to you all :)

The beautiful Castle Lake where we went swimming! 

If you're going to San Francisco....

So here we are sitting in an overcrowded coffee shop just off of Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The ocean fog and the steam of the coffee and tea dance and mingle seamlessly in the air around us. The caffeinated barista yells orders over the chatter in the room in an animated voice "A-dam, I gotchya non-fat mo-chaah". Luckily we arrived on a weekend where there are no events going on. The city is apparently much less crowded than usual. Yet the line is still out the door in this cafe.

Last night we went to a local spot, a fire-pit birthday celebration on ocean beach. My mom's college friend Cristi lives in Oakland and invited us to this relaxing celebration on the beach. It was nice conversing with these very smart and kind people. They seemed to understand our intentions and us theirs. We shared laughs, good food, and drink. Cristi pointed out how interesting it is that even in our modern, fast paced day and age, at the end of the day, we all end up around a fire by the ocean... such a natural feeling :)

We drove up North from Santa Cruz yesterday along the "Great Highway" next to the Pacific coast. Passing through towns like Half Moon Bay and Pacifica gave off good vibrations. The area where the cliffs meet the ocean stirs up a nostalgic yet new feeling of exploration, excitement and happiness.

I have many hopes. My hopes at the moment are that we are sufficiently documenting this experience. It is somewhat difficult to truly live it and reflect on it simultaneously. This is such a profound exploration of cultures throughout our country. Everyday is new. The people are new, the places, the feelings, problems, successes and even gas prices change constantly. The gas prices are mostly expensive but we're always in search of the elusive number just below $4.00 a gallon.

Its refreshing how progressive the people in California are. Its not a matter of being "liberal" or "conservative", its just a matter of doing something of change and of importance. People seem to understand our intentions here. They see the value in sustainability and social change. Although there are still problems. The inequality is still very clear, as with everywhere in America. And although they charge .25 in every grocery store if you want a bag to carry out your items, they don't even give you a re-usable cup this coffee shop i've been loitering at all morning. Every person sitting around me is drinking out of a disposable cup that will surely end up in a landfill as there is no recycling bin in site... Oh well. At least I don't have to explain myself here every time I mention I don't eat meat.

I realize that this is becoming quite a rant and i'm not really coming to any conclusions but sometimes it just feels nice to express these vague feelings and put them into form. One feeling that is very strong in my heart is the feeling of change. Something big is going to happen soon, and it is happening already. It has to, literally to save our lives. Its so apparent through our travels and talking to other people our age, and older, throughout California. I recently watched a new film called "Dam Nation" at the Patagonia outlet in Santa Cruz. Its all about the demolition of detrimental and old-fashioned dams throughout the U.S. It talks a lot about the environmental problems these dams have created and how little energy they actually create. Many of these dams throughout Washington specifically have nearly wiped out the entire Snake River Stockeye fish population, and how the amount of power this dam produces is equivalent to only 3 wind turbines. Renewable energy is so clearly on its way in. Its the most exciting time in our country right now! With Obama's executive actions and the changes in our country and the EPA. It's so exciting and it really is great to see our money going to things like changing the health of the world and ourselves, rather than a war in Russia or something... Anyway now i'm really ranting and getting into political stuff that will surely get someone talking. But hey, maybe thats what I want to do. But just think about this, if we can't even breathe because of all the pollution in the atmosphere, do any other issues even matter? If theres no air to breathe it doesn't really matter if gay marriage or medical marijuana are legal does it? This is the number one issue and somehow people can't see it.

Alright i've sufficiently talked about all sorts of things probably no one wants to read about, so i'll just do what I do best and post some pictures ;) these are some new film images I got developed in Santa Cruz!

 This is a view from a view tower on the top of a very long road through the desert of California. This picture was taken on some of the first days of our trip, just outside of Yuma. We were so happy in this moment because the car didn't break down going up-hill in the 100 degree weather with very high winds!

