Breaking in ..

Gravy was pawing at the door this morning and managed to hit the door lock. The leash was in the truck, gravy ran out the door before i realized the truck was locked. I turned around to get the keys to realize we were locked out. Raining, cold, no cell phone, no keys, no wallet all I could do was laugh and tell Gravy "this is another fine mess you've gotten us into" to which he responded "okay, so, its cold and wet out here can we go back into the trailer now?"... Managed to use the handle from a paint bucket and some loose wire to open a window, knocked in the screen and I was in again. Good thing I had watched so many episodes of mcgyver as a kid. (Yes, apparently it's that easy to break into a fully secured airstream)

Climbing at Smith Rock

Due to the late night with Wendy I ended up sleeping in.  I texted James and he said it was fine and they were in the same place (apparently a late night of drinking for them).

I assembled some gear, fortunately I'd bought some nice used mountain wear pants at GearFix the day before.  Funny how the universe works.

I contemplated my gear choices, threw together some lunch and jumped in the car.  When Gravy and I arrived there was still a fine layer of mist, but it was clear I was in for a treat.

As the fog lifted, Smith Rock came into view.

I bought a year long parking day pass for all Oregon state parks (it just makes sense) and then went ahead and started to try riding my bike with Gravy .. he was having none of that.  We went back and waited for James, Joy, and Drew to arrive. 

About an hour later James, Joy and Tate arrived.  It was explained to me that Grant and Michelle (who I had not met) had some car trouble and Drew had gone to help them sort it out.  We'd all hike up the trail a bit and stake out a spot and they'd join us later.

Joy playing with Gravy

Halfway down the trail I asked Tate what she did and she told me she worked at the Travellers House Hostel in Portland, OR.  Turns out she uses MyAllocator on a daily basis, what a small world. (It would turn out that Grant and I had worked together solving an issue in the past!)

James and Simone on the trail

We hiked the beautiful scenery at  Smith Rock and got to Koala Rock? turns out it was already reserved by a climbing tour group.  We sat down and went through our options and decided to hike back down the hill to meet up with Drew, Grant and Michelle after trying to take a group "jump" shot.

Gravy and Tate

We ended up finding a spot, and I finally got to do some top rope climbing. James was a super patient tutor, and Tate was incredibly brave (or foolish) for letting me belay her when it was obvious what a noob I was.  The whole group jelled, and Gravy and Simone chilled out and watched us climb while moving between the various members of the group to get attention.  Gravy also protected us from each plane which flew overhead by barking at them.

Bend Night #3 - Saturday

I had decided to spend a month in Bend, I went over to the gym across the street and was told I couldn't get 24 hour access without a commitment.

I went shopping for some winter supplies at "GearFix", then decided to head down to the Fall Festival. It was drizzling and that seemed to keep the crowds away, but it wasn't very dog friendly so Gravy and I resolved to sample a local brewery.

We went to Crux brewing and ran into Drew, Joy, and James at a community table.  They were camping at Skull Hollow, and climbing at Smith Rock.  They had been rained out so came into town for a beer.  After a few moments of chatting Drew invited me a long and everybody in the group echoed his invitation, I accepted and we agreed to head out to the fire pit so Gravy could meet Simone.

We enjoyed the fire pit for a few hours while the dogs played.  Joy lives in Squawmish, BC. and was down visiting her long distance boyfriend (who couldn't make the trip).   Her adopted older brother James and Drew were friends of his, and invited her along.

Joy had been thinking about moving into a tiny home and we spent a while talking about the pro's and con's of this lifestyle.  Drew and James played frisbee, and Gravy and Simone begged snacks off people.

After a while the group wanted shelter and decided to go find/play Buck Hunter, and some pool at a bar named Mavericks.

I followed them to the bar, which had a dispensary attached to it (literally the Entrance was through the bar) and bought my first Oregon weed.  James rocked the Buck Hunter in Zombie mode scoring a place in the top 10, and Drew showed off his jump shots. 

