Highway 101

After dropping the car off at the Eugene Airport, Danny called. We found each other using Craigslist Rideshare. He was moving from Portland to Santa Cruz, California for a new job and was looking for someone to keep him company; I was trying to get to Berkeley. We spoke for a few minutes and he explained that he wanted to stop for hiking and exploring along the way. We would camp in his truck for at least one night. Perfect!

A few minutes later, Holly and her husband, Paul, arrived to pick me up with their new, tiny, little baby in tow - something like 10 days old!

With Holly being a new mom, and me being totally exhausted from nonstop moving and annoying bouts of insomnia, the only thing I really remember was watching Hunger Games and cuddling with her dog.

The next afternoon, Danny arrived.

This guy shows up at the door with his RayBan glasses, mop-top haircut, and a fringe leather jacket. We are about to travel for two or three days together (and he is my second Craigslist Rideshare experience). Honestly, I was wondering what I got myself into and not sure what to think about this 26-year-old dude who looks like he has traveled straight out the sixties to pick me up. I am hopeful that I will, at the very least, get a good story out of it.

We get to his truck, which is parked a couple of blocks away, and I become suspicious. My first thought, of course, is that he has parked his car out of view of my friend's house and he is going to murder me right now. I was not thinking about how he was towing a trailer and parking is not that easy on her street.

Either way, I voluntarily get into his 1989 Ford F150 and we begin our journey, heading due west to Highway 101 - the scenic route.

I feel some relief as he tells me that he has to call his parents back in Staten Island to let them know he picked me up and we were leaving Eugene now. I could hear his father on the phone. He asked him something about making sure to stop by a commune somewhere.

As we drive along, I get to learn about my driver. Danny was a "Socialist Jew from Staten Island". He referred to himself as such multiple times, while chain-smoking cigarettes and talking passionately about politics, music, mental illness, and society.

He told me about a radio show, or PodCast or something, that he hosts. I forget if it was about music or politics, but most likely it was a combination of both.

Danny and I both love Folk Rock, so choosing the music for our trip was an easy compromise and mostly involved playing albums that we had a strong love for and then introducing each other to new artists we hadn't yet heard. Lucky for you, I forgot to write down any of the new bands that he introduced me to.

We started the trip with Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde followed by Cat Stevens, and then Joni Mitchell. The rest is a blur. But it was perfect. All of it. I made sure to pretend that I was existing in the sixties for the entire trip. But once I turned my phone off, there was no real way to tell the difference! I could pretend we were playing 8-tracks!

I loved being in this big, old truck with this vintage dude listening to the tunes out of the original speakers (playing from his Smart Phone) while driving along the breathtaking Oregon Coast. My heart feels so alive just reliving this. I can't even!

Part of the agreement to take this trip together, was that we would stop and explore when we felt so inclined.

We were somewhere near the Southern Oregon Coast when we saw these amazing mountains and decided to stop. Even though it was overgrown, we found a trail that we could hike down to these beauties. I don't need to tell you anymore. The photos will do that for me. 

For the complete experience, I recommend playing this song while you scroll:

The Three Sisters

Danny walking ahead of me on the trail.

Am I in the United States or Middle Earth?

I found a Hobbit!

Middle Earth

If you are still wondering why I want to move to Oregon, do I need to say more?

We drove for a couple more hours before finding a State Park on the Coast to sleep. We ate granola bars and talked about life - one of my favorite conversations. He went to sleep in the bed of the truck, and I slept in the cab. 

We were on the road the next morning by 7:30am - after he called his parents on the East Coast again to let them know. It did not take too long before we crossed the California border. We decided it was okay to take our pictures for both states. (The pictures of me in front of the California sign were blurry.)

We kept on driving and listening to good music. We drove and made stops when we wanted to look at the land. There's nothing more to say about the drive, really, so I'll just let you look at the pictures.

Redwood Country

Chelsea and a Tree

The first elk that Danny had ever seen in his life! Right here!

One of those places that sells... stuff.

Army of Peacocks

Sasquatch or Big Foot?

We arrived in Berkeley just before the sunset on the second day. I thanked Danny for the adventure and with that, my new friend, the Socialist Jew from Staten Island, continued on his way to Santa Cruz to begin his new job in the morning. 

Moments before Danny drove off into the sunset.

View of Berkeley at Sunset

From Seattle to the Oregon Coast.

Rather than calling or texting when she arrived, she knocked on the door.

Her name is Whitney Monge. She is a musician heading down to California to play some shows. She decided to use Craigslist Rideshare to get some help with fuel, as so many do. She could drop me off at the car rental place just off the highway in Portland, so that I can get to Astoria - about two hours west of Portland. 

I told her my story about what got me to where I was. She told me about places that she wanted to go. She named three or four places she really wanted to see. I can't remember where they were, but I do remember that I had already been to all of them. 