 This is an older image taken on one of our last days in Tucson before we took off. All the cacti were blooming as if to send us off with a fond farewell.

 One of my favorite images. The watchtower at the top of the hill looking out over the California desert.

 Walking along the beach with friends outside of Camp Pedleton in Southern California. This is where we learned how to surf!

 Rocky beach, waves, and light leaks :)

 Sunset over the ocean. These images were taken on Film that was cross-processed using different chemicals, thats why they look so funky! I love the effect.

 Another image at the beach where we learned to surf.

 California Poppies double exposed with the lake outside of Julian, California.

 A double exposure of the road, our car/ home, and the desert.

Thanks for reading :) We are heading to Northern California and Oregon very soon. We are really looking forward to seeing this part of the country, we've heard such great things! We will surely have lots to post about and inspirations to share.
Much love from your favorite vagabonds ~

Photos to go with Kyle's previous post.

Kyle's quite the creative writer, eh? ;) Here are some pictures to go with our unexplainable times in Sequoia National Forest and Yosemite National Park. We are in Santa Cruz now and absolutely love this town!! 

Some lovely understory beneath the redwoods. 

The trail of 100 giants in Sequoia! 

Madz and a massive tree! So much fun being around these living giants! 

Towering beauties. Kyle collected some fallen sap from the trees to create salves. 

Some type of squirrel nesting in a tree. 

The view from Dome rock in Sequoia. Trees for miles, just like we like it.

Collecting water straight from a mountain spring! Delicious. 

Skipper playing hide and seek. 

The iconic view of Yosemite valley. It was like a dream seeing this for the first time. 

Mirror lake in Yosemite. So peaceful.

Kyle reading and relaxing by the river. 

Half dome, vernal and Nevada falls from glacier point. 

Endless epic views. We are in awe of this place! 

A view from inside skipper.

Adios amigos! 

(I'll name this after I write the post)

List of expectations for this blog posting

Format:

1.) Start by answering families questions about our health, geographic, and social well-being

2.) Response to the lack of posting in our former 2-day pattern

3.) Questions about showers, happiness, scabies (just kidding), lack of paint on our trailer, roundness of windows (they haven't gotten less round), readings, ect... ect..

Note: Not all of these things have been yet asked nor mentioned, but we feel they should be addressed.

Answers:

Do either of us have scabies?

A.) Yes, both of us. B.) One of do, so we're wearing a permanent plastic robe to stop its spread C.) Neither of us have scabies and had to google search what it actually was D.) C is the correct answer.

Correct, D is the correct answer.

Phew, close call.

To all of our fans, our american and international followers, our compatriots, compadres, and co-conspirators (and those that somehow fall out of these categories, but still follow our blog), we are deeply apologetic for our lack of postings (and lack of waves to latch on to, not in a surfing sense...but actually, kind of.

We've been hugging trees, really big ones. I (the boy that rarely posts on this blog anymore, and have been suppressed to the point that I'm now making a mess all over it) declare that I stuck my hand in a pool of 1000 year old tree blood. It felt like I had stuck my hand into someones stomach. It was sensational!

What else...

Oh yea, we went to Yosemite! Wew! We actually HITCH-HIKED to Yosemite (I'll say it loud to belittle its importance). Hitch-hiking in or near yosemite is probably safer than taking a bus in any major city, and maybe even admitting that you hitched hike to a parent/guardian/parental figure/ Sign Here________________.

How silly. Anyway, I'm not wearing shoes and I'm in a coffee shop and I'm kind of conscious because my feet aren't that clean and the waiter/barista keeps walking by and glancing at them like as if she's imagining OSHA walking in and closing them down permanently and winding up on the streets selling spoonfuls of coffee grounds in 1 oz bags discretely behind trees with a baseball cap shading her eyes.

It's not like that, though. We'll shower and clean up nicely. Showers are abundant, it's just about finding one. Or hanging one from a tree and dancing under it. It's harder in the cities, especially when you're parked in front a middle school.