A few games of pool and I decided I better head out and get some shopping done if I was going to go climbing on Sunday. 

I headed down the street to a Trader Joes and Food 4 Less.   While shopping I got a tinder buzz from Wendy.  Wendy and I met up for beers and some fries at Worthy Brewing company. Wendy was 42, and super nice, very attractive, and we talked about our lives and kids, and what it was like dating.  Wendy had been dealt a tough hand in life with her ex-husband, and was figuring out how to survive and be happy.  The chemistry wasn't there, she had clearly been burned by some "tinholes", or maybe she just wasn't ready to date somebody like me who just lives for myself.

Later that night I'd update my profile to say "if you have kids, swipe left", because Meghann who I'd met in Ashland was awesome and IF a fresh family was in my future then Meghann in Ashland would be at the front of the line for me.  I started writing a note to Meghann, but couldn't figure out the right words, I just didn't know how she felt about me and it would have been random if she didn't feel the same way.

Bend, night #2 -- Scandia RV Park

I worked in the morning and drove into Bend in the afternoon with the trailer.  Before I left I stopped at Blazin Saddles and rode a couple of bikes, nothing felt like the geometry of my old Giant Iguana. I realized I'd want an older bike and resolved to make that happen.

Arriving at Bend I found Scandia RV Park which is a nice little place, tidy, clean, well managed, with 3 separate Internet WIFI networks, from three separate providers ranging in speeds from 500kbps, 10mbps, and 20mps - I was in heaven.

This place was pretty unremarkable.
I ended up in spot 309, and was next to Drew, Dana, and ?? (I'll remember)

They were down from Canada, Vancouver area and loved mountain biking.   I still didn't have a bike, but they accepted that I liked biking.

Fortunately earlier that day I had messaged a girl on Craigslist who was selling a bike.

She responded and I ran over to her place and grabbed my new Norco mountain bike.

Later that night I went out on a date with Lisa (from Tinder).  Lisa is a college professor, super chill, I thought we really got along, the beer was great.  We started at "The Lot" which is basically a food truck lot, that serves beer.  After that we went to another bar across the street, closed it, then went to west-side?? a dive bar that was already hopping. I had such a good time.

I decided to stay in town to see where that relationship would go, while exploring everything else Bend had to offer.

A night in Sister, OR.

Mount Thielsen on the drive from Crater Lake to Bend

 

After a driving for many hours arrived at the Bend/Sisters Garden RV Park. The place was immaculately manicured.  Friendly people whizzed by in little golf carts.  Here's a picture of it in the background as we were arriving.

At the front desk when I inquired about the Internet and informed that the gentleman who I was speaking with was actually the guy who mows the lawn, he told me he knew what the Internet was, but nothing else.  I explained my situation and we agreed I'd buy a night, and if the Internet was good I'd come back for more.

I went to the site plugged in and got around 200kbps. I went back to the front desk and asked for a refund, explained I couldn't stay there. Once the refund was processed I headed out, and realized it was beginning to get dark, I headed into town and found a campground right in the middle of Sisters creek.  I also saw three airstreams, with a spot in between them all, I pulled in and took this photo:

 The owners of the other Airstreams were much older, retired, rich, bike nuts. We got along fine, but nothing memorable.  They told me I should go to Blazin Saddles in Sisters and I might find a good deal on a Bike there.

Later that night I ended up driving back toward Bend (about 30 minutes) to have a drink with a girl named Brynessa I'd met on Tinder.  (It was her only night off, and she really insisted on meeting me). As I got out of my car she came over and met Gravy, and a guy minding his own business looks at me, looks at her, and straigh to my face goes "dude, that girl crazy" and nods towards her.  I thought it was weird, but next time I'll listen.  Brynessa was confused about how reality worked, we had some drinks, and went back to her place, I spent several hours really appreciating her crazy and I finally left at 4:30am.  I think she was mad I didn't stay over, but she was too nuts for me, she's the cut your dick off because you have one type of girl.  I was going to write her a nice note the next morning and found I was unfollowed on Tinder.

