Wednesday, August 31, 2011
2011-August-31: Day 17
Still Santa Fe. Mas trabajo, fixed a couple evaporative coolers, installed a new lav and a new shower faucet at the Hoovers', always a nice experience. Stay well, Bud!
2011-August-30: Day 16
Tuesday. Work! Plumbed for a few hours, then picked up some dinner ingredients. Eggplant Parmesan and vino. The eggplant parmesan was delicious, the Menage-a-Trois was very good, and the Caymus was Caymus!
2011-August-29: Day 15
Woke up at Angie's. No work, so Sean and I went into El Dorado, made some drinks.
2011-August-28: Day 14
Easy breezy Sunday. Looked through a cocktail book and tried to make a couple drinks with Sean, watched Fern Gullie. Went out with Sean and Angie, had a few drinks, played some pool, then Sean and I attended a little poker game. Lody: fantastic DJing! Sebastian, Wes, James, ?, ?, Michael, pleasure playing with you. James, congratulations on your Heineken slamming win.
2011-August-27: Day 13
Saturday. Went out for a quick plumbing trip, just a lookover in Las Campanas. Went out to sushi with the grandparents! Back home and some drinkin'.
Friday, August 26, 2011
2011-August-25: Day 11
Burque again. Sara drove me to the train, which was a nice ride both due to the scenery and the company of two courteous ladies. Got into Santa Fe around noon, cruised around the REI for some necessary ingredients to add to my trip stew, then met Sean and Dad for lunch at the new and improved Second Street Brewery--quite delicious. Prepared a marinade for tuna steaks and had a tasty dinner coupled with some pretty good Clos du Bois Chardonnay and gabbed the night away:
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
2011-August-24: Day 10
Albuquerque, NM, USA. Woke up about 10am on Jordan and Kyle's fold-out bed. Not couch, fold-out bed. Living in style. Showered and read at Sara and Antonio's, felt like I needed movement (despite the heat), so I cruised the campus a bit, met Sara, left Sara, worked on these posts, had lunch with Sara (Jallaba (sp?) is a revelation), kicked it low key at the house. Chinese for dinner. This city is already peculiar, but the campus and adjacent neighborhoods are a sociological query. There is much more to say than that, but it will have to suffice.
2011-August-23: Day 9
Woke around 6/7am Tuesday in Lake Havisu City, AZ, in one piece and untarnished, and got the show on the road with the quickness. Carlos and I skipped through Arizona, only being slowed by the monotony of single-lane construction, whose corridors crept up increasingly often throughout the remainder of my time in the truck. We got some breakfast (thanks again Carlos!), took in the sights, talked about trucking, the road/states, life, et al, and arrived in Albuquerque, NM about 6pm local time. And not only that, we pulled into the Flying J directly behind one familiar Ford Expedition, so high five for timing! Carlos and I said our goodbyes and he graced Dad and I with a couple melons fresh off the truck and we parted ways. Back to the high life: we dined in luxury at Scalo. I had lobster ravioli, Sara a delicious mozzarella and Gorgonzola white pizza with pears and caramelized onions, Dad a red sauce w/sausage pasta that assuredly was good but too meaty for Sara and I to partake in, and Smom rounded it off with a seafood trifecta of salmon, scallop, and shrimp atop a duo of thick noodles. Oh, and we had a calamari appetizer. Good stuff, Maynard. Went back to Sara and Antonio's, then over to Kyle and Jordan's for a movie and wine. Terrible, terrible wine. But the movie, The Big Bang starring Antonio Banderas of Nasonex fame, was semi-fabulous. Aka terrible, but in a way more delightful manner than the wine. Tried to watch Tombstone. Slept.