So, we'll probably pretend we want to join a gym and do a short membership thing, take a little tour, express a little interest, do a few bicep curls, and get naked and really get to know the community. The lengths people go to not smell like salt!

So, yea.

We've been enjoying the travels. It's been pretty darn fly, we've gone from sad, to happy, to sad, to happy. I think we're bi-polar. We might start taking pharmaceuticals. Ah shit, this is getting serious, now I've probably offended somebody and gotten someone seriously worried. Oh no. Honestly, I'd rather sit around and read, and pound down a quart of raspberries. Madeleine would too. She's okay.

Phew. Raspberries. Never noticed that hidden "p" there. I typed it like 5 times. Rasberries. Ras. Rasberies? No

Rasberries.

Raspberries?

Who knows. Now my computer is even confused. I've confused my computer, but hopefully not you, the reader, who should know that this is all for fun, to enjoy life and its complexities, to sit here and have fun thinking about all the experiences we've had. To reflect, internally, and publicly. But really, I believe, we should all adventure, and if you are envious, then that's because you have every ounce of reason in yourself to venture into the unknown, and yet, you have decided not to. But that's okay, because we are all on a way. A path, that is inseparable from our being, and if we all went out at once and lived in travel trailers, it'd be a very weird sort of world and probably wouldn't be all that better then it is now. It's the diversity and the uniqueness of each and every one of us that makes it all so beautiful. So, in the love and light of this day, and the next, I hope you have the courage to smile and love one another with the fullest of heart. If you do not, which I do not always do,  that is okay too.

Whatever works for me.

For you, the reader:

Line 26: Brilliant and endless love.

Format: Ending statement above. Hope that's good enough. Sorry for any mis-understandings, questions of well-being (still) and other concerns. Questions can be written and postmarked to

Airfloat Skipper
Somewhere between Mexico and Canada (for now)
eight oh eight oh eight
get here someday (just text us if you want)

For now, till next time ...

(Ending line now marked arbitrarily Line 26)

Oh be joyful!

Here I am lying in the sun in the stifling desert heat. Taking it all in. Sometimes the desire to pull over on the side of the highway and explore is undeniable. The air is thick with the smell of creosote and I am taken back to my elemental roots. The desert is a magic land of twisted plant bodies and glittering sand. There is no where I'd rather be in this moment. We are just outside of Valyermo (spell check) California on the "Big Pine" highway. Indeed the road was full of sprawling hills and pine trees as far as the eye could see. But we've dropped in elevation and now head north back to the land of the ancient giants, the Sequoias. Their name precedes them. I cannot wait to hug one of their big red trunks and get lost in their history. Only looking up at the stars at night can make you feel so small. I am feeling very inspired at the moment but I must digress, as we have not spoken in some time ;)

We had a wonderful time in Southern California. It was full of learning and growth. We got to hang with one of the kindest people we know, who showed us around in style. We went to a full moon drum circle, swam in the ocean, learned to surf, ate some delicious food, and met some beautiful people along the way. 

Later, we went on to San Juan Capistrano, which I've told you a bit about in a previous post. It was very nice to see some family and feel the comfort of being around them. Keith taught us so much when it came to installing the solar panel on our trailer. We had no idea what a huge endeavor we were getting ourselves into! He literally stayed up all night helping us instal it with new batteries, wiring, inverters, the whole 9 yards. We are pumping in more energy than we can use right now and we are so happy to be truly off the grid! We cannot thank Keith enough for his determination, patience and general know-how! 

We even got the delight to go to Disneyland while we were in Southern California. Sue works for the horticulture department there and was kind enough to sign us in for a day. It was a once in a lifetime experience and the people watching was top-notch ;) we rode lots of rides and had a blast. 