Went back to the campground and slept for a few hours.
The next day I resolved I would go back to Bend since it seemed everybody in Sisters was about 20 years older than me.

Crater Lake RV Campground

 Was on my way to sisters but the drive was taking forever.  I had ran across Crater Lake RV campground when I was doing research and I had called them.  They told me "our Internet Sucks" over the phone and so I had crossed it off my list.  Since I was literally driving right by and I really wanted to stop by Crater lake and do some hiking I decided to make a U turn and go back.

I spoke with Tom who explained that the camp's Internet did in fact "suck".  Tom was clearly the guy who got the complaints about the Internet. I was surprised that the camp had a 10mbps connection, but horrid ping times, and about a 2mbps upstream.

The wifi name is "CraterLake-NoStreaming" lol. Anyway after some tests I concluded that it was acceptable latency to do my work and the fact that my cell phone had no reception meant I couldn't waste the night on tinder.

Tom helped me back the trailer into it's spot, here's a picture:

 

 About 5:30pm I put the leash on Gravy and went for a run.  I ran around the lake which is adjacent to the campground, and then the town of Prospect is only about a mile away so we ran there.  

Here's a picture of Gravy standing in front of the Prospect Inn -- this is where Liz and I stayed last October.

 

We made our way over the Personey Falls Nature Trail. 

 

At this point Gravy is pretty worn down, we've run about 3 miles and he knows we're only halfway.

Eventually we made it to the falls.  I took a little video:

I didn't realize quite how scruffy or sweaty I was, but it was a really cool spot. I need to get a selfie stick or something.

Planning to work tomorrow, and then head up to Crater lake after work, possibly again on Thurs. before finally heading off to Sisters, OR. for some mountain biking.

Leaving the Jackson Wellsprings

As I set off heading towards Sisters Oregon for some mountain biking,  I find myself wondering if I'll find a place is cool as the Jackson Wellsprings. (http://www.jacksonwellsprings.com/). 

 

I didn't take many photos because it had an aura that could not be captured through a camera lens.   Really, the place had such an amazing community spirit, the interaction with everybody was so pleasant, it was such a joy.  Every day I was there I discovered myself liking it more and more.

To all the friends I made Krista, Meghan, Hulez, John  ("Tron"), Rachelle and all the other random hotsprings visitors who made it such a special and memorable time -- I would just like to say thank you and I will miss you all a lot! I hope to return very soon. Thanks for such a special time.

Price:

$215.00 for my 7 day stay  (buy 6 days, get the 7th free), that price included Gravy who was an extra $5.00/day, and also admission into the hot-springs.

Wifi Summary:
Spot #53, 70ms ping, 3mbps max throughput.

I used a dual 9db high gain antenna to connect to the pool.

Office is closed on Mondays and of course that was the day the Internet wasn't working. 

Note: Long term residents can get their own DSL service, and many residents share a wifi connection.  Water smells like sulfur (rotten eggs) due to the high mineral content, just let it sit for a moment before drinking it. :-)

Airstream "Mostly Vegetable" Skillet lasagna

 

Made this tasty "mostly vegetable" skillet lasanga last night.  (it does have 1/2 lb of ground beef, that's basically a hamburger's worth of meat spread across 5 meals)

 

I bought some bulk lasanga noodles at Winco, probably about 8 of them. 

I lit the pilot on the oven and turned it to 400 degrees.

Broke the noodles in half, and boiled them in a sauce pan till they were soft and drained the sauce pan.

 

While the noodles were cooking I mixed about half a can of ricotta cheese, with some freshly grated mozarella cheese I had left over from making pizza. 

I then started a little bit of ground beef, about 1/2" lb (one burger) in a 14" iron skillet.

I seasoned the beef with Pizza topping, and then added in a copious amount of mushrooms and bell peppers and let them cook down in the beef.   