2011-August-22: Day 8
4:30am on a Monday. No one has rides to offer. Walk up a couple more entrances, play the waiting game. An old lady stops to ask if I want money or a ride and I say a ride so she withdraws her 5-dollar bill and says she would give me one, but isn't going that far. Thanks anyway, lady, you may be the kindest person in Riverside county. Anyway, after way too many hours of stagnancy, Annika got proactive and found a Greyhound bus from Riverside to Barstow, so I found a couple buses from Norco to downtown Riverside and had myself a ball through San Bernadino and lovely Victorville, finally up to Barstow. Well, upon arriving at the Barstow Greyhound station I saw the I-15 in one direction and the I-40 in the other, so I walked to the I-40 entrance. Not much traffic, so I decided to head to the local side road and walk to the next entrance; yet again, vacant. At this second stop, though, a guy cruised by me on a bike and just hopped right on the interstate, so I figured it was fair game and joined him, walking with my thumb out for maybe 3 miles. Still no bites. So I got off (sign told me to) and walked along Pendleton Rd. Fuck Pendleton Rd. I walked to the Daggett on/off-ramp, not in the greatest mood, and decided to wait, even though it was obvious no one would be getting off at that shit hole. I relaxed a bit, then decided to cruise down to the train tracks to see if I could hop a train to Santa Fe; there was a sign for a ghost town right before the tracks. Of course. This was about dusk, and I returned to my perch at the freeway entrance.
It is common that the desert day doesn't so much transform as it does disappear into night. I was sitting on my curb, looking to the horizon for the improbable car, decided to lie back and close my eyes for maybe seven minutes, and when I rose again night had set. Not much changed from pre- to post-sunset except the amount of light; it was still hot, dry, and empty. Still desert, still bearable, still alone and waiting at what must be one of the 5 worst hitch hiking spots along I-40. So, resigned to stay the night and persevere by foot tomorrow, I lied back and allowed myself to find comfort in a state of half-sleep, waking at every chance of a ride. Finally it came: a two-manned minivan filled with stuff (supposedly groceries). The twosome navigating this vehicle asked me where I was headed and said they'd take me a few miles down the road, to Newberry Springs, where I could wait at the 24-hour Chevron. It being dark, I was already a bit hesitant/suspicious, and these were certainly not city people, just a couple desert rats who loved to hoard stuff and move around to all the delightful towns between Victorville, CA and Wickenburg, AZ. And, of course, being packrats, they did not have seats in the minivan; I instead held the sliding door handle and situated myself between my backpack and the dog(?)food bag, being careful not to "step on [his] groceries" as I had been warned upon entering the van. So we traveled up the I-40, the passenger engaged in constant (and usually unintelligible) conversation, sometimes with me, sometimes with the driver, and always with himself. Regardless of whether or not I understand I pretty much just laughed and agreed, always conscious of the proximity of my knife to my hand. Ya know, just in case. This was probably around 9, definitely after 8:00pm, and they dropped me off at the Chevron, pleasant as could be and talking about paying it forward. Yes, like the movie. So I got out, scoped the vicinity, asked the station clerk if I could charge my phone, to which he slyly replied "yes, outside." Whatever that meant--obviously there were no outlets outside. Anyway, the clerks weren't too thrilled with my presence, but much less happy with some old lady also trying to hitch a ride into Arizona, so I kept quiet and told them I was waiting for someone, which was far from a lie. A few cars came through, all looking local, and within a half-hour (guessing) a truck pulled along the street and a trucker got out to make a quick stop. He looked exceedingly sane, so I asked him if he had a ride East, upon which he asked if I was "clean." Meaning drugs, not dirt, sweat, filth, & grime, so I assured him that I was. I threw my bag in the trailer, hopped in, and made myself comfortable. He said he was going to Kingman, AZ tonight and I said that would be great, then made sure to keep the conversation flowing so as to warrant an invitation to what I presumed would be the second stage of his journey. Lo and behold, he told me he was on his way to Atlanta, GA and that he would not only gladly take me to Burque, but would allow me to sleep on the upper cot in the cab if I so pleased. At first I said I'd try my luck outside, but then acquiesced, thinking a guaranteed ride with what by all markers seemed a trustworthy human would be better than rolling the dice again. Plus a bed. Oh yeah, almost forgot the Rossi bike. In addition to this parked pic, I saw it ridden at two separate times during my infinitely-too-long stay in Norco.