Then we went to Santa Monica for the night where my friend Kristin happened to be visiting an art school she got into for grad school called Otis. She will be one of 12 students in her department. We're so proud of you and happy for you Kristin!! It was so nice seeing her and going back to our old sense of humor, taking pictures in a photobooth and laughing so hard that beer came out of my nose! Much love and luck to that sweet girl. 

But here I am writing when I should be dancing in the desert. I hope you understand, and I'm sure we'll talk again soon :)

Kyle feeling small in a bugs world at Disney land! 

Screamin' roller coaster. Yep we rode it. The flip gave us a mild case of whiplash.

Kyle under a cool sculpture at a park in Santa Monica. 

View of the pier. 

 

Some silly photobooth pics!

Kristin being cool

One of the best antique shops we've visited ever- in Wright wood Ca! 

The beautiful forest town of Wrightwood. They are used to young travelers as this is a stop on the pacific crest trail. Very friendly people here!

The road goes on forever. 

Desert dreams 

See you in the Sequoias! 

Travel does the soul good!

Here's a link to a short article about happy people! ~ 

http://elitedaily.com/life/10-things-that-the-people-who-love-their-lives-are-doing-differently/598934/

And here's an inspirational quote that spoke to me this morning...

And here are some sweet baby succulents in Sue's backyard :) 

Much love from California! 

Heaven: Special Delivery!

Truly amazing things happen when you open yourself up to receive them. Yesterday, Kyle and I woke up in our trailer, and walked out to our car to find a citation from Orange county. We had parked our trailer on city streets for more than the allotted 2 hours, and received a $50 ticket. Not exactly the best way to start our day... It was already not ideal to be sleeping in Orange County in the first place, as we were evacuated from Escondido due to the Coco's fire which sadly burned down most of Sky Mountain Institute- the non-profit organization and permaculture farm where we were staying and helping. Yes the massive fires took a huge toll on southern California, and the Coco's fire that we were effected by burned more than 6,000 acres. 

We were unsure of what to do with ourselves, feeling a bit low and displaced. So we decided to run a couple of errands we had been needing to get done. After some thrift store shopping and getting our purified water refilled, we headed back towards the spot where we got the ticket, right outside of the Ecology Center we planned on volunteering at for a few days, when all of a sudden a white suburban pulls in front of us. Kyle, not knowing who was driving it, told them to go ahead and take the parking spot he thought they were racing to get. When I saw the faces of Sue and Keith in the driver and passenger seat my heart filled up like a balloon! I was so happy to see the familiar faces of my family! Sue is my mother's cousin, who I met and bonded with at our family reunion a few years back in Cape Cod (as well as her husband Keith, and children Meghan and Brent). We were planning on calling them when we went through LA,  because I had thought they all lived in Riverside. This was truly a sign that we ran into them at that time on this day! Today Keith and Sue are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary- congrats guys!! 

Sue and Keith took us to the quaint downtown San Juan Capistrano and showed us Dana Point where we took a lovely stroll on the beach with their dog Tucker. 

Keith is a machinist and knows a lot about building and has given us some great ideas on how to install our solar panel in the next couple of days as well as some other design elements that are going to benefit Skipper greatly!

Today we went around looking for scrap wood on peoples curbs to build some storage units which will double as seats towards the front of the trailer. As we were driving around we saw a "Farm to Market" store that was going out of business. We decided to go in and see if they had any wood they were willing to donate so we could recycle it. They were so kind and actually gave us a few great crates which will work perfectly as well as a really cool shelving unit that says "Brad's raw foods" which fits perfectly next to our sink where we can store food and dishes!

We've really lucked out in the last couple of days, and hope/plan to give back to this community and the people who have made all of this possible for us! All love and good vibrations~~ 

Kyle and I at Dana point. 

Sue, Keith and I on the beach!

One of the cool wood crates we will be using for a set and storage in the trailer! 

We made some great memories in Lali's beautiful home just a few days before the wildfires. It is now in this state. If you are willing and able Sky Mountain institute will will be setting up a relief fund- check in with their Facebook to help  this amazing organization rebuild.