I took the mushroom, bell pepper and ground beef mixture and put it on a plate, and wiped up the remaining grease with a paper town leaving just a thin coat on the cast iron for seasoning.

Threw down some Newans Own marinana pasta sauce at the bottom of the iron skillet, then some of the wet noodles, I needed to make them they the pan but still covered.  Lasagna is not an exact science, but I threw down the cheese, then the meta stuffing, a layer of noodles, and some more cheese and meat, then some marinana, the remaining noodle pieces, and threw a couple of pieces of provolone on the top for good measure.

Threw it in the oven (with the cast iron skillet lid) for about 15 minutes, or approximately the time it took me to clean up and do the dishes while not tripping over gravy who was intensely interested in what I was making "us" for dinner, especially since the ground beef had made the airstream smell amazing.

It ended up making about 5 meals, which was two dinners, and three lunches. Although it was so good I ate one of the lunches for a late night snack. :-)

 

 

The moment of delivery.

This is the first picture we took of the new truck, attached to the new trailer.

Just like most new trailer owners, I had no idea what I was doing.

 

I don't know at the time I really understood how much my life would change, or which direction it would go in.  There were so many things I wish I had done differently, but I'm happy it all worked out.

Starting the blog

So tomorrow I leave for Oregon, the first real roadtrip by myself.  Since purchasing the Airstream I've reconnected with both my parents and daughter, as well as countless friends new and old. 

So many people have told me I need to start a blog, so tonight, on the eve of the trip I decided to do that.   I've back-dated a few posts with memories that explain the lead up.

I have a persistent cough, the trailer is muggy and it was raining today.    Big projects due can't work on the blog too much, but at least now I can update it on the road.

I had lunch with Fred and Las Brisas mexican food in San Marcos, and got him put as a signatory on the Elastic Ventures account.  I haven't seen Fred much since we closed down the office, it was good to reconnect.

I bought an X-box one from Fry's, but I think I'm going to return it and just keep the playstation 3 in the Airstream.  I don't really want to spend my time with a lot of video games, I'd much rather be reading.

Zane called me about the vita project and I've been grinding on that.
I'm supposed to work with Rafa on some MyAllocator stuff at 4am, not the best start to a roadtrip.

Kim and Jay

Snapped this quick picture before I left. It's the first one I have of them as a couple, we spent the night talking about weddings. There are few things more surreal than talking to your only child and her fiance about planning their wedding. 

This is the last time I would see Kim before leaving San Diego. Although being on the road I find myself talking to her and the rest of my family more than I did when I was living in town.

The airstream office

 

I'd been sitting in Valley Center, and the heat outside had made the trailer unbearable.

I decided I should head to the beach and try boondocking. 

I also had a tinder friend who wanted to checkout the trailer, so I thought that the overlook at Seaside would be a cool place to hang for the day.

She ended up getting tied up at work and came over for dinner.  Time passed quickly.

At around 9:30pm the cops came and asked us to move the trailer, apparently the neighbors with their multi-million dollar anchored homes didn't appreciate my airstream blocking/mocking their view.

I had forgotten to unplug the truck (a rookie mistake) and so it had been running the laptop, fans, fridge, etc. off my car battery which was dead.  Ended up getting AAA to come out and jump the truck and then was able to get moving.

First night in the airstream.

 

This is my friend Mike.  He and I were best friends growing up in Valley Center, CA.  We were pretty much inseparable.  Mike lives with his family in Waco TX only about 70 miles were I bought the Airstream so we headed over to see him and his family. I hadn't seen Mike in at least 10 years.

Kim and I ended up boondocking my first night in his field, it was a lovely time.

Everybody I know is so caught up in their own lives, I was so overwhelmed with the in's and out's of the trailer that I don't think I realized how cool it was to be able to reconnect with my best friend from childhood. I wish I would have stayed a few more days, but we were on a countdown to get to Oregon and register the vehicles.

We found the truck!

Kim located a new 2015 Nissan Frontier King Cab 45 minutes away, for less money than I had been quoted in San Diego. It was even midnight blue, this plan is really coming together.