This was the first moment, maybe in my life, that I suddenly felt like I was "traveled". But at the same time I felt pretentious. Or privileged. Something that I didn't totally like.

I had never even been on an airplane before I was 18-years-old when I went to Denver with a guy I hadn't met long before. My family, I suppose, is content enough staying in the "safety" and monotony of what is South Jersey - a seasonal town that has a winter population of about 5,000 people (ripe with a serious heroin problem), and a summer population that can swell to as many as 250,000.

That is not me. My traveling has primarily been under my own steam. It is my addiction. I don't feel like it is even something that I have the option to stop. If traveling is something you want too, don't wait for others. Don't make excuses. Just do it.

Or, I guess, just keep reading and living it through me. I'll do my best for you.

Anyway, you should watch this music video so you can see and hear Whitney. Her music is great. Her voice is incredible! She's so full of soul!! And she has amazing hair.

We made it to Portland and said our goodbyes. We became Facebook friends too. It's a great way to keep in touch! I am really grateful for it.

I walked into the Enterprise Rental Car, buzzing with the excitement of my life. A few hours earlier I thought I was not leaving Seattle. Had I not bought the wrong bus ticket - Whitney would not even exist. Of course she would, but our lives crossed and now we were not worse because of it.

So, now I am on my own and my entire chest feels like it is on fire with the happiness. I feel as big and alive as the landscape around me.

Beautiful Oregon. Giant trees.

I stopped to just appreciate. Everything.

After two hours of driving, I arrived in Astoria. Driving into this town, across a long bridge, is absolutely breathtaking and I was so excited. (Kindergarten Cop was filmed here, too!)

I would be staying in this town with a woman I met ten years ago! Jess is in the Coast Guard so I got special access to the ship! She even let me pretend I was the captain.

When you know people in the Coast Guard.

Playing Captain on the ship from the previous picture!

Not too bad, huh?

Some things that are pretty.

 After playing on the ship, Jess and I met up with her wife and friends at a dive bar they referred to as "The Dirty D". Several people made comments, "Why would you bring her to The Dirty D?!?" and she said, "She asked me to show her Astoria like a local."

It was dingy and full of character. And characters.

While Jess was playing shuffleboard with her friends, I sat at the bar and got to know her wife, Sandy. They met a few years ago while playing Roller Derby in Texas and now they lived here in beautiful Astoria because it is where Jess was stationed, although they would be relocating to Oakland in July.

Sandy let me know how strange she thinks it is that I was staying with them, since I didn't "really" know Jess, and I wasn't "really" her friend. I wanted to explain. It is true Jess and I only met twice, and briefly, in 2005. But, we're Facebook friends, so isn't that enough? And I guess this is just something I'm comfortable with doing.

I briefed her on my trip - how I got there; what I was doing; where I was going; what I was hoping for. THIS! These moments of getting to know people.

While the exact part of the conversation has slipped my memory, the moment has not at all: Sandy was so moved by my story, she got emotional and started crying. It was about life. It was about doing it. This woman was amazing. She is really intense and passionate. I truly love meeting people like her. She feels it.

The next day Jess and Sandy took me around Astoria. Sandy and I climbed to the top of the Astoria Column, which provides amazing views of the area.

View from the Column.

Another view of Astoria from the Column.

There I am.

Jess and the little dog waiting for us on the ground.

My fearless guides. And hosts.

After the column, we went to the downtown area and got lunch, then walked around. While we were wandering the streets, I saw a man on a corner eating an ice cream cone with a bicycle that appeared to be equipped for a long trip. I asked him if he was biking across the country and he said, with a New Zealand accent, "Yes!"

Well, isn't that something?! I am going to New Zealand in just over a week by myself! 

His name is Gabe and we probably only talked for a total of ten minutes, maybe less, because Jess and Sandy were waiting for me. He told me that he had started in Vancouver, British Columbia and would be making a big loop around the United States, up the East Coast, and then back west across Canada. He ended up giving me his father's phone number and told me to contact him when I arrived in New Zealand! Okay! This would just be the first of many New Zealander's to help me. 

We made tentative plans that I would meet him in San Francisco when I got back from New Zealand and maybe I would bike with him to San Diego and beyond, even though I'm not sure that much else sounds worse than biking through Texas in July. 

Gabe and I have stayed in touch since that fateful encounter. He has changed his route and is making his way to Patagonia now. You can follow his GPS here. And you should. It's awesome. He's awesome.

After meeting Gabe and feeling super inspired by someone on such a huge quest, Jess and Sandy took me to a waterfall.

A waterfall just outside of Astoria.

Things I haven't seen in New Jersey. Or Brooklyn. Or Colorado.

After the waterfall excursion, I decided to venture south in my little red rental car to explore the tiny coastal towns that line Oregon. I had tentative plans to return to their house that evening, but I brought my bag just incase something changed.

South Bound.

Astoria, Oregon.