It is common that the desert day doesn't so much transform as it does disappear into night. I was sitting on my curb, looking to the horizon for the improbable car, decided to lie back and close my eyes for maybe seven minutes, and when I rose again night had set. Not much changed from pre- to post-sunset except the amount of light; it was still hot, dry, and empty. Still desert, still bearable, still alone and waiting at what must be one of the 5 worst hitch hiking spots along I-40. So, resigned to stay the night and persevere by foot tomorrow, I lied back and allowed myself to find comfort in a state of half-sleep, waking at every chance of a ride. Finally it came: a two-manned minivan filled with stuff (supposedly groceries). The twosome navigating this vehicle asked me where I was headed and said they'd take me a few miles down the road, to Newberry Springs, where I could wait at the 24-hour Chevron. It being dark, I was already a bit hesitant/suspicious, and these were certainly not city people, just a couple desert rats who loved to hoard stuff and move around to all the delightful towns between Victorville, CA and Wickenburg, AZ. And, of course, being packrats, they did not have seats in the minivan; I instead held the sliding door handle and situated myself between my backpack and the dog(?)food bag, being careful not to "step on [his] groceries" as I had been warned upon entering the van. So we traveled up the I-40, the passenger engaged in constant (and usually unintelligible) conversation, sometimes with me, sometimes with the driver, and always with himself. Regardless of whether or not I understand I pretty much just laughed and agreed, always conscious of the proximity of my knife to my hand. Ya know, just in case. This was probably around 9, definitely after 8:00pm, and they dropped me off at the Chevron, pleasant as could be and talking about paying it forward. Yes, like the movie. So I got out, scoped the vicinity, asked the station clerk if I could charge my phone, to which he slyly replied "yes, outside." Whatever that meant--obviously there were no outlets outside. Anyway, the clerks weren't too thrilled with my presence, but much less happy with some old lady also trying to hitch a ride into Arizona, so I kept quiet and told them I was waiting for someone, which was far from a lie. A few cars came through, all looking local, and within a half-hour (guessing) a truck pulled along the street and a trucker got out to make a quick stop. He looked exceedingly sane, so I asked him if he had a ride East, upon which he asked if I was "clean." Meaning drugs, not dirt, sweat, filth, & grime, so I assured him that I was. I threw my bag in the trailer, hopped in, and made myself comfortable. He said he was going to Kingman, AZ tonight and I said that would be great, then made sure to keep the conversation flowing so as to warrant an invitation to what I presumed would be the second stage of his journey. Lo and behold, he told me he was on his way to Atlanta, GA and that he would not only gladly take me to Burque, but would allow me to sleep on the upper cot in the cab if I so pleased. At first I said I'd try my luck outside, but then acquiesced, thinking a guaranteed ride with what by all markers seemed a trustworthy human would be better than rolling the dice again. Plus a bed. Oh yeah, almost forgot the Rossi bike. In addition to this parked pic, I saw it ridden at two separate times during my infinitely-too-long stay in Norco.
2011-August-21: Day 7
Woke up feeling great, so I guess that's a bonus. Left on the Anni train 'bout 9:30, definitely feeling the realizations of my proposed journey. Dropped off in Buena Park, no luck hitching, so walked to a bus that took me to the Anaheim metrolink. Time to kill. Train to Corona, nooooooo luck. Walked around way too much, walked up to Norco, no luck, crashed near the on-ramp on some cardboard. This area is cheese wiz.
2011-August-20: Day 6
Saturday. Slept in "Star Field" (I think), woke up and took a shower-always a good idea. Pre-wedding lunch of goat cheese and onion tarts and a delicious arugula and butter lettuce salad with nectarines, goat cheese, and pecans. Superb, thank you Camp Stevens kitchen staff. Been a long time since I've taken advantage of a pool: I do love the water. Piggies! The wedding was lovely, congratulations Samantha and Axel Ancona-Esselman, and thank you for allowing me to attend and for putting out way too much effort to include everyone, myself included, in your festivities (ie mason jars). Anyway, the ceremony was great, everyone looked very pretty, Sam's dress was a revelation, and it was all very heartfelt. The hors d'ouevres at the reception were yet again deeelish! Table 13: Amanda and Judith Loveless, and Vesta (like Vespa), I'd say we had a fun time, especially the pigs and the trek to them. Lots of alcohol. Later in the night: Julia, you may not remember, but thanks for the conversation. You were wasted. Doug, Jess and Matt, Sinclaire (,probably others): pleasure to meet you. There are plenty of great pictures of all of the events of this day, but the only ones in my possession are terrible and from 3am around a fire. I'll put these two up anyway though, they accurately represent the time and place.
