La Casita Viajera Rolls South, Again...
Not much time to update, sipping coffee in a quaint internet cafe (slow, so not many image updates today -- disclaimer, Annie took all the photos, with more here) in Lincoln City on the coast of Oregon. Waiting for some laundry to finish up -- the first act of cleanliness encountered thus far on the trip... Hoping to catch the end of the little swell rolling through town right now (you know what they say, "Never leave waves to find waves.")
Much has happened on the trip so far, and I've been having a blast, although I've been pretty chilly at times...
Right now I'm lobster-red from yesterday's rare encounter with the sun, waiting around for wind in Hood River, Oregon (windsurfing capitol of the world!)
The trip so far, in a nutshell:
- crossed into the US on Thursday, later than I'd hoped, behind schedule as always... Trying not to think about schedules, but these things happen.
- expected a long hassle at the border, driving a VW van stacked with surfboards... My border guard, an old grey-haired feller, was very excited and split his time talking about my surfboards (he surfs) and my van (he's owned 7 VW busses). He actually said, "I just want to get in the tube, man."
I was anxious to get going, so I invited him to ride along for the trip. He chuckled and let me through.
- Hung out in the Seattle area with Bob, Rob, Mark, etc. I felt a bit pathetic spending the first night of my big adventure sleeping in Bob's lovely guest room. Oh well, I knew I had many many cold uncomfortable nights ahead.
- Did a lot of driving, ended up passing through Seaside Oregon (it felt a bit touristy, and there were no waves) and on to Cannon Beach Oregon. Lovely little town, with a really cool scenic park -- Ecola State Park -- but it was rainy and cold. I finally hunkered down in a little park in town (camping in public places is legal in Oregon) for the night. It was nice.
- Was awakened around midnight by a cop, banging on my windows. I had no idea where I was or what was going on. He gave me a talking-to, rang my plates and escorted me outta town. Apparently camping in public places is legal, but some of the towns have bylaws prohibiting it. Hmm. Not too intuitive...
- I sleepily cruised around looking for a campground -- or something -- to spend the night in. Along the side of the highway I passed a VW bus camped on the side. It looked a lot like the van a guy -- Matt -- Annie and I had met at my VW mechanic's shop last week. He, too, was planning for a trip south. Anyway, I finally found a campground and passed out again.
- Woke up early and hit the town, looking for surf. There was a bit, but it was still cold and still verymuch raining. I hate rain. This trip sucks. I looked at the waves and thought, "Devon would go out..." and "Well, I'd probably go out if Sparky talked me into it..." Yes, I was missing having friends aroudn.
Instead of surfing I went to grab a coffee and head east to Hood River for some windsurfing.
- At the coffee shop I parked next to that same VW bus that was camped out on the side of the highway. It was, indeed, Matt's. He and his buddy Brian were having a coffee, their two girl friends out for a walk in the rain. Ev eryone was very excited to meet up, and we hung out for an hour.
- I finally decided it was time to head East, but checked out the waves one more time. Happy to be with friends, I decided we should go for a surf. We caravaned south, somewhere near Manzanita and surfed for a few hours. The waves were awful, as was the weather, but it felt great. I can't remember the last time I'd surfed...
- I rolled into Hood River late in the evening, just in time to catch a few windsurfers coming in at the Event Site. I couldn't find anywhere to sleep, so I bought $5 worth of groceries at Safeway and spent the night there.
- Up early -- 6am -- the next day to hit the big windsurfing swap meet (the reason for my visit to Hood River). It was very stressful, not having bought windsurfing gear in over 10 years, but I got tons of great equipment for dirt. Like, maybe $400 total for stuff better than would have cost me thousands back home. I was stoked, but exhausted. Made some friends, too.
Right now I'm lobster-red from yesterday's rare encounter with the sun, waiting around for wind in Hood River, Oregon (windsurfing capitol of the world!)
The trip so far, in a nutshell:
- crossed into the US on Thursday, later than I'd hoped, behind schedule as always... Trying not to think about schedules, but these things happen.
- expected a long hassle at the border, driving a VW van stacked with surfboards... My border guard, an old grey-haired feller, was very excited and split his time talking about my surfboards (he surfs) and my van (he's owned 7 VW busses). He actually said, "I just want to get in the tube, man."
I was anxious to get going, so I invited him to ride along for the trip. He chuckled and let me through.
- Hung out in the Seattle area with Bob, Rob, Mark, etc. I felt a bit pathetic spending the first night of my big adventure sleeping in Bob's lovely guest room. Oh well, I knew I had many many cold uncomfortable nights ahead.
- Did a lot of driving, ended up passing through Seaside Oregon (it felt a bit touristy, and there were no waves) and on to Cannon Beach Oregon. Lovely little town, with a really cool scenic park -- Ecola State Park -- but it was rainy and cold. I finally hunkered down in a little park in town (camping in public places is legal in Oregon) for the night. It was nice.
- Was awakened around midnight by a cop, banging on my windows. I had no idea where I was or what was going on. He gave me a talking-to, rang my plates and escorted me outta town. Apparently camping in public places is legal, but some of the towns have bylaws prohibiting it. Hmm. Not too intuitive...