We went over to pick up the car, and on the way stopped in Mesquite TX for some bbq at
slabs bbq (top rated fast bbq in Mesquite).  

At Slabs BBQ we ended up making some friends behind the counter.
We ended up smoking mary jane out back with TV and his buddy Questlove and talking about what it's like to a black dude living in Mesquite, Texas.  Apparently MJ is hard to find in TX so I tossed him a jay before I left because he was one of the more chill persons we'd met in Texas. 

(Note: to TX police, TV and Questlove are names to project the identities, not their real names)

We found the airstream

Back in San Diego before we left I had found a new 2015 23D flying cloud that I had fallen in love with.  It had been on the lot for 8 months and just been discounted, it was perfect.  At the time I didn't think a new airstream made sense, I wanted a used one, but the resale on them was so high I couldn't find a good deal. Unfortunately that new Airstream in San Diego got sold one hour before I arrived to put down a deposit -- before putting down a deposit I had to find a truck to tow it (hence the  spontaneous roadtrip I was on). ..Kim and I had assumed we would look at airstreams a long the way and maybe find one that was similar.

In Texas we found a new 2016 23D flying cloud, it had several improvements that I didn't like, I wanted my 2015.  Chris the salesperson thought he might be able to find me a 2015 23D flying cloud from another dealer.

While Kim and I sat in the 2016 23D flying cloud kim realized how cool these little shiny twinkies are, we contemplated all the adventures we would have.  Both of us realized that it was a much better way to travel, and I lamented on how much more I liked the 2015 with the non-designer interior. Kim agreed the 2015 23 D in San Diego I had let slip through my fingers sounded awesome.


When Chris walked back in with a smile, he said he'd found one, and he'd do an even swap for his 2016, it would take a day to get here, and I'd need to put down a deposit and purchase it without seeing it.  It was more than a day away, and both dealers agreed to send their drivers to meet halfway.
I looked at Kim,  she looked at me, we both smiled and said "lets do this".

I didn't really appreciate our food choices in San Diego until I spent a few days in Texas. 

Kim wanted to stop and have breakfast at a waffle house, I'd never been to one and so I said "sure".  The server was very nice, and one of the cooks had auditioned on American Idol.  That was my first and last time at the waffle house.  The grits tasted like stale butter.   I don't get waffle house, I hope that was my last experience.

Later that night we stopped at Texas Gourmet, aka Dairy Queen, when I attempted to order a salad I just about got laughed out of the city. 

Kim and I started fighting again, I won't go through the details here.   She wants to stay at hotels, I'm trying to figure out if I can mentally live out of my car.

We drove a bit further and ended up camping on the side of the road near an oil field, it absolutely stunk.  We got up super early and went to a Flying J truck stop for a shower.  After showers were in a much better place.

The truck is a lie.

Kim and I had been driving through Texas on our way to a random Carmax in Virgina to buy a used  Nissan Frontier truck we hadn't seen a picture of.   I realize this probably seems impulsive, and it definitely was, but it was the exact model I wanted and it was such a good deal.  It turns out it wasn't the exact model I wanted but rather than turn around we decided to go visit Kims Uncle Rob in Texas and also check out a out an airstream dealer there.

On the road, the first night in the desert

Earlier in the night I had met Mr. T  (Tito) at a gas station outside of Yuma, we found ourselves in a friendly conversation.  It started with smalltalk, but in a few moments T was telling me his life story, asking me questions about the world and universe.  I had good answers to all his riddles. 

About 10 minutes into the conversation T dropped that  he had invented a game where he finds inventive ways to not talk to customers.  I laughed, because I thought it was a great way to pass the time.  He told me in 12 years of working nights in the desert I was only the third person who'd he'd actually talked to, the other two people were crazy and forced him to talk, I was the only customer he'd ever taken the time to talk to.  I don't think he was lying, and it setup the night for a surreal "desert adventure"

We got stopped in the middle of the desert, and a series of very unbelievable events transpired.
I have agreed not post the time events but suffice to say it was very super stressful.
It involves a bus full of escaped prison convicts, drug smugglers, the border patrol, a horrific accident, and doubling down on a series of poor choices. It was a terribly rough night for Kim, a abrupt lesson in "how fast bad shit happens".