2011-August-19: Day 5
On the bus from Lana's to the I-5, and another great visual summation of Van Nuys life which I failed to capture: a sign which read "No Cruising." Annika picked me up (after much unnecessary difficulty) and we drove down to San Diego, relaxed at the beach with some mediocre at best Mexican food, then made the journey into Julian. Interesting town, especially at night. Then to Camp Stevens. So tomorrow I will be attending a wedding at which I do not know the bride and groom, nor anyone else involved, but I met both of the to-be-weds tonight and they seemed pretty great and I learned from Jeff the Chef that I must visit Colon, Panama and work passage on a little boat into Columbia; sounds pretty great.
2011-August-18: Day 4
Thursday. Thousand Oaks-Chatsworth-Westwood-Van Nuys, CA, USA. Alive and in motion. Hot. Backpack: heavy. Pretty much just a bunch of walking and bussing throughout the greater Los Angeles area in a series of circuitous and utterly indirect paths. Visited aunt and babies/kids! Upon reaching Van Nuys and stepping off the bus my greeting (which I unfortunately did not photograph) was a used condom. Welcome to Van Nuys! Many thanks to Lana, Basil (though we did not meet--next time), and Chelsea for not only shelter, but comfort and conversation. Down to SD tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
2011-August-17: Day 3
Still in Thousand Oaks, CA, USA. Alive. Figs! Arugula, basil, fig, goat cheese salad with pomegranate/shallot vinaigrette! Saw a classy U2 tribute band at the mall with Ma Dukes, George, and Michelle. B-balled in the am. Southward manana.
2011-August-16: Day 2
A Tuesday. Kickin' it with Ma Dukes in Thousand Oaks, CA, USA. Tasty dinner and tasty wine. Alive.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
2011-August-15: Day 1!
Kinda! Carpinteria-Thousand Oaks, CA, USA. Alive. Sold my car! Adios, Carpinteria, hope I'll be able to pay my storage unit.
2011-August-13: Day 0.thirteen
Not yet. Carpinteria, CA, USA. Alive and celebrating part deux. My night ended prematurely, but I still wish we had pictures. Cold tequila...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Dale and Jamie: you shouldn't have left early.
2011-August-12: Day 0.twelve
Not yet. Carpinteria, CA, USA. Alive and celebrating! Thanks for the clothes, Kyle.
2011-August-11: Day 0.eleven
Not yet. Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, CA, USA. Alive. Sara has some pics from the beach, hopefully I can get her to put them up.
2011-August-10: Day 0.ten
Not yet. Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, CA, USA. Alive, though not as much as Sara.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
2011-August-7: Day 0.7
Not yet. Carpinteria, CA. Alive.
I'm going on a trip! That is the reason for this blog's creation. I should be leaving in about a week. I don't have much of a plan at present, or much of a physical plan slash route I should say. My plan is to travel through every country in the Americas, from my front door in California down to the southern tip of Argentina. Along the way I will visit the Yaqui Indian tribe in the Northern Sonoran desert. I have a couple travel books: thank you Lucas and Sam. I plan for this to be fun and exciting, and as such it will be. And communicative!
Pen predata, et cetera, et cetera...
P.S. Feel free to email me at kimani17@gmail.com or leave comments on this blog or Facebook (!) me (Jason Eiker-Wiles).
Audi 5000
I'm going on a trip! That is the reason for this blog's creation. I should be leaving in about a week. I don't have much of a plan at present, or much of a physical plan slash route I should say. My plan is to travel through every country in the Americas, from my front door in California down to the southern tip of Argentina. Along the way I will visit the Yaqui Indian tribe in the Northern Sonoran desert. I have a couple travel books: thank you Lucas and Sam. I plan for this to be fun and exciting, and as such it will be. And communicative!
Pen predata, et cetera, et cetera...
P.S. Feel free to email me at kimani17@gmail.com or leave comments on this blog or Facebook (!) me (Jason Eiker-Wiles).
Audi 5000
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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