- I sleepily cruised around looking for a campground -- or something -- to spend the night in. Along the side of the highway I passed a VW bus camped on the side. It looked a lot like the van a guy -- Matt -- Annie and I had met at my VW mechanic's shop last week. He, too, was planning for a trip south. Anyway, I finally found a campground and passed out again.
- Woke up early and hit the town, looking for surf. There was a bit, but it was still cold and still verymuch raining. I hate rain. This trip sucks. I looked at the waves and thought, "Devon would go out..." and "Well, I'd probably go out if Sparky talked me into it..." Yes, I was missing having friends aroudn.
Instead of surfing I went to grab a coffee and head east to Hood River for some windsurfing.
- At the coffee shop I parked next to that same VW bus that was camped out on the side of the highway. It was, indeed, Matt's. He and his buddy Brian were having a coffee, their two girl friends out for a walk in the rain. Ev eryone was very excited to meet up, and we hung out for an hour.
- I finally decided it was time to head East, but checked out the waves one more time. Happy to be with friends, I decided we should go for a surf. We caravaned south, somewhere near Manzanita and surfed for a few hours. The waves were awful, as was the weather, but it felt great. I can't remember the last time I'd surfed...
- I rolled into Hood River late in the evening, just in time to catch a few windsurfers coming in at the Event Site. I couldn't find anywhere to sleep, so I bought $5 worth of groceries at Safeway and spent the night there.
- Up early -- 6am -- the next day to hit the big windsurfing swap meet (the reason for my visit to Hood River). It was very stressful, not having bought windsurfing gear in over 10 years, but I got tons of great equipment for dirt. Like, maybe $400 total for stuff better than would have cost me thousands back home. I was stoked, but exhausted. Made some friends, too.
- Annie rolled into town on the Greyhound on the Sunday night (1am), so she got to sit around watching me flounder in the water for a few days. She seemed to be ok with that though. I got chased away from the Greyhound station that night by a DND guard who thought I was threatening national security in my VW van. Hmm. We slept that night in Safeway again, and then camped the next two nights in some very nice State Parks nearby. They had trains rolling through them. It was alternatively loud and very quiet. Trains are like ghosts -- they wake you, screaming for about a minute, and then they're gone as quickly as they appeared. It's eerie. I find myself lying in a cold sweat, wondering if I'd dreamed the whole thing or not.
- As the wind died yesterday (it never really rolled in...) I'd come to the realization that it will take me years to get as good at windsurfing as some of the "mediocre" guys in the Gorge, so we decided to roll back to the coast, surfing our way down through California.
Hood River was cool, though -- it felt a lot like Nelson BC. Tons of friendly, helpful people -- most of whom have either been to Baja or live there for part of the year. Every one of them assured me we'd find it very hot and windless (they see no point in going anywhere unless its windy enough to windsurf).
- As we rolled through the Oregon rainforest last night towards the coast in the rain, we both realized how badly we wanted to sleep somewhere warm and dry. Realizing that a camp site would probably cost $20 anyway, we decided to wimp-out and get a $40 motel. Why not -- with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I doubt we'll find a cheap motel again for at least another week. We slept in El Shitbox Motel. It was a dump, but it was warm and had a shower. Those who know of my two showers/day habit will be surprised to learn that this was the first time I'd had a shower -- or changed my clothes -- since I left. It felt weird.
Oregon is gorgeous, for those who don't already know. I think I could nearly say I love the place, if it ever stopped raining.
Anyway, lots of great stuff has been happening, but if I wrote it all here I'd have no stories to tell later, and I'd be broke -- this ain't a cheap net cafe.
Besides, it's a gorgeous sunny day out and the swell's still rolling through. Time for a surf, then southward -- hopefully some windsurfing at Pistol River down near Cali.
Missing everyone lots, more pictures to come, sooner or later.
Anyway, lots of great stuff has been happening, but if I wrote it all here I'd have no stories to tell later, and I'd be broke -- this ain't a cheap net cafe.
Besides, it's a gorgeous sunny day out and the swell's still rolling through. Time for a surf, then southward -- hopefully some windsurfing at Pistol River down near Cali.
Missing everyone lots, more pictures to come, sooner or later.
posted by jamesinkster @ 11:01 AM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
yay! i get to be the first one to comment!
... too bad i don't have much to say, except wishing you were here for sasquatch!
Great read so far Jimmer!
Hey James - it's Bobby. Come back to work we need you. HAHAHA
Looks like you're having fun.
Stay dry.
BT
Hey! Depsite the rain, sounds like you guys are having fun. And hey, it's sooooo much better than being in the office! Take care guys!Stay safe!
I decided after Kelowna that Kite Surfing is the way to go... though, I imagine that would take 5.5 years to reach mediocracy.
oh! Don't eat the safeway tomato bisque soup. It's *unbelievable* for fat content.
The Hood River wind surfers are the same as the ones in Maui. If there's anything less than a bold breeze, they consider skipping the island. Your writing is beautiful James - reminds me of Kerouac.
Well written article.
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