The stress was too much for her, I had taken her out of her cozy La Costa bubble. We ended up having a huge fight.  She calls Jay in tears asking him to drive out to Arizona and pick her up.  Our father/daughter communication skills weren't passing the test. Fortunately we worked it out and ended up sleeping in the safety of the car, in the relatively unsafe desert. 

The adventure begins..

(retrospective)

I'd been enamored with tiny living for a while.  I decided to airstream and use it as a "mobile fortress of solidtude" while figuring out my relationship with my fiance Liz.

I called Kim (the most awesome daughter any dad could ask for) and explained that I wanted to go on a roadtrip to buy a truck, and maybe an airstream to go with the truck.  It was the perfect plan (literally, that was the entire plan, what could go wrong).

Kim agreed to go on a road trip since she'd decided to be a stay at home barista for her boyfriend Jay. She had spent that weekend at the defcon hacker convention in Las Vegas.  I was at the same hacker convention 20 years earlier.

At ~8pm on Monday we set out driving east.   We stopped at the albertsons in San Marcos, CA. and bought some supplies which consisted of gatorade, water, and a veggie snack platter, and some reduced fat chips ahoy.

Our last sunset as a couple

This was Sunday night, it was a weird night I'll never forget. 
Unless you've lived in my world for a while you wouldn't believe it anyway.
I won't post the emotional details of this night out of respect for the people involved, but it was such an odd night I'll never forget it.

In this picture Liz knew were going our separate ways, neither one of us knew what that meant.
She was my best friend and fiance and I had decided to leave her because of issues in our relationship which we had been unable to resolve in 5 years of dating.

This was taken at "our spot" on the boardwalk, we had a painting Liz had done of us sitting on a bench (not pictured).  We'd go to this place and watch the sunset at least a few times each week, and planned to have our engagement photos taken here. 

We both knew this would be our last time here as a couple.

Chill dog at CarMax

Little did I know while I was taking this picture trying to find a truck, the 2015 Airstream 23D at RV Solutions in San Diego was being sold. 

I was taking Gravy everywhere with me, Liz and I had officially declared we were splitting up and I knew I'd be heading on the road.  That was the first time we went into a subway and split a sandwich, gravy got all my meat, and I took a lot of his veggies.  We both had a good time, this might actually work! 

Getting a travel account

The relationship with Liz is getting akward, I need to get away.
Not sure which trip I'm going to take. I opened a new travel bank account today so if I wanted to go to Europe I'd already have a chip+pin compatible card ready to go.

I picked up some cash to pay Alfredo my awesome BMW mechanic.  Alfredo has a daughter named Megan roughly the same age as Kim.  I had always wanted to know Alfredo personally, he just seemed like a fun and great guy.  I knew I'd most likely be selling my BMW in the near future for a truck and if we wanted to hang out this would possibly be our last chance.

We ended up going to "Ignite" and drinking quite a few shots of tequila, had some food, and then headed to a winery in the Cedros district of Del Mar.  I met a man there who was attempting to join the travelers century club (http://travelerscenturyclub.org/).   This man had travelled around the world and lived in 70 countries and still needed 30 before he would be allowed admission.  To me this group seemed like the league of extraordinary gentleman, I thought was full of shit at first until he ripped out his passport.  With my tail between my legs I resolved at that moment to someday join the century club. 

This man (who's name I will not publish) was a Shadow Banker and had imported his porsche and raced it on the F1 track in Abu Dabi, he had run with the bulls in spain (and gave me some tips which might save my life someday), he was full of rich and colorful stories.  He was one of several random strangers who would tell me in no uncertain terms that travel was the right choice.